Gregtay's Triathlon Blog

Sprint – 1/4 swim / 14 mile bike / 5k run This is our first Triathlon every year and it’s something I always look forward to. The course isn’t great, but it still a lot of fun. Just like last year, Angela decided to join me for the Duathlon… s he does the same race as me, but she skips the swim. This year was a bit different… Seattle hasn’t seem much of the sun this year… in fact it’s been cold and rainy and the days leading up to the race flooded Sammamish State park… so this was the first time I raced in the mud… and a mud fest it was!!! Pre Race: We woke up and headed out to the park. I had two pop-tarts pre-race and sipped on some Gatorade. I forgot to take my Gu 30 min before the race and I think I really could have used the extra energy. We set everything up, waded through the mud and puddles, and managed to find the new JFT2 team tent. I went for a warm up run, then tried to swim… just couldn’t stay in the water. I have a sleeveless wetsuit and my arms were just frozen.. ...

Sprint – 1/4 swim / 14 mile bike / 5k run Saturday May 30th, 2009 I really look forward to this race every year.. maybe because it signals the beginning of triathlon season in Seattle or maybe because it’s a course i ride on almost every week.  This years race was made even more special because my beautiful wife decided to race along side me:)… Angela signed up for the  Duathlon.. so she was doing the same race minus the swim.  We couldn't have asked for better weather!  Alarm went off at 4am, eat pop tarts, throw gear in  car, throw wife in car, start driving.  We arrived at the park nice and early (i like being there EARLY) and managed to be the first few people into  transition. Everything was set up, went on a warm up run, then a warm up swim… everything was looking good.  I had a bit of time to socialize with my teammates ( www.fjt2.com ) and talked Angela through the next 90 mins one more time… i knew she was going to do great! ...

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run November 23rd, 2008, Tempe, Arizona http://www.ironmanarizona.com/ My brief thoughts on the day: Around 8:25pm on Sunday November 23rd I heard the most  wonderful words ring out across the dark Arizona sky.  This was all after a day in which I watched the sun light up the dark horizon over the lake while I swam chasing the sunrise, later I was on my wind cheating leg powered  rocket ship and the sun had moved higher into the sky, now beating down heating up the Arizona desert, soon I left the speedy bike behind and relied on my exhausted legs to carry my into the sunset, the sun had done it’s job today but my challenge was far from over.  Into the darkness I ran, but I was far from alone and any time the fatigue or pain overcame my thoughts I would find myself surrounded by people who I had never met, people who didn’t know my personal challenge of the moment, but they would call out my name with encouragement and al...

1.5k Swim - 40k Bike - 10k Run http://racecenter.com/cascadesedge/ Alarm went off at 5:45am and I packed up the truck and headed out to Enumclaw to attempt my first Olympic distance triathlon.  It was a beautiful morning.. the kind of weather you expect for the longest day of  the year… (certainly not the kind of weather we have been seeing in Seattle this year!) I went with the pop tarts – no coffee breakfast since that seemed to work well for the Issaquah race.  It really was a wonderful drive through the woods out to the race… sunroof open, windows down, and a smile on your face kind of drive.  I was careful about how much I was hydrating... didn’t want to over hydrate and have to pee every 10 minutes during the race… but this turned out to be a mistake since I started the race dehydrated… opps. I hadn’t pre-registered so I walked up, registered, and headed in to transition to set up.  I was actually one of the first people they let in to transition and ...

Issaquahtri.com - 1/4 swim, 15 mile bike, 2.8 mile run May 31st, 2008 The alarm clock went off at 4:45 and I had everything loaded up and headed out to pick up Kevin by 5:55am. We couldn’t have asked for better weather… no rain and no clouds… it was a bit cold for the end of May, but overall it was warm enough that weather wouldn’t be a factor. I decided to do things a bit differently this  time.. no Starbuck's to wake me up.. and keep breakfast simple.. very simple. On Coach Jill’s suggestion I turned to PopTarts for my source of nutrition. I honestly think this was the first time I have ever had a PopTart!.. they are actually quite tasty! Kevin and I arrived at 5:30am, unloaded and headed to transition. I arrived early enough to secure the end position on my assigned rack. I set up my transition area and then found Jill and a few other JFT2’ers, dumped my transition bag at the team tent and then went for a short warm up run. Just before 7 ...

So why do I do this crazy sport?  And why do i need three different sports to train for.. why not focus on just one?  Well… first, i am a bit ADD (as they call it these days)… i get bored quickly and three different sports tends to cure that:).  Second… well.. as you can see by the photos below I had to find something to help keep me in shape and training for triathlons tends to do the trick. Not too long ago i was pushing 245 pounds (YIKES) and really h ad no idea how to eat right or how to exercise.  The 20/20 program at the Pro Sports Club fixed that about 4 years ago (basically think of “America’s Biggest Loser", except you pay them money to yell at you vs. trying to win some money.)  I have been around 175-180 pounds since the program and i feel great!   Yikes!  I never want to feel or look like that EVER again! A few years ago i stumbled on to cycling… something i loved doing back in collage but gave up when i got out of shape....

I was thinking the other day.... how can I make a complete fool out of myself while competing in all these crazy triathlons... what can i do to really make people wonder why in the world is "he" out there doing this.  Here's what i came up with:  Start riding a full carbon tri-specific race bike with fancy carbon race wheels... and still ride at the same speed as my old bike and watch guys on Mt bikes pass by me during the race.  That should do it (and make the guys passing me feel pretty good in the process!.)  Well the guys down at Triumph Multisport were a huge help and now I have a new donkey to ride for next session.  Everyone says you need a name for your race bike... I think mainly because you need "someone" to yell at and blame when the hills get too steep.. and last time i checked bikes don't yell back.  So my new Roo will be given the name "Panta Hypomenei" -Translated from Greek is means: patently enduring, always ...