GoHHGo

Reactions to DNF in Spain

2011-10-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

I've had about a week to take-in the unfortunate events that occurred in Spain at the Duathlon World championships. Going in, as you may have read from my previous posts, I was feeling confident in my running, having returned to a feeling I hadn't seen in quite some time. I had produced some promising solo results and was more than ready to mix it up with the world Duathlon elites.

Pre-race, I felt fresh. I had had a good week of laying low and the mini workouts leading up to the race were promising. Race day showed ideal weather and no big surprises. The gun went off like any sort of big running race. Immediately a lead pack formed with a few anxious athletes off the front - they would undoubtedly come back. I wasn't aware of any splits being given out during the first run but I did hear post-race that the first 5k was fast, around 14:30. At about the 6.5-7km mark, like an explosion, my entire right abdominal section from my waist to my ribs seized. I tried to run through it over the next 400 meters, attempting any anti-stitch technique I could think of but it only worsened. By the end of that quarter-mile, it seized up so much that I was having trouble breathing and I wound up tearing muscles in both the upper and lower sections of my abdomen.

My race was over.

I couldn't decide what was more painful, my abdomen or watching the group run away from me. Again I say, my race was over and it was simply surreal. Everything was lost. I had worked so hard; put in so much time and for what? This? No. In disbelief, I tried once more to get back on course but it was unbearable. What I was hoping would be a top 10 finish or even better turned into a DNF - not how I saw this one panning out.

While this result was completely defeating and demoralizing, at times like this I must rely upon my ideologies. I am an optimist through and through and I believe these types of events happen for a reason (credit is due to my wife for reminding me when I didn't want to be reminded).

It took a little while for all this to settle in which is why I'm getting back to you all only now. My conclusion of it all: I am still HERE. There will be ANOTHER day. I WILL race again. In this profession where bad days certainly happen, you must be teflon-like. You have to deal with the cards you're dealt on that given day and tell yourself there will be another hand of cards. Letting this sort of guff bother you for too long will only hurt you down the road. With that, my plan is to take what I can from this experience, channel it into something useful and get ready for next season.

For those who had already heard, thank you for your kind, supportive remarks. I'm going to heal up as quick as I can and get right back into it!

Thanks for checking in, talk soon!

-HH

Arrival in Spain!

2011-09-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

The Mrs. and I touched down in Madrid early Monday morning. Despite two LONG flights east, we were determined to stay up and acclimate to the time change as soon as possible. We stayed with friends in Salamanca, right in the heart of Madrid and since we only had two days here, we wanted to hit the ground running!

We dropped our bags and bike box (sigh of relief) and headed around the corner to a coffee shop for a quick croissant and cappuccino. I NEVER drink coffee (this was in fact my first cappuccino) and for some reason, after having drunk most of that cup all I wanted to do was lie down! What?! So, we weighed our options and decided to head back, get an hour of shut-eye and THEN hit the ground running… An hour of shut-eye turned into 2.5 and we didn’t get out the door until 2 at which point we deliriously shuffled over to the Thyssen museum. I have yet to look at the pictures we took on our stroll to the museum, but I have to assume they were pretty amusing because I don’t remember much of that part of the walk!

Happily, that 2-hour nap was all we needed to get us on Spain-time. We enjoyed some Paella with our hosts the first night and then the following day some botanical gardens, more croissants, the Palacio Real, more gardens, the Palacio Cristal (pictured) and a great inter-continental dinner again with our hosts to complete our trip in Madrid (another sigh of relief). I may be able to race triathlons full-time, but being a tourist for the better part of a day is EXHAUSTING. Before we knew it, we were headed to Gijon, Spain! USAT chartered a couple of buses to take their athletes from the Madrid airport to the northern coastal town of Gijon – about a 6 hour bus ride. Our bus route was as if we were driving through rural parts of the U.S. It started with open agricultural plains, followed by rolling hills, and then a mean, winding dissent to the coast. During this dissent, we hit a 5-minute tunnel that ventured through the base of a mountain and it spit us out into an entirely different climate. We went from dry, sunny and hi-80s to wet, socked-in fog and hi-50s!

We arrived in Gijon around 7:30pm, dropped our bags and immediately got some food. While Spain’s schedule normally consists of 9:30-10:00 dinners, today, mine did not! I wanted some food and then sleep! I woke up this morning, met with the USAT coach and a few other elite athletes and headed out for a little course inspection.

The course: 10km run, 43.2km bike, 5km run. Being an ITU-style (draft legal) race, the course’s main focus is being spectator-friendly. With that, there are 4 – 2.5km loops for the first run; 8 – 5.4km loops for the bike; 2 – 2.5km loops for the final run. Talk about being dizzy after all those loops! On top of that, the transition area is on a 400m outdoor velodrome track where the race starts, continues through, and ends!

The specifics: The runs will be flat and fast with only one out-and-back per lap. The only variable is that the out-and-back will be on 50 meters of cobblestones! The bike is slightly long but also flat and fast. What will make this portion of the race interesting is whether it rains Friday night, and how much?! There are a few technical turns and one out-and-back each lap so with a little added water to the course, this could make for an interesting ride..! If you're interested in more info regarding the Duathlon World Championships, click here.

I’m feeling good about the course and about my fitness. Barring any disaster, I’m ready to have a big race! Most of all, I’m proud to be wearing red, white and blue this weekend!

Thanks for checking in, talk soon.

-HH

The Road to DuaWorld: Series Finale, Part 4

2011-09-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

With much anticipation, this is the final chapter of the The Road to DuaWorlds mini series! Thank you all for bearing these LONG entries! Enjoy and I'll see you on the other side!

The Road to DuaWorlds, Series Finale Part 4

My road to DuaWorlds continued this past week with a few solid training sessions, followed by my last road race before I took off for Europe. Again, my emphasis was on fine-tuning my run fitness, in addition to maximizing my level of comfort in an aggressive bike pack.

I’m no stranger to pack riding, as I’ve included these types of rides in my overall training regimen since the beginning. This type of riding can be like a game of Chess: each rider having to predict another riders’ tactics in addition to using tactics of their own. In order to be in a position to both predict and execute, one must ride towards the front, always aware, putting out a solid effort the entire time. In draft-legal races, like DuaWorlds, there are constant attacks and attempted break-aways. At this race in particular, preventing this from happening is crucial because it’s only a 5k run, not a 10k off the bike. As such, I’ve become a student of group riding as of late, so there won’t be any surprises come Saturday.

On Wednesday, I had my last solid track session before heading to Europe. It was another track-trainer BRICK: 3k run @ sub-5:10 pace; 16 minute TT with 4x30 second pick-ups during the TT; off and run 1,500 at 5k race pace. I felt smooth and comfortable during the 3k, knocking off 74-76’s per lap. I jumped on the bike and was able to locate that rhythm, even despite the 4x30 second pickups which jacked my heart rate. I got off the bike and powered through the 1,500. I hit the tape at 4:29, more or less the pace I want to be hitting come DuaWorlds! This was yet another confidence building speed-work session, just ahead of my Huntington Beach 10k.

Saturday rolled around and I was ready for a race! My legs felt OK and I was looking forward to putting up a good 10k effort. The gun went off and once again, I found myself racing the lead biker along PCH. I hit the 5k turn-around point at 16:00 and wasn’t too pleased with that time. Heading back against traffic, I decided to put in some consistent surges to keep the pace honest. I hit the tape around 31:30, negative splitting the 5k’s – 16:00 to 15:30. I felt better after the race than I did prior and better after this race than I had after any of my previous four races! And if that wasn’t enough, I won a nice little $150 prize, which subsequently helped fund my taking out the in-laws for a pancake breakfast.

Looking back on the last 5 or so weeks of training, I can come away with a few thoughts. For one, I stuck to the program my coach and I created and I feel great. I feel ready to take on the world’s best duathletes and ready to even surprise of few! Two, reconnecting with regular road races has been quite beneficial, not only physically but also mentally. Physically because I feel my running is at a place where it used to be and where I want it to be going forward. Mentally because it is what I used to do and what I used to love by itself before triathlons. With adding the swimming and biking, I lost touch with my original passion, but having found it again over the last several weeks, I feel rejuvenated and back to my old self! On the 24th, I’m going to give them hell in Gijon and I dare any of them to step up!

Thanks for all the support, as usual. I will check in with you all once I touch down in Gijon! Talk soon.

-HH

The Road to DuaWorlds Mini Series: Part 3

2011-09-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

We meet again!

I have for your enjoyment the 3rd of 4 installments of the mini series - The Road to DuaWorlds! I've had a lot of fun producing these entries and hope you all enjoy them as well! Without further adieu..

The Road to DuaWorlds, Part 3

This past week I started off with a Labor Day race in San Pedro called Conquer the Bridge 3. It was a 5.3 mile out-and-back race over the Vincent-Thomas Bridge. For those who are unaware of this bridge, the center point is much higher than either ends, making it a very interesting location at which to hold a race!

Considering I had raced a fast 3-miler two days prior, I wasn’t looking to necessarily blitz this run, but rather see what I could do on tired legs. During warm-up I recognized a guy whom I had raced against earlier this summer. In our previous race, I was able to out-sprint Juan and he was not happy about it. Based on the looks he was giving me during warm-up, he clearly wanted to return the favor. Coincidentally enough, he was also last year’s champion and the course record holder for this race!

The gun went off and we found each other at the front in no time. Going up and over the bridge on the way out, every time I attempted to run on his shoulder, he proceeded to slowly veer in my direction, eventually pinning me up against the cones or the side of the bridge. I would then have to stutter step and bounce around him to his other side. Sure enough, he would veer in that direction! After experiencing this three or four times I said to him, “Juan, you’re swerving, pal!” He responded with a grunt and continued on with a little less swerving.

We reached the turn-around point and headed back up and over the bridge. At this point, I didn’t want him to think that I was a one-dimensional, “sit and kick” runner, based on our last encounter. At about 200 meters from the tallest point of the bridge, I put-on an enormous surge and he covered NONE of it. It was so big in fact that I quickly thought I may have bitten off more than I could chew! The top couldn’t come fast enough but once I got there, I glanced back and saw that I had opened up a 50 meter lead. I experienced a brief sigh of relief as I hit the downward section of the bridge. From there the race was in the bag and I wound up crossing the line in 28:09, a 30 second margin of victory over the swerving Juan. As if this victory wasn’t sweet enough, I also broke Juan’s course record by 13 seconds! This race was yet another confidence building, run-sharpening feat that is setting me up nicely for DuaWorlds.

After this run I had a solid week of training and followed it up with a 10k race in Studio City on Sunday. I didn’t know what to expect for this race as far as competition or the course was concerned. When I got my hands on a map on race morning, I was amazed! This course was like a pinball machine – riddled with 180 degree turns! I stuck with my plan to race nonetheless. The gun went off and I was immediately alone, trying to keep pace with the Mini Cooper leading us out. The victory was in the bag but I wasn’t here for the victory. I didn’t care about winning this race; I cared about the workout and using this race as a sharpening tool for DuaWorlds. With that, I pressed on as if someone was hot on my heels. I lost count but I believe there were 8 or 10, 180 degree turns which took the wind out of my sail every time. I crossed the line 33-mid, pleased with the solo-effort I put forth, despite a slower than normal time. A race official approached me after the race and mentioned that in respect to “normal” 10k’s, this race was about 3 minutes longer due to the myriad turn-around’s. Good news!

I have one more race – a 10k in Huntington Beach – the day before I head to Spain. This one is supposed to be fast and full of competition! It will be a great send off!

There was a piece written about my win at the Conquer the Bridge 3 run in the Daily Breeze. It's equipped with a few pics as well. If you're interested, check out the Daily Breeze article here. The FINAL CHAPTER of this riveting mini series will be posted Saturday night, maybe Sunday morning! I know I know, you're on the edge of your seat.. Only a few days away!

Thank you all for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

The Road to DuaWorlds Mini Series: Part 2

2011-09-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

Below is the second installment in my 4-Part Mini Series, The Road to DuaWorlds. Again, disregard any and all dates, for these are entries over the last several weeks. Enjoy!

The Road to DuaWorlds, Part 2

Over the last several days, I have really shelved the swim and have focused much more on cycling and running. On Tuesday, I found myself setting up my bike trainer at the UCLA track in preparation for a multiple-round BRICK workout. The workout: 3 x (12min bike, off and run 1,200 for time) - descend the 1,200s. Each 12 minute bike session consisted of a variation of hard-effort intervals. For example, 6 min strong, 1 min easy, 5 min strong. The purpose was to try and simulate the volatile pacing that goes on in a pack in a draft-legal race.

Amidst the fellow track goers, there were the entire UCLA cross country team and home run king, Barry Bonds. Particularly due to the presence of the X-country team, I really had to show them what this veteran could do, and that I did!

I popped off a 3:32 for the first 1,200 (just outside of 4:40 mile pace) and felt pretty good despite some tight calves from the 5k two days prior. Because this was a workout for a duathlon, I hopped right back on the bike and into round 2. On the next 1,200 I hit 3:30 (right on 4:40 mile pace) and still felt good. By this time, I had the attention of not only the cross country team but also Mr. Bonds. Onto the final round, I was starting to feel the late morning heat and the pressure of trying to descend lower than 3:30! I hit the last 1,200 surprisingly fresh and with about 200 to go, I received some words of encouragement from BLB himself - "come on now, push it! Pick it up!" I stopped the watch at 3:26, right in front of the Bruins. While they couldn't see the time on my watch, they knew I was moving and frankly, I saw a little intimidation in their eyes...not really, but maybe...!

I was really pleased at the result of this workout because that's about as close to a duathlon as I can get and even on the third 1,200 I still had some juice in the ol' pistons!

Today, I found myself in the Orange County Great Park for the Kevin Cook "5k". Quotations are needed because it was more in the range of 2.93 to 2.99 miles, as opposed to 3.1, according to the race director. The gun went off and immediately a three-man group was formed up front. The mile markers were a bit ambiguous so we didn't exactly know quite how fast we were going. With about a half-mile to go, the pace picked up significantly and before I knew it we were into our final sprint in what was a very odd, S-bend finishing shoot - a sharp turn to the right and then a sharp turn to the left.. They could've just gone straight. Seriously, the grounds permitted it! In any event, I was able to out-kick one guy and narrowly missed the other. I think the biggest thing was that he got around the last turn first and therefore had the upper hand. He and I crossed the line within the same second, 13:53. Because the course fell in the 2.95 mile range, the mileage averaged out to about 4:43s! I knew we were rolling but not quite that fast!

My running legs are slowly starting to appear..! Looking forward to continued progress on the Road to DuaWorlds!

Part 3 will come some time in the next couple of days and the final Part of this mini series will follow my last tune-up race in Huntington Beach on Saturday.

Thanks for checking in, talk soon!

-HH

4 Part Series: The Road to DuaWorlds

2011-09-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Over the last three weeks or so, I have completely dropped the ball on keeping you all up to date on my training and racing. Many apologies! I am currently in a training block in preparation for the Duathlon World Championships on Sept. 25 in Gijon, Spain. As a result, I have lessened my swimming to 2 or 3 times per week and have mainly focused on fine-tuning my run and bike. The biking has consisted of some quality workouts, tempo efforts and various group rides. The running has consisted of numerous BRICKs, tempo runs, and a bunch of road races. During this time, I have kept a log or a journal if you will of my workouts and races. Why I didn't do this on my blog evades me..! In the following entries, please disregard the dates, for they are inaccurate since these sessions may or may not have occurred a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

The Road to DuaWorlds, Part 1

Yesterday I went to do my ride with fellow triathletes, Sean Jefferson and Omar Nour on PCH starting out at the parking lot at Malibu Canyon and PCH. What I thought was plenty of time to arrive (supposed to meet at 3pm, left house at 2:15) clearly wasn't as I spent the next hour in bumper to bumper traffic!

Sean and Omar were traveling back from Oceanside having swum in an open water race and they too were caught in the Saturday afternoon traffic though about a 1/2 mile ahead of me coincidentally enough. The traffic was so bad - multiple car accidents coupled with beautiful beach weather - we decided to pull over and park at the 22000 "block" of PCH, about 1 mile South of La Salsa.

We rode north from there and I was anticipating a moderate 2-hour ride with wattage in the mid-2's and cadence above 90. Oh was I wrong. They wanted to do a pace-line workout that their coach had given them which entailed: 20min warmup - 3 x (20min pace-line @ 300+ watts, 10min recover) - 20min cool down. While they didn't want to ride that hard and we therefore all agreed NOT to ride that hard, we rode that hard, and then some! The warmup turned into 30 minutes, the wind began to howl, and I definitely did not bring enough nutrition for a ride like this! To add insult to injury, we finished our final 20min pace-line heading South, just North of Zuma beach, which meant our cool down was a lot longer than 20min and not flat by any means! At the very least, we had the wind at our backs which was a big plus. To give you an idea of the intensity of this wind, heading North in our pace-line we averaged 18-20mph. Heading South in our pace-line we averaged 29-31mph!!

Needless to say, my legs were shot by the time we got back to the cars, a good 2 1/2 hours and 45 miles later! As a result, I had an early dinner and hit the pillow at 9ish in prep for my 4:30 wake up time to head out to Ventura for the first of 5 road races in what I like to call The Road to Duathlon Worlds.
The 5k race started at 7:15 but I had to register the morning of, which meant I needed to be there by 6am in order to beat the line of other 'registration slackers'. As expected, the race wasn't anything special and the field consisted of a few hundred moms and grandmas. By my speculation, the course was a little long and absolutely terrible footing. The first 2k was two loops around a landfill which was used as the parking lot. I stumbled twice and quasi-rolled ankles twice but to no avail pressed on and hit the tape at 15:27 - 4:57s (by my watch).

I'm feeling pretty good right now, despite yesterday's painful ride. I also ran the race in trainers. For the first time in a while I felt good getting out there and naturally pushing myself to try and keep pace with the bike leader. Quite a nostalgic feeling dating back to my Cate School days.

I will post the other parts of this series over the next couple of days. I don't want to flood the internet with such good stuff..I want to space it out..! Ha!

Thanks for checking in, talk soon!

-HH

GoHHGo August Giveaway!

2011-08-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

GoHHGo Giveaways are back this month! We’ve seen giveaways from K-Swiss and Zico and clearly the bar has been set! As such, I’ve promised not to disappoint and this month’s GoHHGo Giveaway comes from one of my original, most supportive sponsors!

Heralded as arguably the world’s premier high performance wetsuit manufacturer, Xterra Wetsuits has ponied up one of their very own suits for one lucky GoHHGo fan!!

For your chance to win a Vector Pro Full wetsuit, answer me this:

*What year did Xterra bust onto the scene, making their AWESOME wetsuits and where are they headquartered?*

As usual GoHHGo facebook fans with correct answers will be entered in the drawing twice. If you’re not a fan, become one! Check it out at Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – GoHHGo!

Let’s get into it! Talk soon!

-HH

I Weathered the Storm, Literally

2011-08-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my tri-job took me to the lovely island of Manhattan for the 5i50 Nautica NYC Triathlon. I came in still trying to regain my fitness from my AWESOMELY BAD bike crash two months ago. Rather than sit at home and continue to mope about my lost fitness, I figured the best way to get it back would be to toe-the-line with the best and leave it all out on the course!

The week leading up to the race, I had anticipated the weather to be a factor because there were a slew of thunderstorms expected to hit the New York area over race weekend. Sure enough, race morning we were caught waiting in the rain at 6am to get the green light to jump into the “pristine” waters of the Hudson. The onslaught of rain and wind called for a tough, choppy swim and I exited roughly 17th out of the water. I was able to pull back two guys in the ½ mile run up to transition and headed out onto the bike in 15th.

The bike course was out-and-back on the Westside highway - a deceptively tough, rolling course - that met us with a tail-wind on the way down and an unrelenting headwind on the way back. My intention for this race was to really press the bike because that was where this race could be won or lost.

As such, I worked those rollers hard and came into T2 in 13th. There was a group of several riders a few minutes ahead that I was trying to reel in but based on their remarkably similar bike splits, it was thus difficult for me to take-on one or two riders, let alone 4 or 7!! I thought this was a non-draft race! Oh well…

Out onto the run, I was able to reel in a struggling Andrew Yoder and that was unfortunately it for me! My run legs eluded me on this day, which happily shed some light on where my fitness is at in its current state – just a few miles short… I crossed the line in 12th – 1:58:30.

Despite finishing outside of the top 10, and even with CERTAIN variables working against me, I’m not at all discouraged by my first complete race back. Lastly, I’d like to give a BIG shout out to all the New Yorkers who may or may not had even known there was a triathlon going on but nonetheless cheered us on as we ran against traffic in Central Park! Some of the best spectator support I’ve seen in a long time!!

Just a few more races left in 2011 and it will all culminate at the Duathlon World Champs in Gijon, Spain on September 25. But first, an ITU race in Kelowna, BC and then the Nautica Malibu Tri!

Thanks for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

**I want to express my sincere condolences for the families of the two people who tragically died during the swim of the NYC Tri. This lifestyle we lead is often times precarious and daunting and it is one of the total downfalls of this sport when we lose a fellow triathlete.**

Treasure Hunt at SF ITU!

2011-07-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I arrived in my hometown of San Francisco yesterday evening ready to take on the stacked field at TriCal’s Treasure Island ITU Race. This year it’s part of the USAT Elite Race series – a series of draft legal ITU races with larger-than-normal prize purses.

This will be my first race back since my bike crash back in May. It’s bittersweet, because while I’m elated to get back out there, my fitness isn’t where it was prior to that accident. I missed about 40 days of training and I’ve worked hard as of late to get as much of it back. What I would say, it’s not that I’ve lost too much time in each discipline (probably 2-3 seconds per 100 in the pool and that equivalent in the bike and run), but it’s really about how I feel. The time difference isn’t much but it hurts a lot more! Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to getting those competitive juices flowing again!

This course is unique. It’s situated on Treasure Island (the island in the middle of the Bay Bridge) and it consists of a two lap swim, a 6 lap bike, and a 3 lap run. What’s unique is the bike course. Each lap consists of at least a dozen 90 degree turns on what I consider to be pretty precarious road conditions. The Elite race, due particularly to it being a draft-legal race, tends to see a higher-than-normal number of bike crashes. Whether or not bike crashes happen tomorrow, it’s such a competitive field that there will be enough action going on to satisfy anyone!

If you’re in the bay area and are interested in seeing a fun, competitive race, come out to Treasure Island tomorrow Saturday, July 9 around noon and watch a number of Olympic hopefuls mix it up! Let’s get into it!

Hope to see you out there. Thanks for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

..And the Zico GoHHGo Giveaway goes to..!

2011-07-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation from the GoHHGo panel of hardworking judges.. (they clearly need some Zico)

the winners are, BRANDON and NIKKI!!!

Brandon exclaimed, “Zico Pomberry is the Bomb! I use it after cycling.”

Nikki exclaimed, “Piña Tropicale is my fav. My favorite way to replenish is to throw a bottle in my freezer pre-run or pre-ride so when I’m done, it’s super cold! Living in Arizona, I need all the help I can get to cool down in this crazy summer heat!”

Congratulations!! Please come forward and claim your prize by emailing me your contact info at gohhgo1@gmail.com.

Check back soon for yet another GoHHGo Giveaway!!

Happy tri-ing, talk soon.

-HH

How Do You Zico?

2011-06-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Last month’s inaugural GoHHGo Giveaway received a great amount of participation and we saw LA Tri Clubber, Roy Silver, run away with a brand new pair of Kwicky Blade Lights!!

Let’s keep this party rolling! The June GoHHGo Giveaway is a CASE of the critically acclaimed ZICO CHOCOLATE FLAVORED COCONUT WATER for not one but TWO lucky GoHHGo fans!!! Examiner.com recently exclaimed, chocolate and coconut “a match made in heaven”.

This month, I’ll make it easy for all of you – simply tell me your favorite Zico flavor and how you like to replenish and your name will be entered in the drawing for a case! Like last month, if you become a fan of my page, Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – GoHHGo, then your name will be entered twice!

Good luck and live the Zico way - naturally powered!!

-HH

3 DNS' and Counting..

2011-06-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Been a little while since my last blog post…I didn’t anticipate the gap between posts to be this great, but I also didn’t anticipate missing three triathlons because of my lingering injuries from my bike crash on May Fifth!

When I went down on my bike going about 25-30mph downhill, my left arm was extended outward and I came down on that shoulder. Immediately after the fall, I knew I had hurt my shoulder and I had a feeling in my upper back as if someone was digging their knuckles into me. Despite some serious pain, a torn-up kit, and a broken aero-bar, I had to ride on for another couple of hilly miles (at every hill, I got off and walked) in order to get to a place where my wife could pick me up. There was no way I would have been able to navigate her to my crash site and there was no way I would have been able to ride home (another 6 miles through Los Angeles?!).

A long story short…I sustained a couple of cracked ribs high-up under my left armpit which sends reverberating shock waves of pain down through my chest any time I use that left side. I also have a badly strained rotator cuff and possibly a few micro-tears. ROAD RASH ANYONE?! Up until last week my training has consisted of a ginger breast stroke, ZERO running, and low-medium effort on the bike trainer. I did ride part of the mountain stage in the Tour of California, which was fine going up because we were averaging probably 7mph, but terrible going back down!!

Due to my fall, I have missed three races in the heart of my season, including my favorite, Escape From Alcatraz. As someone who LOVES a good competition, it has been very difficult to watch these races go by. The unfortunate part about ribs is it takes TIME to heal and nothing else – whether they’re cracked, broken or bruised. I have two races at the end of this month that I’m hoping to be ready for, but as of now, NOT ready at all!

If I learned anything from my experience, it’s that helmets seriously save lives! I broke my helmet in several places that day and had I not been wearing it, I wouldn’t be blogging right now! WEAR YOUR HELMET!

Thanks for checking in and hopefully I’ll see you all out there SOON!

I’ll be posting the June GoHHGo Giveaway in a little while so get excited!!!

-HH

May GoHHGo Giveaway!!

2011-05-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

The month of May marks the first month of GoHHGo Giveaways! Each month, my amazing sponsors have agreed to provide swag for my fans! No, I’m not going to just give it away…I’m going to make you work for it! The criteria for obtaining these amazing products will change monthly, as will the products!

One month it may be a pair of Oakley sunglasses, the next it may be a case of Zico Coconut water or even a wetsuit from Xterra?!?! This month we’re going to start things off in a BIG way - K-Swiss has offered to fork over a pair of brand spankin new K-wicky Blade Lights!

But first…answer the following questions about each of my sponsors and email your answers to me at gohhgo1@gmail.com. If you successfully answer the Q’s correctly your name will be put in a raffle to win that swag!! However, if you “LIKE” my fan page on FB, Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – gohhgo, your name will be added TWICE!! Each question is designed to steer you towards each of my sponsor’s sites. There you will find the answer you seek! If you don’t know their address, you can find it on my sponsor’s page at www.gohhgo.com.

You will have until the end of the month to participate, at which point the winner will be revealed not only on my FB page and website, but also around town sporting his or her new swag!!

Let the games begin! Good Luck!

(1)What year did K-Swiss first introduce their shoes to the world and at what specific sporting event?

(2)If Xterra’s eco-friendly wetsuits aren’t petroleum-based, then what are they?

(3)The amount of potassium found in one Zico beverage is the equivalent to how many regular sports drinks?

(4)Evolution PT is the home of what revolutionary training/rehab tool of mine? Hint: made by Alter G!

(5)NPN’s nutritional products and supplements are what percent pure and pharmaceutical grade?

(6)Who is the original mad scientist (founder) behind Oakley?

(7)With Compex you can (pick one),
(a) Build muscle strength and size
(b) Improve power
(c) Increase endurance
(d) Optimize muscle recovery
(e) All of the above

1st Worlds Team in the Books..!

2011-05-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I know this race recap is long overdue but with all the Bruin Alums in town for the UCLA-USC dual meet, things got pretty hectic! If you’re wondering, the Bruin men marched into SC and came away with a WIN, earmarked by great performances in the throws (as usual), the pole vault (as usual), and the distance events (as usual)!

Now back to the matter at hand. On Saturday, I competed in my first true duathlon at the Duathlon National Championships in Oro Valley, AZ. I placed fifth in the Elite field, fourth American. Team USA takes the top four Elite finishers to Worlds (Spain in September) and I was able to grab the last spot! Couldn’t be happier about that!!

The race began with a 5k run that went out hard for the first mile and settled down into a sub-5 effort for the next mile. By the turn-around just past mile 2, the field had begun to spread out and I found myself trailing four competitors. The last ¼ mile of the 5k was straight up a tsunami-of-a-hill, and that’s where I made my move. From my ol’ running days, my high school coach, Karl Weis (shout out!), always told me to run through the hill because all the other racers were only running to the top. I took that advice to heart and charged up and over that hill into T1, passing every competitor and leading the race out on to the bike!

As mentioned before, the bike course was pretty rolling and by the start of our wave (around 10am) the wind had really begun to pick up. I held my own as best I could and wound up coming into T2 in 6th. Out on to the second run (identical to the first), I worked hard to move back into the top 5 but simply ran out of real estate for the podium. Side note – the tsunami-of-a-hill just about killed me the second time around!

I went out there, worked my butt off and owned my result! I’m really starting to round well into shape for the main part of the season. In two weeks I have 5i50 New Orleans and a few weeks later the best triathlon on the planet – ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ!

On another note, the month of May marks the start of monthly GOHHGO Giveaways!! Each month I’ll be giving away swag from my sponsors to GOHHGO fans. Check the site and my FB page, “Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – gohhgo”, in the coming days for details!

Happy tri-ing everyone! Talk soon.

-HH

Duathlon Nat'ls: Hot and Windy in Oro Valley!

2011-04-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

The Mrs. and I arrived in Oro Valley, AZ (just North of Tucson) for the 2011 Duathlon National Championships. Hot, dry, and windy, but what else can you expect from an event in the desert!

The race course is as follows: 5K run, 35K bike, 5K run. Specifically, the course isn’t flat by ANY means. The run has a very tough hill towards the end of the leg and the bike is two out-and-back laps that consist of rolling hills throughout.

The Elite field isn’t incredibly large, but still high in quality, as the defending champ is scheduled to toe-the-line, in addition to a few other veteran duathletes. Tomorrow’s weather: sunny, mid-80s, 15mph winds. Tomorrow's goal: Top 5, Podium would be awesome!

In the past, I have always let the conditions get the best of me. Tomorrow will be different, as tomorrow I will go out and own my results. Tomorrow I will leave everything out on the course and won’t cross that finish line satisfied unless I’ve felt I’ve given it my all. Duathlons are new to me so it will be interesting to see how I feel coming off that bike. Nonetheless, I’m very excited and tomorrow will be an awesomely challenging day!

Good luck to everyone toughing it out at Avia Wildflower and St. A’s this weekend. Looking forward to reading some race recaps! Let’s get into it!

Check back Sunday for a full report. Talk soon!

-HH

First Tri? No Prob! What You Need to Know

2011-04-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

To TRI or not to TRI, that is the question…

Like with trying anything new, nerves and ill-preparedness can get the best of you. Particularly with triathlons, half the battle is being a well-oiled machine. Without a distinct amount of organization, things can go horribly wrong, and out-the-window goes that new PR, beating that arch-nemesis, and/or most importantly, forgetting the initial reason any of us are out here – for fun!

There are numerous facets involved in this “well-oiled machine”. First - Equipment. A racer doesn’t need the latest and greatest to get the job done. Unless you have the means or are vying for a world championship, a functioning pair of goggles, a bike with gears and two wheels (pumped up of course!) and a pair of shoes without holes will suffice! One tri-tip is quick-laces. Being able to slide your shoes on without having to tie them will save you 15-20 seconds easy. That could be the difference between you and the podium!

Second – Nutrition. This plays a major role in one’s success on race day. It’s important to dial down what works best before and during the race. By testing out various meals/drinks/gels/shot blox during training, one can avoid nutritional catastrophes on race day. NO ONE likes to BONK! I tend to find muffins and bagels work well before the race, although some people prefer oatmeal. Another secret trick is a tablespoon or two of peanut butter. That type of fat is the immediate energy and fuel one needs to be able to strive a little further. Also, extra hydrating with water or (Zico Coconut water if you want REAL results) the few days leading up to the race will go a long way in making sure your body is sufficient in hydration.

Third – Knick-knacks. While these may also fall under equipment, these embody the grease that keeps your machine from squeaking! BODY GLIDE. Arguably the most important piece in my tri bag. Don’t be shy with this stuff either! Cake it on as you see fit and then a little more just to be safe. Chaffing is a triathlete’s worst enemy!

CHALK. Often times, transition areas are located in a parking lot. When your #1183 and positioned in the middle of 100 rows of racks, it can be impossible to find your stuff. Use the chalk to make an “X” in front of your area and then a large arrow at the end of your row, pointing at your “X”. That way, when you come running down the aisle, spotting that arrow and then that “X” will be a lot easier than trying to spot your bike or shoes! BRIGHT-COLORED TOWEL. In the same way that chalk helps identify your transition area on the pavement, a bright-colored towel can do that in a transition area that’s found in a grassy field for example. Personally, I dawn a bright pink and white striped beach towel that I lay out underneath my shoes and bike. Hard to miss that pink!

Fourth – Visualization. I find that rehearsing race day in its entirety the night before puts my mind at ease. It’s almost like I’ve already completed the race. A certain familiarity, even if it’s in your head, goes a long way. Plans can go awry, but if you’ve rehearsed the key components – i.e. T1 T2, specific turn-around’s in the course, places for a reprieve – then nothing will come as an incredible surprise on race day.

Lastly, the most important thing to remember as you toe that start line is the reason you’re doing this in the first place. For fun! Maybe you’ve trained hard and are gunning for that PR or the person that always beats you, but in the end it’s an invaluable life experience and you need not take it for granted. It’s a real privilege to be able to do the things we do and it doesn’t hurt to step back every once in a while and reflect on this opportunity. With that, I leave you with a few TRIcks of the trade and hope your first tri experience is as fun and rewarding as it was for me. CAUTION: May be habit forming! Let’s get into it!

Hasta Luego!

-HH

The Good, the Bad and the What If's

2011-04-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello!

Now that I’ve had a few days to let my latest result in Mazatlan sink in, I figured I’d share my reflections with all of you.

6th place was a real breakthrough for me. I had been working hard on my swim as of late, racking up long course workouts one after the other, and it paid off! Granted, this year’s field was not as strong as 2010, though with my swim from this year, I still would have placed in the top 12, which is still leagues ahead of where I sat last year at 23rd.

Athletes always talk about having breakthroughs and reaching a new level in their training. While I have, they are always few and far between, and I especially have never experienced something of that nature in an actual race. A breakthrough can be construed physically and mentally and I truly feel Mazatlan was all mental for me. Knowing that I can get into the mix and vie for a position atop that podium is such a psychological boost, I can’t even explain. This result alone has tremendously motivated me to get to the next level, and then the next, and then the next! That in turn raises my own bar of expectation, which can both be good and bad. Good, because it keeps me hungry for more, striving to erase every inch of that gap between me and the guy in front of me. Bad, because it allows for a lot of “what if’s” to come into the picture when something doesn’t necessarily go as planned. “Well if this hadn’t have happened, then I probably could have done this.”… “If only I was a little more aggressive here, then I might have been able to catch that guy.” While it’s great to analyze your performance so as to learn from your mistakes, it can be quite self-defeating when you go in too deep.

With that, I take this result in stride, learn from it, soak it in – the good and the bad – and get ready for the next one! I love the multi-sport lifestyle simply because of the first part of that phrase: multi. There are so many facets involved with making this lifestyle meaningful and there is no one way to go about it. Everyone has their recipe; it’s how you implement it to find that success! Let’s get into it!

Happy tri-ing everyone! Talk soon.

-HH

Expect the Unexpected Down Here in Mazatlan..!

2011-04-10T07:34:00.003-07:00

When I arrived in Mazatlan, the online hotel package that I had purchased came with a complimentary shuttle from the airport to the hotel. That was nowhere to be found! When I got to the hotel, they didn’t have me checking in until the following day. They also said there were no rooms available. After going back and forth for about 45 minutes, which included showing them my email correspondence with their reservation office/person, a room magically appeared! While crisis was eventually averted, initially these events weren’t the best precursors someone would want to see before an important, season opening ITU race!! Nonetheless, I weathered the storm, killed myself during the race and finished 6th and the top American!!! Not only was this my best ITU result, but it was my best pro result period!

I have worked hard on the swim as of late and it has paid off. As opposed to last year where my swim deficit from the leaders was 3:18, this year I was only down 2:06! There was a group of three Mexicans that came out of the water about 10 seconds ahead of me and I knew I had to haul-ass up the beach and thru T1 in order to get into their bike group. That I did and let me tell you, it was worth it! By the 2nd lap, fellow American Chris Foster and one other guy joined our group and from there the work started.

Before anything, I have to give major props to Chris for doing at least 70% of the work in our pack. I helped as much as I could, but I’m simply not a strong enough cyclist YET to be able to put forth more than that 30%. Chris’ relentless pulling got me to my 6th place today and there’s no if’s, and’s or but’s about it!

Sure enough, our pack grew to about 12 and after the first chase pack caught the lead group, WE were now the first chase pack and closing fast! Our 2-min deficit out of the water narrowed to about 40 seconds at T2. I was so pumped to be starting my run around 20th that I shot out of transition like a bullet! Within the first kilometer, I had passed 6 people. By the end of the first lap, I was in 12th. As my casualty toll (passed runners) began to increase, so did my fatigue from the bike work (and probably my lack of tempo runs)! By the time I hit the last lap, it became a real fight for survival. I got my last casualty on that lap and I hung on for dear life thereafter. I crossed the tape in 1:57:13, 6th Mother F-ing Place!!!

While I may have run into a few bumps in the early stages of my Mazatlan journey, the remainder of the trip was smooth sailing from there! It just goes to show that one should expect the unexpected down here, south of the border! One should also expect to ride in pick-up truck taxis to dinner and witness the new and improved family mini-van!

Later this month, I will be competing in Tucson, AZ at the Duathlon National Championships. A fellow triathlete told me today that while I’m out there I need to do some cycling on The Shutes? She said the roads are pretty perfect for cycling. Thoughts anyone?

Seeing as how this was a mondo race weekend in the tri world, I hope everyone killed it!

Thanks for checking in, talk soon!

-HH

No Oceanside...but South of the Border?

2011-04-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

I´m sure some of you are wondering why I didn´t race in Oceanside, even though I said I would. In a perfect world, I wanted to race hard at Oceanside, my first 70.3, and then come back the following weekend and race hard at my ITU season opener in Mazatlan, Mexico. Frankly, that was wishful thinking! While ITU races are somewhat few and far between, 70.3s are not and so I felt it would be easier to reschedule my 70.3 debut than it was an ITU race. Not to mention, it took me a good four or five days to recover from my half marathon in February...I could only imagine what my recovery time would have been after a half Ironman!

The whole intention of racing Oceanside 70.3 in the beginning of the season was that I would need to build a larger-than-normal base during the offseason. That in turn would be enough of a foundation to carry me nicely through the rest of the season. Even though I didn´t race at Oceanside, and paticularly because I called a late audible, the plus was that I still benefitted from building that larger-than-normal base.

That brings us up to present day. After having survived the chaos that is LAX, I´m currently heading south of the border (for more chaos) to participate in my first Continental Cup race of the season. I raced here last year, finished 23rd, and was quite pleased with my performance despite ending up just outside the top 20 (what you would need to finish to score points).

This year´s field is slightly smaller, but still quality nonetheless. The course is a two-lap ocean swim, followed by a basic out-and-back bike along the coast (6 laps), and then 4 - 2.5km out-and-back laps on the run, also along the coast. The bike and the run are all pretty flat and fast. One of the major tests in ITU races south of the border is getting these guys to work efficiently on the bike. As a result, I hav brushed up on my Espanol and I fully intend to dictate when needed!!

The gun goes off around noon tomorrow so be sure to check back post-race for a full report.

Talk soon!

-HH

So-So at MIT

2011-03-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I completed my first tri of the 2011 season earlier this morning and I have a mixed review about my performance.

I finished 24th out of a star-studded field (C. Lieto, M. Reed, B. Docherty, M. Charbot, Cam Dye, K. Leto, B. Collins, etc.), in a time of 1:53.xx. The results are still preliminary but I wanted to get the word out as quick as possible. I KILLED the swim, hitting the exit stairs in 18:41 – easily the fastest swim of my career! Even though there was a bit of a current, I still came out of the water less than 2:30 back from the leaders, which was a huge improvement from where I stood last season.

The bike is where I tanked. There was a fair amount of wind out on the course and I’m just not yet comfortable on my TT. Stupidly, today was only my second ride on my TT since last August (ridiculous mechanical issues out of my control, but still no excuse)! I split 1hr-flat on the bike and came into T2 around 30th (Pro field close to 40 guys). Out onto the run, I felt good initially but started to wane in the wind in the latter half of the 10k. Surprisingly, I split a 31:30ish which was one of the top run splits on the day. It was surprising because I didn’t feel too good on the latter half and I probably ran the last two miles at about 80% since I was kind of in no man’s land.

As usual, I try to look at the positive side of things. Despite battling a shoulder injury/annoyance for the last two months, my swim went GREAT. Clearly the 6 extra long-course workouts per week have helped A LOT! Pleased about that! Additionally, my run performance was above my expectation simply because I’ve been running more miles than normal (in prep for CA 70.3) and with virtually no speed work. To be able to split 5:07s on the type of training I’ve been doing lately speaks VOLUMES about my run fitness!

In all, a mediocre result but some good factors and important focus points (BIKE) came out of today and I’m generally pleased with where I’m at this early in the season, particularly in retrospect to the big dogs! Up next will be Oceanside 70.3 in two weeks, then ITU Mazatlan the following weekend (ouch).

A big weekend for a number of reasons – ’11 Season opener, Persian New Year, and LA Marathon...did I miss anything? Hope everyone had a great weekend! Be sure to check back in in the coming couple of weeks for additional blog posts and a new and improved gohhgo.com which will feature some swag giveaways from my awesome sponsors and an opportunity to purchase their product direct from gohhgo.com!

Talk soon!

-HH

I'm Taking My Talents to South Beach..!

2011-03-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I hope this past off-season has served you as well as it has served me!

I'm currently flying to Miami for my season opener, the Miami International Triathlon (MIT), and I'm excited for 2011! During the off-season, I decided to mix things up in a couple of ways. First, I felt that my overall nutrition could be better. Working with New Performance Nutrition, I was able to shed about 8 pounds during the off-season, which in turn has allowed me to train and compete at a much higher level.

Secondly, while my first tri is MIT, my off-season training has been focused towards Cali 70.3 on April 2. I decided to pursue Oceanside for two reasons. One, I've never raced a 70.3 and I wanted to see what that distance was all about! And two, my coach and I figured it would be a great way to build a base for the remainder of the season. By training longer and creating a stronger foundation, this will in turn carry me through the season, only having to further focus on speed-work and maintaining my new-found fitness.

What would a season be without goals? 2011 Goals:
- Live in the Top 10
- Qualify for the 5i50 Hy-Vee Champs
- ITU Points
- Podium or Bust!
- Key Races: EFA, 5i50 NYC, Nautica Malibu, LA Tri

This weekend's race will be a great measuring stick for my early season fitness and it will also give me an opportunity to pinpoint specific parts of my training upon which I can improve. It's looking to be picture-perfect in MIA so LET'S GET INTO IT!

Check back Sunday-ish for a full post-race report.

Thanks for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

A New Year!

2011-01-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

I’ve been staring at my screen for the last 15 minutes trying to figure out what my first 2011 blog post is going to include. Do I talk about 2010 – my first year as a pro-triathlete; getting married; goals I may or may not have achieved? Or do I talk about 2011 – my goals for this year; continuing my pro-athletic career; being an ideal husband, a B-school candidate?

If I’m treating this post as one for reflection, it’s only appropriate to dawn on the past… but only for a brief moment, for I’m always looking forward and preparing myself for what’s to come!!

2010 was an incredible year for numerous reasons! Rather than giving you all an insanely long recap, I’m thinking a list will more than suffice:
- Turned pro – lifelong goal achieved!
- Competed in five different countries – GoHHGo goes global!
- First top 10 finish as a pro at Nautica NYC – lucky number 7th!
- Established relations with great sponsors -- Thank You All!
- MARRIAGE – Yes please!
- World Series Champions? – That’s right, my S.F. Giants baby!

Needless to say, 2010 was a memorable year, one for the ages, and one in which to build upon.

Looking forward to 2011, I’ve focused my energy towards improving the swim and the bike and have made some great strides during the off-season. Like in anything, you need passion to invoke genuine motivation in order to truly succeed. With that being said, I mixed things up in two big ways during the off-season! First, I joined the SQAC masters program (while still keeping UCLA) which gives me 7 more pools at which to train and a whole lot of talent in lane 1 to chase after! Second, to supplement my usual bike training I added a season of cyclocross! For those of you who are unfamiliar with ‘cross, google it, try it, love it – its awesome!

As far as the 2011 season, I’m starting things off in February with the Kaiser Permanente ½ marathon in San Francisco. I’m going to follow that up with my first career ½ Ironman somewhere in March or early April. All of this will be great base-building for the main tri season to begin in the second half of April. Two halfs (one run, one Ironman), a number of ITU races, some new 5i50s, Life Times, Duathlon Nat’l Champs, and a partridge in a pair tree!!

I’m very excited about 2011, which is why I couldn’t wait more than 2 days into the New Year to blog about it! Check out www.gohhgo.com soon for an updated schedule of races in addition to a few new features on the site! I hope everyone had a great 2010 holiday season and are ready to start off 2011 with a bang!!!

Talk soon!

-HH

Stick a fork in it, 2010 is finished!

2010-09-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

My inaugural season as a pro-triathlete finished last Sunday in Nautica Malibu's Classic relay!

Just the day before, I had ventured to Pacific Grove, CA (Monterrey) to compete in Tri Cal's Pacific Grove triathlon. In a rare, local draft-legal race, I placed 14th in a time of 2:04:57. The swim leg was easily the most interesting piece of any triathlon I have ever come across. Referred to as the "kelp crawl", Pacific Grove's swim was so cluttered with live kelp, that at some points I could literally stand on it and have 75% of my body out of the water! This made it increasingly difficult for the lead swimmers to get away from the mediocre swimmers (me), hence the draft-legal pro race.

With that being said, I had a great swim, and fought my way into a pack of 4 or 5, just under 3 minutes down from the leaders. Upon exiting the swim, two mishaps would occur - one within my control and one not. In the midst of ripping my wetsuit off, my timing chip got stuck and cost me 10 vital seconds (in my control). After having worked my ass off to bridge the gap up to 4 other riders, off the back of the pack, I bent down to put my feet in my shoes, looked up and saw that a 25 yard gap had formed between the pack and the rider in front of me! The rider in front of me subsequently pulled out due to an asma attack (out of my control). Having already spent most of my energy to bridge that initial gap, I couldn't catch them because the wind was too punishing. So punishing in fact, at one point I was going downhill into a head wind at 8mph! Those two or three riders who escaped my grasp, finished the bike course over 4 minutes ahead of me, which was good enough for 7 places!

As soon as I was finished, Nousha and I raced back down to Malibu in time for the Nautica Malibu classic relay, the following day. Teamed up with my Dad and close UCLA bud, Austin Ramos, we took down every single relay team! This event was particularly significant, because one year prior, my father had undergone a full knee replacement and this race marked a one year full circle! Seeing as how I pale in comparison to Austin, as a runner, I swam, my Dad biked and Austin ran.

I wound up having the 8th fastest swim split, my Dad the 12th fastest bike split, and like a true anchor leg, Austin split the fastest run of the day. Together we finished atop the podium stand in a time of 1:22:32, four minutes faster than any other relay team!

And with that explanation point, my 2010 season comes to an end. My off-season base training will begin in October and I'm really looking forward to my 2011 season!

Keep on swimming, biking and running! Talk soon!

-HH

Not a Bad Result for a Bad Day

2010-08-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the inaugural Tri-Cal SF triathlon at Alcatraz. While most associate a triathlon in San Francisco with Escape from Alcatraz, Tri-Cal was determined to make a statement with their own version of “escaping from Alcatraz”, and that they did!

I along with about 1,000 other competitors, braved a slightly shorter, but equally as tough 1.2 mile swim; a long 40k bike (as opposed to 30); and an agonizing 7 mile run – which included the deepest sand I’ve ever run through.

Race weekend called for incredibly windy conditions, those of which stirred up a 4 – 5 foot swell in the bay the day before the race, 57 degree water temps, and a 7am start (an hour earlier than EFA).

We dove off the side of the Hornblower Yacht and I immediately found myself in a dog fight. Another difference from the original Alcatraz triathlon (EFA), was that as opposed to starting 1 minute before the hoards of age-groupers, they jumped off 15 seconds behind us which meant they were breathing down our necks!

I exited the water just inside the top-30 and headed out onto the bike sopping wet and freezing! I had noticed prior to the race that a lot of competitors were sporting arm warmers. While at the time I deemed that to be completely unnecessary, once out onto the bike, I realized I was dead wrong! The day before the race, I had spent three hours at a local bike shop trying to figure out what was wrong with my bar-end shifters and why while riding my bike, it wouldn’t stay in the gear that I had chosen, particularly while going up a hill! To no avail, we were NOT able to fix the problem so the next best solution was to switch out the Campy shifter with a Shimano fluid one and ride the race without one or two gears available to use. Nonetheless I worked my way through the course and came into T2, around 20th.

For the first 3 miles of the run, my feet might as well have been two frozen blocks of ice, because I couldn’t feel anything! I guess the cold wind exposure during the extra 10k on the bike really had a major impact on whether I could feel/use my extremities at such a vital time like this. I didn’t know if my toes were in the right places, or if I had rocks in my shoes or what, but I soon found myself offering my feet some verbal motivation such as, “come on feet, WAKE UP!” or “let’s get GOIN feet!”

The issues I was having with my frozen feet soon materialized in my upper Achilles tendons as sharp, tightening pains, which made it death defying to run down hill. I thought to myself, “maybe this is how the numbness is working its way out of my system...it can’t go down any further so it might as well go up.” I eventually found that finish line, having passed about 6 guys on the run and finished 13th in a time of 2:24:50.

Despite all the confounding variables, it was NOT a bad result. And despite being the toughest race of my career, I thoroughly enjoyed it! But that makes sense because as triathletes, we are supposed to take on whatever comes our way and some how defeat that obstacle(s). It is simply why we have found a competition that fuses three sports into one!

Up next will be Tri Cal’s Pacific Grove on the 11th of September, the last race of my 2010 season!

Hope everyone is swimming, biking and running! Talk soon.

-HH

Race Results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20100829_San_Francisco_Triathlon_at_Alcatraz.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Class=Long+Course+Professional~MElite

Last ITU of '10 Season!

2010-08-26T23:35:00.001-07:00

I returned earlier this week from my final ITU race of the season, in Kelowna, British Columbia. It also happened to be the Canadian National Championships so the start list was chock-full of worthy competitors!

Race morning was cold, windy and wet, as the rain had fallen upon us and the water temps were hovering around the wetsuit cut-off of 68 degrees. It was a 2-lap lake swim, followed by a 6-lap bike with a TOUGH hill, and then a pancake-flat 4 lap run. Like my last race in New York, I was determined to crush the swim, regardless of whether it might compromise the rest of my race. And that I did!

During the first lap, I was hanging onto a few swimmers’ feet but eventually lost them by about 10-15 yards headed into the second lap. We exited the water, ran around a beached cone and dove back in. At this point, I knew the other racers’ heart rates were through the roof, LIKE MINE, and it was merely a matter of who could dig deeper and fight through that pain! Halfway through the second lap, I not only found those pairs of feet but I swam right past them and didn’t stop! I exited the water in 48th (out of 64), my best swim result to date!

Out onto the bike, I was ready to eat up the road ahead of me when it was quickly put on hold during my mount out of T1 – one of my bike shoes had flown off my pedal and I had to stop, turn around and retrieve it! Once I was headed in the right direction and with all the equipment in the right place, my group of 5 riders and I started eating up the stragglers! Soon our pack had grown to 15 and we were making up ground, despite the unrelenting sub-par weather conditions! I came into T2 in 41st and was ready to unleash the beast on the run!

As I mentioned, the run was pancake-flat and quite scenic, as most of the run was along the water’s edge. Being a weaker swimmer on the ITU level, when I get to the run portion of a race such as this, nothing but desperation drives me to the finish. It is an almost panic-like style of running, because I have such a deficit to make up. Whatever you want to call it, it worked for me, because I crossed the tape after having passed 14 guys en route to a 27th place finish (7th American) in a time of 2:03:19.

Despite not having reached my top-20 goal, I was pretty pleased with my performance for a couple of reasons. One, being the Canadian Nat’l Championships, this race drew quite the quality field which I faired pretty well against. Two, even though I’m still pretty far back in the swim, this result showed that I’ve been making some serious progress in the water and it’s a good predictor of things to come, especially after my upcoming off season where I plan to swim 400,000 yards in 3 months! And lastly, this race was coming off of a two week sinus cold of which has materialized in my lungs and I’m still working it out of my system to date! Points or no points, it was a great experience and I look forward to ITU ’11!!

Race results can be found here: http://www.triathlon.org/results/results/2010_kelowna_itu_triathlon_premium_pan_american_cup/4934/

Up next will be my final two races of the season – Tri Cal’s inaugural Alcatraz triathlon this weekend (Aug. 29), followed by Tri Cal Pacific Grove on the 11th of September. And last but not least, a fun relay at the Nautica Malibu Tri on the 12th of September!

Hope everyone’s racing season is going well. Keep up the good work and thanks again for all the support, it is simply invaluable!

Talk soon!

-HH

A Solid Training Day!

2010-07-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today’s training schedule:
6:30am Ocean Speed Circuit swim (4 – 500yd loops, ea. w/150yd run in btwn.)
10:30am Moderately paced 7.5 mile run (at 5:43 pace)
5:20pm 35 mile bike ride, which included a little over 7 miles of Bike Hill Repeats (BHR)

Today’s swim was freakishly cold, arguably the coldest of the season. One reason why we LA triathletes plunge into the Pacific Ocean at the crack of dawn on various days of the week, is because the water temps are quite manageable, normally ranging from 65-72 degrees. As a result, EVERYONE was completely taken by surprise, particularly those that tend to brave these swims sans a wetsuit! Despite the bone-chilling temps, it turned out to be a great swim workout and a beautiful early morning at the Santa Monica beach.

After a second breakfast, I hit the roads for my 7-8 mile run with the total intention to cruise. Normally I define “cruising” to be a 6:00-6:15 mile pace. For some reason today, my “cruising” pace was upped to 5:43s and I have no real explanation for it other than the fact that I was wearing a new pair of K-Swiss Keahou IIs that I had yet to try. Nonetheless, it was a great feeling run and I was pleasantly surprised!

I had lunch, ran a few errands, wrote a few emails and was ready for my BHRs. I headed North on PCH to Temescual Canyon where my BHRs commenced. After a well executed 7.5 mile workout on the hill, where I focused on my circular petal strokes, I was finished with my day and ready to head home.

Looking back on the day, I feel great, felt great, and I remind myself that its days like these I need in my training regimen in order to help me get to where I need to go. I hope everyone’s training is up to par!

More training updates to come in the next couple of weeks! Thanks for checking in!

Talk soon.

-HH

I Found Some Carrots!

2010-07-19T07:15:00.001-07:00

This morning I raced in the Nautica NYC Triathlon and had quite the rewarding result, finishing 7th in a star studded field!

Coming off a mediocre performance last weekend in Minneapolis, I was determined to take advantage of the swim that favored the weaker swimmers due to the positive current in the Hudson River.

The night before, my fiancee told me to swim harder than I ever have, and I did just that! Due to the slight wind and the various boats passing by, it made for tough, choppy conditions.

I quickly found myself in a full-on fight against the Hudson River! Pounding through wakes, I noticed I was actually passing other swimmers! In my post-race analysis, I realized that this type of swim called for A LOT of aggression and if one wasn't ready for that, then it was a bad day for them!

I exited the swim in 12th (out of 16) and quickly picked off 3 other racers on the half-mile run to T1. During the bike, I was able to pass two more competitors, but then subsequently got passed by 4 other riders. I headed into T2 in 11th and was determined to catch at least one competitor to get that coveted top-10 finish!

Sure enough, within the first mile I had moved into 10th, but I wasn't finished! By the time I had reached the 5-mile marker, I was sitting pretty in 8th and could see 7th place about 150 yards ahead of me! I dug deep, hit the up-hills hard, and secured 7th with a little less than a quarter-mile to go!

I crossed the tape in 1:54:15, roughly 1:25 out of the top 5. In all, I had an awesome swim, an OK bike, and a good run. I was really pleased with my performance and I think it was a good recovery from my result the weekend prior.

Up next will be another ITU race in Canada on the 22nd of August, followed by a second Alcatraz triathlon on the 29th.

Thank you all for the support during my 11 day trip, I truly appreciate it!

Results can be found here: http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=15111#racetop

Talk soon!

-HH

On the Eve of the NYC Tri

2010-07-17T19:16:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow morning at the early hour of 5:50, I along with thousands of other crazed triathletes will plunge into the Hudson River. Without a doubt, the most common question anyone will be asking themselves is, “when was the last time I got a tetanus shot?!”

Sure that thought will be in the back of everyone’s mind, but in any competition, once that gun/horn/whistle/shriek goes off, adrenaline washes it all away!

I’m not entirely sure who’s in my portion of the race, but I try not to let that ever bother me. Come race day, it’s important to focus your energy on yourself and beat that competitor within first and foremost. Racing IN Manhattan is such a unique experience and I couldn’t be more excited!

The swim is downstream, making it more difficult for the faster swimmers to escape the desperation of the slower swimmers to keep pace (like me!), and the bike is deceptively tough (so I’m told) with some ups and downs and a punishing hill at the turn around point in the Bronx. The run is one reverse loop (clockwise) through Central Park, which is also rolling.

Should be a lot of fun tomorrow, especially since I have some familiar faces in the crowd helping me cross that finish line!

I’ll be sure to deliver you all a full race report as soon as I get a chance! Good luck to everyone racing at Strawberry Fields this weekend!

Talk soon.

-HH

13th? Where Were the Other Racers?

2010-07-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I competed in the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I finished 13th in an incredibly stacked pro field that featured athletes like, Matty Reed, Greg Bennett, Craig Alexander, Matt Chrabot, Cameron Dye, and David Thompson. While they had all toed the line, I might as well have just raced by myself because that’s what I did!

The swim was in beautiful Lake Nokomis – calm, 80 degrees and the course was one big inverted triangle. When I thought I was getting a leg up on the field by wearing a speed suit, I got to the start line and noticed everyone was wearing one! Normally, in a race like this, I’m able to maintain in contact with a few swimmers, but miraculously, I got dropped within the first several hundred yards and the next slowest swimmer was 2 minutes ahead of me! Mind you, this isn’t because I had a bad swim by any means, I actually thought I had a good swim – felt great, evenly balanced effort, and was able to dip under 22:00 for the first time in a triathlon (21:50). It’s just that when I’m going up against a field where the average swim time for this race was 18:25, it kind of puts me in a hole right off the bat!

Out onto the bike, I started putting out a pretty good effort in an attempt to slowly reel my competitors back to me. Apart from passing a few DNF’s, I was never able to make contact with the field who had built up such a large lead out of the swim. Again, it wasn’t because I bonked on the bike, but rather I felt like my effort was solid and I was working well through the rolling hills.

I got off the bike after having split a 1:02 and headed out onto the run, not sure of my place or time back from the other racers. So as usual I took off in anticipation that I would slowly start to come up on a few struggling competitors. It never happened! And again, not because I had a bad run (I split 33-mid and it was one of the faster splits), but just that EVERYONE brought their A-game today and it happened to be that I found a ridiculously talented field that I couldn’t quite crack! Being stuck out in no man’s land, I was racing no one other than myself and never really found that extra gear because I didn’t have any carrots on the course. In fact, my only carrot was the finish line.

I was able to cross the line in just under 2 hours (1:59:52) and I have to say despite the place, I feel pretty good about my result. As I said before, I might as well have raced by myself, because that’s what I did.

At the end of every race, I try and analyze ever facet of it so I can learn from my experience and utilize my new knowledge the next time I toe the line. I would say that this was about as good a field as it gets and I knew going in that I had quite an uphill battle. But as a pro now, I want to race against the top fields because I want to know where I need to get to in order to truly compete in this sport. This is my first year as a pro and it’s only customary for me to get my butt kicked! I’ve been doing this sport for less than two years and to be able to even hold a candle next to guys like Reed, Alexander, and Bennett who all have been doing this for 15+ years, is inspirational in itself for me to continue to work hard and come back next year and show them what I have to offer then!

Race Results: http://www.peaktiming.com/2010LTF/

I’m next heading to NY where I will be getting ready for another Life Time race next weekend (July 18).

Thank you all again for the “good luck” notes and the congratulatory remarks, it truly means a lot and I carry that with me as fuel during my training and racing.

Check back soon for a mid-week report and then of course all my coverage before and after the NYC tri!

Talk soon!

-HH

LTF Tri Tomorrow!

2010-07-09T12:42:00.001-07:00

Wow, it’s been so long since my last post, I almost forgot how to do it!

I arrived in Minneapolis yesterday morning EARLY, for my first Life Time Fitness triathlon this Saturday!

I know there's always talk of this "Southern hospitality", but I have to tell you, the people here in Minnesota are incredibly friendly! I had a couple of friends in college from MN who were great guys as well, but I didn't think everyone from here was like that?!

I rode the course yesterday and was able to take in the surrounding neighborhood, which is very nice! It's a pretty straightforward bike course although there seems to be quite a bit of cracks and potholes in the road. I'm told, however, that the potholes are a standard thing in Minnesota! At one point, I came across a pothole so big, that if I fell in, I don't know I'd be able to get out! The swim and run are based at Lake Nokomis, a beautiful lake that's about 80 degrees!

I feel pretty good going into this race. As of late, I've tweaked a few things in my bike training that seem to be working out and my run quality has returned as well. As far as my swim, it’s the same as usual – TONS OF YARDS.

The competition is pretty top notch - Matty Reed, M. Chrabot, G. Bennett, Craig Alexander - although a small field (16 or 17 competitors). On an ideal day, I’d like to crack the top 10, but I’ll have my work cut out for me!

Gun goes off tomorrow at 7am (5am PST). It’s a good thing I’ll be done by 9 (hopefully), because it’s hot here!

Wish me luck! Talk soon.

-HH

TTT State Championships!

2010-05-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I participated in the Team Time Trial State Championships (TTT) for cycling. I had never done anything like this before and it was a ton of fun.

Fellow TTS athlete, Drew Haberkorn (recent triathlete pro card recipient, but deferring until ’11) and I joined forces literally for the first time and competed as a two man team. We had ridden together prior to this event once, in a practice session specifically for this race!

The course was set out by Lake Los Angeles, in the raw desert! It was basically a large box with four 90 degree right turns. All flat, less one minor rise and some light wind.

Drew and I worked together to get the job done and wound up placing 4th overall, mere seconds off the podium. For the 23.5 mile course, we split a 50:11 – roughly averaging 28mph! Of the 3 teams that beat us, two were pros and the winner wound up less than 90 seconds ahead of us. So for our first ride together and for our first TTT or even plain TT, 4th is pretty damn good!

Thanks to my TTS skin suit, American Classic wheels, and of course my SuperCharge potion from NPN, I was able to find that finish line!

In training mode for the next several weeks, so check back later for training updates and what not. Thanks again for the support!

Talk soon!

-HH

Rolling With the Punches

2010-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh Ixtapa, Ixtapa, Ixtapa...

Saturday was a hot, unrelenting day in Southern Mexico. So unrelenting in fact, the swim was canceled due to the abnormally large surf! The triathlon was turned into a duathlon - 3K run, 40K bike, 10K run. Not your conventional duathlon as the long run is normally before the short run, but as a triathlete, you roll with the punches and take on the conditions for what they are.

On one hand, I was excited because the duathlon basically took out my weakness - the swim; and emphasized my strength - the run. On the other hand, I had traveled down and prepared for a triathlon, not a duathlon. Needless to say, there was nothing I could do about it and again, I just had to roll with the punches.

I'll tell you right off the bat - it was not a good day. I guess in triathlon lingo, you would call it a complete BONK. I came into T1 with the lead pack of 5 or so. Since I didn't have time the day before to inspect the bike course, all I knew was that the road conditions were tough, lots of speed bumps, and rolling hills. After a grueling bike, I came into T2 with the leaders and headed out onto the run. Through the first of four laps, I remained in contact, and then the BONKing started happening! I might as well have been running the course backwards, because that's what it felt like as probably 15 guys passed me.

I wound up finishing 22nd in a time of 1:48:29. It is very hard to pinpoint why my second run was so disastrous. I don't like making excuses for my sub-par performances, but results like this don't occur for no reason. What I will say affected me the most was the fact that it felt like we were running in an oven! I had heard that temperatures got up to 36 degrees Celsius (about 98 degrees Fahrenheit). For me, it was so hot that I felt claustrophobic in my race suit. No amount of water from the aid stations could cool me down. It was an uphill battle and I was rolling backwards. While I had a terrible day at the office, I wasn't the only one, as there were 19 guys who wound up succumbing to the conditions and were not able to finish the race. I certainly felt like stopping a few times on the run, but I kept moving forward one step at a time and eventually found that finish line.

I have four weeks before my next race. During that time I need to return to the drawing board and figure out what I need to tweak in my training.

Thank you for all the support, as usual. I can't do this without you. Check back later for training updates, and perhaps an answer to how/why I BONKed so hard!

Sorry about the length! I needed to vent somehow..!

Race results: http://www.triathlon.org/results/results/2010_ixtapa_itu_triathlon_pan_american_cup_and_patco_junior_triathlon_pan_a/5351/

Talk soon!

-HH

ITU Ixtapa Manana!

2010-05-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

On the eve of yet another ITU race, I find myself in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. On the flight down, I happened to sit next to a family friend who was heading down for a surfing excursion. I soon found out from him that Zihuatanejo was currently getting hit with a 10-18 foot swell (which would explain the hoards of surfers on my flight)!!

I’m staying at the host hotel right in the center of it all and that has proved to be a good decision, as it is quite chaotic down here and it makes my job a whole lot easier to figure out where to go.

A pretty good sized pro field (roughly 60 competitors) and a somewhat unconventional bike course, at least for the ITU standard. Instead of the usual 8 laps of 5km, it will be 2 laps of 20km, so this should make for yet another fulfilling ITU experience!

I have to get to the athlete briefing but I wanted to drop you all a line first. Gun goes off tomorrow at 10:30am (8:30PST) and I will be sure to write a post-race report as soon as I get a chance.

Wish me luck! Talk soon!

-HH

Ocean Swims are BACK!

2010-05-05T13:22:00.001-07:00

There is simply nothing like starting off your day with a plunge into the Pacific Ocean. After much anticipation (at least by yours truly), the exciting Wednesday morning Ocean Speed Circuit swims have finally returned! A number of crazed, sleep deprived triathletes and swimmers alike, braved the 57 degree waters last week, and then again this week. Only this time, we were greeted with a playful school of dolphins, yearning for us to come and join them out by the turn-around buoy!

One might ask, "why in the hell would someone get up at 5:30 so that they could go jump in sub-60 degree ocean water by 6:30?!" And I might respond, "because it's what we do. There's no rhyme or reason, it's just part of the multi-sport lifestyle!"

A friend of mine aptly put it, " man, when you dive through that first wave and that cold water hits your face, it is quite a shock! It takes about 3/4 of a lap to get warm!"

Yes, perhaps the first couple (more like 5 or 6) Wednesday swims, the sheer thought of jumping into the water barely before sun rise sends a shiver down your spine. But, as the season begins to change from late spring to early summer, the water gets warmer, the crowd of crazed individuals becomes vast and more enthusiastic, and what we're doing down on the Santa Monica beach at the crack of dawn soon lends a response to the question, "why in the hell?!" -- BECAUSE IT'S WHAT WE DO!!

EFA Race Report!

2010-05-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Just finished Escape from Alcatraz on a picturesque day in the best city in the world! While I didn't quite reach my goal (top 10), I finished 12th in a time of 2:09:29 and was really pleased with my overall effort.

The swim was super fast this year and I attribute that to the current, NOT to my 40K yard swim weeks! Came out of the water only 4:30 back from the leaders this year, as opposed to 9 minutes last year. My new Xterra Vendetta wetsuit got a little caught up on my timing chip in T1 but I was quickly off to the races in no time!

Despite the fact that most of my training has been focused on the swim, my bike split was roughly 75 seconds faster than last year! The run was a little funky for me for some reason. I was basically two minutes slower than last year and that is probably due to a couple of reasons. One, my runs have not been quality-oriented as of late, because of the emphasis on my swim training. Two, last week in Florida I felt like I lost a lot of steam in the latter half of the run and I didn't want that to happen today so I went out probably too conservatively. And three, I felt like the beach portion of the run this year was A LOT tougher than last year, especially the first part of the dreaded sand ladder. Speaking of which, I was 1 SECOND away from winning the sand ladder time bonus! Just my luck!

All in all, I feel really great about my performance today and every race I'm creeping up on the winners slowly but surely!

Results can be found here:

http://alcatraz.onlineraceresults.com/search.php

Next up for me is another ITU race in Ixtapa, Mexico on the 22nd of May. Till then!

Oh! Thank you all for the kind supportive notes prior to the race and for the congratulatory notes after the race! It is truly motivational!

Talk soon!

-HH

In SF for EFA!

2010-04-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hey!

I arrived in San Fran this morning, anxiously awaiting the start of my favorite triathlon, Escape from Alcatraz! The forecast for the weekend is blue skies and warm - that's always a plus when having to brave 55 degree water temperatures!

The gun goes off Sunday morning at 8 down at the Marina Green. We start off by braving the icy bay waters for a 1.5 mile swim. Then 18 miles of biking, riddled with classic SF city hills and finally an 8 mile run through the historic presidio forest which includes a daring ascent up what is known as the 'sand ladder'. The sand ladder is such a monumental piece of this course that they award the pro with the fastest split from the bottom to the top!

I competed here last year for the first time and upon completion I truly felt like a triathlete, more so than any other race. I'm really looking forward to toeing the line with the world's best on Sunday. The field is stacked! Potts, Kemper, Docherty - they're all showing up! Game time!

I'll write up a full report as soon as I get a chance. Wish me luck!

Thanks for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

New Performance Nutrition and Evolution PT

2010-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

While all of my sponsors play a pivotal role in the success of my triathlon career, I wanted to plug two in particular that really keep my gears well-oiled and moving in the right direction.

For the last 16 years, New Performance Nutrition has provided custom nutrition programs and products to all sorts of clients, whether it be pro-triathletes and cyclists, or those that want to curb health risks such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiac risk. Their motto is simply, "stay pure". As such, their products and supplements reach a level of quality, performance and peace of mind one won't find anywhere else. NPN's products range from whey protein to energy bars to supplements and vitamins. My favorite product is called Super Charge which is great to use when you want to "supercharge" the muscle with accessible energy (glycogen) and really perform beyond your standards during workouts and especially on race day! Whether a consultation meets your fancy or if you would prefer to purchase the pharmaceutical-grade products online, visit newpfc.com for more information. You can also follow them on facebook at New Performance Nutrition.

Darwin Fogt, the President of Evolution Physical Therapy has created an unrivaled PT facility in Playa Vista, CA that caters to any and all needs. If you're recovering form knee surgery, go see Darwin. If you're suffering from rotator cuff syndrome, go see Darwin. If you simply need to unwind in a yoga session during your lunch hour, go see Darwin! Evolution PT has state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, including my favorite machine, the Anti-gravity treadmill (G-trainer).
Even if you don't have an injury and want to try a really cool machine, give Darwin a call and sign up for the g-trainer. I use Darwin and his facilities on a bi-weekly basis and I will continue to indefinitely. Check him out at evolution-pt.com and follow him on facebook at Evolution Physical Therapy and Fitness.

That's all for now. Talk soon!

-HH

Overall a TOUGH weekend..

2010-04-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

It started with a quasi-terrorist threat on my flight out to Tampa, which resulted in an emergency landing in New Mexico and a subsequent three hour delay. In addition, there was a one year old who cried bloody murder in the row in front of me the ENTIRE red-eye flight.

I broke my goggles the day before the race and had to frantically search the expo for a comparable pair. Later that day at the athlete briefing, I found out my USAT elite membership had expired and I was unable to race. After bickering with a stubborn official, who took his job way too seriously, I was finally able to renew my membership (only after writing a $100 check) and thus cleared to race.

When I toed the line at 6:52am on Sunday, I should have known based on what I had already endured that weekend, this was not going to be the best race of my life. And with that, it was NOT. Instead, it was a sub-par race, and one in which I could never find a rhythm. I finished 22nd in 1:59:53 and felt completed defeated.

But wait, the weekend wasn’t over. The next morning, my 7am flight was cancelled and I was re-routed to Atlanta where I would subsequently sit standby on three flights before I was able to go home. After 6 hours at the Atlanta airport, I was finally heading home! I arrived in LA 17 hours after the fact, only to find that my luggage and bike box had been displaced somewhere in the Midwest!

I write this now a day later. I’m home, my bag and bike box were just delivered, and I’m about to go to bed and wake up for the start of this year’s Santa Monica ocean speed circuits and I couldn’t be happier!

I’m heading up north later this week for my favorite race, Escape from Alcatraz, and I already know it will be a better experience than Florida, for I’m driving not flying!

Thanks for checking in, talk soon!

-HH

Another successful ITU race in the bag!

2010-03-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

ITU Mazatlan was a success! I finished 23rd with a time of 1:58:32 and thankfully this time, my legs actually chose to properly function coming off the bike!

Consisting of a stacked field with at least three former Olympians by my count (J. Shoemaker, V. Plata, F. Serrano), today’s race was fixing to be a tough one!

Going into my South America tour in January, I was coming off a Christmas break where I was all over the map visiting friends and family. With that, I didn’t really have a consistent amount of training under my belt as I headed south of the equator. This time however, I had a solid 8 weeks of training at my home-base in Los Angeles. Though of course as luck would have it, as my fitness improved, so did my competition in Mazatlan.

The swim course consisted of two laps and an exit/re-entry after the first lap. The conditions were choppy and as the day went on, the wind picked up. I tried a different, swim warm-up this time and it worked beautifully. I didn’t blow up in the first 200 yards as I have in the past, I felt like my pacing was stronger and more consistent than it had ever been. I came out of the water in 48th (out of 52) with a split of 22:04, 3:18 off the leader.

The bike course consisted of 6 flat, out-and-back laps, with a nasty head wind going north. To give you an idea how nasty it was, I clocked my pack riding on average 20/21mph into the wind and 28/29mph with the wind! So, I jumped on my bike and bridged up to Ryan Borger (USA) and two Mexican competitors. Together we bridged up to Americans Jimmy Archer and Sean Jefferson and started working pretty well together. I was so elated to find myself in a pack with Americans, with whom I could communicate, as opposed to yelling “vamos” a hundred times! We then picked up two or three other competitors, one of whom was Victor Plata (USA). Going into T2, I split a 1:03:27 on the bike (which I believe was a touch long, based on my Powertap readings) and was off to the races cramp-free!

The run course consisted of 4 flat, 2.5km, out-and-back laps. By this point it was 1pm and temperatures were easily in the high-80s. Coming out of T2, Sean Jefferson (multi All-American and mile best of 3:56) and I hooked up and ran the entire way shoulder to shoulder. I was able to count the number of competitors in front of us on the first lap and we were sitting in 38th and 39th. My legs felt great and I was at complete ease during the first half of the run. I started to feel our pace a little in the third lap and even more in the fourth. On the final lap, I had lost track of how many people we had gobbled up and now it was a mano a mano battle! What I live for! Half way through the last lap, I could feel our pace quicken and we were still, literally, shoulder to shoulder. With about 300 meters to go (or so I thought), I quickened my cadence for just a couple of steps and saw Jefferson’s shadow fall a little behind. So I picked it up more! And then more! And what I thought was the finishing arch, was actually a fake and the real arch was another 50 yards past that!! I thought to myself, “holy *&#@! I went too soon!” So I gave it one last, desperate push, and crossed the tape just ahead of my worthy opponent! Yes!!! I split a 31:36, second to only Jarrod Shoemaker and had passed 16 people to claim 23rd!

If you all recall, I split a 36:50 off the bike in my first ITU race, because my legs were shot. With that being said, Jefferson did a fantastic job and I’m sure he will return the favor in due time as I anticipate a great rivalry with him for years to come!!

My goal going into this race was to score some points and there are two criteria that you must meet in order to do so. One, you need to finish in the top 20. Two, your finishing time needs to be within 5% of the winner’s time. With that being said, I did not meet my goal, as I finished 22nd (among Pan-American competitors) and 4.4% off the winner’s time but in hindsight, the competition here was better than one would find at most Continental Cup races, so I feel pretty pleased with my end result!

My next race will be another match up with Sean Jefferson in his home state at the St. Anthony’s triathlon in April. Check back soon for training updates!

Thanks again for all the supportive emails, texts and phone calls, it is truly motivating!

Talk soon!

-H

On the eve of ITU race # 3

2010-03-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Been a while since my last post and I figured what better timing than the night before my ITU race in Mazatlan, Mexico!

Tomorrow's race should be a lot of fun as the start list includes two-dozen Americans! This is great because it means I will actually be able to communicate with some of the athletes on the bike!

My training all around has been going really well lately. I feel like I'm in a much better place, fitness-wise, now, than I was heading into my South America trip in January. My main focus has still been in the water and I have taken that to the next level by joining forces with Gerry Rodriguez at Trifit. Just in the last month, I feel I've become a stronger swimmer and I not only attribute that to Gerry's workouts, but also the other triathletes like Chris Foster and JJ Kaye who frequent his workouts as well and kick my butt all over the pool!

Tomorrow promises to be good weather, better competition, and a ton of fun!

I will be sure to give you all a full race report the first chance I get!

Thanks for checking in.

Talk soon!

-H

The Dreaded 1-hour Swim...Complete!

2010-01-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

This morning, I participated in the nation wide one-hour swim competition. A competition for distance, this swim was a great way for me to gauge my improvement over the last year.

I began swimming with the Bruin masters program in September of 2008 and a few months after the fact, I participated in my first 1-hour swim, hitting the wall at 4,000 yards on the nose (equates to 1:30 per 100yd average). Today, one year later, I hit the wall at 4,810 yards which equated to an average of basically 1:15 per 100yd. I was more than elated with my result! I have worked so hard over the last 15 months and it has completely paid off.

Going into today's swim, my goal was 1:15s or 4,800 yards, however I thought that that might have been a bit of an ambitious goal. This is especially due to the fact that I had missed some crucial longer set workouts during the first three weeks of January while I was racing in South America. With that being said, my result is a testament to my swimming fitness and I couldn't be more pleased!

The swim itself went relatively smoothly up until the 35th minute, where it then got pretty interesting...

At that point, my goggles completely filled up with water (I'm talking 100%) and I could no longer see the two pool-side clocks that I was using to pace myself. It was so bad that I didn't know where the walls were until I was within two strokes from them! While it seemed like having to endure this annoyance for 25 more minutes was a total disaster, it actually wound up being a blessing in disguise. Instead of dwelling too much on my pacing, it forced me to lower my head and continue ticking off the yardage.

I was able to see the "10 minutes left" sign and figured if I swam my 1:15s, I could get 800 in during that time. Sure enough, I was able to get 860 yards in and finished on a good note!

While I was very excited about having met my goal, the best part about that hour was being able to rip my goggles off after 25 minutes of torture!

I wanted to thank my fellow Bruin masters members for kicking my butt all over the UCLA pools for the last 15 months, for if not for them I'd still be swimming doggy paddle!!

That's all for now. Check back later for more training updates!

Thanks again. Talk soon!

-H

A Successful Trip to South America

2010-01-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I wanted to give you all a quick update on my race in La Paz, Argentina.

Going into my first draft-legal triathlon, I anticipated that I wouldn't have to do too much work on the bike and therefore conserve my energy for a killer run. I was COMPLETELY wrong!

I came out of the water really far back and right from the start I began working my way up through the field. Blowing past stragglers and small chase packs, I found myself hooking up with the second chase pack and remaining there for the duration of the bike leg. In this pack of 12 or so riders, no one opted to share any of the work with me, except for a few Argentineans. I must have yelled "Vamos" 50 times over the course of the bike leg to try and get these guys to work a bit!

Coming into T2 I was in 26th and more than ready to start picking off my competitors on the run. One small problem - my legs were shot! For the first 2 laps of the 4 lap run course, my legs would not move! On a cardio basis, I was completely fine however physically, my legs were a wreck! I had never felt so unable to use my legs in my entire life. You may think I'm exaggerating but I would honestly say I haven't run that slowly in a competition since the 6th grade! At the same time, I’m a fighter so while my legs were completely dead, I made sure not one person passed me, and I was successful!

By the third lap I began to find my legs although it was still a struggle (and the 100 degree heat didn’t help). I wound up finishing 19th as the third American behind Chris Foster (2nd), Manny Huerta (4th), and just ahead of Nicholas Vandam (21st) and Richard Swor (22nd).

Apart from finishing my first ITU triathlon, the highlight of the competition was the thousands upon thousands of Argentineans that lined the streets chanting and cheering! Over the course of my run, despite hurting terribly, I must have high-fived 100 hands. To them, it didn’t matter whether you were 1st place or 40th place; they embraced you all the same. Frankly, they made my first ITU experience that much more enjoyable and I am forever grateful.

We are currently heading back to LA and in my eyes this trip was a complete success. Even though I was “lapped out” in the first race, I still feel I gained invaluable experience in ITU racing that will help me tremendously throughout my career. For the next two months I will be living underwater at the UCLA pools and prepping for my next competition in Mazatlan, Mexico on March 20th. Check back later for training updates and the like.

Thanks again for checking in!

Talk soon!

-H

Coming to you live from La Paz, Argentina...

2010-01-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hey!

After almost 10 hours on two different buses, we finally arrived in La Paz this morning at 4:45. When we eventually found a hotel with availability, it was bittersweet. Bitter because it was 7 am and we had just jumped off an 8 hour bus ride; sweet because it was great to have a spot to lay low for a few before we ventured out.

La Paz is a much different vibe from Vina del Mar. It's quite tranquil and quaint in it's size. The streets aren't crowded with people and/or meandering stray dogs. Since it had just rained, it almost seems like the town got a bit of a wash as well. The river in La Paz is very impressive, being easily the biggest river I have seen in person (nearly a mile across)!
Apparently the triathlon course has changed and it is supposed to be primarily within the town of La Paz which should be very interesting considering its not very big or well paved...

My race is Sunday and I'll be sure to give you all a full report afterward.

Thanks for checking in! Talk soon.

-H

Race Report

2010-01-11T05:11:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd take a minute to give you all a race report before we head off to another day of travel towards La Paz, Argentina.

In a few short words, I got "lapped out". For those of you unfamiliar, "lapped out" refers to when a competitor gets lapped on the bike course by the leaders and is therefore pulled from the race. This tends to occur if an athlete had a bad swim, a flat, a crash, or is simply not as strong as the other competitors.

There were a couple of reasons why I was lapped out. First, instead of being 8 laps of 5km on the bike, it wound up being 9 laps of 4km, which meant that the leaders had less distance to travel before they started lapping the slower competitors. With an extra 1km per lap, it would have given me a chance to bridge up to a chase pack and continue through the field, of which I was about 1/4 mile short from obtaining. The second reason is due to my swimming. Seeing as how I've been swimming for a little over a year, my ability did not come even close to those that have been swimming all their life.

Each bike lap took about 6:00 and if I'm coming out of the T1 5 - 6 minutes behind the group of 4 or 5 leaders, that clearly does not give me enough time to avoid being lapped out. After analyzing the way the triathlon went, my coach Ian and I realized that there was a group of roughly 5 competitors that got away from me in the swim and were able to make it into T1 20-30 seconds in front of me. That was the last group that did not get lapped out.

So, if I'm looking at the positive side of things, I'm roughly 20-30 seconds down from being in the thick of the competition. After having watched the remainder of the race, I know that my bike and run ability will easily match these other competitors. At the same time, this is not a duathlon, it is a triathlon so I still have a lot of work to do in the water.

Next weekend's race in La Paz is supposed to be quite hilly and a lot of fun (according to the Brazilians who will also be there). Not to mention, because it's a small town, virtually the entire place comes out to watch the triathlon and at some parts it's apparently like the Tour de France! Let's hope the bike course isn't short, but if it is, game time.

Thanks for checking in!

Talk soon.

-H

A Day of Daze in Chile...

2010-01-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

I finally arrived in Vina del Mar, Chile this morning after almost twenty hours of total travel time! Apart from trying to kick some terrible sinus congestion by being hopped up on Sudafed and Earl Grey tea throughout the flights, our travels went pretty well.

In all honesty, when I first arrived in Vina del Mar I was a bit culture shocked, although I’d like to blame some of that feeling on sleep deprivation, jet lag, a little homesickness, etc. Once I settled in my room and activated my world traveler call plan (not nearly as prestigious as it sounds), Vina del Mar turned into a pleasant place with an interesting architectural combination of older historic-looking buildings and numerous high-rise apartment complexes.

We eventually linked up with Chris Foster and went on a “shake-out” 70 minute ride north along the Chilean coast which was spectacular. Again, due to the sleep deprivation, jet lag, etc., the state of delirium in which we found ourselves made the ride that much more interesting… My coach Ian described the ride as “the 7th scariest ride of his life”. It also probably didn’t help that we started our ride at noon on a Friday…

What’s great is that we have a solid crew of U.S. athletes down here to represent good ole red, white and blue amid all the South American competition!
Tomorrow morning we have a swim group going to test out the 60 degree ocean waters! I predict the water will be wet...

Till then!

-H

On My Way to the Deep, Deep South...

2010-01-06T23:43:00.001-08:00

Hey!

Tomorrow, as far as I am concerned marks the start of my 2010 triathlon season. I am shipping out south to Chile and Argentina for two weeks where I will compete in my first ITU-format triathlons! This entails a draft-legal format for which I have been anxiously waiting since I began competing in triathlons.

I love the competitive spirit that presents itself amongst a tight pack of energized riders (I know this from cycling groups), because everyone involved tends to feed off of one another, thereby propelling the peloton down the road at a quicker pace! In a triathlon, presumably, this allows the competitors to partake in real head to head battles once off the bike. I can't tell you how much I've been licking my chops for this opportunity!

It will also be great to have a few Americans down there as well like Chris Foster and Steve Sexton. Those guys are both very solid triathletes and I'm sure are just as hungry as I am to start their 2010 season off on the right foot!

The hotels down there claim to have wifi so I'm going to do my best to keep you all informed with the latest and greatest from the streets of Vine Del Mar and La Paz...!

Talk to you in a few. Thanks for checking in!

-H

After Much Anticipation...the G-trainer!

2009-12-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

After having been postponed for some time (i.e. procrastination) I can finally share with all of you the Anti-Gravity Treadmill, also known as the G-trainer. Located at Darwin Fogt's Evolution Physical Therapy in Playa Vista, CA, this machine does wonders for anyone and everyone. Included in this blog are pictures and videos. I apologize ahead of time for the echo-y audio on the first video...I'm no Scorsese!

One thing I failed to ask Darwin in the intro video was exactly what the G-trainer does! In a nutshell, it applies pressure inside the bubble which in effect lifts you up, thus minimizing your body weight. In other words, it allows you to have the same type of cardio workout you would otherwise receive on a regular run, but with a decreased amount of impact, because you are only running at a percentage of your body weight.

Onto the good stuff...

Darwin Fogt, MPT, President of Evolution Physical Therapy

I began using it because I had an excruciatingly painful patella tendinitis issue. In order to keep my running fitness up without further aggravating my patella, I would run workouts on the g-trainer at 65% my body weight. Slowly over a three month period, I increased my body weight to a point where I could restart my regular outdoor run training. I liked the g-trainer so much that I decided to incorporate it into my weekly training regimen as a precautionary measure. Now I use it twice a week – once for a medium paced run, and once for a hard effort run, both at 90% my body weight. As a result, I can thankfully say I have been injury-free since I started using this amazing machine a year ago!

G-trainer Prior to Inflation

G-trainer After Inflation

G-trainer in Motion

I wound up having a great session on the g-trainer. A ten minute warm-up at 6:15 pace, a ten minute push at 5:00 pace and then ramped it up to 4:45 pace for another ten minute push, immediately following the previous one. I ended with a ten minute warm down, slowly decreasing my speed while gradually bringing my body weight back up to 100% (from 90%).

Anyone interested in fighting back injuries while at the same time maximizing fitness, would be a fool not to try the g-trainer. At Evolution Physical Therapy, it's merely $30 for a 25 minute session and $60 for 55 minutes. Not a bad bargain considering the price tag for one of these puppies is $75K!!

I apologize again for taking so long to post about the g-trainer but good things come to those who wait, right???

Thanks for checking in!

Talk soon.

-H

First Pre-season BRICK

2009-12-17T17:58:00.001-08:00

My 2010 season opener in Vine del Mar, Chile is just around the corner (Jan. 10) and I’m slowly starting to get back into race mode. I’m excited!

This morning was the first BRICK of the pre-season and for those that are unfamiliar with the term, BRICK, it normally refers to two consecutive workouts consisting of biking and running (in that order).

I rode my usual Thursday morning La Grange group ride around the Riviera Country Club in Santa Monica. About 25 miles, plenty of hills and good competitive biking got me jazzed up for my run right off the bike.

The run was roughly 4.5 miles in length and I was supposed to do 5 x 1 minute pick-ups at my 10k race pace. Going into it, I didn’t really know what to expect because one, I hadn’t done a BRICK since July and two, I hadn’t really been focusing on running speed as of late. To my surprise, I completed the two loops around the Brentwood Country Club in 26 minutes, averaging 5:45 per mile. I felt really relaxed and my pick-ups were smooth.

I am very pleased with the first BRICK of the pre-season, especially since my body has responded positively following the workout. Hopefully it will be a good predictor of things to come…

Tomorrow, the much anticipated G-trainer workout!

Thanks for checking in!

Talk soon.

-H

Another 4-workout Day...

2009-12-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

If you recall the last time I blogged about my 4-workout day, it was a new thing on my schedule and I figured it would be something I’d revisit every once in a while. Apparently, my coach had other ideas…

In my schedule, a 4-workout day being unusual is now a thing of the past. Instead, it is something that I frequent 2, 3, even 4 times a week! The good thing though (if there is anything good that comes out of a schedule consisting of multiple 4-workout days per week) is that in the sport of triathlon, there are myriads of options as far as training is concerned. When I used to run at UCLA, often times, our training weeks consisted of running, running, and more running. Occasionally we would throw in some speed work on the track, but for the most part the training was predominantly focused on logging mileage. In triathlon training, as I’m sure you fellow triathletes will agree, you have the opportunity to mix it up as little or as much as you like.

Today’s workout consisted of 2 swims (yes I’m still in gill-growing mode), a 60 minute weight lifting session, and a 7-mile quasi-tempo run on my secret weapon the anti-gravity treadmill, also known as the g-trainer. By the way, I swear I had intended to document my workout on the g-trainer for all of you but completely spaced and forgot my camera at home! I’m back on the g-trainer on Friday and will happily report to you all, I promise.

The swimming went well, no major hiccups, except of course the hundreds of yards of butterfly thrown right into the middle of the workouts! Immediately following my swim, I headed for my lift session on campus at UCLA. Pretty straight forward, it consisted of a combination of injury prevention exercises, lower body, upper body, and core. The core being the longest portion of my lift session, completely kicked my butt, but as in any sport, the key to success is a strong mid-section!

After my lift session, I got a quick bite to eat and headed off to my g-trainer session at Evolution Physical Therapy in Playa Vista. I first have to say I love that machine! 40 minutes, 7 miles, 85-90% my bodyweight, and most of all, feeling great! I don’t want to dive into too much detail about this special contraption, because I want to save the good stuff for Friday! But I will say it is something that will be a part of my weekly training regimen indefinitely!

Check back Friday for a full write-up, pictures, and video! Thanks!

Talk soon.

-H

LA Tri Club "Speedster" Award

2009-12-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

I should have written this sooner but my schedule has been incredibly hectic lately so I apologize!

Last Saturday I attended the LA Tri Club Year End Party (YEP) and it was a ton of fun! Getting a chance to reconnect with all my fellow LA Tri Club-ians, if I can say that, was supremely enjoyable. Triathletes can clearly have fun as well!

For me, the highlight of the night however was receiving the coveted "Speedster" award. Personally, it was the perfect ending to an incredible first season of triathlons and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Even to be nominated in such a category was a real treat and it is simply an honor and a privilege to accept this award.

I'm going to cut myself off before this sounds anything more like a generic acceptance speech, but I want to thank you all again for the support, it truly means a lot. The way I see it, you keep giving me the support and I'll keep giving you the results!

Thanks again. Talk soon

-H

G-trainer Postponed!

2009-11-07T15:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay, but my report on the anti-gravity treadmill has been postponed to next week due to technical difficulties!

Check back next Friday to find a full write-up and video footage of my workout at Evolution Physical Therapy, the home of the g-trainer.

Thanks for checking in!

Talk soon!

A day in the life...though, happily, not every day

2009-11-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

I felt like I needed to report to all of you after yesterday’s epic day of training!

First of all, I’d like to preface this by saying that I hadn’t realized what a tough day had been scheduled. I only noticed this QUADRUPLE workout day the night before and thought to myself, “Ok, well, this will be interesting…!” It consisted of two swim workouts, bike-hill-repeats (BHRs), and a 7 mile run. The workouts didn’t need to be in any particular order, although I wanted to space out the swims.

There were two major differences about yesterday’s workout in comparison to other days. First, FOUR workouts. Had never done that before! And two, I swapped the order in which I completed my workouts. Instead of swimming and then running or biking, I chose to run before my morning swim and bike before my evening swim – a costly mistake I barely lived to tell about…

The day started at 7 with my typical breakfast, consisting of cereal that tastes like cardboard, and my cocktail – a concoction of vitamins and supplements prescribed by my nutritionist. My run began at 7:45 and immediately a feeling of nostalgia swept over me, as I reminisced about my morning workouts as a Bruin. For some reason, and I don’t know why, but since my triathlon training began a little over a year ago, I have always chosen to configure my training regimen with my run workouts in the afternoon. I guess since that is the most natural form of training for me, it feels like it’s the least daunting, and therefore should be done towards the end of my day.

The run was a relatively painless and routine 42 minute, 7 mile run. Afterwards, I felt refreshed and ready to take on the rest of this training day! I had a second breakfast (same as the first) and rushed off to my 10am swim at UCLA. I arrived on deck and glanced up at the workout written on the pool-side whiteboard. What are the chances that the day I’m given a quadruple workout schedule, is the day I happen to come across the heaviest swim workout I’ve seen yet!! FIFTY-FOUR-HUNDRED METERS (which mind you, I have to do twice)! My jaw wanted to drop to the floor but I caught it and quickly thought to myself, “I’ve got to suck it up because I’m a pro-triathlete now and this is how they train right…right?!”

I could not stay the full 90 minute session because I had an appointment in West Hollywood, though I was still able to swim 4,000 meters in an hour. As I said previously, I chose to swap the order in which I worked out which meant I had never swum directly after I had run. To say the least, my legs were surprisingly shot, even though the run wasn’t out of the ordinary. It’s clear I won’t be doing that again any time soon!

Two workouts down, two to go…

I got on the bike around 3:30 from my home in Rancho Park and headed to where the Pacific Coast Highway intersects with Temescual Canyon, which was my destination for BHRs. As I was riding towards Santa Monica to link onto to the PCH, I noticed a San Francisco-like fog bank rolling in pretty rapidly. With absolutely no layers on, I told myself, “Well, the only way to stay warm is if you ride harder and get a sweat going.” This would come back to haunt me in the subsequent swim workout…

I arrived at my intersection, and not only was I engulfed by wind and fog, but it was a thick, wet fog. So without any hesitation, I got right into my workout – 5 times up the Temescual hill (from stop light to stop light), keeping cadence at 60 and focusing on turnover and body position. It wasn’t supposed to be an incredibly challenging workout but one that focused on technique more than anything. The issue though was while patiently focusing on technique during this workout, it was working against my plan of keeping a sweat going to stay warm amidst this cold, wet fog! Finishing the workout felt great and I rode home on a high, ready to take on this swim, again!

I got back to my place with just enough time to scarf down some trail mix, throw on my suit and head to UCLA for the 6pm workout. I worked hard through the swim, fighting off cramps in every possible part of my legs. Eventually my flip turns morphed into side spins because every time I’d tuck my legs in, my hip flexors would cramp up! This swim also got cut short, to 4,000 meters, due to the fact that the workout went late and the UCLA women’s swim team needed the pool.

My day was done!! I was elated! It was my first quadruple workout day and I completed it without any major issues. I got home, made an enormous dinner and fell asleep only to wake up the next morning ready to tackle another big day of training! My next post will be Friday, on my secret weapon, the anti-gravity treadmill which has kept me injury free throughout my rigorous training regimen (knock on wood). Till then!

Welcome!

2009-10-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone to my website blog!

I'm very excited about the end result of my website and I hope you all are too!

As a service to all of you, I will make sure to update my website as frequently as possible so that you all can follow me as I embark in my triathlon career.

I want to thank everyone for all the support you have given me over the years. It is simply inspirational!

Don't be a stranger either! Any questions or comments you want to throw my way, feel free to get in contact with me through my "Ask Henry" tab on my website.

Thanks again for all the support!

Talk soon!

-Henry