Having Some Fun

Yesterday was the Mid-States Classic, a meet made up of NAIA schools from Oklahoma to Nebraska, and Kansas to Missouri. I had planned to just be coaching at this meet, but the week leading up to this meet I was feeling hungry to race, to feel competitive, to see where my fitness was. I had not decided if I was going to run until that morning. I came prepared with my spikes and jersey, but it wasn’t until I walked up to check in Baker University and saw an old friend Jazz that I really decided to run. I had seen him run under 26 at OSU, and he encouraged me to have some fun in the race with him. It was then that I decided, "Why not?" Even though my training was far from 8k cross country style training and the week had not been a good lead up weak to race, I knew I had over 500miles of training since my last race, and it could be fun.
So the race began on a very windy morning in Winfield, KS. The first mile I ran right with my #2-#5 runners for Baker and my good friend Jazz. Jazz and I talked about running and just chit chatted for a mile catching up. The runners around us looked at us like we were out of our minds as they were racing, and we were just enjoying the run. After the mile, he decided to pick it up, and I looked around to my guys to see who I could help shield from the wind. On my right shoulder was a sophomore from Dallas, Texas, named Corey. He looked like he was ready to race, so I said let's do this, and he took off with me. I broke the wind for him through the next 4 miles, pushing him. When he would slow down, I would too and reaffirm to him that today was his day and the team needed him. I had so much fun talking to people as we ran and pushing Corey. When it came down to the sprint, I let my two top guys go on to the finish. I did not try and outkick them. I just yelled to FINISH, striding in myself at 27:01 for 8K and beating my friend Jazz. It was a disappointing time if that is all I look at, but the fact that Jazz, and my guys have run under 26 this year made me realize that if I had really raced on a nice fast course without wind I would have been far under 26 minutes. This was a huge confidence booster and a reaffirmation that I am on track to have a good half marathon in December in Florida. This had been my first cross country race since I left college nearly 2 years ago, and without a doubt my first cross race that I ran to glorify God and not myself. No pride was pushing me to kick in, no misunderstanding of what the race was for. I was running for God, having some fun along the way. What a great and fulfilling day!

Blessed

So many people search their whole lives for their calling, going to work each day dreading the day and wishing they had a purpose driven life. They ask themselves how they ended up on the path they are on right now. From a young age, I have had a passion for running. It was something that I enjoyed being around and participating in. While the idea of spending a weekend at a track meet may sound horrible to the majority of society, it sounds like an exciting weekend to me. Of course, I have my favorite races to watch, but I still enjoy the other events that are going on throughout the day. I have found happiness on my path in life so far, as a runner, and as a coach, along with my faith.

What I failed to realize for so long was that what I was doing was important. I truly feel God has called me to coach and to continue competing in running and in triathlon races. It had been troubling that I was not called to be a minister or have a beautiful voice to sing songs to God. I was failing to realize that my passion for running, my drive to use every ounce of strength that God has given me to test the limits of this body that he gave me, is actually my calling. For too long, I ran to please the crowd or to feed my own ego, but I now understand that I am running for God.

Training and working out by myself gets old; I think, "Why is no one here to watch me?" It is then that I realize that God is there, and he is the only one who needs to be there. Race day is important, but God enjoys my running as much on Monday as he does on race day. I am so blessed because he loves me. When I need motivation, God is always there believing in me. God has given me a drive to compete and to be the very best I can be. He also has given me two amazing parents who are always supportive of my training and coaching, and he has blessed me with fantastic sponsors who believe in me and my abilities. I am working on surrounding myself with people who believe in me, from my family to my friends, from my sponsors to my girlfriend. I want to be as much of a blessing to them as they are to me. Special thanks to Brooks for taking care of my feet and keeping me running! Thank you God for blessing me with this life in spite of my being unworthy.

Competitive

Triathlon season is over, and so is the recovery period after my Ironman. It is hard to believe that my last race was over a month ago, and I am now back to training as hard as ever. I am currently considering running a half marathon in Lawrence on October 2nd as a gauge to test my fitness for my big half marathon on December 5th in West Palm Beach Florida!
This morning I had a fantastic workout and noticed true improvement in my training. So many people seem to be thinking and wondering what is wrong with that person as they watch me run down the dirt roads and all over the area by myself. How on earth is he pushing himself up that hill this far away from town? All my hard work and drive comes from a deep competitive nature. I truly love to compete and be competitive in all I do. Competition is rooted in comparison. When I look at the world, I am instinctively aware of other people’s performance. Their performance is the ultimate measuring stick to measure my own success. No matter how hard I have tried, and no matter how worthy my intentions, if I reached my goal but did not outperform my fellow competitors, the achievement feels somewhat hollow. Just like all competitors, I need other people for comparison.
If I can compare, I can compete, and if I can compete, I can WIN. And when I win, there is no feeling like it. I love the measurement because it facilitates comparisons. I like other competitors because they invigorate me. I like contests because they must produce a winner; I particularly like contests where I know I might have the inside track to be the winner. Although I consider myself as being gracious to my fellow competitors and even stoic in defeat, I do not compete for the fun of competing. Brent Bailey competes to win. This brings me back to my hard training months away from a truly important race. I must lay the ground work to allow myself to win.

Ironman

Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles, and brag for the rest of your life. I had seen the commercial long before I ever dreamed of doing an Ironman. Just three years ago when I started experimenting with sprint triathlons, I hadn’t ever dreamed of what it would take to prepare myself for such a test. Triathlon was a way to stay in shape during the summer by mixing up my training. Well, the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and I was out of college. Suddenly I realized triathlon was not just a hobby but a way of life. I now dream of being one of the best triathletes, a bold goal but my hope is that my stubbornness over the next 10 years of training can lead to great things.
When I look at the best triathletes in the world, it is easy to see they are not in their twenties but instead their thirties. So now here I am trying to make my mark, get my start and see what I am made of. I decided back in January that I wanted to complete at least one full ironman soon. Not trying to say I want to pick the full ironman as my distance, but instead I want to see who I am. An ironman is more than just a race, it is a test. It is said that the toughest test a human can put his body through is a full ironman. Sounds good to me, I enjoy pain, I enjoy a challenge, I enjoy showing people just how crazy I am. So once I moved back to Colorado I began my training at elevation and training for the Vineman Ironman: 60 days at elevation, 28 miles of swimming, just over 1,000 miles of cycling, and 386 miles of running.
The day of reckoning is here, and I have now finished my first ironman. To be completely honest, I am very bummed with how slow my time was. At just 10 miles into the bike section of the race, I was going through an aid station when a man dropped a water bottle right in front of me causing me to hit it and lose control. I swerved to the left and unclipped but just enough to twist my ankle a bit, then turned the bike right where I fully lost balance and fell around just 18 mph. I sacrificed my knee and right side of my body to protect the bike to ensure I could finish the race. With the help of another man I was able to get up but took about 10 minutes to get going again because I was bleeding/bruised/and had managed to crush my boys into the bike. I keep thinking back to how I crashed during the bike race, and how much it took out of me.
Finishing an Ironman is a huge deal, and that in itself is enough to make me smile. What really makes me smile are a few things: my mom came all the way out to California, and at one point when I had started to walk, I saw my mom and she walked with me till I could run again; next was the older gentlemen who stopped when I wrecked, picked my bike off of me, and waited around till I was able to get my wind back; after that, I watched another guy wreck, and I waited for him and we finished the bike and much of the run together bleeding and just talking; and the final thing was God. They say to make sure you are following God and not the other way around. Well, today I saw him all over the course, and at one point I was quoting scripture aloud to kind of stay sane. 12+ hours is a long time to be alone with one’s thoughts. After my finish, I collapsed and they immediately took me away on a stretcher to look after my wounds and to rehydrate me. Once again my mom was there, and I was so truly blessed to have her along. This race did not go according to plan, it went much longer. However, I now can say I am an Ironman, and I had to go through the toughest day of my life to accomplish it. 58 days of training in Colorado, 30 miles of swimming, over 1000 miles on the bike, and 385 miles of running for just one race. I can’t wait to sleep!

4 Minute PR

When it comes to personal records, it is very hard to be discouraged when there is improvement. With a four minute PR, I would be pleased, but I realistically believe I am another five minutes faster than I showed today. My actual bike split was over a minute slower than last year and with the amount of time I have spent cycling compared to last year I find myself very discouraged. In workouts I am putting in more miles, faster times in all of them and feel as fit for triathlons as I ever have.
After my past two races I have felt recovered within just a few minutes as though I am ready to start over and do it again. My conclusion is that training for a full Ironman and competing in Olympic distance triathlons are not a good mix to see success. July 31st I believe with all the hours on the bike, the two-a-day runs, and the smell of chlorine coming off my skin even after I shower due to how much time I am spending in the pool will all pay off with a great race. Even though I am looking forward to the Vineman Ironman, I also look forward to next summer where I can focus on more than one race while bringing home some much needed success. I owe a special thanks to Jim Hallberg for once again allowing me to stay at his house and his coaching has helped me to another personal record.

Qualified

My birthday came and went without much of a celebration, but instead a weight of another race on my mind. With two bad races in a row, I was hoping that the Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon would be the start of the season I had hoped to have.
As the race began, I felt very relaxed in the ankle deep water. I knew my parents were there to support me, my great friend Adriane had come up to the race to support me as well. Along with the support, I had also been having great workouts leading up to the race. The swim was not as fast as I would have liked, but it was still a PR for 1500 m. This was due in part to more time in the pool, but also my amazing Xterra Vendetta wetsuit contributed. As I took to the bike, I never truly got into a rhythm that felt really comfortable, although my time was also a PR for this course. True Olympic Distance triathlons have a 24 mile bike portion, but this one has a 30 mile bike course. The run went well, not great, just good. My run is becoming less of a blowout for me because my training has divided up my time, and I am becoming better at the other two disciplines. As a whole, with a long bike course, my time was not an Olympic Distance PR for me, but for this course it was a PR. My final time was 2:33.19. When the race was over, I placed 4th in my division which secured the last qualification spot for USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals. Whether I compete in the race or not will be determined after my full Ironman, I am still excited to have a qualifying mark. The next race on my schedule will be the Boulder Peak, which I finished previously in 2:24. I hope to drop that time by 10 or more minutes.

That Hurt a Little

I survived the Kansas Half Ironman, but it was not what I had hoped. Going into the race, I felt very prepared. At first, I was nervous about taking several days off after my fall on Pikes Peak, but then realized I had been almost over training and could use the rest. I thought with a time of 4:42 last year, that this year I would have a much better race since I had been actually training for it. My hopes of breaking 4:20 failed miserably. The swim went great in the new Exterra Wetsuit; the Vendetta is a fantastic wetsuit. Getting onto the bike, I felt fine until mile 35ish when the nausea crept in. During the rest of the bike ride, I felt exhausted and like I was on the verge of throwing up. As I started the run, I thought things were turning around. I averaged 6 minutes flat for 7 miles; then, I began dry heaving about 4 times per mile. Anytime I tried to drink water or Gatorade I would throw it up about 100m down the course. From then on, I fell to over 9 minute miles and sucked on ice chips between dry heaves and poured water on me to try and keep cool. When the finish line finally approached, I was limping because of my knee and barely staying up with the cramps and dry heaves. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I collapsed in pain and was carried off. The Navy Medical officers who were working the med tent were concerned that I was shivering so much that it was the start of a heat stroke. They immediately hooked me up to an IV and tried to warm me up. After the first IV drained into my arm, I became warm and they then had to try and keep me cool. After over two hours in the med tent, I finally started feeling good again. The drive home was far from fun, but I made it home and had never been so happy.
Two races down- the first one involved mechanical error, the second one was my error. I am not fond of making excuses for bad races, so I will put it plain and simple. I had a bad day; I truly hope my season turns around at my next race in Loveland. Thanks for all the support.