Please be patient for it to download, this is an HD video and it’s about 3 minutes long.

*Edit* Having some issues with the iPad version of the site. If you’re viewing from there and the video doesnt run, here’s a link to the video on YouTube.

That said, I’m not going to immediately jump back into training for an Ironman, at least not directly.  My right knee is injured pretty badly right now so in the short term, I need to focus on healing it and getting my body back to a point of healthy balance and strength.  My wife is also pregnant so in about 6 months we’re going to have a new little baby to take care of – not exactly a great time to commit to the training schedule for an Ironman.

So what am I going to do?  The next 6 months I’m going to focus on healing the knee and doing a lot of functional strength training with things like yoga and pilates.  I’ll add in some biking and swimming for good measure, but I wont be following a training schedule.  I’ll do my best to eat healthy but I’m not going to stress myself out if I eat a slice of pizza or two one night or a bowl of ice cream another.  These next 6 months are all about recovery – both physically and mentally.

My family is priority number 1 so I wont commit to another training schedule until things are at a point where it’s safe to do so without risking divorce (haha).  I can’t deny my desire to race in another Ironman though and have decided the next step is to work towards qualifying for Kona.  Family permitting, the general plan at this point is to work up to qualifying at Ironman Texas in 2013.

Between now and then, I’ll heal my knee and race in a few Xterra triathlons (my mountain bike has missed me).  Then slowly work up to the training schedule for the next Ironman and every day I walk into my closet I’ll look at the finisher medal from Ironman Texas and enjoy the memories from the first half of 2011.

The 20 week training schedule to qualify for Kona begins in 547 days….

Triathlon is something I’ve grown to love over the last few years and have constantly day dreamed about the idea of training full time and competing at a professional level for a living.  I have no misconceptions about the amount of hard work this will take. -Not only the hard work that comes with training 30 – 35 hours/week, but the hard work of building a list of sponsors that can support me and my family.

Rackspace has been really great to me over the last 4+ years and I am extremely sad to leave them. The culture there is as close to “family” as a business can get and I will miss everyone there tremendously.  However, I feel I must pursue my passion for triathlon and make a go for a Pro career while I’m still young and physically able.

With this announcement, I start my work today on working to gain sponsorship and connecting with a full time coach to begin a new training regimen. I’ll continue to train towards Ironman Texas for May and will announce my Pro race schedule for 2012 after consulting with my coach over the next few months.

So, ready or not, here I go!  Today will be a day to remember!  Happy April Fools Day!

This past week started off with severe stomach cramps so I took a few days off to rest, then at the end of the week I started feeling a pain in my left shoulder. I’ve been involved in endurance training plans for many years but it seems my body is just now beginning to adjust to the frequency of workouts that Ironman requires. Today, my shoulder is better and stomach pains are gone so hopefully that means I’m getting stronger. Onward with week 4!

This is where I’m going to completely change topics instead of writing a second, separate post. Feeling a little crazy today….

Today Encoding.com released a new service called Vid.ly. It’s awesome! It solves the problem of not being able to view a video based on the browser you’re using. For example, iOS devices can’t run flash. Everyone with an iphone has had the experience of visiting a site with video that doesn’t play due to not having a flash player on the iphone. There are a handful of popular browsers out there and most of them are at odds with each other over what type of video format to support.

Using Vid.ly, you can upload your video in any format you choose and they will provide a link (and embed codes) for you to share the video with others. No matter what type of browser they use to view the video, they will be able to watch it. This might seem very simple – and it is – and it’s awesome! Just had to share! Here’s a test video uploaded to Vid.ly earlier today:

3Bars are 100% natural, vegan, wheat and gluten free, kosher, cholesterol free, organic, GMO free, low in sugar, diabetic friendly and trans fat free. All of that, and they still have about the same amount of calories, carbs and protein as the Zone Perfect bars I had been eating. The other two bars being reviewed had some things I thought I’d like, but both had things I didn’t like. One has to be stored in the refrigerator and the other didn’t have as much protein and was pretty expensive. I decided to order a box of the Blueberry Blast 3Bars online.

Click the image to download the review published in Triathlete Magazine.

The problem I found is that they are crazy addicting. I blew through a box of 15 inside a few days using them as a supplement to breakfast, pre-workout fuel and for post-workout recovery. The times I ate them immediately prior to a workout, I never had any stomach problems (some foods don’t digest easily during an intense workout) and found they were a great source of energy when eaten in pieces on long rides/runs.

Next I tried the Tropical Tri 3Bars. Full disclosure – I only bought a box of this flavor because the Blueberry Blast was out at the time. I really liked the Blueberry 3Bars and had no interest in trying the others. However, just like with the Blueberry, I was very pleasantly surprised with the Tropical Tri 3Bars. Doesn’t taste like health food and is just as addicting. I completely believe these bars are based on cookie recipes – they taste too good to be something created in a health food lab.

So, what it all boils down to is this: they’re crazy healthy, they’re a great source of fuel for workouts or just as a snack between meals and they taste awesome! How could it get any better?

To order your own box of 3Bars, head over to Tri3bar.com or just click the image below.

One of the nice things about my fuel belt that holds water bottles is that it doesn’t bounce much. I can cinch it down and the waist band is thick enough and wide enough to hold everything in place. The Spibelt is very light weight and doesn’t hold water bottles so the waist band shouldn’t need to be as wide or as thick. Or at least that’s what I thought.

What I found during the race is that cramming enough gels for a marathon into a small elastic pouch makes for a really annoying run. The Spibelt bounced up and down with every step no matter how much I tightened the waist band. Since the waist band is so thin, it’s really only good for storing 1 or 2 very small, light weight items (I wouldn’t use it again unless I needed 2 gels or less). Too bad one of the selling points for the Spibelt is supposed to be it’s elastic pouch that can expand for just about anything you want to run with – and doesn’t bounch. Ha!

When I purchased the Spibelt I added on two bib anchors so I could fasten my number bib to it. This was mistake number 2. As the Spibelt bounced along, eventually the pouch started rotating on the thin axis of the waist band. The number rotated along with it. I was constantly unrolling the mess the entire time until the number ripped and I gave up.

So will I ever run with the Spibelt again? Maybe. If I had a run where I only needed a couple of gels and didn’t need to bring water bottles then I might use it again. Otherwise, the Spibelt is going to be sitting in a drawer for a while.