Rocky Mount Stage Race

Fresh Cat 5 Racers before the start of the Cat 5 Road Race

 This weekend as a big weekend for some intense cycling I entered the Cat 5 Rocky Mount Stage Race to compete for the GC (Grand Contender) as the best overall rider which consisted of 3 races over the weekend of a 31 mile road race, 5 mile time trial, and a 30 minute crit race. I love riding my bike and I've been doing pretty well riding with the "Pain Train" in Tyler on Tuesday night' has given me some experience riding in a big group at a fast clip.  I rode with Matthew Ramirez over to Louisiana we had a good trip and discussed a few tactics.

We had about 30 riders total in the road race for the most part I stayed in the top 15-20 riders, probably a little further back then I should have been. I tried to keep myself nearby and protected by Fresh riders. The overall pace felt pretty slow for me the most part, but I also knew time trialing it on my own I would probably get pulled back in. At 15 miles I did  go off on my own just for a little bit after this big hill as I unintentionally got out of the pace line somehow so I went to the front had rode off. I wasn't pedaling hard and put a good size gap but saw them coming back I knew the Fresh team would be trying to slow the pace down for me but against everyone else it would be too much.  About 5 miles out from the finish somehow Me, Brian Phillips, and another guy started leaning against each other - I thought was going down. Somehow we miraculously all stayed up right and avoided a crash. I had already crashed the week of  in a training ride and didn't really want to go down (again).  Closer to 3 miles ago Darrell Allen comes by and starts rolling up to the front and I get behind him to get closer to the front to plan an attack. With a mile to go I'm thinking about going off the front but it was an uphill finish, maybe I was incompetent in my abilities. Then I saw the 1k sign and Matthew Ramirez comes by me and says "We gotta go now." I jumped on his wheel but somehow Jonathan's rear wheel got caught in my front skewer and broke his spoke. I eventually got around and rocketed off the front. I though I had won the road race at first but heard someone had got away that I didn't know about it. It would be Whit, who finished just 8 seconds up. Whit got a 10 second time bonus and I got a 6 second time bonus putting me 13 seconds behind.

4 hours and 2 hamburgers later it was time for the 5 mile Time Trial. I had no idea how much time Whit had on me at the time before the TT. The Time Trial course was mostly downhill and flat the first half then all uphill the second half. I knew he was a bigger guy so he had a better chance at putting time on me on the downhills and I had a better chance of putting time going up the hill, but I haven't been too good at climbing lately so I had to dig deep on this one. I put the hammer (feet) to the pedals and dug deep, I kept telling myself it was only 5 miles and counting down the miles. We got to the turn with all the hills for the second half and I was hurting quite bad at this point and also I was feeling (tasting) those two hamburgers I ate earlier and pretty close to hurling them up as I they tasted like throw up. I made to the top of the hill and finish line in 11:22 and 25.4 mph. I found out later in the day that I had regained the lead for the GC by 1 second, gaining 14 seconds on the time trial.

Receiving some unclear instructions about the prime. 

The 30 min Cat 5 Crit race would be the next day.  Matthew and I departed from Tyler again at 4:30 a.m. the next day (that means I started getting ready 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning and had my breakfast to go). We were one of the first ones there and got several warm up laps in to study the course so we would know all the turns. I knew what I had to do and that was to stay behind Whit and just come around for the finish...easier said that done. I even put my Shama Cycling socks on for the crit.  Matthew led us out the first lap or two before Whit put in an attack.

First couple of laps with Matthew leading the way.  

I jumped on Whit's wheel and Gerrit also on the same team as him was trying to keep me off of it. I had to fight hard to hold my position on his wheel even flicked him a little elbow when he got to close for my comfort. The first prime was merchandise and none of us knew about this prime, we all through it was for time which is what we cared about. I swung around Whit, but it was too early and he was able to pass me and he also rode away after that and opened a huge gap that I couldn't close even with some help. We all agree we wish we had known about this prime because it wasn't posted in the "race bible" (instructions). 

A few laps later the next prime was up, the real one for time. I came in second here as you see but was pretty whooped at this point and trying to hang on.

                                                                         2nd and 3rd battle for one of the primes. 

   Just before the last lap I was leading the back and then the bell rang and David and Gerrit came around me and I didn't have anything left to hold their wheel. I came 4th in the crit and second in the Cat 5 GC.

                                      

It was a triathlete sweep, 1st Whip, Second me, Third Gerrit in the Cat 5 GC.   

 This was my first ever road race, I'm not sure why it took me so long to try one other than my stubborn triathlete state of mind. Thanks to the God for keeping us safe out there especially with all the close calls from the road race. The Fresh team for helping me out and teaching me how to be a smart road racer and helping protect me and during the road race and Matthew during the crit. Also to Cobb Cycling & the Cobb Mobb team, Extremus, & X-1 Audio. Also to my supportive family my parents, Wife, and Rylan. It was a fun time and it is TBD how serious of a road racer I will become...

X-1 Audio

My friend Ginger Spansel introduced me to X-1 Audio earlier this year and I've been using their sweat proof Momentum Earbuds on the bike trainer since. 

X-1 Audio recently expanded their Brand Ambassador line I applied and was accepted! It's the same team that sponsors two long time and successful triathletes Greg and Laura Bennett. 

I usually always have the music or a song stuck in my head. The power of music can bring can inspire and/or effect our emotions us in multiple of ways and music can also lead us to worship.  When I listen to music on the bike trainer my top choices on a playlist would include:

1. Lecrae - Christian Rap
2. Trip Lee - Christian Rap
3. Skillet - Hard Christian Rock
4. Thousand Foot Krutch - Christian Rock
5. Kutless - Christian Rock
6. Linkin Park - Rock
7. Drowning Pool - Metal/Hard Rock
8. Three Days Grace - Hard Rock
9. 116 Clique - Christian Rap
10. Flame - Christian Rap

As you see I love to listen to of Hard/Metal Rock, Christian Rock and Christian Rap. Believe it or not the beats of the Christian rap music these days is far superior to the secular ones you hear on the radio and mtv today, with cleaner lyrics also.   I also heard Randy Travis released an new album called "Influence" and "Influence 2" so that maybe next. 

I'm excited to be part of this new team. The athletes on this team come from a wide variety of endurance and extreme sports.  I am eager to try out some of the other and newer products pretty soon including the waterproof headphone ipod shuffle to mix in my swim workouts. You can view my team bio here. 

I'm looking forward to representing Team X-1 Audio with my athletic endeavors. 

Kansas 5150

This time my Dad and I made a first time ever Father/Son road trip to Kansas 5150 for the weekend. Since the crash in Lubbock, my road rash took longer to heal than I thought would. Thanks to my N.P. I got a hold of some prescription cream but later had to go on antibiotics too. I ended up skipping out on a super fast field at the Shadow Creek Ranch sprint near Houston last week. 

Saturday morning we had big breakfast at the Global Cafe in downtown Lawrence of the main strip on Massachusetts St. This restaurant is where all the cyclist, yo-gist, and hippies go. After that we went to the Clinton State Park Lake for an easy packet pickup trip and got in a short open water swim and bike ride on the course. 

Race morning there were all these moths around transition and several at the edge of the lake as we walked in for the swim. I was in the amateur elite division and we were a small group of just 12 guys. Most of these guys could really swim in the 20-22 min range for 1500 meters. I had pretty bad swim and shouldn't have been that slow. It was barely wetsuit legal and honestly too hot. I would love to see USAT lower the wetsuit rule down to 76 degrees. I exited the water in just over 27 min. 

I had no idea how fast I was going on the bike as I was running a straight chronograph mode on Calley's Timex watch I'm using right now until I replace mine. Some would agree the bike course was long but that's ok with me. I finished the "40K" ride in over an 1:07. 

I felt really solid on the run and felt I was running fast on the two loop course. However my split was 36:44. Putting me 10th in the amateur elite division.  

These weren't the results I was looking for I swam, bike, and ran slow while the other guys were simply much faster. It's ok, I've been mostly on a taper mode since Lubbock and due to the crash. Time to suck it up and prepare for the next one. I'm thankful that God helped my Dad and I travel safe and my leg is pretty  much healed up. My Parents and Wife for always supporting me and my support from the Cobb Mobb by Cobb Cycling, Extremus, and X-1 Audio Teams!

Fresh15 Monday Motivational 7.21.14

The Fresh15 a local road race, but one of the very best and well managed road races to do in the East Texas area are introducing local runners every Monday. I was the first one to go. The Fresh 15k is in March, if you can make it out. You won't be disappointed. 

"We are proud to present our FIRST ever #MotivationalMonday piece, spotlighting local triathlete William Ritter."

More about William....

• How long have you been running? I've been running since 1996. My PE teacher would have us run laps around the playground field and I would usually start last and try to catch everyone. I entered a few field day competitions and won the 800 meter by a split second. I was always a shy kid growing up and so I missed the opportunity to be on the 7th grade junior high team, but my mom talked to the principal and I signed up for the Marine Corps 5k. I was 12-years-old at the time and can still remember my time  - 21:21. After that I joined the Longview Running Club and the Carthage Bulldogs Junior High School Team.
• What motivaties you to continue even when it's hard? I'm super competitive and love the daily grind of what training brings.
• Do you have any tips to share with newbie runners? Start very easy at first and get your bones and muscles adapted first before adding too much. A run/walk plan is great to build up your endurance. Example: 10 minutes of 1-minute jog/2-minute walk. Total time would be 30 minutes. Don't rush the process, everyone is different.
• Do you have any rituals that help you prepare for race day? I used to be more ritualistic but not so much anymore. I do ice baths about once a week at the end of a hard week and try to get in an epsom salt bath in the middle of race week. I also try to incorporate some light stretching and foam rolling about every day.
• William graduated from UT Tyler in 2007 with a degree in Health & Kinesiology. He was the 5th man on a very fast cross country team in 2006, having run at East Texas Baptist University prior to UT Tyler. He moved back to Tyler this year and recently married his best friend, Calley Borocz, in March. William says, "I love the tight-knit community here."

Palo Duro Camping Trip

Last weekend my Wife and I made a camping trip to the Palo Duro Canyon out near Amarillo, Tx. We did some hiking and mountain biking. Thanks to Jonathan Johnson for letting me borrow his Trek mountain bike so Calley and I could both mountain bike.  We had an excellent time --- but we did call our trip short due to the stinging  horse flies that come out during the day.  

These are the most aggressive flies ever and they showed no remorse. They chased us on our bikes biting us on our legs and even on the rear through our clothes. 

                                       

The scenery was pretty amazing out there. Driving out there it is super flat then all of sudden you enter this massive canyon.   

                                      

The first day there we did some exploring and climbed into this little rock cave and about an hour before sunset on this little trail we came across probably 6-8 tarantula's.   

Believe it or not these little critters are super fast! 

The next day we did the Lighthouse trail a 6 mile hike. At the very end of it you are literally crawling on your way on these rocks to get to the top. We survived it! 

The Rock Garden trail would become my nemesis as I attempted to try to mountain bike up trail. It was labeled as a "difficult" trail. How bad can it be? I've mountain biked in some woods in Tyler before and did ok. This was something else it was so steep there were plenty of times I couldn't pedal any  more and the front tire would lift up and I would have to jump off or crash. The switchbacks were so sharp I couldn't make those. The Rock Garden Trail is a little over 2 miles long, I made it up just over a mile before I thought I might die out here if I don't turn around --- going down was somewhat easier, but only somewhat. I did more walking than riding this trail.  I went back to ride with Calley after that and we chose "easier" trails to say the least we didn't know what we were in for as it turned out to be pretty rough. Calley did have a better crash record than me 0-3. I lost control hitting some sand, then I ran into a small tree, finally a horse fly bit me on the butt and I lost control trying to swipe it off and fell over in this slice your hand bush. We couldn't drink enough water, gatorade, and nuun out there it was so hot. I saw a temperature of a 105 degrees. 

We did  have a full moon both nights out there which still made it scenic at night. 

The next day I would go pay the Rock Garden back with a run up the trail. Steep it was my average pace the whole time was 9:02 per mile. The Rock Garden would still knock me down as I tripped over a rock coming down and landing on my "bad" side.  

We did get some other animals and critters:  

This was a very sick bunny we found limping across the one of the trails. Calley has a good heart and tried to save it but it was too late and we had to lay it to rest.  

 We only saw one horned frog the whole trip.

A dragon fly did a face plant into the mud. 

One of the many lizards we saw. Some of these had some very long tails.  

 Overall, we had a great time! I can't wait for our next camping trip. 

Buffalo Springs 70.3

Cobb Mobb departing from HQ. My flip flops broke just before this.

Coming off Kansas 3 weeks ago, I was once again ready to race. We had a good road trip to Lubbock where seven of us stayed in a house together. Ryan & Cori Moore who both had a great races were nice to carry my bike with them as we were loaded down. When left alone with these two  my bike "The Spanish Beauty" becomes a freak. 

This was my fifth time to do this race, regardless how well you came off your last race this course deservers a lot of respect and it can and it will humble you. As expected this course is hilly, windy, and hot. It turned into one of the most toughest years. People were melting and having epic blowups. Our swim was with the 25-29 and 30-34 year old age groups. That is a lot of high testosterone starting at the same time. I got off to a decent start or so I thought. I jumped on Seth Cooke's feet for maybe about 10 seconds.  My swimming rhythm has been coming along well. I do wish I had started out more aggressive. The lake temperature was 75 degrees which got warm quick with a wetsuit. Our age group was the last age group wave to go and they were sending the waves off really close together, so the course became really crowded and somewhat hard to get around some other swimmers. I finished in 32:17 a second best half iron swim for me, but it felt worse.  It was a lot more crowded than Kansas was.  I still need to work on staying on those faster feet at the beginning. This put me in 16th with the 30-34 males.

The bike the course takes a hard left and it's straight up a steep hill as soon as you start. Since I know it gets hot here I'm sipping on my water and sports drink every 10 minutes and taking water at the aid stations on the bike when I could catch some water.  My goal was to get a strong bike in but not to over-bike it. The wind here was tough averaging 18 mph with high winds 30 mph with gust of 35 mph. Out here there is nothing to protect you from the wind, no East Texas pine trees out here.  On a flat section about 23 miles into the bike or about an hour into it we were experiencing a strong crosswind pushing us and I was riding about 25 mph when all of sudden and for no real explanation flew off my bike and skidded into the ditch. I'm not sure if I hit something or if the wind blew me off. I quickly gathered myself passed everyone who just rode by  me. Not long later after this bizarre crash my hands started cramping then my adductors and finally the quads by the end of the ride. This maybe due to most of my blood was going to my banged up right leg. The bike course also contained two staircase like climbs and descents. Going down was fun as I was being about aggressive as I could be and almost ran over someone as I was testing my brakes and almost didn't make a tight turn with a fence on the other side of the road. My bike was just under 2:37, one of my slowest bikes ever but it still put me in number 6th in my age group with Seth Cooke, my buddy just up the road. I was thinking if I could pull out a solid run I would be able to catch him, but Seth is super strong and knows how to suffer a lot. I knew because of history (Prairieman Half Iron 2010 - DNF) with cramps in my legs like this only an hour into the bike this run coming up was not going to be pretty.

My initial plan for the run was not to run any faster than a 6:15 starting out as I paid the price in Kansas for going a little fast even though it felt comfortable and my heart rate was reading low numbers it added up quickly after the huge hill there.  I was already rethinking that coming off the bike with the leg cramps I was having a 6:30 would be acceptable today. When I actually started running I wasn't anywhere near that and I knew it was about to be a long day, legs didn't want to go and I was having a hard time keeping my breath under control. I definitely respect more people who run half marathons in over 2 hours now.

Just after this pic was an epic blow up. 

 I kept trying to run but it wasn't working out today.  I came close pulling a DNF but for some reason kept going forward. My boy Phil Royston caught me almost near the halfway point on the run and I stayed with him the rest of the way. At first I thought I was helping him out then by the end of it he was helping push me. As I also struggled with my calves cramping up. It got pretty bad by the last mile or two and I was pretty determined to finish with Phil. We crossed the line together and gave each other a fist bump. Phil finished 7th in his age group and I finished 12th in mine. I never saw him after that the rest of the time I was there.

running to the finish with Phil. 

Stacy McKinney caught one of my finer moments at the race. Once I finished I got treatment on my leg and an IV.

While this one didn't go to plan I'm ready to fight next one....just kidding. I'm working on trying to get my  road rash healed up so I can get back out there to fight another one. The next planned race is Shadow Creek Ranch sprint tri with my boy Jeremy and then Kansas 5150.  Praise God, this crash (again) wasn't serious as it could have been a lot worse.  Thanks to the Cobb Mobb team by Cobb Cycling and the Extremus Team for backing me up. Also my Wife for always supporting me and who is taking care of my road rash too and pouring that lovely hydrogen peroxide all over it as she gets to watch me scream like a little girl.

Tour d' Italia

Calley and I road in the Tour d' Italia last weekend in Italy, Texas.  It's a pretty town with the biggest sunflowers in Texas in full bloom. This wasn't a race but more of a big ride with a 1,000 other people.   

                                                                                                                                                              

Everything bigger in Texas, even our flowers.

Turns out the King is still rockin' as Calley met him along the way. 

With a week out before Buffalo Springs 70.3, my game plan was about an hour at 70.3 effort and a short run off the bike. I ended up doing the 40 mile route but I started with the 60 miler guys since I knew they were the ones I would need to be riding with.  It was a lot of fun! I was able to stay up front a lot and take a lot of pulls and pull people back in. If I was riding the full route I would have held back more but pleased how the legs felt that day as it was a tough training week. 

Chatting up front letting them know I would be peeling off somewhere along the route. 

Riding JOF (just off front) Photo Courtesy: Sugar & Spice Photography

I'm surprised everyone was following I'm not even looking where I'm going.  

I love this shot of us riding away. Photo Courtesy: Sugar & Spice Photography 

We went West to Italy in the morning that evening we drove East to Carthage where we visited my Mom and Dad and had a late Father's Day. My Dad has always been known to put down a lot of food, so I tried to eat him on chipolte fajitas and well that didn't go so well my Dad still can eat a lot of food.

Now it's time to get packed up for one of the hardest Ironman 70.3 courses on the USA circuit - Buffalo Springs 70.3.

The Zombie Apocalypse & Stock Yards Mini-Vacation

I spent most of last week recovering from Kansas 70.3. We took a family a trip to Dallas/Fort Worth where I was able to sneak in a couple of races. We did the Electric Zombie Run in Dallas Friday night. It was way more fun than that I thought it would be. Calley and I ran together and we became Zombies because we weren't quite fast enough to get away so we became infected.

During the race there were Zombies that would jump out and try to infect you. Some were just downright scary. As you can I got caught and the blood sucked out of my head.  Turns out you can sign up and volunteer your way to a Friday night dressed like a Zombie. Sounds like a good time to me.   Out of the three of us Rylan was the only who survived.                    

  

The next day Rylan and I created our own race in Fort Worth. We raced up to what is known as the "Mountain" at the Fort Worth Water Gardens. This race particularly challenged my sprinting fibers in flip flops along with muscular strength. and of course age going up against a 14 year old.  This time Rylan got the best of me and was able to edge me out by a couple of seconds.

Saturday evening was filled with a big Yee-haw down in the Fort Worth Stock Yards.  One of my favorite places to go This was my first time to ride a mechanical bull and all that time I've spent watching bull riding when it was on tv paid off. I lasted for what it seemed like a really long time. Bull riding (mechanical) is harder than it looks my legs were smoked by the end of it. It just wouldn't be right if we didn't get to see the Stock Yards with a cattle drive and an old fashioned gun fight. 

The past 3 months have flown by with this guy. The next morning my boy greeted me with this "Step Father's Day" gift. Bye Bye Chlorine and sweat smell, I'm going to be smelling fresh for my Wife now.

Ironman Kansas 70.3

My mom and I had a mother/son road trip to Ironman Kansas 70.3 triathlon in Lawrence this past weekend. We had a spectacular time despite the very long drive and rainy weather. We got into town late Friday night. 

Turn down for what? 

                              

I had told my  mom she would be getting to meet an  Irishmen. We had some wheels to hand off to him. His name is Robbie Wade a Cobb Cycling sponsored athlete who had been making his way up the ranks the last few years and finished 4th overall. 

 

W/ Robbie Wade - Cobb Cycling Pro Triathlete and he finished 4th Overall.

After the expo we went over the University of Kansas. This college has a history of Legend athletes from All Americans, NBA Professionals, and Olympians.  I was primarily interested in seeing the memorabilia of Billy Mills and Jim Ryun. When I was in high school my mom gave me the movie "Running Brave" which is based on the life of Billy Mills. Mills ran at KU and also became the 10,000 meter Olympic Gold medalist in 1964.  Jim Ryun was the first person in high school to break 4 minutes in the mile and we went onto set numerous records and won the silver medal in the mile in 1964.
                                       
                                                   

The morning of the race it was almost deja vu all over again like New Orleans 70.3. Another tire problem at 4:00 a.m.. At least this time I was semi-prepared to do something about it, my friend Seth taught me how to change my tubular tires. Turns out it's easier than I ever thought it would be, no excuse to DNF a 70.3 again, right? This time the corkscrew of the valve had popped off my front tire before we left the hotel and I would needed a valve extender to switch tires. Thankfully the on site bike mechanic was able to take the other corkscrew out and put in the other tire. I did have my spare training set of wheels with me just in case something like this happened and I wasn't able to get it repaired.

 Jason (left) and Cam (right) as we go to battle. 

Heading down to the swim I was with the 30-34 year old males. We were the last people to go. I entered the water with my buddies Cam Mencio and Jason Lentzke. The swim was a semi rectangle. I got off too a good start I felt like there seemed to minimal initial contact this time.  After a bit of swimming I believe it was Jason who passed me in the swim and I hopped on his feet. I lost him towards to the end of the swim exit as the swim became more crowded from the swimmers who started before us. I exited the water in 31:50. A PR for me at this distance, it wasn't by much but still a PR and still about the same time behind Jason as two weeks ago at Cap Tex.  Cam an uber biker had a better swim for him and wasn't far behind me either.


Kansas isn't flat there are long rolling hills. On the bike I was close to feeling like my old self again. The first hour I was over 24 mph, however there were more hills and wind the second half. Early in the bike Cam had flew by me. I committed myself to keeping up with him and I would pass him a couple of times as I got into his draft zone before he would pass me right back. I lost Cam sometime later over a hill as I was taking a gel, I learned a valuable lesson about staying  focused. He eventually rode out of sight. My bike average was 23.8 mph or 2:21.12.  

Around mile 5 on the run. 

Coming in the bike and trying to get my running shoes on my right calf was cramping. Ouch!  I started the double loop run of what I felt like was a comfortable 5:52 pace and my heart rate was in my high aerobic zone. I came out of the run with Jason not far behind me. I had no idea he was that close to me on the bike. He would keep the pressure on me the whole run. I thought I might should slow down - but since I was feeling pretty comfortable and with Jason that close I thought I better keep the pace on and run away from him. The pace I set on the run lasted for about 3 miles until we got to this big hill that put a lot of crap into my legs. I watched my pace through the whole run slowly decline.It wasn't long and I had caught who I believed to be Tim Hola on the run, but he had started in waves before me so I think he was on his last loop I ran with him for a little bit and we talked about using each other to pace ourselves, he would eventually run away from me.  I was still keeping Jason in the background, but I knew I couldn't allow myself to back off anymore than I had already. By mile 5 the run was getting tough and I was taking it a mile at a time.  The second time up the big hill I tried to push up it a little more but it felt like my quads would crap any second. I just focused on getting over the top. The rest of the run I was still holding Jason off and I looked back with a half mile to go and seemed to be set. It's when I crossed the finish line he was closing on me faster than I realized just 16 seconds behind me when I heard the announcer call out his name. The run wasn't what I was shooting for in a  1:23:49 or 6:23 pace, but I'll take it today.

Making my way to the finish

    

     w/ Jason Lentzke from Big Sexy Racing 

Overall I finished in 4:20:21. This goes down as my second fastest 70.3 triathlon since 2010 (Not including the WC 70.3 in Clearwater) and just a handful of seconds from my best. Jason and Cam really helped push me out there. My mom and I had a great trip! I thank the Lord for a really good race. I still have a lot of work to do but we've been taking steps in the right direction.Thanks to Team Extremus for their continuous and Cobb Mobb powered by Cobb Cycling, also known as my employer. I ride the best saddles with the combination of our saddles and shorts I have zero issues in the saddle and don't even need lube for cycling. John Cobb has helped tune my bike fit up. Andrew at Sigma Swimming has been working with me on swim technique and helping me get my pace times down.  Next up in a short time is Buffalo Springs 70.3.