Fort Worth Adventures

You can bet your britches, I've been hittin' it hard this month, it doesn't mean I've haven't paused briefly to enjoy the fellowship of a few friends. Most of you know I've moved to Fort Worth, which is one of my favorite cities in Texas (Austin & Tyler are there as well).

Here are a few pics I thought I would share.

Here is some of us getting wild and crazy group shot!

My & my roommate Kyle, thug life till I die.

A train passing through Trinity Park. This is were a lot of my training is done.

Swanging those big balls for Spring Family Fun Day!

My roommate Zach and only two left in the Milk Challenge. We both ended up DNFing. I bowed out before he did.

Redneck Country cookin'??? Cooking full chickens on a can of beer.

I'm looking forward to next week as it's my first try of triathlon of the season in Galveston.

Woodlands Half Marathon

The Woodlands Half Marathon/Marathon race directors, coordinators, and volunteers put on a spectacular first year event. Something everyone involved with should be proud of.

Running this year seemed to have been going very well for me this year. Although last week was nothing but idle, as I started a new job and a commute in rush hour traffic along with moving to Fort Worth with now a sweet spot right by the Trinity Trails. However, I made due, like I always have.

The Woodlands had a spot for the "elite" athletes to rest up, drink coffee, and hide out from the crowds before we began our warm-ups. We were treated like Rock Stars, thanks to the elite athlete coordinators Doug Storey and Michael Barney. Those guys did an amazing job. As I began my warmup, I was relieved how good my legs and body felt. However, I had left my Garmin in my office before I left for The Woodlands. I borrowed Barney's watch prior to warming up.

I stood on the start line with the others. There was a small handful of us from the DFW metroplex, such as Joe Beisner, James Jackson, Steve Pfiffner, Steve Henderson, Matt Peters, and Chris Strait who moved actually The Woodlands not long ago.

The gun went off, I reacted quick but in self-control, the pace felt rather pedestrian-like. It didn't take long for the top 2 guys take out front. I was sitting in third at the beginning of the race. Where was everybody else at? Within a few minutes a big pack of 5-6 guys catch up to me. I was going to run with this pack, I knew I could hang. My running was going well, I had nothing to worry about. Boom, it hit me a side cramp by mile 3. What is going on? I am tougher than this. Why am I letting something like a little freakin' side cramp get to me. I'm falling off the pack, dang. Sometimes side cramps can be the worse pain.

Start of the Woodlands Half and Marathon

Matt Peters from Denton comes up to me. A big help, actually. Matt was encouraging me to stay up. I was digging deep trying not to fall back. At mile 6.5 he lets me know, he's going to attempt to chase down Joe. The gap opens between me and him, a substantial distance. Right after he took off something clicked inside of me. If he's going, I'm going too. Off I went. Side cramp somehow miraculously went away, too bad legs are getting heavy now.

I was cutting all the tangents close. I didn't want to run longer than I had to. During mile 10, Grant Glauser, a new pro triathlete, comes on by and Chris Strait is closing in by mile 11. The wind had picked up by now, a cold front was starting to come through. It was struggle the last two miles. Relieved to see that I am making my final turn to the finish, finding an extra gear I was able to "sprint" in to finish sixth overall for 1:15.09, not anywhere close to my goal time, but a PR, none the less.

James Jackson (1st OA Master) post race.

James and I @ Addison Oktoberfest 5k 5 years ago!!!

It was the first time we raced together since then.

I think I need new shoes

My friend Tiffany came all the way out to watch and support me race. Here we are hanging out with the big cookie.

Thank you to everyone for your support, especially Willie Fowlkes, Doug Storey, Jon Walk, Michael Barney, Angie Henderson for making this great race possible. Tiffany for the support and taking all the pictures. Jesus Christ for keeping us all safe with the race and traveling. I hope I'm allowed to come back next year. A big shout to my friend Bryce Fluker from Longview, Tx for winning the Spring Back Du, the next day in Houston! Next, I'll be gearing up for Texas 70.3 in Galveston, April 1.

Thanks for reading!

Plano Pacers "Bead Bash" 15K

I didn't have to to flash anyone my bird chest this morning to get beads at the Plano Pacers monthly run, with a Mardi Gras theme to it. I was hoping for a warmer start since temps have been near 80 all week, but to a fail, it was hovering just over 40.

I had a workout on schedule instead of a race, but I wanted to be around the others so I did a 25 min w-up at the start. My Garmin had died so I had my cell phone in my hand with stop watch mode ready to go. I had the best view on the course, like a fine wine. At least for the first 25 minutes. I need to change my racing approach. I've been doing it all wrong. Then I had to put some effort into it, a 2x15 min tempo to be exact at an approximated xx:xx exact pace. I was doing this on all grass pretty much to save my legs from the concrete for quicker recovery, while everyone else was concrete. After the first effort I ran myself into the third and that's where I stayed. I had short "recovery" or slower pace between, then another 15 min bout. I put some more effort into this one I thought I miiiiiight could catch 1st & 2nd but it was kind of a long shot. It's its about a 800 meter loop around a small pond to the finish, the runners were in sight and I was closing fast. Maybe with another 1-1.5 mile I would have had them. I finished the 15k part in just under an hour then went off and did a super easy 30 min cool down.

This next week, I'm going into a very light training week as I'm racing the St. Lukes Woodlands Half-Marathon. My running has been going well, but I'm ready to have some fresh legs now. It's also going to be a very busy week as I start my new job with EZ Flex Sport Mats and I'm moving to the Fort Worth area, which I'm really excited about.

Cheers,

Ritzy

2012 Tentative Schedule

If you don't know already, I am super excited to kick off this season in a big way. Since I've finished school and now have taken recovery modalities to the extreme between sessions, plus I am doing the work, getting it done. My fitness seems to be well ahead of where it was last year and in the year's past.

I still have a lot going on as I have always wanted to live in Fort Worth for years now and I finally got my chance. This week I will be busy looking for a place to live as I start my new job soon. Fort Worth is a great atmosphere for training as the Trinity Trails runs right through downtown and carries you out to the country pretty quickly. Not to mention my coach Brent Poulsen from rEvolution Multisport lives there. I imagine I'll be hanging onto him for some of my hard sessions to take my skills to the next level.

While 2011 didn't quite go the way I wanted it to due to some stupid decisions. I am back at it focused more than I have been before and I am reunited with my Coach Brent Poulsen, who I should have listened to from the very start of things. Brent's a great coach and has always been there for me. He keeps me in check when I start to get an ego and reminds there's a million other guys faster than me but also provides encourage, support, and motivation.

Here is my tentative schedule for the 2012 schedule of races I am either eyeing or registered to do. I say tentative because anything can happen in triathlon racing. It's pretty much the same as it was last year except for a few additions and some deletions. Still the main focus is on the 70.3's with some short course events sprinkled in because I love to race and it keeps you on your toes.

2012 Tentative Schedule

3.3 Woodlands Half Marathon

4.1 Texas 70.3

4.29 Kemah Triathlon

6.24 Buffalo Springs 70.3

8.8 Bridgeland

8.19 Spring/Fall Classic

9.9 World Championships 70.3 Vegas (Only without a roll down)

9.23 Branson 70.3

9.30 The Houston Triathlon

10.21 Tri Tyler Half Ironman

11.4 Oilman Half Ironman

I'm looking forward to a great year and seeing old friends and making new ones. Thank you again for another year of your support!

Ritzy

Plano Pacers "Fresh Start" 10K

This past weekend, I joined the Plano Pacers Running Club. Mainly, to get in a quality run and to run with some good runners once a month or so, as they have a monthly club run at the last Saturday of every month. I saw this is an opportunity to keep my running in check and monitor some progress. I did the "Fresh Start 10K" at Bob Woodruff Park in East Plano. I wasn't trying to "race" but just get in a hard effort. I wasn't really mentally prepared to be in "race mode". I didn't even shave my legs for this. I usually wake up 3-4 hours before I race and have a very light breakfast, instead I woke up 2 hours before.

As I signed up there it was like a flash back into the 1990's, as it reminded of my Longview Running Club days with the way of registering and the "seasoned" runners wore flashback jackets/windbreakers I haven't seen since then. This is awesome I thought.

At the start line listening to the race director give directions, I immediately got confused. He mentioned that the course had changed due to a flood on the trail, the he said their was a crime scene the night before but it had it been cleared so it was good to go. I was immediately concerned, because if you know me, me and directions don't go well together. Coach Brent informed me not to start too hard and keep things in check. Well, I went out with the front group of the two lead 5k runners, respectively, we were easily hitting 4:55 pace to start out with and this felt a lot better than it did last month, as it didn't feel that bad. We were all going back and forth in the lead. This was really fun, as a game of tactics was being thrown in. I thought we had dropped Kenny early on but he would come right back and charge to the front. Jacob was rollin' jamming to Eminem, loud & clear, I was able to rock out too. We clocked the first mile in 5:02. I had just taken over the group before the 5k runners turned off. Kenny & Jacob would finish the 5k in a respectable time of 16:53 and 16:57. I was by solo for the next 4.5 miles miles 2 and 3 were just under 5:30 pace. After mile 3, I must have just been getting warmed as I was able to pick up just under that pace running mile 4 in 5:18, then mile 5 in 5:24 and the 6th mile in 5:20. My garmin read the course as 6.4 miles and with a closing of a 5:12 pace around the lake.

I was surprised by my level of fitness this early in the year and that I didn't blow up. Thank you Kenny & Jacob for the extra push early in the race and the Lord for keeping us safe out there when we were pushing our limits in the cold weather. Thank you Coach Brent at rEvolution and the Kwicky Blades from Tri Shop I ran in. I am excited to get this tri season started!

Thanks for reading & congrats to all my friends who also ran the Texas Half & 3M Half Marathon.

William

Holidays & Outings

Now that school is over and triathlon season is approaching rather quickly now I am getting back in the saddle as they say in Texas. Or is it back on the saddle? Either way, I am back at it. It's amazing how much better I feel when I am getting proper sleep & recovery.

Here are some of the Holiday and Off Season outings that surrounded my school work.

There was an ice skating party that some of us went to and my grace on skates was quite evident, I had moves that only Michael Jackson could manage. Then I went home for Christmas to Carthage & Timpson, Texas to spend with my family. New Years Day I brought in 2012 with the Frisco Triathletes. Then recently my friend Tiffany was in town from Austin and saw "Young Adult" with her and her friends and we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards the following weekend and had a fantastic fried food dinner. I am glad I wore my cowboy hat and boots and didn't show up clean shaven or I'd felt out of place.

Showin' how it's done in Fort Worth Stockyards... or not.

I don't recommend seeing "Young Adult" unless it's with 3 ladies, otherwise it's acceptable.

Showin' my mom how to do a little 2 step mixed with some boot scoot.

My grace on skates!

Some of us Dallas area triathletes enjoying the last good bit of off-season.

New Year's Eve with Frisco Triathletes.

My bald buddies Jim & Jason

Me and Tiffany @ Fort Worth Stockyards

Thanks for reading!

RITZY

Kept the Faith, Finished the Race!

Sitting in my apartment in Tyler, Tx and talking to my roommate Isaiah Martinez about what to do next with my life after my UT Tyler undergrad days were done. I decided to sign up for online classes through Texas A&M University-Commerce to do a Masters of Business Administration. I didn't know what I was doing and I for sure didn't know much at all about business. All I knew was I could do it if I maintained the faith and applied myself it would all work out. That was 4 years ago this month. There were many late nights and large quantities of coffee consumed as I worked full time. Training suffered some but was still maintainable. It was a loooong road ahead. I never thought I was going to see the light at the end, but I finally did with those last 2-3 classes to go, I just kept plugging away. I took my last class over the winter, it's also known as a 3 week "hell term" as I like to call it. As we had a paper or a project due by midnight Monday through Friday for those three weeks. There nights were several nights I was up to 3-5am. The work got done and I finished my last class on top with an "A". After those 4 years which seemed like a lifetime, I kept the faith and finished the race.

I owe huge thanks to the people that supported me tremendously through the 4 years. I am going try to name everybody who was there for me in some way, especially those that critiqued all my papers ;) you know who you are. I'll start with Jesus Christ, I'm not comparable to Tim Tebow but that it certainly could have not been done without Him. A fool would say otherwise. My parents Johnny & Glynis Ritter for their support and encouragement. Huge thanks to the following friends: Isaiah Martinez, Ann Marie Worley, Jerri Henderson, Jim & Penny McCan, Lance Vernon, Rachel Bishop, Mike Martinez, Jevara Jackson, Bo Trainer, Tabitha Wells, Brent Poulsen, Raul & Marta, Liz Meraz, Trent & Jennfer, Stefanie Dardaganian, Shanda Chambers, Jared Kirkpatrick, Carol Stark, Richard Burgunder, Margaret English, Kelly Harris, & Todd Hamilton. Just so you know I appreciate you guys very much!

Since I took a winter term and finished in January that means that graduation isn't until May so I'll have to wait for that fun ceremony until then. I am however looking forward to an exciting racing season with some huge events lined up and seeing where God leads me.

Thanks for reading & Keep the Faith!

2012 training started before 2011 has ended

Here it is and not even December yet and the swim, biking, running has begun to take place to start building for the 2012 season. Most mornings you can find me doing my workouts before 6am most days of the week. This Saturday morning was a 5 AM start at the Tri Shop Performance Studio in Plano, Tx, as me and Liz were one of the first people to put in a good session the computrainers here. My Coach Brent is already up to no good and coming up with ways to kick my butt through tying my feet up, running up hills, and pedaling with hard power. This was a small brick than what I will be accustomed to later but it was still quite a challenge and as I told Liz I rode like a lil' girl. She was offended by that, so I said a girl that is smaller than her. Today's workout was a 3x10 min interval at xxx watts then I went and ran down the road for a little bit.

Trying to ignore the Liz Raz who's always looking for photo opportunities.

In the hurt box pushing xxx watts.

2011 Season Closure and Off Season Adventures

This is to what I hope to be quick update. While I had a decent 2011 season it wasn't near as great as 2010, mostly due to my fault, but we got through it none the less and ended the season with a win at the Oilman Half Iron. I have set some big goals for next season which most were supposed to have been for this season, but I had to reevaulate those goals and give it another shot. I already have my race schedule list pretty much complete for next season. I am already back to training again with a good wattage test done last week, let me know some good stuff. I am still enjoying some fun and working at the Tri Shop. The Tri Shop has only been open over a week and we are having a great time out of here. Here are some photos from the 2011 Off Season so far. 

Hey I think I need a bike fit, you know where I get one? 

Cool People at Skating Rink at White Rock. 

I am never racing NatMer and Liz Raz in skating again, both of'em kicked my butt. I tried to out sprint NatMer on the final turn and crashed. I guess run and bike speed doesn't transfer to skating so well. 

Even at a housing warming party, we still had to ride the bikes CX/Crit kinda style on old school Huffy's. Maybe we should have wore helmets? 

Warming up the house for Lucy and Matt Gore. 

OWWWW! 

@ TRI SHOP grand opening w/ David Lassiter and Jim Conolly. 

Well thanks again for reading! I gotta hurry and get signed up for the TX3 Series by OnUrMark Productions before the sell out. 

Oilman Texas

This past weekend I finished my last triathlon for the season. I made the trip down with Amanda then we met up with Lance and ater my good friends Travis, Mark & Karmen.

I didn't know what to expect for this, as my training hasn't been necessarily the best for this due to some changes and working a lot the past week getting ready for Tri Shop's opening for November 12.

However, I stuck with what works the best and that is to take it step by step and just be smart and organized. I even wrote an itinerary for this.

4AM came super early as I had my normal pre race meal before a 70.3 that did include Wheaties Fuel if you must know. However I didn't plan to leave the room until about 5:30am, I put my legs up on the wall for a little while then I curled up into a ball and fell back asleep.

I warmed up with my good buddy Jason from Shama Cycles in Houston, afterwards I met Angie and she let me borrow her race belt since I forgot mine.(ooops!) I told her I would just stick it in my shorts if she didn't have an extra.

It was a pretty chill start and I never really felt nervous for this. I think the pressure was off to win since Derek Yorek a local pro showed up, but due to some injuries dropped after the swim. The swim start was rough, the 29 and younger division didn’t mess around. My left arm kept hitting somebody’s back and finally I was able to break free and get on some feet, but eventually lost of those then found someone else’s feet towards the second of the swam by me and he would breast stroke every so often to see where he was going but still out swimming me, I got on his feet and was trying hard to stay on until the end. The water was shallow leading into the exit, so I was able to do some dolphin dives to finish the swim in 32:41.

long run to T1

A long transition had me running through the sand, through the pool area and across to transition. All I had to do was buckle my helmet and I was off. I flew up on my bike and nearly miss-mounted landing slightly on the jewels. Ouch!

I was riding steady the first 10 miles around 24-26 mph but then we hit some hard chip seal for 10-15 miles that rattled your bones. Somewhere around mile 15 my bottle of Heed slipped out of my hands and rolled across the street. I looked behind me, crossed the center line to run back and grab my bottle, because I knew it would be a long day without it. When we finally got back on smooth road it was a big relief.

I quickly caught back up to the group that I had just passed only to re pass them again. During the out and back section I was looking for Derek Yorek on a road bike to see how far back I might be from him, but only to never see him. I was thinking I may have missed him and just kept riding as if I were still chasing.

At mile 40-46, the past few years it has always been a very slow section with several false flats. Around mile 42 my chain slipped off going up hill. I must have shifted too much at once. I came to a slow stop and was like uh oh and going no where I quickly get out of the pedals fix the chain, check the road to make sure I was safe and then back in the saddle.

Due to my better pedaling efficiency I was able to keep my energy level up during the bike, but I had no power and was actually a lot slower than I was a couple of years ago. I finished this year in 2:24 this year, compared to 2:18 two years ago and my only 3^rd half.

just 3-4 miles to go caught in the middle of no where by Patrick McClendon.

heading into t2

A very smooth dismount that I have been perfecting since my incident at Texas 70.3 I was flew through t2 in 30 seconds and on the road hitting sub 5:30 pace. I was like whoa slow down, your not there yet as a 24 year old Todd Teren took off like a rocket that I early caught through transition. I let him go knowing that if I was running as fast as I was he was most likely coming back so I took my chances and let him go. I hit 5:55’s consistently for the first 5-6 miles, which I have never been there before in a 70.3 a tleast for the first lap of the 3 looped course.

The second loop was a slowed down to a 6:10-6:15 pace. I caught Todd by after mile 5 and he tried to go with me and through in a surge to see if he could respond after no response the gapped increased from there. I still didn’t know if Derek Yorek was still in the race or not as I never saw him during the run, I figured I would have been able to see him by now.

The third loop was starting to get rough as I slowed down to 6:20s and the last 2-3 miles were getting rough as I was just trying to survive.

The last mile was my gps was telling me I would finish the last mile in 6:28, then 6:29. I kept telling myself do not drop to 6:30.

The finish was mostly a straight away and you could see the finish but then you had make a circle around to the finish, I cruised into the finish pointed to the heavens and with a slight celebration with my hands. A run time finish of 1:26 or so in 4:26.44.

heading out on the run feeling suprisingly pretty good.

back side shot!

executing good form the concentration on my mechanics is paying off.

and I've reached the finish!

During the awards ceremony I was more nervous waiting for my name to be called out than I was waiting to start the race. Maybe peeing in my wetsuit before the race helps calm my nerves? Then I had to give an impromptu speech about the race.

I don’t think I could have had as a good of a race with out keeping my faith strong and the awesome support crew from Amanda, Lance, and Aaron Palian from OnUrLeft Sports being out there cheering me on. Oh yes! And the butt slaps from Michael Barney, that gave me the extra push I needed every time I came around at least. Thanks to the Tri Shop and Brian Lee the most amazing bike mechanic ever who tuned my bike and my gears were shifting sharp and precise, who cleaned my bike too and had it shining like new! A big THANK YOU AMANDA, LANCE, AARON PALIAN, BRIAN LEE, and course BARNEY the one and only

While this season didn’t go as planned by far for 2011 due to a variety of reasons. However I am motivated more than ever f0r 2012 and setting my goals high and won’t settle for anything less.

Of course you have to end the long season off right with a Shiner Bock BBQ burger with onion rings and a side of french fries.