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2010 Race Schedule

Sept 1st
It's been a while since my last update and things were going great. I placed 2nd in the Davos Dash MTB race Expert division. It was an uphill race. I didn't do so well at the final Beavercreek blast, but a crash the week before it has been hurting me. I haven't been able to run because I did some damage to my hip, and biking is just now starting to work for me. Hopefully swimming and biking will keep my fitness up enough for the Xterra US Championships.

August 10th
I'm 33! I finished my 3rd of 4 races in 8 days. Last Wed, I did the Boneyard Brawl MTB race. Sunday I raced the Xterra Indian Peaks, Monday I raced the final in the Plum TV's Dunk N Dash. Tomorrow, I race the Davos MTB race. It has been extremely successful.

Xterra Indian Peaks. I placed 2nd!! It was a great race. I swam almost as well as last year, but my Giant from Avon Venture Sports performed superbly on the bike course. This bike course had "Z" written all over it. The traction in the corners was solid, and the bumps were not too big that you had to avoid all of them. There was plenty of room to pass on the second lap. It was a safe course too. The run went well. Cody Waite and I both got a bit off course, but nothing too bad. I ended up with the fastest run split of the day. I was a bit disappointed I didn't get the swim win like last year, but I'll happily trade that for the run win. I ran into Paul from Rudy Project North America after the race, and talked some things over with him. It was nice having face to face interaction with one of my big sponsors. They are great. It's easy to enjoy a day when I preform so well, but it truly was a nice day.

The Dunk N Dash went well. I put a big enough lead on Josiah Middaugh in the water to keep him from running me down on the run. We had a good fun competition throughout the series, and it was nice to win the final. Tina also won. She garnered enough points to win the overall series... So the Zollers win yet another time!!!

July 19th
The Zollers win again!!! Tina won (and beat all the boys) in the one lap version of the Plum TV's Dunk and Dash. I won the 2 lap version. We achieved this feat last year, but Tina wasn't a Zoller yet, so now it's extra special.

July 18
The official results are in...I had the second fastest swim and the 5th fastest run of the day! I'm super excited about this. My mountain biking skills have improved alot this year. The US and World Championships are flatter courses. I'm hoping my skills continue to improve and I'm really looking forward to these next two races!

July 17
Xterra Beavercreek!
What a race. I was hoping for a great swim, since I seem to do well swimming at altitude. I knew I was fully capable of winning the swim, but I didn't want to hurt my overall chances. I went out quick for 100m, and then got on Seth Wealing's feet. The pace was really slow, and I got nervous, but decided to stay put and go for it on the 2nd lap. Halfway through the 1st lap, I switched to Branden Rakita's feet. He picked up the pace for the 2nd lap, and it was perfect. We dropped everybody, and I started to come around him at the end, but the crowd of lapped swimmers and sun made it difficult. I decided to save it, and came out of the water on his feet.

The bike goes for about 500m and then starts a LONG climb. I had a hard time catching my breath and didn't climb as well as I would have liked. At the descent, I hammered. (My bike was MUCH MUCH better than last year) I knew the course well, so I didn't lose too much time overall.

The run consisted of 2 giant climbs/descents. I rocked the first, but didn't fare as well on the second. The official results are not in, but Tina said I made up time on most everybody, which is good. I finished top 10, and am very pleased with that. I'm getting psyched for Hawaii.

July 6
I did the Vail grind last Saturday. You start at 8000ft and run up Vail to 10500ft. It was a lung buster, but no downhill to wreck your legs. I did it in 58 minutes. It's good prep for the Xterra Beavercreek. I am looking forward to that. I've been riding the course a couple of times now and that should help me lots.

June 7
I added Dirt Republic to my sponsor page. They are a new mountain biking jersey company, that make their shirts in the USA out of 100% recycled materials. I have worn their shirts in some races with comfort and style.

SOOOOOOOOOO... the Teva Mountain Games. I flipped my kayak, and crashed my mountain bike on Saturday. The water was cold, high, and fast. They ended up canceling the whitewater events on Sunday due to these conditions. That made me feel better about my lack of kayaking skills. My mountain biking skills did not do well, though. I crashed twice on the first (of three) laps, and lost my already fragile confidence. I climbed well until the last lap, and I was just plain tired then.

Sunday faired much better. t\The 10k trail run was extremely difficult. It was steep and technical, which I like, but I held a bit back for the time trial that was 2 hours after the run. I felt surprisingly well on the time trial up Vail Pass. After it was all over, I did a nervous interview for TV, and placed 5th in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge. I hope next year will be top 3.

June 4
At the last minute, I decided to enter the Teva Mountain Games. They are tomorrow. I signed up for the Ultimate Mountain Challenge. Saturday morning, I kayak down the Gore Creek. The afternoon has a mountain bike race. (I entered the pro division of this challenge, so I'll be racing some of the top pro mountain bikers in the country) Sunday, we start out with a 10k trail run, and then do a road bike time trial up Vail Pass. I believe this is the same time trial used in the Coors Classic road bike race featured in "American Flyer". (not sure)

May 27
I raced the Hammer in the Hay mountain bike race yesterday. It went great. The last Mtn Bike race I did, I was 2nd to last in the Men's Expert. This time I was 3rd! I actually out climbed people. It was dusty and somewhat hard to see, which probably helped me since I didn't know what I was about to hit on the trail. Venture Sports was there, which helped me quickly fix a pre-race flat.

May 16
The Boneyard Boogie 10k was yesterday. The weather has been terrible here in Avon, and I wasn't psyched to get up to race, but I did. I met Henry Reed there, and we warmed up together. There was a $230 prize if someone broke the course record of 41 minutes. After 2 miles, Henry and I were out front and we decided to split the purse if either of us won it. That made the race fun since we then worked together to get it. The course was a 10k. 5k up, 5k down. 1000ft of climbing, and it was pretty painful. at mile 5, we had less than 5 minutes to get it, so we gave up on that and Henry dropped me. I was pretty tired from descending, so he took over the lead, and I just couldn't go with his pace. It was still fun, and losing to Henry isn't a bad thing at all.

April 28th
I just returned from Las Vegas, where I placed 13th among the pros. It was pretty solid, and I still have lots of work to do on the mountain bike. The course was brutal. There was hardly ANY vegetation, and 3 short STEEP climbs on the bike. It was hot, but I made it through. I would have liked to come out of the water with the lead pack, but I went out a bit hard and couldn't hold on. I sported a new Dirt Republic (modified) mountain biking jersey and it worked out well. Here's a picture of me, Josiah, and Nico Lebrun after the race looking tired.

April 21st
We leave tomorrow for XTERRA Las Vegas. I'm pretty pumped up about it. I picked up a brand new Giant Anthem X1 from Avon Venture Sports on Monday. (good thing since they are closed this week until Fri) I'm nervous about racing a new bike, without having time to really dial it in on fit and suspension, but it will be leaps and bounds better than last year's hard tail. I plan on nailing the swim, (and trying to drag Josiah with me) going well enough on the bike, (and watching Josiah horizon me) then hammering the run. I love trail running. I can't wait.

April 9th
It's two weeks until XTERRA Las Vegas. Josiah Middaugh and I took a training trip to Fruita, CO to work on actually riding our mountain bikes on dirt instead of the snow in Vail. It's perfect weather here, and I'm borrowing Josiah's old Trek, which I may buy. He has a beautiful brand new Felt 29'r that he's racing this year. I'm also deciding on buying a Giant Anthem X1 from Avon Venture Sports. Both are great bikes, and I wish I had the Giant here to compare head to head... Maybe next week. Also, both Josiah and I are sponsored by Rudy Project, so here is a picture of us in matching helmets:

March 16th (2010)
I would like to welcome Speedplay as another sponsor. This year has been a good one for sponsorships. I had previously hurt my hip, and stayed
away from training for a while. I am now back to running/biking and plan on heading down to denver to do some training with Riptide Multisports. They have taken me on for this year and are a close knit team.

Nov 12th
I am putting Jointworx up on my official sponsor page. It a great Physical Therapy clinic in Edwards, CO. I have been affiliated with the clinic since moving to Avon. Everybody there has been great to me and I owe Jointworx a lot of gratitude for keeping me healthy since moving here.

Nov 2nd
I'd like to welcome Rudy Project as an official sponsor for me for 2010. I'll be looking extra cool in a sweet pair of sunglasses when you see me next. I'm very excited to have them on board.

Oct
I am now sponsored by a local bike/ski shop. Avon Venture Sports is a great store with great prices and great service. Check them out when you visit me.

Oct
I'm MARRIED! We returned from our honeymoon in New Zealand recently. It was fantastic. A bit of rain, but that didn't preclude us from doing anything that we had planned. We spent a week on the North Island, and a week on the South. We saw some friends, drank some wine, went skiing, kayaking, swimming, sailing, ludging, tramping(kiwi for hiking) and sunbathing. Our flight from Fiji got cancelled, so we got a bonus day in Fiji's sun. I have to tell, it's not a bad place to be stuck for a day!

Aug 8th
Another Victory!
I won the 2nd annual Bec Tri. This triathlon is similar to the LG tri, in that it remembers a past triathlete. It is also a small local triathlon that I could walk to, so that makes it a no-brainer to start. Speaking of starts, I led the race from start to finish. It was a well run race for a 2nd year event.

Aug 3rd
The Zollers Win!
Both Tina and I won the Avon Dunk and Dash this evening. Tina is not yet officially a Zoller until Sept. 26th, but that is close enough. This marks Tina's first win in a race since swimming in high school!

Aug 1st
XTERRA Indian Peaks race report
A little side note to this race. I won the swim, and if I hadn't gotten lost on the run, (by my biased calculations) I would have won the run as well! I just have to get this mountain biking together for a killer race.

July 18th
XTERRA RACE REPORT!

July 17th
I just registered for my 1st XTERRA race. It's tomorrow. We'll see how it goes on my $350 craigslist special mountain bike that doesn't shift very well and the chainrings are worn. Oh, and I got in as a Pro!

July 11th
Victory! I just won the LG triathlon in Eagle, CO. It was a small race, but wins don't come often these days, so I'm very happy.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene:
Race Report

June 6th
My taper has begun!! Finally! The three weeks leading up to it were very difficult. I raced in the Boulder Swim & Stride this evening. It was a pretty fun race. I felt strong in the swim, but couldn't drop Dan Mackenzie and Matt Balzer. Dan ran away with the race and I was able to hold on to second. It was pretty cool. A 1500m swim followed by a 5k run. These are very even distances by time, so it worked out nicely for Dan and I.

June 21 is still my "A" race: IronmanCDA You can follow it here: Ironman.com

May 17
Littlefoot Triathlon
I entered this race at the last minute. I wanted to use it for a hard brick workout, and came out 5th place. I'm happy with this, but I would have like to have a better swim. I've been training on the bike and run a whole lot, and sacrificing the swim, so that kinda showed. The race was put on by Sean Wendt, who ran a great show. It was a small race, but had a great local pro field. It was my first sprint distance since 2007, and that made it interesting. I hadn't gone all out on the bike in a race for a while, but it was fun to get the speed out. The run was an epic battle for 3rd place, between Josh Merrick, Tate Behning, Matt Balzer and me. We went back and forth on such a short run course, so that made it really interesting to watch on a very spectator friendly course.

May 3rd
Wildflower Triathlon
I raced well in California, setting myself up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Read my (full race report)

2009
The year is 2009, and we have moved to Denver!
The short story if it: Our visas were denied to New Zealand. We had planned to leave Chicago, and ended up in Denver. Lots of friends, not too far from home, and good training. Instead of Ironman New Zealand, I am planning on racing Wildflower, and Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

Archive of 2008