The Venge

In an effort to become a faster cyclist--and because I've really come to love following the pro peleton--I decided that I'd spend this spring focusing on bike racing. It's been a blast so far.

And, while I was at it, I figured that I should pick up a new road rig. Check it out.

2012 Specialized S-Works Venge. Project Black (i.e. matte black carbon, limited edition). SRAM Red. Rovals with a PowerTap G3 hub built in. Built up beautifully by my buddy Dave Nazaroff over at Toga!/Gotham.

I cannot get over how amazingly well this bike rides. Great handling and feels so smooth--I swear that all of the roads in NYC were repaved over the winter. At the same time, great power transfer, stiff bottom bracket and a lot of pop (even despite my loss of bike fitness during the off-season).

The Venge waiting for pick-up over at Toga Westside.

Venge in its new home.

Race photos from Ironman Canada

The beautiful drive up to Penticton, BC, Canada. The area is extraordinarily hilly and green.

Signing in for my fourth Ironman.

Our house up in the mountains. The house was a 40-minute drive up a switchbacked mountain road.

A view of beautiful Lake Okanagan. The swim took place right off of this beach.

The day before. Just another hot, sunny day in Penticton.

Posie and I hang out on the beach. What an amazing race companion... always keeps me calm!

Human cement mixer.

Cruising along the bike course. Sunny. Hot.

A glimpse of one of many piees of hillwork. Okanagan mountains in the background.

Slogging it through the 95F+ marathon. I look happier there than I remember.

A companion on the first few miles of the run. I'd go on to drop this guy, only to fall apart after mile 13.

More running. Toga!

Slogfest.

Posie doing her part to motivate me.

All smiles. Time for a shower, beer and long, long sleep.

Long overdue

It seems that the 2011 season came and went without me writing a single post. Some members of my limited audience have been asking if I'll ever get back at it, so here goes nothing. (I'm currently watching Paris-Roubaix from a small villa in Italy--am away on holiday--and with 61km left to go, I have a little bit of time to sit and write.)

First, a recap of last year. All in all, the season was decent. I got a late (and heavy) start on training and that definitely showed. Lackluster performance at Rev3 Quassy followed by a mediocre race at the Rhode Island 70.3. By the time my peak race of Ironman Canada rolled around, I was coming into good form and feeling pretty confident.

Canada was a great race--the most beautiful course that I have ever braved--but it definitely kicked my ass. I had a poor swim but got out there and rode well. The marathon kicked off with a bang and I decided that it was time to take some risks. I hammered out the first 1okm on about 7-minute pace. Then the course started to heat up and things fell apart quickly. Struggling through the heat, I was stuck walking every aid station, pouring as much ice down my jersey as possible. As I entered the final 10km, I passed a digital screen outside a local high school; it read: 97F. I was going crazy, it really was that hot.

I ended up holding it together and finishing in a disappointing but respectable 10:36.

Well, that just about wraps up last year. I'm going to go ahead and post some pictures from Canada because it truly was a phenomenal race--and I'd really like to share the course with everyone. But, other than that, I think I'm going to just close the books on 2011 and look forward.