Desert Classic Du!

Wow,

Its been a while, and I'm extremely sorry. But there is good news...and that is the racing season has begun!!! Now that I'm back to racing, I will be doing my usual race updates as the season goes on...so make sure you check back. I will also be reconstructing my main page at: http://www.rybread.com/ So make sure you keep checking back for new pictures, layout, and race schedule!

Ok, so what has been happening. Well this past weekend I flew out to Phoenix, AZ with my dad. I cant sait it enough, but he seriously is my biggest supporter, and I would not able to do all these races without his help. So thank you, it really means a lot to me.

We flew out Friday morning and got into Phoenix around noon. Unfortunetely my bike did not show up so there were worries that it may have gotten stolen or lost. That would just be wonderful right? So most Friday was spent worrying and calling the airport to see if the bike showed up yet. I got in a short easy run of 7 miles at 5:45 min/mile pace and felt ready to go. I really wanted to ride my bike a little bit because I havent been able to in the middle of the snow/coldness of Chicago. Late at night, my bike showed up somehow. It was too late by then to test it out so I decided to just wait til the next day.

On Saturday my dad and I went over to the Chicago Cubs spring training baseball practice. Let me tell you...we are HUGE Cubs fans, so it was awesome to be able to go watch them practice a little bit. We even went behind the fence waiting for them to hit some home run balls over. Wow, it was nuts back there. People were diving in the streets and fighting just to get their hands on one of these. Luckfully because of being fast, my dad and I were able to sprint to the balls and get some to bring back as souviners! I did walk away with a cut knee and hand due to being pushed and stepped on in the street when I dove for a ball! Dont worry though, nothing serious.

We then went and registered for the race, and I practiced a little bit on the course. The rest of the day was spent walking around the town, going to a street festival, and catching up with some of my dad's relatives.

Race day came and I was pretty nervous. The field was stacked with over 20 male Professionals including the 2004 Triathlon Olympic Gold Medalist. Canada's whole Olympic team was there too, so that in itself was intimidating. Not to mention the fastest cyclists in the sport! So the first run went out blazing. This was because there was about 800 meters of open road before we went onto a winding single track desert course. I positioned myself well and got into 4th place right with the leaders. We came through the first run right under 5 min pace for the 3.5 miles. After transition, I was sitting in 6th place right behind the leaders.

I struggled a bit on the bike at the start. I couldnt find a good groove and people were passing me right away. I think its from the lack of riding quality miles outside...but it will come along soon enough. After about 6 miles, I started to feel better and was hanging strong in 9th place overall. The last 6 miles of the 21 mile course were tough! It was 3 miles of a steady incline. Then it was all rough chipped surface for the last 3. I struggled on the last 3 miles and came into transition in 12th place.

I figured since 7th was not too far ahead, I could maybe get myself into the money. I took off running and felt ok, but lost my balance on a sharp turn and hit a cactus hard! Needles stuck into my leg and it immediately locked up. From there on, I just jogged the rest of the way, still pushing, but not as fast as I am capable of running. I ended up only passing two guys to finish 10th overall. I am not disappointed with my finish, but not satisfied. I know I have a lot more work to do. But if you look at who I was competing against, these are some of the world's best athletes. I do feel honored to be racing against them at such a young age and cant wait to continue my progress.

Other than that, I am now back at school just trying to finish up the school year strong along with getting all my training in. I am happy to announce I have a new sponsor for the next two years...and that is Powerbar! They are going to supply me with all my nutritional needs, and cant wait to expand in relations with them.

But that is about it, check back soon because I plan on writing more about upcoming races which include:

-my first road cycling race this weekend!

-the March Madness half marathon in mid-march

-the Shamrock shuffle 8k

-the St. Louis 5k

Until then, keep training and have a great 2008!

-Bread