The Good, the Bad and the What If's

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..!

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?

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

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..!

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!

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!

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