Welcome to my new home on Posterous. My blog.triphx.com was hacked due to a Wordpress vulnerability, so it was time to move. Some of my old posts got they layout & image size a bit screwed up, so I'll have to go through & fix.

So, welcome back - I hope you enjoy your visit to my new home!

~Brett

I'm a geek. S'OK, I'm down with my geekiness. I'm *kinda* a programmer, so I'll wear that badge with pride. I'm also a geek when it comes to my toys. I try to embrace just about anything that makes training or races faster or more fun - within my budget. I'd LOVE to put some carbon rims on my bike, but that's not something I can afford right now. Thanks to some AMAZING sponsors, I've got some great gadgets, supplements and other stuff to keep me racing! Here's the list of my favorite stuff: Xterra Velocity Speedsuit 0.02 I've always been really impressed with my Xterra Wetsuits, I have the Vortex model in both full-length and a sleeveless. I've used other wetsuits before, but none have had the same "snug-yet-supple" fit of the Xterra Wetsuits that I own. When I lived in CT, there were no races that were even CLOSE to non-wetsuit legal. Even in the height of Summer the swims were still chilly enough to legally wear a wetsuit and I always wanted to! Last year I raced in Nathan's Olympic Triathlon in Tempe, AZ and heard a phrase that was totally foreign to me: "Wetsuits are not allowed". I was a little taken aback, as I'd never raced a tri without a wetsuit but I really had no choice. Overall, the swim was harder than I was used to for that distance without a wetsuit, but no big deal. Since I plan on racing that tri in a few weeks, I decided to pick up a Velocity Speedsuit 0.02 in case it's non wetsuit-legal. I'm pretty sure SOMA in October and Ironman AZ will be, but I guess I have that covered now. The Velocity Speedsuit 0.02 is really impressive. It looks like a (thin) wetsuit, it smells like a wetsuit, but fits like a compression garment. According to the sizing chart I'm a small, and that seemed to fit pretty well. Interesting note: you need someone to help zip you up. Getting out is no problem, but in requires a little assistance. It's a tight fit, but no more so than a wetsuit - and the speedsuit has a little more give to it. I didn't entirely feel like a sausage, but I had the same tight feeling and mantra that I do in a wetsuit - "relax if you want to breathe". As for performance, I was pretty amazed at how fast I cut through the water. My normal laps took about 2 strokes less, and my 2-lap sprints were on average 6 seconds faster. Speed wasn't the problem, or was it? Because I was going so fast, I totally got wrapped up in speed and burned myself out in about 800 meters. I usually go for 1000 - 1500 in the mornings, so I considered this a "tempo swim" considering I had done it pretty fast. Overall, I'd say this Velocity Speedsuit is as good as advertised, and I'm looking forward to using it for years to come. The $100 off coupon code in the picture is a pretty slick deal, you cut the price of the suit to $150. Newton Running Distancia Performance Cushioned Racer If you've read more than a handful of my tweets (@TRIPHX) or blog posts, you know I'm in love with Newton Running shoes. I have a whole section of my blog dedicated to my running journal; Newton Running review. Here's the interesting part - I'm only talking about ONE specific pair here in my list of "Favorite Gadgets" - the Distancia pair that I got as a present form Kristen 6/15/08! This particular pair is over a year and a half old, and they are still sooo comfortable that they keep finding their way into my rotation. These shoes have hundreds of miles on them, and even some serious worn spots on the toes - but the lugs are still solid, the uppers are perfect and the shoes wear & perform great. The only thing I've had to replace is the insoles - and not because they broke down - because I'd been wearing them without socks for tris and my morning brick (5k to pool, swim, 5k home). My wet feet peeled back the top liner on the insoles revealing a waffle pattern that isn't comfy. I put a pair of Superfeet insoles in, and I'm less than thrilled. Essentially, I put an inflexible insole into one of the most flexible shoes on the planet. I'm contemplating swapping out the insoles from my Motis Trainers for the short-term. Now, I KNOW I need to get a new pair of these before IM AZ in November, I may actually break down and order some (wait a minute, I can get 'em at Road Runner Sports now!) before SOMA 70.3 in October. Money's a little tight, but even so $155 is worth it for these shoes. Now that I know I can get a long life out of them if I rotate a little (I have Motis and Gravitas Trainers too) then I can justify the investment. (For the record - I am NOT sponsored by Newton Running, nor do I get any discounts on apparel.)

H20 Audio Interval Waterproof Audio System Laps in the pool are really boring, at least to me. Anything more than 500 meters and I'm usually bored out of my skull. On more than one occasion I've exited the pool early because I couldn't take the monotony. While I run I look at the scenery, think about the people in my life, wonder what the people in cars are thinking as they drive by and sometimes come up with sure-fire million dollar businesses. (None have worked out as of yet.) When I swim I count my strokes and the number of laps. If I break from that routine and think of something else then there's no chance of me keeping track. Sometimes I'll sing to myself a song from one of Vivi's shows - nothing is more catchy than the music form Big Big World or The Backyardigans. Enter the Interval rock-my-ears-off in the water system. Laps are a lot less boring with tunes cranking in my head. I pop my 2nd gen iPod Shuffle in, clip it on my goggles and pop the earbuds in - time to rock! The tunes sound great, and the earbuds fit well. For me they weren't a slam-dunk out of the box, I had to play with mine to find the right combination of earbud sizes and position, but it's time well-spent. I really dread the days that I forget to charge my iPod shuffle and have to swim without my tunes. I tend to make those my sprint days so I can get out of the pool faster. (Note: While I am sponsored by H20 Audio, I purchased these myself prior to sponsorship - and they are worth the $80 to me!) No list of my Favorite Things would be complete without mention of FLUID and Kona Endurance. I spent a whole post about them a couple weeks ago: "Making a Deal With the Devil". Every morning starts with taking my Kona Endurance Pro and CitraBeta supplements followed by a shot (4oz) of Sub8 Fuel. At the end of any training I make a FLUID smoothie to recover (any fruit will do!). After every race, the first thing I reach for (ok, after my wife & children) is a bottle of FLUID.

My major takeaway from this weekend had nothing to do with the title of this post - I was able to extend my training mileage on the bike farther than I ever have before and still feel fresh afterwards. I'm still nowhere near the 112 Miles that will be required of me in Ironman AZ on November 22, but I have more confidence in the bike than ever before. Next Sunday I am planning to ride the actual IM AZ bike course, the ride we took this weekend was a similar grade and distance (IM AZ is (3) 38-mile loops). Speaking of the actual bike, I am now riding a Guru Chron'alu as I sold my Specialized Tarmac and Felt TT 700. So far this bike feels pretty good, and I am setting up an appointment to get fitted properly. My geometry seems to be off a little bit and I am not able to produce much power in the aero position without significant burn in my hips. My rudimentary knowledge of fitting leads me to believe that I am in the wrong position. Overall, it's a quick bike and I'm not anticipating any big changes to components - just some tweaking for now. I'd love to get a set of aero rims, but that's not in the cards right now (unless Spinergy changes their sponsor program to more than 25% off). Every Saturday morning starts off with a trail run, Kristen & I put a Trail Running Group together at Fireside at Norterra (the community where we live) and each week we tackle the trails around the community. I'm not going to lie, turnout has been really low. Aside from a few friends, well... there's just me. This week I was solo, so I did my own little time trial on the 1-mile 2-peak loop. The trail wraps halfway around the base of two 350 - 500 foot hills and then up and over the two peaks. Each week I've been whittling down the time, and I'm sitting at the 10:12 mark. I'm pretty confident that I can get down under 9:59 in the next couple of weeks -- especially as the temperature drops. Did I mention it was 108º on Saturday? After the trail run I did something I haven't done in years -- ran on the treadmill. I'm not a fan of treadmills, but I guess they can be very useful when it's boiling outside. I knew if I went for a run in the heat that I'd be exhausted after I'd already put in a hot, hard run on the trails. So, I hopped on one of the shiny new treadmills in my community center, tuned the flatscreen to ESPN and enjoyed the a/c as I logged a quick 5. I have to say, it's not a bad way to run... but it feels so artificial to me. I really like the sights, sounds, wind in my hair (more on that later) and the outdoorsiness of a "real" run - but a treadmill would suffice this day. I did a couple other strange things that I'd never done before, and they both pertain to "manscaping". I've always wanted to shave my head - 100% bald & waxed - the whole 9 yards. Alas, Kristen (@vivistewmom) has vetoed that "hair don't". Since I needed a trim, she did aide & abet my mohawk (fauxhawk?) by trimming the back & sides. I've always wanted a mohawk, and now feel like the punk rocker that I've always been inside. I guess the good thing about a fauxhawk is that I can tone it down at work and look semi-normal. I'm a digital artist as a profession, so I can get away with a lot if I wanted to. The other strange thing was shaving my arms. Did I do it to shave a few seconds off my swim time? Nope. What about aerodynamics on the bike? Nope. I seriously just did it for the heck of it, no real motivation at all. Quite frankly, I was chuckling to myself wondering what Kristen would think when I made the first few passes with the razor. After about 10 minutes, I was annoyed at all the areas I missed. I can't even imagine shaving my legs! So, now I have a bare chest (I only grow 4 chest hairs, so those always get the razor) and shorn arms... yet I have hairy legs. Maybe I will shave them before Ironman, maybe I'll just let my arm hair grow back over the next 2 months... who knows? At least I can say I tried it - been there, shaved that.

An online buddy of mine by the name of Craig Barrett (@craig42k) is also training for an Ironman distance tri - but his is in just a handful of weeks.

(10:28 AM Aug 25th) Something is not right, this is the 3rd 'failed' long run in a row. Frustrating...

(10:38 AM Aug 25th) I bonked... again. 3rd long run in a row. It's killin' me.

With the thought of an 140.6 grueling miles of triathlon in a short time, "failing" at a training run is a really, really bad thing... right? I say "No." A bad run can be a good lesson -- as long as you learn something from it. You can learn what your limits are, learn what your pain threshold is, or even learn a way around it. Craig and I joked about "Embracing The Suck" - that period during training or a race when you know you've got to grind through a painful situation to get your second wind. Craig's going to do great at his race, and the lessons he learned in training will help him through 140.6 miles of hell/fun. Every single day people hit rough patches in their life, sometimes you just have to embrace the suck and fight your way through it.

I've been tweeting about the crazy workouts that @jason_warner & I have been doing (Hot Circuit, Pulling a 200lb. sled on 104º pavement , etc.) and the thing most folks have asked me about is our "Burpee w/Pull-up" exercise. It's simple to describe (push-up to squat, jump to pull-up & repeat) but it's much easier to show. Above is a quick illustration I put together. The main idea is to get a rhythm where you can do all (3) movements in a fluid motion. It all starts with an "explosive" push-up where you get your upper body off the ground and pull your feet under to start the squat. Benefits for triathlon:

• Chest, arm & Upper back strength for a stronger swimming stroke
• Quad & Hamstring strength for biking & running
• Core strength & flexibility for swimming & running posture
• All-body conditioning for superior endurance

But what if you can't do many/any pull-ups? Burpees are a great exercise for all levels, because they will actually HELP you learn to do more pull-ups. Since you are exploding from a squat up to grab the pull-up bar, your momentum will help you execute the pull-up! NOTE: Make sure your positioning under the bar will let you spring straight up to the bar - any swinging or loss of momentum makes it much more difficult to complete the pull-up. You can also start out without the pull-up, and add them in every other rep! We've been doing burpees for a week, and we've worked up to 75 reps, by this Friday we should be at 100!

I came into the office this morning feeling good; I had a solid 2000 meter swim at 6am followed by breakfast with my beautiful grrlz. Jason & I went over our crazy workout from the night before on the ride in (Note: it's awesome to work/commute with your training partner & best friend) and planned our lunchtime circuit for today. The first thing I saw when I got to my desk was this...
M Dot Tattoo

One other motivation! You can do it! - Jack

Jack Harbaugh is our VP of sales, and I see him 2-3 times a year, and we became fast friends. You may recognize the name (Cousins QB Jim & Coach John "Fighting Harbaughs"), he's from a heck of an athletic family.

The article and inscription was awesome, I immediately posted it on my wall and set out to thank him. When I caught up with him a few minutes later, he leveled the boom on me with his comment:

"When you complete it (IM AZ), the tattoo is on me."

Seriously, he offered to pay for the tattoo - one that I've wanted to achieve ever since I started racing triathlons - out of the blue. For a triathlete, that tattoo signifies all the passion, sacrifice and desire that goes into training, preparing & completing an Ironman.

I'm absolutely blown away, Jack's a helluva guy that I'm proud to call my friend. As he put it: "A Brotha from anotha motha."

If it's too good to be true, it probably is. - Everyone

Quick - count the number of times someone has told you something that was so awesome and wonderful that you HAD to try it... only find out it was fake, illegal or just plain stupid. (Stop counting, 10 is more than enough) We often do it to ourselves; we'll try something for the first time and get hooked... We rant & rave about it and then once the luster wears off we realize it probably wasn't that great in the first place. I fell victim to the above scenario right here in my blog - on my Supplement Review section. I used a product (NOX) for the first time and had a great training session - I then proceeded to tell everyone who would listen how much I loved it. Subsequent uses led me to believe that the supplement had nothing to do with the great results, and the stuff actually made me sick to my stomach. Not believing the results, I tried it a few more times and eventually even the smell of it made me nauseous. With that lesson learned, I put on my skeptic's hat whenever I tried a new supplement and waited until I'd used it several times with great results before I said anything. Now, if I spout off on any new product you can rest assured that I've used it enough to form a strong opinion. Without further ado, here are the 2 supplement companies that I think are so awesome they must've made a deal with the devil: Fluid Recovery "Fluid is an award winning muscle recovery sports drink. Its unique blend of carbohydrates, protein, and glutamine provide an outstanding and all natural formula for muscle repair, regeneration, and recovery." Here's what I know about Fluid - it tastes great, it works great, and I love it. As a bonus, the guys who run Fluid are great. "The Fluid Dudes" are the Brown brothers, and I wish them continued success with their amazing product! There is nothing I like better than a Fluid, banana & strawberry smoothie after a hard bike, run or race!

Kona Endurance Makes 3 products I am using for my Ironman AZ training: Kona Endurance Pro, Citrabeta Shot and Sub8 Fuel. Check out their site for yourself and you can read all about each. As someone who is actively using all 3 products together all I can say is "WOW!" I have never had as much energy, endurance or power as I do when I use Sub8 Fuel along with my daily regimen of KEP and CBS. (Actually, I only use a 1/2 dose of KEP and CBS right now, and will be bumping it up in the next 2-3 weeks) The first few times I used it on the bike I was consistently faster than I'd ever been; on my last training ride I kept dropping my riding partners because I just could not contain my speed! The last few runs have been similar, this morning in particular I went out for an "easy" 8 miler and was done in 63 minutes! My intention was to do 9's and I ended up sub-8. Seriously. Here's the scary part; when I pushed my legs to sprint across a busy street about 6 miles into the run, I had a surge of power I've never felt before. When I reached the top of the hill by my house, my legs felt like they were on autopilot and didn't want to stop. It was a different feeling than "runner's high" I can only describe it as "runner's legs on crack". Honestly, I'm amazed at how well both Fluid & Kona Endurance make me feel. I'll keep adding to my Supplement Review as I continue my training... stay tuned.

I've been thinking about a book for a few months; ever since Steve Speirs (@britishbulldog) came out with his awesome book (link to the right) 7 Weeks to 100 Push-ups. I've been submitting ideas for a "Push, Pull & Sit" workout and "30 Days to 30 Pull-ups" to his publisher with no real success, but I really have the itch to put together a workout book that I think would help others... 3 Weeks ago today I was amazingly fortunate enough to win entry into IRONMAN AZ from Newton Running, and have been training my butt off ever since. It dawned on me during my run this morning that a little over 3 months is an extremely short period of time to train/prepare for 140.6 miles of grueling endurance... maybe I have a new book idea - Last Minute Ironman - Training for an Ironman in 3 months. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Training for Ironman AZ has been going really well, while I've been working out pretty hard I still have been a little cautious in building my mileage back up. It feels very strange to say "building my mileage back up" as running has been my thing for the last 4-5 years. When I was back at ESPN, most weeks were 25-35 miles year-round. Lately, I've focused so much on core workouts and cross training that I actually forgot about running... somewhat. I picked up a copy of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and in the first chapter Haruki Murakami talks about keeping his weekly mileage  around 36. I did the quick math and realized I'd only run about 17 miles last week. That's not quite where I'd like to be with an IM looming in 5 weeks! I'm not a morning person. 5:30am is not fun for me in any way. I'm grumpy, sore and cranky when I drag my (almost 40!) old bones out of bed when Kristen shuts off the alarm. I still haven't perfected the art of getting out of the house in less than 20 minutes, no matter how well I plan the night before. Even when I do get out, I can't get more than a mile away before I need to use the facilities. I guess that's how my morning rhythm is. Luckily, the community center (pool, gym, etc.) is a little over 1/2 mile from our house and is open by the time I head out. With the summer heat starting to loosen its grip on Phoenix, more people are out at 6am - joggers and bikers now join the landscapers and the early commuters. Last week I was happy to have my iPhone with me - not only to provide my tunes - I was able to grab this photo of a rainbow as it appeared in front of me. So, I'm slowly bringing my miles up by breaking my runs into twice-daily runs 3x/week and once 2-3x week. I hope to be back t0 30 miles/week in the next 2 weeks.