College before/after

The past four years of my life here in Colorado have been a blast.  While my personality may not have changed much - I arrived a hockey player and now kinda enjoy swimming, biking and running.
The past month and a half has been pretty busy. This post serves to be a recap of some recent events and shows some before/after pictures.

Engineers are required to work on a senior design project to gain experience in real-world applications.  During the last month of school, we finished an 80 page report and presented our project to a range of audiences: from 10 year old girls to practicing engineers.  

Freshman dorm on move-in day and four years later, post graduation

 Senioritis made finding motivation to work on projects and study difficult during those last few weeks.  But we made it!

Last weekend my family was able to come out to Fort Collins to celebrate graduation.  Seeing everyone again was great!  We have some things in common...Upon arrival, my parents took off for the pool while my brother, sister and I headed to the gym.

My four years at CSU have flown by.  Moving into the dorms freshman year doesn't seem that long ago.  The next step for me will be graduate school at CSU where I will work towards a master's degree in civil engineering.  I'm excited to continue living here in Fort Collins.

Go Rams! (Left: post graduation, right: touring CSU in 2010)

Instead of staying at a hotel, our parents rented a house via VRBO...which made hosting a grad party easy.  Thanks to all the tri-team people and others who showed up, once again confirming that no amount of food is too much for triathletes. 

With more races around the corner, I've been stringing together some solid weeks of training with the help of the endurance community in the area.  We've had some great group rides up to Estes Park.  My main focus has been on longer workouts in preparation for Boulder 70.3 which is in mid-June.  In order to stay hydrated, I've been making sure to use Skratch on longer rides and in between workouts.  Being correctly hydrated has made workouts much more enjoyable.  On another Skratch note, I got a rice cooker and that thing is awesome!

A group headed up to Estes 

Same ride, 3 years apart. (Spring 2011 vs spring 2014)  Fort Collins - Estes - Trail ridge. Yes that's a rack on the old bike.  

Thanks EMJ, Louis Garneau for the kit that kept me warm and comfortable at 12,000 ft!

This weekend I raced Pelican Fest Triathlon in Windsor, Colorado. Being able to sleep in your bed the night before a race is terrific.  The race was sprint-distance triathlon that had a low-key, fun environment and supported a great cause with Athletes in Tandem.   Since the last time I raced was at Collegiate Nationals (over a month ago) I was excited to get back a race-day routine.  

1st at Pelican Fest triathlon. Thanks Eric for the photo.

I'm grateful I was able to get some small mistakes out of the way (hopefully) because summer is shaping up to be busy.  I was also able to race in the Team Every Man Jack kit for the first time, sharp-looking and comfortable.  The next couple events for me are Escape from Alcatraz and Boulder 70.3.  

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Spring Break 2014

Two weeks ago, CSU had spring break...  

About 20 members of our triathlon team made the most out of the week away from school by traveling to Las Vegas to get in some good training.  The trip worked well with our training plan as it would be the last "big" week of training leading up to Collegiate Nationals.

We drove down to Vegas and rented a house similar to winter training camp.  

We did a couple beautiful rides in the Las Vegas area....

Looking out from the Hoover Dam

Most of us were very grateful to be able to ride and run outside in warmer weather.  One afternoon we did a swim workout in an outdoor pool.  When I had been in Vegas this past September for a race, my dad and I had swam at the same pool (only $2!) and I really wanted to come back.

You know how you always seem to forget something for trips?  Well I forgot bib shorts for this trip.  Not good for a training camp with a lot of riding... Luckily I had my Team EMJ tri shorts from Louis Garneau since we were planning on doing some bricks.  Normally tri shorts don't provide hardly any padding for longer rides.  These shorts performed awesome!  If you're doing a longer brick/race (or just want to have a comfy ride) get yourself a pair of the elite course shorts.

The hot weather required me to pay more attention to my hydration needs.  The Skratch Labs Hydration Mix played a big role in this.  I mostly alternated between the lemons and limes and raspberry mixes.  We also cooked for ourselves again each night which was a blast.

Chicken fajitas

10 avocados in that ice cream container

Most nights we ended up in bed fairly early...the first night I was a little ambitious and joined a group heading down to the strip.  We walked around for awhile, got some gelato, and saw the fountain show.  After that, training dictated my bedtime.

Then to make it the ultimate spring break, we road tripped a couple more hours to Havasu.  The real reason for this was that our collegiate conference championship was taking place the second weekend of spring break.  Most people would rather not race after a hard week of training but our coaches emphasized that it was all part of build up to collegiate nationals.  

I've found that I'm much more relaxed training through a race instead of tapering because I put less pressure on myself by focusing on workouts the entire week instead of one morning during the week.  I think a lot of the training camp crew was surprised with their results. 

Our team had just under 40 people race at Havasu.  For some it was their first Olympic race!  Being able to go through the steps needed to prepare for the race with our team I think was very helpful for a lot of people.  Seeing newer athletes work their way through the race, and enjoy the process is always really inspiring.  Many of them have come a long ways since joining our team in the fall.

This trip could not have been successful without our team trailer.  We fit around 40 bikes and gear in the trailer for this trip.  Big thanks to our sponsors Windsor Eye Care and Vision Center, Discover Massage, ProVelo, MP Multisport who helped CSU triathlon with purchasing and decorating the trailer.

The trailer looking good in Vegas...

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Bro, Do You Even...

This weekend was triathlon's Collegiate National Championship in Tempe, AZ.  

There were so many things that happened this weekend...in order to keep this shorter I'll try and just go over the highlights.

Thursday

Mostly a travel day, but we eventually made it out onto the course.  The team did a short course preview ride, had a pep talk, and a shake out run. 

With having left Fort Collins just after 5 in the morning, the time change, and only a small breakfast...we were getting hangry (I know I was).  The rest of the evening was mostly spent getting ready for the draft-legal race the next day and hanging out at the hotel.  I may or may not have eaten an entire container of hummus during that time. 

Friday, Draft-Legal Sprint

The crowd support was ridiculous.  Just before I got in the water, the CSU Tri team showed up.  All the "good lucks" and "kill its" made me really proud.  Being able to represent our team and school at the race - for the men at least - was really cool.  I tried not to think of it as additional pressure but really just a great opportunity to race for and represent our team!

Coming out of the swim

It was fun being able to race again with people I knew. At Clermont, Andrew tore apart the field and played a big role in the swim/bike in Friday's race.  Getting to ride and work with Ryan Petry was fun.

A couple of bike shots...thanks Jorts Sports for the photos

It was my third draft-legal race but it was a blast!  The course was very spectator friendly and the CSU team members stood out in their bro tanks!

Every time we went by...huge cheers

After getting some ice from the med tent to help with the bruise after falling near the swim exit, I focused on recovering for the next race. Big thanks to our coaches Mace and Tess for offering to get me whatever I wanted.   For the first hour I mostly drank fluids (Skratch and water) and had some fruit. 

The rest of the day was spent cheering the girls on, picking up packets, returning to the hotel, getting bikes ready for the oly race and eating more hummus.  

Day 2: Olympic and Super Sprint

Saturday's race was the main focus of the weekend.  The girls' waves went off first so one of the highlights was getting to watch all of their hard work throughout the year pay off.  The girls all did awesome and from what I could tell were pleased with their races.  

I was happy with the improvement on my swim.  The amount of time I need to make up seems slightly more realistic now.  Thanks to our coach, Tess, and my teammates that push me.  

The team support not only within our team but also for this competition is something really unique about collegiate races.  The entire time during the bike leg I was getting splits from not only our coach but U of A coaches, my parents, Dan Frost and random volunteers.  One thing I noticed for the future when I may be spectating, you really need to yell for bikers to be able to hear.

The run this year was a highlight.  Last year I underestimated the course and went way too hard the first 2 miles.  I tried to run conservatively the first 3 or so miles before really focusing.  It was getting hot out there for everyone and I knew we would all be suffering.  

Coming off the bike, Justin right behind me, EMJ teammate Yoni right in front

Team EMJ headsweats visor was a big help

Running partner for first half

Huge thanks to the volunteers for tossing water on us.  Thanks to coaches and teammates for encouraging/yelling.  

Seeing others succeed in this race was awesome.  Even though he out-kicked me in the finish chute, Bill Jones had a great race after some unlucky bike issues Friday.  Back in January, I saw athletes from our conference preparing for this race.  Riding up a mountain, to get ready for a 2-3 hour event months away is not easy...that's why we have people to do it with.  

Mixed team relay

Trash talking team "B" from CSU was pretty fun.  Unfortunately we lost to them (given a 4 min handicap) and now owe them fro-yo.

Willie tearing it up

Great venue for the spectators

MTR crew

 Going to the awards ceremony was fun as well.  Our team dressed up as minions.  

Yea I know...lame costume Steve

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend.  Too often we get caught up in numbers and results...it is important that we remember why we do these events that can sometimes be painful.  As I knew they would, the races all went by much too fast.  Sometimes we need to smile and think about the big picture...appreciate it.  

Also..APPRECIATE THIS: 25% off Every Man Jack products at everymanjack.com with the coupon code: "mantell25"

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Clermont Draft-Legal 2014

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to miss some recent snowy weather in Fort Collins by traveling to Florida to race in two DL sprint distance triathlons.  Mainly I wanted to try out draft-legal racing.  The races were fun and I was thankful to be able to catch up again with my dad.

Rankings

The week leading into the race, USAT released their age group rankings for the 2013 season.  I had an excellent season this past year, I worked hard but a lot of credit should be given to the group that I was fortunate enough to train with.  At CSU, there were people to push me in every discipline throughout the year.  I was relatively new to the sport and was able to pick up a significant amount of information from more experienced racers.  

Travel

I flew to Orlando, arriving Thursday evening.  In the past, I've always underestimated the amount of food to bring just for a plane trip or car ride so I took a page out of Justin Metzler's book and baked a sweet potato the night before.  I threw together a large salad with all my veggies that would have gone bad.  The people next to me were visibly envious as they only got two Oreos at best.

At the airport, I met up with our coach, who was also at the race supporting Ian.  My dad, who had arrived a little  before us, then picked us up and we headed to the hotel.

Pre-Race

The day before the race we ate a quick breakfast then headed over to the race site.  After some short workouts we stopped by an orange stand, got some snacks and saw an alligator!

Not too far from where the race was!

Race Day 1

We all started the swim colder than we would have liked, I came out further back than I would have liked but was looking forward to the draft legal bike.

I worked my way up into a pack and then things started rolling.  We caught some groups in front of us.  I was having a blast and took a lot of pulls at the front because things felt slow.  Compared to the non-draft racing, a lot more short  but intense efforts that required working with those around you.

After a little, I was riding in a larger group with James from EMJ.  We worked well together. Both days I was impressed with how strong the EMJ guys were biking.  I tried to not think about the run we had left because it was only a 5k.  I felt good during the run but afterwords, I wondered if I had backed off a little on the frequency of efforts during the bike if I might have been able to move up more.  It was cool to be able to race back to back days because we could apply lessons learned and interpret results/feedback immediately.

Day 1 run

After our race, we watched the men's and women's pro races.  The way they all ran was inspiring.

Race Day 2

I learned my lesson from the first day and started to the left on the start line where I could start swimming earlier.  By far one of the toughest parts was exiting the swim.  I knew I was in a better position/group than the first day towards the end of the swim and tried to focus on getting my short legs moving through the waste deep water.  Taller athletes seemed to be able to run normally...the run to transition was pretty significant and I tried to make up some lost time and get in a good group.

Right away I went hard with another guy to get into the second chase group.  I didn't put one of my feet in until we made it to the bike turn around.  Eventually we formed a decent group and caught the first chase group.  The three leaders were gaining time on us.  Matt from EMJ had gotten second place the first day and was definitely putting in some extra work trying to bridge our group up to the leaders.

Our group that formed, on the race website...no big deal

A couple of the guys in our pack I knew were strong riders and we took a lot of the pulls again.  The second half of the last lap (4 lap bike) I started thinking about the run.

Big group on last lap, trying to stay towards the front

Though I hadn't taken it easy the first day, watching the elite men run the previous day made me want to run hard.  Everything felt good on the run except for the last part heading back to the finish.  I did my best to keep my form and finish strong.  Overall, I was happy with my effort and enjoyed my first draft-legal racing experience.

The second day of racing had us running in pretty hot weather.  I was very thankful for having my bottle filled with Skratch Labs exercise hydration mix.  First thing I did upon getting my bike out of transition was finish off my mix.

After a run, I packed up my bike and headed back to the hotel to kill some time with my dad.

Packing up the bike

We jumped in the pool and did our best to finish the food from the grocery store.  I had several rice cakes with sunbutter and jelly and some carrots with hummus.  I checked my email for the first time in 2 days while we printed off my dad's boarding pass and wasn't surprised that my inbox had exploded.  

We found an incredible Mexican restaurant for dinner before our flights left.  You know the restaurant is going to be good when you walk in and the main language spoken is Spanish.

With Mace , huge thank for the support

EMJ guys at Clermont

My dad dropped my bike and I off at the terminal before heading to return the rental car.  I'm glad he was able to enjoy some nice Florida weather.  Minnesota has had an especially cold winter.

Next weekend, CSU begins spring break.  I'm heading to Vegas for a short training camp the Lake Havasu for our team's first race of the spring.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Turning 22

It's hard to believe that I'm 3 weeks in to my final semester of undergrad at CSU, time has flown!  Since classes restarted,  I've been getting back into a routine.  In this post I'll talk about some recent tri team activities, food, and my new relationship!...with Skratch Labs.  

While training at home in Minnesota over winter break, I missed having teammates around for workouts.  It's been cold here in Fort Collins the past couple weeks, but with a couple races around the corner, the coaches have been pushing us hard. 

It gets hot real fast in the garage

This past Sunday was the super bowl.  The CSU Triathlon Team had a super bowl party, complete with pre-game trainer ride.

We did a DVD spinerval workout called "dropping the hammer".  One of our bike trainers sounded like a jet engine, which made listening to Troy (the guy yelling at you from the TV) somewhat difficult.  One of the guys in Troy's video had a full disc.  Needless to say, he was scary fast! 

Then we watched football and ate.  

Chocolate covered strawberries

Dessert fruit pizza and more fruit

Watching the Broncos...David (with the pillow) I guess couldn't take it any more

Finishing up some brussel sprouts

I brought two different kinds of chicken to share.  The first kind is maybe my favorite kind of chicken to make.   The chicken teriyaki was a huge hit and I was glad I stole the first piece.  A couple people asked for the recipe...

In a large plastic bag combine:
3-4 chicken breasts cut into palm-size pieces
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
Ginger
Garlic
A little sugar
Optional: Onions, mushrooms, parsley
Shake up the bag and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight if possible.  I've baked the chicken and cooked it in my crock pot. I think the chicken comes out slightly more tender if you bake it (375 for 25-30 min).  If you decide to add them, the onions and mushrooms taste delicious too.

Give it a try!  You will not be disappointed.

I also made chicken tandoori made from chef Biju's recipe.  

I'm also really excited about getting a chance to work with Skratch Labs for the next year.  I was selected to be one of their "taste agents".  I first heard about their book, The Feed Zone, a couple years ago but didn't get a copy until this year.  (Thanks to my sister for the b-day present)  Skratch Labs strives to combine real world science and experience to develop the best tasting and performing nutrition products.  

The style of how Biju and Allen create and experience their food is exactly what I strive for.  The success stories retold in their book tell of problems many athletes have encountered with nutrition...bloating, low energy, energy spikes, bad digestion... Basically, the goal of the company is to convince athletes that food eaten while training and racing can be real, simple food that tastes delicious.  

The people working at the company are honest and funny.  They answer questions and respond to feedback like champions.  While many of today's sports drinks use chemicals and artificial flavoring, Skratch uses real fruit!  And it tastes THAT much better.  They made a superbowl commercial for their hydration mix...





Check out their website, www.skratchlabs.com to see for yourself. I can't say enough good things about Skratch and I'm looking forward to using their hydration products and adding my own twists to the recipes from their book.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!