Barry Brooks - Final Post before Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Clearwater

(I took this from his main blog www.Ironmanatlaw.com, but I wanted the team to see it.  So this is me citing the source)

This Saturday is the last race of the year for me. The one that I have had on the calendar for more than a year now. Although work threw a wrench into my training this past month, I still feel as ready as I ever have for a half Ironman. And I better be! The competition at this race is going to be unlike any I have ever faced. A PR is not going to be good enough to crack the top third in my age group. I'm finally racing with the big dogs. Does that make me a big dog? Because for some reason, I don't quite feel like one yet.

Ryan (who will be making the trip to Clearwater to watch!) told me before Coeur d'Alene this year to "Race like you belong, because you do." I made the mistake of not truly believing that last June when I had all the problems at Coeur d'Alene. I'm still not fully convinced. Sometimes the only way to truly believe that you belong with the big dogs is to get out there and run with them. That way you at least find out one way or the other. And that's what I'm going to do.

You can watch the coverage of the race at here. Just find theIronman 70.3 World Championships, click on "athlete tracker," and you can follow me throughout the morning (I apologize for not having a link directly to it, but it wasn't up when I wrote this. It should be easy to find on Saturday.).

Thank you to everyone for their support this year. I will post a full report when I get back to Texas next week.

Hartley Iron Muskoka 70.3 recap

Green Member:  Tim Hartley

Event: Ironman Muskoka 70.3

Location:  Huntsville, Ontario, Canada

Class (yours):  Open

Results: Finished!  Time (adjusted) 5:36 - almost 45 minutes faster than the Prairieman 70.3 two years before.  Results:  Overall: 370/1301; Age Group: 63/196. 

Local Knowledge and Conditions:  Alison and I checked the place out and drove the bike/run course the day before the race.  Beautiful area with lots of beautiful hills, trees and lakes.  Otherwise, no local knowledge but were able to get an idea of the race course.

Pre-Race Strategy & Warm Up:  I had no plan to get in the 65 degree water prior to the start.  But, I limbered up my arms and shoulders in exciting anticipation of the miles ahead. 

Psychology: I had absolute faith that Dawdy's coaching put me exactly where I needed to be in order to have a great race. 

Lessons Learned (Or Re-Learned):  There just aren't enough hills around Rockwall to even closely resemble the Muskoka hills.  Most of all I learned to ignore pain/cramping.  My thighs started to cramp about 300 yards into the run.  But, I managed to block it out and keep running.  (God is good!)

Future Goals (include skills executed well and skills needing improvement):  Become a better swimmer - more efficient. 

Fitness (endurance, nutrition, hydration):  I'm going to scale back training for a few months.  Then, I intend to focus on sprint and olympis racing in 2010.  Maybe an Ironman in 2011? 

Glad to be here! 

Barry Brooks is headed to Ironman 70.3 World Champs - Representing Tri-ProSoap.com!

Barry Brooks, Green Member at Tri-ProSoap.com since early 2008, has qualified for the prestigious Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Florida.  

Also representing Tri-ProSoap (not pictured) is Michael Dawdy, Green Member since early 2009. 

View the Race website: http://ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3

This is the first time a Tri-ProSoap member has qualified for a World Championship Ironman event.  Best of luck to our teammates.  It will be very exciting to watch for results back here in Texas. 

"It never gets easier, just FASTER!"   Tri-ProSoap.com

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Longhorn 70.3 Video - Tri-ProSoap.com