http://johncobbresearch.wordpress.com/

check out John's Blog, He is a Wicked Smart man with lots of Knowledge, and he is the gold standard of bike fitting. Thanks again to John for his Work, the Boys at Colonels are doing some tweaking this afternoon with a different stem trying to get me lower.

Another cool website to check out is www.arundelbike.com

These guys are from Fort Worth and are supplying Garmin Chipolte Cycling team with Swagga this season, the bottle cages are absolutely amazing. I was lucky enough to meet one of the top dogs at Colonels and i will be testing a new hydration system for Triathletes.

Not a whole lot going on with training, putting in some quality sessions this week and trying to stay healthy going into the last few races of the season.

This weekend will be very busy with alot of volume and i will also be riding in the Meredith Hatch Memorial 10mile ride, please read this letter From Chuck Burr. If your in the area Nov.1 please attend!!

Team Ridglea/Mansfield Masters,
Of all the e-mails I have every sent to you, this one may be the most
important.
I want to appeal to your heart. As most of you know, we lost one of our
active team members last July. Meredith Hatch was riding her bike (which
was her true passion) around Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie on a Sunday
morning at 8:00 A.M. when she was fatally struck from behind by a drunk
driver. If you knew Meredith, you knew of her outgoing, bubbly personality.
If you ever got her started in a conversation, it always soon got around to
talking about either her family or her passion for triathlons. She had
wonderful plans for the future with regards to her triathlon training. It was
always obvious she loved her family (husband and sons; 11, 9, and 7) very
much.
As the Head Coach of this program, it is my desire that we don't forget
about Meredith or her passion for life. This is why we (Team
Ridglea/Mansfield Masters) will have a bike collection rally in Meredith's
memory this Fall. Since she loved cycling so much, we will be
collecting new, or gentling used, children's bicycles from now through
November 1. It is my goal that we collect at least 100 bikes.
In Meredith's memory, we will then donate these bikes to deserving
Tarrant County area children this Christmas, so that these kids, that
wouldn't ever have a chance at a new bike, will wake up Christmas morning
with a new bike in memory of Meredith Hatch. All the details have not been
worked out yet, but I have made initial contacts with the Tarrant County
United Way and a few area YMCA's to help with the distribution logistics.
They were very excited to do whatever they could to assist in this project.
If this is a calling that you would like to be a part of, then please bring
such a bike to me from now through November 1. I will store the bikes in
my warehouse until we distribute the bikes.
On Saturday, November 1, we will have a 10 Mile Bike Rally titled 'Bike
On Meredith Hatch' departing the Benbrook Community Center/YMCA at
8:30 A.M. This will not be a race, but simply a memorial ride and a time to
bring a bike to donate.
It is my sincere hope and wish that all of you will want to participate in
this overall project. I can't think of a better way to remember one of our
teammates and to also spread her joy and passion for deserving children
this upcoming holiday season.
Chuck

Cheaters Never Win

From Flatman!

solid week

This weekend was a good week of training, as i am getting ready for a bunch of low key races leading into some bigger races in January. I am a little bummed out about not going to World Champs in Clearwater but i am the one that turned down the decision to go when i qualified in Florida because i didn't feel i was strong enough on the bike, next year i will make sure i am ready to rock.
After a great trip in Colorado i spent the week going through some CO with drawls mostly missing the Mountains and the great runs i had there.
Monday- was a travel and recovery day with a bit of light training to loosen up.
Tuesday- a great run session, with a 4mile TT, i was out in under 1530 at the 3mile so i was happy about the run when it was said and done, its not the fastest course but when it was over i was pretty smoked. After the run workout it was off to the gym for some core/strength. Later in the day it was a good swim session with some threshold swimming, and it was a good day logged.
Wednesday- swim session, bike session, run session, everything solid with some good work done on the bike.
Thursday- was a long run with another core/strength session, and a swim that was active recovery.
Friday- was a swim at the Mansfield pool, some very hard and fast swimming but i am starting to see some faster times in the pool so i have been excited to step up and swim and test myself.
Satuday- Was a long day, in the morning it was a swim session and then a bike session with some intervals. My new Orbea is amazing!
After the ride it as off to Colonels to meet John Cobb who i was very fortunate to meet and have a great bike fit. I spent a couple of hours picking John's brain as he is probably the best and most knowledgeable Bike Specialist around, not to mention he works with lots of pro cycling teams and pro athletes all over the world.
It was a great session with Doug and John, and after a couple more small details i think i will be dialed in and ready to rock. He wasnt surprised that i wasn't racing fast after my previous set up had me working against myself tryng to move forward.
Sunday- 100mile ride broken into 2x50mile loop. I couldn't believe the speed i was able to hold, the combination of my new Orbea set up by John was amazing, the first loop being hilly with Mcmanic and Richard, we cruised 20mph and it felt super easy even with the wind. On the second loop the wind had picked up but i almost negative splited by 12minutes over my time not taking into account fatigue or the extra wind.
It was a solid ride but with a run after i was pretty smoked as i am seen on the grass. If it wasn't for the fire ants i probably would have missed watching football completely.
This week will spent logging some training to get ready for Iron Star Half Ironman in two weeks.
It felt like Christmas today in Texas, the temperature was chilly and i received some Gold Coast Swagga from Chris Buott, and a CD full of pictures from Cody's Wedding from my Aunt and Uncle, it was amazing. Thanks again to Doug for hooking me up with some cruisey Oakley's to hang out in when i am not training. These shades are dangerous especially around the TCU campus where Dougs shop is located.

more pics

A couple more pictures of Ranch and another one of me getting brave with a Rattle Snake. The visit to My Uncle Jeff's Ranch was truly amazing!

Colorado Pics

From Phone, alot more to Come, running at 6-7000 feet along a river was amazing.

Buddy Walk

Please check out these links. This goes to a great cause, Jakob Westbrook has Down Syndrome and he is trying to raise money for a great cause. So if you live in the area or outside of the area you can help him reach his goals. His Father is a local triathlete and runner so it would be great to show all of these kids and families doing the Buddy Walk how much the triathlon community is supportive.

Take a look at the links below. 1 is for the Buddy Walk Event and the second is Jakob's fundraising page.

Thanks in advance for taking a look.
Best Regards
Brent

http://www.dsptc.org/2008BW.html

http://www.firstgiving.com/wildwestbrookwalkers

Paluxy Pedal

Congratulations to Crowie for his big Win in Hawaii, it was wicked cool watching him put the hammer down and winning the crown. I have been lucky to know Craig for a couple of years and he is a first class athlete always willing to help out with media and always willing to take time to help other athletes and answer there questions. He was on fire and unstoppable, truly amazing and a huge inspiration.
This weekend was a great weekend, Saturday was a great stepping stone riding nearly 200kms at the Paluxy pedal, the first 80mile group ride was the hilliest ride i have done in my life, there is a picture of the wall or the start of the climb before it hits 19% and then the badge that a boy scout handed me at the top. I was hoping it was a gel he was giving me as i found my self off the front with 2 wicked fast roadies. But when he handed me the badge, it was way cooler then a gel would have been. It was great to be riding with some great riders, the Moritz cycling team was really doing a great job keeping the pace strong as well as some people from the Richardson Bike Mart. I did my best to represent Colonels and i tried to stay at the front 95% of the time, and i payed for it later on, but after the hilly 80miles i was out for another large loop averaging over 21mph for 6hours, with alot of climbing and wind.
What made this ride enjoyable was the company of Mcmanic and visiting Mikey, and also seeing all of the triathletes and cyclists i know out hammering for that period of time.
A special thanks to Willy (Pearl Izumi) for lending me a tube and C02 after i flated on a changed flat i repared. I was able to get it changed thanks to Willy and did my best to get back up to the group. After this weekend i am a firm believer that Texas Triathletes and Cyclists are the nicest people i have ever met. I think they are almost out looking for people in need of help just to be able to stop and help them out, amazing!
Sunday was spent training after a huge sleep that started at 7pm. I went out and met Dave near his parents place for a good long ride out and around the lake near grapevine/southlake area. It was then off to the pool to do a swim set of 30x50m pull. After the swim, it was a great dinner i was invited too, and it may take me this week to to burn off the meal but thank you to the Mcmanic family for having me over for a wonderful meal.
This week should be a fun filled week and then off to Colorado for Cousin Codys wedding.

Weird Week

What a weird week. This week i spent the first few days very sore from Austin 70.3 and then spent 2 days trying to deal with someone on a website accusing me of being a doper and a cheater in triathlon, this person made some pretty ridiculous claims about me, and not that any of it was true but it sort of got under my skin and i tried to deal with it as best i could. Anyone that has been at any of the 70.3 races knows that i completely get blown away by the big riders during the bike section and then i hope for the best to run myself back in position. I hope that i can become alot stronger on the bike, so this will not happen and i can brush off any critics that i didnt even know. But after a good hard day in Austin alot of people were trash talking me after my 4:08 19th place finish. I do appreciate all the support from everyone i know that put these anonymous posts to rest, however on that day in Austin that is what i had. Alister told me this week that i didn't commit to the distance and that may be the case as well, i didn't give an honest effort all the way through and that i need to get my head wrapped around the distance and the feeling of time trialing for that long. So enough said about Austin.

It was a fairly good week of training so far and my legs are starting to come along. I have a great big weekend of training ahead so it should be a good time.
Monday- easy spin and recovery day very sore from race on Sunday, and a much needed massage from Tarp.
Tuesday- swim session with 3800m straight cruisy mainset. and a run for 1hour on the trail with some zone 3 pace to start flushing the legs out, my legs started to come around after 50minutes.
Wednesday- Swim session and weights, also a bike session with a few 10minute intervals thrown in.
Thursday- Solid Swim session with 20x50m max effort swims. I started to feel a bit better and recovered from race. Also a base run with David.
Friday- swim session with a ton of 200 efforts very hard above race pace, and i thought a few times i might be sick all over the place. Swimming with Jim, Steve Woods and Mcmanic really made me work hard. Also a 90minute steady run session and some core work.
So not a lot of work done, but i am feeling good and the weekend will be big. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada. I am looking foward to getting a good training partner back and and an excellent athlete. Check out his blog, he still holds the fastest pull swim session record after a 5hour ride and a run in boxers that i have witnessed in my life.
http://barrettbrandon.blogspot.com/

One side note i didnt mention earlier is after a bonking swim session in the lockerroom a guy named Joe decided to tell me that i sneezed because of the toxins that a special group were dropping out of planes to try and kill of the US population and have one common World.
Here is a quick speal i looked up when i got back from the pool , i really thought Joe was in my mind and he really didnt exist in the lockerroom.
So what are the true goals of the Illuminati? The main goal is to create a One World Government and a New World Order, with them on top to rule the world into slavery and dictatorship. This is a very old goal of theirs, and to understand it fully, one must realize that this goal isn't of a kind that's supposed to be obtained within one lifetime; it has been a goal that slowly is to be reached over a long period of time. However, they have accomplished more in this direction during the last few decades than they have done in hundreds of years, due to industrialization and the Information Technology Era. Their immediate task is to lower the living standard of the developed countries, like the United States and Europe, to a low enough level, so the government can more easily control us (you can see this happening). The living standard in the third world countries will then increase to the same low level that is planned for the developed countries, so that it all evens out. To be able to accomplish a New World Order, the living standard must be similar all over the world - they want a uniform world to rule over. We can see this goal slowly being reached right before our eyes. The following article shows it clearly: Africa and Asia Push for 'New World Order'.

Green Runner

From Runners World (nov2008)

Here is a list of 30 things even a busy, sane person can do, i know i do a few of these but i after looking at this list i can easily change a few things i do to become a Greener Runner.

There are 10 categories and there is 3 options for both in terms of Good, Better, Best.

Get to Workouts

1. Bike to all group runs and track workouts

2. Run to a local farmers Market to buy produce.

3. Start all your runs from home

Race

4. Participate in Eco-conscious races(green-team.com)

5. Carpool or public transit to events

6. Race in your hometown as much as possible

Hydrate

7. Buy powdered drinks and mix yourself

8.Wave away plastic race cubs carrying your own water (fuel belt)

9. Use reusable bottles instead of throwaway plastic water bottles

Buy New Shoes

10. If you run on trails only occasionally, buy one pair of shoes that can handle light off road use.

11. Pick shoes that are made with few nasty solvents and recycled components.

12. Buy brooks trance 8. Its mid sole is made of BioMOgo, a material that reportedly decomposes 50 times faster than conventional mid soles.

Buy Apparel

13. Buy shirts, and socks made with merino wool, a natural and reusable resource.

14. Buys Clothes made from recycled post consumer polyester like Patagonia's Capilene 1 T-shir. And when your done with it, Patagonia will recycle it into other apparel.

15. Hold off on new purchases and wear your existing apparel as long as you can.

Make a Difference

16. Donate to the Rails to Trails Conservancy, local parks boards, or other organizations that create and promote new trails or running paths.

17. Volunteer to clean up a local trail, or adopt a road you like to run on.

18. Organize a recycling drive at a local race where participants can bring old gear.

Care for your Gear

19. Restore the breathability and repellency of your water proof gear by washing it with Mcneett's Reviex

20. Reduce your consumption of plastic and water by switching to super efficient concentrated forms of laundry detergents.

21. Wash your apparel in cold water and hang dry.

Fuel up

22. Recycle energy-bar wrappers with energy Bar Brigade, which up-cycles them into other products. For each wrapper you save, sponsor gives 2cents to a charity you pick.

23. Make your own energy bars.

24. Eat one less serving per week of meat, which requires significantly more fuel and water to produce than other sources of protein.

Cross Train

25. Run outside whenever you can(rather than inside on a treadmill)

26. If you need snowshoes, a bicycle, or a set of weights, purchase gently used equipment rather than new gear. Check out craigslist.

27. Leave your Car in the driveway and bike or run to the gym once a week.

Deal with Old Shoes

28. Wear them casually afterwards. They may lack cushioning for the long run, but they're fine to walk the dog.

29. Donate them to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program, which recycles the shoes to help surface new tracks and for other uses.

30. Donate them to Soles4Souls, Shoe4Africa or One World Running outfits that give shoes to needy people. Check out runnersworld.com/donate.

A short note on Austin70.3

Austin was a very Challenging Course, probably the hardest i have done in a while, the winds and hills on the ride and trail hills on run have made me pretty sore today. Swim started off well, coming out just behind leaders, however i got my race suit stuck in my Blue Seventy Point Zero speed suit, and couldn't get my suit off to get on the bike so after the slowest transition in the world, and watching people go by me and out on there bikes. I finally got it off but at the expense of my race suit being ripped. Out on the bike, i could see the leaders up the road, and i pushed very hard for 15-20miles trying to get back in touch. This probably wasn't a good move as i found my self fading, and to make things worse Tim Deboom and Bjorn Anderson went flying by me and i tried to pace off them to get back up. I ended up riding with a few people, but mainly Kevin Lisk and i road trying to make up some time, that was lost. I had a few other issues but i pushed hard and my ride is improving but it was a tough ride with the Winds. This was a very deep competitive field with over 50 pros, and i lost confidence when i was starting to fade and was passed by roughly 10people on the bike. Getting on the run i made up some time, but i had to be smart as it was getting hot and the run was a very challenging half Marathon with a few trails and lots of hills. I could see 5 athletes up the road but my final push was not enough as the race was coming to an end, i finished 17th in 4:08. All in all i made a few transitional mistakes, i lost alot of time on the second half of the ride as i slowly started to fade from the hard early effort.
It was great to see how this 70.3 distance race is becoming more popular with over 3700 athletes racing yesterday. I had a great weekend with my Dad and i will be looking forward to coming back to Austin next year, hopefully a lot stronger on the bike then i am now. I would like to congratulate all the athletes that finished this course on this tough challenging day, especially Diesel who throw it down out there. My Next race will be the IronStar Triathlon followed by the San Antonio Half Marathon.

"Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." JOE HENDERSON

Austin 70.3

Race Prep has gone great this week, i feel good and very confident that i am in great shape. The next couple of days will be spent doing very little other than a bit of travel and race prep.
I really hope that my next post is a happy post after the race in Austin.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-10-01-chinese-buffets_N.htm

This is an interesting article they were joking about on the radio this morning about the differences between "obese" and "normal weight" eaters at a buffet.

So if your bored check it out, i think alot of athletes i know may have similar characteristics as the obese eaters. I try not to eat the foods at a buffet except we have an all you can eat Sushi Buffet in Fort Worth which i may be going to after Longhorn 70.3, as i have a couple of friendly bets in place with some athletes racing.

"The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends, side-stepping responsibility, and pushing their luck! " ~Author Unknown