2015 Year In Review

Year In Review - 2015
Another solid race season is in the books. Training and racing with a working spouse, 3 young energetic boys and a career of my own continues to be a moving target but with great communication and sacrifice, I continue to push my comfort zone and redefine what is possible. Similar to last season, I decided to steer away from the long distance stuff and focused on olympic distance racing and running speed. My "A" race for the year was the ITU World Championship and a surprise, fall 10 mile race popped up mid-season, more about that in a bit.

2015 Results Summary
American Triple T 3rd Overall (event PR)
   -Race 1 Sprint 2nd AG
   -Race 2 Olympic 2nd AG
   -Race 3 Olympic 3rd AG
   -Race 4 1/2 iron 1st AG
Grand Rapids 1/2 iron 4:22 3rd AG (distance PR)
CRIM (10 mile) 1:03 (distance PR)
ITU World Championships 2:04 10th American
Army 10 Miler 59:02 (distance PR)

Mid-Year Update 2014

Wow my blog has really taken a back seat lately.  I've been busy doing a bunch of familying, working and some training too.  Here's a quick update to how my season has been going.

In my 6 years of doing the American Triple T in Ohio, this year was by far the most challenging.  With the damn Polar Vortex, we had the worst winter on record and must have been damn near the worst spring too.  Cold, windy and wet.  That theme continued down in Ohio through mid-May and we raced in the coldest conditions I'd ever experienced.  Upper 30's air temp in the morning with I'd guess mid 50 water temp.  The race announcers never commented on water temp all weekend and I'd guess that's because it was borderline "cancel the swim" cold.  The race dealt out the expected hand of a tough course, great comradery and a great way to kick-off to the season.  My fitness was lacking this year (especially on the bike) but I some how managed to pull off 5th overall.  All of the guys much faster than me must have, mid-shiver, thrown in the frozen towel.

After the TTT my season took a drastic, but expected, turn from Long Course racing to an Olympic distance focus.  My A race for the year is USAT Nationals in Milwaukee but more on that later.

Winter Update 2014

It’ been a while, here’s an update.

After a nice long break after Ironman Hawaii, I've set my sights on 2014.  I’ve thought long and hard about the focus for the year.  After a shift in lifestyle over the past 10 years, triathlon isn’t just something I do.  My former sedentary lifestyle has been transformed by my training and racing.  My daily schedule is amiss without some form of exercise.  My sleeping patterns and eating habit revolve around being active.  I’ve tried going cold turkey with zero racing after an Ironman season and it doesn’t work.

Ironman Hawaii last year will be my last Ironman for quite some time.  My kids activities are picking up speed and will likely take priority over the next many years.  If I want to continue racing, I’ll be left with trying to figure our how to coordinate things amongst the 3-ring circus my wife and I run.

For 2014, I’m planning a few early spring running races.  A 5 and a 10k should continue to give me focus through this horrendous Michigan winter and it'll hopefully allow me to regain some speed after years and years of “slowtwitching”.   Keep reading...

You Can't Do This Alone

After a bunch of time off to rest and recover from my 2013 season, I've decided to get after it again in 2014...but no full distance ironman racing in the foreseable future though.  In 2014 I plan on focusing on shorter distances running and tri races...but more on the specifics in an upcoming post.


Over past few years I've built some amazing relationships within the industry.  Namely, Robert Kunz from 1st Endurance and Emilio from De Soto Sport.  These two guys and their staffs have greatly helped me along the way and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have had as much enjoyment and success in this sport.  Their collective expertise, passion and willingness to help are undeniable.

This stems back from my college days but I've always like the idea of a fraternity.  I was never involved in one but it always seemed to be collections of the coolest or smartest or best dressed or biggest partiers around.  It didn't matter the focus, they all flocked together with a common bond.  Coming from a Big Ten University and I saw a very similar fraternization amongst the sports teams and clubs and I always wanted to be a part of it.

Over the past 5 years, I've applied for and have been turned away from most of the big name armature triathlon teams in the country.  This blog entry is not to discuss their selection criteria but simply put, I didn't have what they were looking for.  So at first, with a bit of chip on my shoulder, I decided to just go out and try to out race anyone of these guys I came upon.  I won some, I lost some.  But the point is, I've always wanted to align with a group who all work toward a common goal!

So in the process of establishing my self proclaimed team of one, I individually lobbied some of the premiere triathlon companies around for support and partnership.  There have been a handful along the way but the two guys that continue to be there for me are Robert and Emilio.  They help me, and I do everything I can to help them.  At this point joining a team  would likely mean breaking ties with the guys who have helped me most and I'm obviously not willing to do that.

So again, for the 2014 season, it is my absolute honer and privileged to announce continued support from 1st Endurance, De Soto Sport and Rudy Project!  If by chance you're not familiar with these companies please click on the banners within and learn about the incredible nutritional products and fitness gear they have to offer. Signing up for their newsletters and mailing list will get you in on all sorts of tips and goodies!


Until next time,
Train Safe, Train Smart. 

**note, Team Pérez includes my amazingly supportive wife, my three sons who I plan to continue beating around the block well in to my 60s and my families on both sides.

Product Review - 110% Play Harder Compression

Late this past season, in the peak of my training for an Ironman, I struggled with some long lasting fatigue (quads/glutes) and I wasn't recovering well for some of my key sessions. Also during one of my long runs, I injured (overuse) my left knee. 

Traditional means to heal an injury include R.I.C.E. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. After a weeks worth of resting the quads and knees from biking and running, the pain was still lingering. I called up my local PT and got right in for an evaluation. The diagnosis, mild tendonitis of the upper knee/lower quad. He performed a little ART, which hurt like crazy and a little Shockwave Therapy. He prescribed a little more rest, ice and compression. On my way out a flyer caught my eye for a company I hadn't hear about before. 110% Play Harder. It advertised active gear for recovery and injury maintenance. It seemed like a perfect fit.