Almost November already??

Can't believe how fast time goes by!!! Halloween is this weekend... in no time we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving (and eating a TON :) ) and then Xmas and that will be it for 2009!

Good ol' Fall... it's been chilly and cold... and gray and rainy.. and windy and eh.... I miss those summer days when we could go out and ride or run for a while. The flip side of this season is the change of colors, there are some nice days where you can go for a run, enjoy the view and just have a great run... no matter what speed, pace or anything, simply enjoy the run and your surroundings.

It's been a great season, lots of races and of course the big one for me: Ironman Louisville in August. In less than two weeks I'm going to Las Vegas to do my last 2009 tri: Silverman (half iron distance). I don't feel too great about it since after Louisville I took a well deserved -but way too long- break... This is a very hard tri and I'll do my best, I know my time won't be a fantastic time but I'm still doing it. It'll be interesting to say the least. I'm excited about going to Vegas for the first time.

Been thinking about next year and what races I'd like to do... got a few in mind but nothing for sure yet. I'll post my race schedule for 2010 soon... I will say though, there will be another Ironman race next year.

After Silverman I am planning on taking another break, this one will be short... probably hit the gym and start focusing in core workouts. Knowing myself I'll find some running races in the area so I can 1- get my butt out in the cold weather, 2- work in my running form/speed and 3- try to stay motivated.

I also need to start posting more often... I'm such a slacker!

Adios for now!

Patricio Cordero... you are an IRONMAN!!!

So I did it! I did my first full IROMAN race. Ironman Louisville on Sunday August 30, 2009.

It's hard to explain what exactly I feel about it. What a HUGE accomplishment... I am so proud of myself, happy, excited... I could go on and on.... and sorry, but after this I can brag as much as I want! :)

I haven't been able to write here... it's been way too long.... It's just hard to find the time, with familia, work, training, etc..... it's just craziness. (not that a lot people read this but anyway...)

Ironman Lou was a great race. I just can't believe the weather, it helped SO much! Last year when I registered for it, everybody said "be ready for a VERY HOT race". In fact Triathelte magazine, in their Ironman races review, stated it is the hottest IM event in the US (with out counting Kona). Little did we know race day's weather was in the 60/70s, very very low humidity and some sun.... it was just perfect!

We arrived in Lou on Friday afternoon and went straight to athlete check-in. Got my race bibs, chip, swim cap and special need bags. I immediately noticed how amazing the volunteers were... extremely nice people. Sat morning went to the swim practice, saw a few St. Louis triathletes there as well. I did a 20min swim. The water felt great. After that met my friend Paul who was also doing IM Lou and we rode about 12 miles. Went back to hotel, ate and took Diabla to bike check-in.

The atmosphere in the city was powerful... I could feel this energy which I assume was from all the athletes (close to 3,000) racing on Sunday. Everywhere you'd look you'd see people in bikes, people running, car with bike racks..... It was definitely Ironman time. Plus all the preparation for the race, cops, athlete's families and friends.

Dinner was pasta of course and then bed. Unfortunately the pasta didn't make me feel too good, that and nervousness were not a good mix. Woke up a couple of times and my stomach was hurting. Took some Peptobismol and that probably helped.

Race day I woke up at 4:15am... went to the bathroom.... it was... eh.... don't wanna go into details. : P But I thought it's all part of it. Had 2 powerbars and gatorade for breakfast then wifey and girlies took me to TA (transition area) where I dropped some of my stuff. Checked on Diabla, got her ready and walked .75mile to the swim start. Thank God I saw some of my STL friends, walking and chatting with them helped me to get a bit distracted.

We got there and got on line. I peed one time and at 7AM the race started. It was still dark. I jumped in the water at around 7:15ish... of course, typical me, had to pee again so before I started swimming I peed really quick. And off I went 2.4 miles swim. The swim was uneventful, water felt great again and I just took my time, stretching, bilateral breathing, all good. Swim time: 1hr 17min.

Got out of the water and jogged towards TA. A volunteer handed me my bag with my bike stuff and I headed to the tent. Another volunteer came and asked me if I needed anything, grabbed my bag, got my stuff out and passed me whatever I needed. Put my helmet, bike shoes and bib on, swim cap and goggles in the bag and left. The volunteer took the bag with him. Course I had to stop to pee again. Grabbed Diabla and got out of TA to start my 112mile bike ride.

My T1 time was loooooong.... I didn't care. Wanted to take my time, make sure I had all and ready. T1 time: 6min 05sec

The bike ride was fine.... the course was hillier than I expected. At mile 30ish I needed to pee again, I waited for a while and tried to pee in the bike (which I never done before) but man, I just couldn't... tried and tried.... not possible. Next aid station was where I peed. Didn't want to stop but I had to. Got back in the bike and kept going. Nutrition worked just as planned. Every 20min I had a drink or two of Perpetuem and the next 20min gel. I also did some Endurolytes. At mile 60ish I needed to pee again.... this time I was determined to pee in the bike.... and this time I was successful!! it was interesting to say the least.... grabbed some of my water and washed it off. At mile 80... ouch... I was hurting... knees, back and ass.... I wanted to be done! I put on an easy gear and spinned until I got back to TA. It started a huge mental thing. I kept talking to myself... it was like the little Patricio Devil talking to the Patricio Angel on my shoulders:

P Devil: Dude, you're done! how the hell are you gonna run a marathon after this???
P Angel: STFU!!! you are doing great! you trained for this, you'll be just fine!
P Devil: Rrrright.... if your legs hurt like this right now, when you start the run they will be completely trashed.
P Angel: No way! You use different muscles, no worries, you got this mother!

(then the P Angel proceeded to beat the !*@&#^ out of the P Devil and that was it)

JUAAAAAAAAA

Anyway.... got to TA, a volunteer grabbed Diabla and I jogged to the tent. Another nice volunteer helped me again. Took helmet and shoes off, grabbed socks, my Newton racers and visor and off I went again.... no wait... I peed and then I was gone.

T2 time once again was L O N G, sat there, got ready, took my time and left. Official time: 8min 17sec.

And just like that I started the 26.2mile run. The run was ok, started fine, saw my familia right after I left from TA. My first 3+ miles were 8:30ish min/mile... a bit faster than I should have gone, oh well.... it was all the excitement and all. But from then on it went to 9, 9:30, 10, 10:30.... final avg pace for the marathon was 10:47min/mile. I'm good with it. I walked in several water stations and this time I had to stop to go to the bathroom.... and no, it was not to pee... had to number 2. About 3 min later I was running my last 4.2 miles. At that point I was in pain. Feet hurt, knees hurt, quads hurt, back hurt, neck hurt.... But was so close..... so kept going. I got closer and closer to the finish line and started hearing the crowds, the music, the cowbells, all the noise.... I have no idea where I got the strength but I sprinted at the end (at least it felt like I did). Run time: 4hrs 42min

I crossed the finish line and heard Mike Reilly going: Patricio Cordero from O'Fallon, MO.. YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!! I did it! I freaking did it!!!!!!!!!!

Final Ironman(and official) time: 12hrs 30min 33sec

What an amazing and unique feeling. Got my medal, got the pic taken and found my family. Hugged them and celebrated with them.

This has been one of the coolest things I have ever done. Would I do it again? absolutely! hopefully next year! : )

I have been resting and eating like crap this past week... Enough for now... It's time to get ready for REDMAN in Oklahoma City in 2 more weeks.

PC

Updates

I haven't been posted in days!!! I keep telling myself I need to but never get to it....

Anyway.... some quick updates:

- May 3 Tri Zou (sprint) Triathlon... Columbia, MO. I PR'ed by around 3 min. Finished in 1hr 13min.

- May 17 Memphis in May (Olympic) Triathlon.... I had a really good race. It was windy so the swim was a bit choppy and the bike wasn't too pleasant. I still managed to PR for Oly distance. Total time: 2hrs 24min. I would suggest this race to anyone, very well organized, a lot of fun, great venue, good courses and fantastic crowd and volunteer support.

- June 6 Quartermax/Ultramax Triathlon... Innsbrook, MO. This is, hands down the hardest triathlon I have ever done... mind you I haven't done a ton of tris but in the last 3 years I have participated in a few, including 2 HIMs. I did it last year and even though last year it was in August, (pretty darn hot and humid), I still PR'ed by 5min . My total time: 1hr 23min This truly is a tough tri since both the bike and run are quite hilly.

Not this weekend but the next one, I will be doing my third HIM race. This is not an Ironman branded tri but it's the HIM distance. The race is called Cutting Edge Half Classic Triathlon and it's in Effingham, IL. I am excited about it and wondering what my time will be.

I just got some new wheels. Early Father's Day present.... yup.... got a wheel set, bless my girlies and wifey : )
The wheels are the Easton EA90 SLX, they are pretty light (1398 grams) and feel really nice and smooth. Love them! Couldn't get them on time for the Innsbrook tri but I have them now and ready to roll.

Here's a pic of Diabla and her new wheels... doesn't she look hot? :)



80 days until Ironman Louisville!!!

GO! STL half marathon and May tris...

On April 19 I ran the GO! Saint Louis Half Marathon for the third year in a row. I had a really good race. My chip time was 1hr 34min 24sec, my best half mara so far. Felt great from the beginning all the way until the end.

On the other hand I am pretty excited about Tri season, it's finally here. I am heading to Columbia, MO for my first tri of 2009. The name: Tri Zou Sprint Tri. I did it last year and my time was 1hr 16min 52sec. I wonder what's gonna be my time this year. Should be fun and hopefully we'll have decent weather... accuweather.com says mostly cloudy with a high of 60. Might be a little chilly early in the morning but as long as it doesn't rain I'll be happy.

On May 17 I'm doing Memphis in May, I heard great things about this oly tri and a bunch of peeps from the STL Tri Club are going, we'll have a nice group there.

There are other 2 tris happening in May in my area I am thinking about but not sure yet.... the Gateway Triathlon Oly in Carlyle, IL on May 24 and the Escape to the Bluffs Triathlon Sprint in Elsah, IL on May 30. Is that too much? or are they good practice?

Training is going better than ever. Feel great and strong and definitely seeing good results (Thanks Sammy!! :) )

Be safe out there and enjoy Spring time!

PC

Sarah Haskins and me...

On Sunday March 22nd I was able to meet Olympic Triathlete Sarah Haskins who was in St. Louis (her hometown). Sarah was invited to the YMCA where she used to swim to talk about what it takes to become an Olympic athlete from nutrition to training and dedication. It was really nice to meet her and talk to her for a bit. She's a very cool girl, smart and of course a fantastic triathlete.

By the way...I can't believe how bad I've been at updating my blog, I know I suck... Don't even have a reason... call it laziness, call it busy times, maybe a little bit of both?

Anyway, training for IM Louisville has been great. Haven't had any injuries and I can totally feel my bike has improved! Hard work is definitely paying off. It's so rewarding to see and feel those changes, those differences... I can really tell the difference of my bike now versus last year. Bad thing has been the weather but I have still managed to get out and ride. Last weekend I rode 36miles on Sat and 46 on Sun. Today I did 40 on a sunny but cold morning, it was in the high 30s when a couple of friends and I started.

Swimming has been also been great, all good there and nothing much to report. I'm in the 2,000+ meter per work out right now and feel pretty good. Finally the runs. My runs have improved as well. Back in March for the St. Patrick's Parade 5mile Race in downtown St. Louis I managed to PR with a time of 33min 58sec which put me in 15th place out of 168 in my age group (35-39). Not bad at all since I've been doing lots of endurance training and not so much speed work.

The GO! St. Louis half marathon is a week from tomorrow, should be interesting. I'm looking forward to it. The following weekend some local triathletes who are also doing IM Lou are going to Louisville for an IM training camp. On Saturday some of us will be running the Kentucky Derby Festival Half-Marathon in the morning and then we are swimming in the afternoon; Sunday we are riding half or the full IM bike course. I think it'll be a great chance to get familiar with the course and kinda of know what to expect on race day.

I am pretty excited about my first triathlon of the season which is less than a month away. It's the Tri Zou (formerly known as Race for Sight) in Columbia, MO. It's a sprint one, I did it last year and it's a nice way to start the season (I hear Simon Lessing is doing this race this year). Then later in May I'll be going to Memphis for the popular: Memphis in May oly triathlon.

In preparation for IM Lou I also registered for a half ironman distance race, the Cutting Edge Half Classic in Effignham, Illinois... it's on June 21st.

That's my little update for now... HAPPY EASTER!

PC

Too much chlorine!

OMG chlorine is SO nasty, especially when there is a ton of it... they are putting WAY too much of in the pool where I swim. I have taken 2 showers, one at the gym and one at home and I still smell it, fell it.. TASTE it!!! This is the second time that I actually taste it. It felt weird when I was in the pool, in between work outs, my mouth and especially teeth felt dry..... they are still a bit dry and even my throat feels a bit.. sore, and not the "cough - cough" type sore, it's more like the I went to a concert last night and sang all the songs for 3 hours sore.

I am definitely talking to someone at the gym about it, this can't be good for me... or anyone who swims there. I mean for real, it's a pretty strong chemical and in exaggerated amounts... not good! Result: extra dry skin, burning eyes, sore throat, dry teeth and mouth and of course the well known obnoxious chlorine smell which kind of becomes your 2 day cologne/perfume.

One thing's for sure.... highly chlorinated pools suck!

PC

Castlewood Park 10m Trail Race

This past Sat. I did my second trail race ever. My first one was about a couple of years ago when I did one of the X-Terra series, that race was a 5k I think.

The one I did on Sat 2/28 was at Castlewood Park in Ballwin, MO. it was put together by Big River Running Company.
(nice face huh? that's my: "I'm gonna sprint!" face) ===>

The race started at 10am, it was a cold morning (in the low 30s but it definitely felt colder) but I was fine as soon as we started. The course was harder than I thought it would be. Of course running on a trail is completely different than road running... you have to be totally aware about where you step because there are roots and rocks hiding underneath the leafs. This trail is used a lot by mountain bikers and you could tell, there were a lot of MB tracks on the ground, and that was a pin because it was very uneven and easy to twist your ankle, which i did a few times. Each time I did I would drop myself with it and that seemed to work, I never had to stop because it wasn't too bad. Lots of hills, up hills.. down hills.... and at the end.. a nice little river to cross.... it was actually kind of fun to go through it. I didn't care to run the last .3 or so with soaked shoes and socks. If it would have been anything longer than a mile I probably wouldn't have done it.

By mile 4ish I fell.... I missed a root and went down, luckily I fell on a bunch of leafs... I pretty much bounced back up and kept running. It could have been a lot worse because there were parts where we ran on gravel, rocky areas and steep hills. At mile 5 the S. Louis Tri Club (which I belong to) had a water station.... felt nice to have some agua, Gatorade and a GU (I forgot to bring my own gel) and of course seeing some of the tri club peeps, cheering and all.

Finished at 1hr 18min. Not bad for a trail race. When I went to the organizers' website to check official results they had a disclaimer stating: "For safety reasons we made a few changes to the course over the last month. These changes gave us an official race distance of 9.2 miles" Doesn't have any additional info on it....

Now the crazy thing about this whole story is... at the finish line they had NO WATER!!!!....... (crickets)


WTF... what race doesn't have water at the end???? not even a 1 mile race! I mean, we just ran 10 miles - or 9.2 - They only had those 180 energy drinks. I couldn't believe it! Everybody was asking each other, where's the water?? do you know where is the water? water??? nada.... no water! I mean, c'mon! picture this: you go, run a 10 mile trail race, finish and someone hands you a Red Bull.... yeah... pretty wild eh? Disappointing. At least the race t-shirt is cool :)

P

I hate you Old Man Winter!

I am SO done with the winter.... can't ride outdoors, it's hard and COLD (and sometimes dangerous) to run out there and most of all I keep getting sick... dammit!!!

I am fighting this nasty cold right now which has forced me to stop training for 4 days in a row. Plus my family has been pretty sick too. So if one doesn't get it, the other one will and the one who didn't get it initially might get it because the other one has it!! (I just read that again and I was like.. wtf!) Anyway, you get the point.

Thing is too, St. Louis weather can be very unpredictable.. one day is in the 70s and the very next day it'll drop 40 degrees and it's in the 30s! So yeah, no wonder why people get sick. Wherever you go, grocery store, work, any store in general you hear -or see- people coughing the freaking lungs off. Oh, and we're getting some snow tonight... great!

Ok, I guess I bitched enough... but unfortunately I don't have much else to say at this point. At least it's Friday. Tomorrow I'm getting back into the training mood and I'm excited, it's crazy how training becomes part of you eh?. I'm scheduled to do a reverse brick, which I've never done, but I think should be cool. 30min moderate run, immediately followed by 1hr spinning class. Coach wants me to do this in order for me to become a better and stronger biker.... so anything that will improve my weakest leg, I'll try! Sunday I'm doing a recovery run and a swim.

Enjoy your weekend amigos!

PC

Valentine's boy...

...yup, that's me... kinda cheesy I know but I was born on this very day. On the other hand it's sorta cool because people remember :)

It's funny how you have a birthday and the first thing you think it's: "Oh shoot, I'm in a different age group now" In my case, one of (if not THE) hardest: 35 - 39 Oh well, I guess another reason to push myself even more.... right!

This morning I ran a local 5 miler race, the 'Ghisallo Frosty Five Run'. It was cold (low 30s, probably felt like in the 20s) and windy. According to my Garmin I finished at 35min 34sec... 6 seconds slower than last years. I didn't think about checking my previous year's time and try to beat it... typical me... oh well. Not that I have been working on speed at all, been focusing on my IM base-training right now, so I'm still happy with today's race.

After the race my lovely wife, a friend and I went to have breakfast. After that my friend left and wifey and I went to REI to get my b-day present, a bike rack. Ended up getting the THULE 594 Side Arm:



Cool eh?

I also grabbed some bike gloves and tights.

Training is still going great. Coach makes training fun, it's not repetitive or monotonous at all.
Gonna try to get out in the bike tomorrow, it'll be the first time outdoors since September!!!

Hope everyone is having an awesome Valentine's... enjoy!

PC

Base Training

Been working on my base training for about a month and it's been great!

The swims are pretty good and different workouts make them fun; trainer has been good as well... I find riding on the trainer a bit boring sometimes, but I've been doing mix workouts which make it better plus I watch movies while I ride... not sure I could do them with out a TV down there (basement). Running has been great, no complains there... especially since the weather is getting better. Tried my new Motion All-Weather Newtons and freaking love them, they feel awesome!

My great friend and now Coach Sam has agreed to help me with my training, she's basically training me and it's been working excellent! She has kicked my arse a couple of times but at the end of the day I feel good about each training session. She truly is a fantastic Coach, very knowledgeable and FUN. I am curious as to how my tris are going to go this season and of course how I'll do at IM Lou. (Thanks Sammy!! :) )

Racing-wise I'm doing a 5 mile race on Feb. 14 and then on Feb.28 I'm gonna do a 10 mile trail race. Next month I'm racing the St. Patrick's Day 5 mile race on Mar. 14. Some fun races until tri season which I can hardly wait for. My first tri (I think) will be Tri Zou (formerly known as Race for Sight) in Columbia, MO... It's a nice sprint tri (440 yard swim – 14 mile bike – 3 mile run) I did last year and enjoyed it.

Back to the US and back to training

Vacation was AWESOME.... had a fantastic time with the familia and it was nice to be there for Xmas and New Years. It was hard to say good bye and leave them all but it was time.

Back now and started to train right away. It's been good and I feel great!

Started doing runs outside, yesterday it was really nice, in the 50s and sunny but this Sun is going to be in the 20s and I need to a get 60 min run in. Don't like running in the cold too much, even though it could be a lot colder so I might as well take advantage of the double 'still double digit'. Been on the bike/trainer... those can get boring but some people I know are going to do some group trainer work outs, that should be fun. Swimming is fine, no worries there.

Started working on good nutrition as well and I think that is going well.

Need to read the blogs I follow, I feel kinda disconnected with my blogger amigos.
Hope everybody is training hard and eating well.... like me... j/k.

PC