AeroCat Athlete Profile: Steve Armes, Triathlete
Hometown: Carlsbad, CA
Occupation: LtCol in the United StatesMarines.
Rides: AeroCat T605
Family: LtCol Armes resides in Japan with his college sweetheart Karla who he married five years after meeting in their freshmen year of college. Stephen and Karla have two boys, Erik and Ryan. Karla competes in runs, and the two boys do XC, track, swimming, and triathlons. “Having full time training partners is great!”
Racing Discipline: Stephen is on the Marine Corps National Triathlon Team. His primary focus is on ITU format, Olympic distance racing. However, he really enjoys anything that is endurance. During the off-season he competes in swim meets or running races. Stephen has been competing for 15 years.
Average Races Per Year: On Average Stephen will race 12-15 times a year. About eight of those are triathlons and the rest are other types of races that he uses as hard training events to work on either speed or longer tempo efforts. Since his focus is on shorter triathlons it allows him to recover fairly quickly between events, thus race more throughout the season. Stephen will designate certain races during the year that are his priority events and with his coach at Cadence they will detail a plan to be peaking for the key events throughout the year.
Favorite Place and part about competing?:
“I have been very fortunate to compete in a lot of different places and each brings with it a unique aspect. I’ve liked them all.” “Knowing that when the gun goes off it is going to hurt until you get back to the finish line. I know that may sound crazy, but suffering with another athlete out on the course brings about mutual respect. Regardless if you were the first to the line or the last, you pushed yourself and finished that challenge.”
Goals as an Athlete:
“To have fun and get as many people involved with the sport as possible.”
What got you started in competing in races?
“A friend of mine was doing triathlons and I slowly started training with him. After a few months he talked me into doing my first race. The race itself was a disaster, but I had a blast and was hooded. Ironically, a couple of years later, that very same race was the first one that I ever won! Patience and practice paid off!”
Is there a difference in competing in Japan as to the U.S.?
“The Japanese seem to have embraced multi-sort events with the same vigor that everyone else around the world has. Of course the language barrier does present challenges in signing up for races, figuring out the course, etc. However, once you get into the race it is a blast. They are ran with such precision that it is incredible. The Organization of the entire event is simply amazing and truly a credit to the race directors over here. The Japanese people are great athletes and very enthusiastic about the sport. Other than the language barrier, the heat during May-September is the biggest challenge. Since most of the races start at 9 a.m., it is normal to be racing with a heart index well over 100 degrees. Hydration and nutrition are critical to be able to push through those conditions.”
What is it like to watch and compete with your sons Erik and Ryan and would you say that you are the boys' influence on taking up the sport.?
“Watching and training with the boys is an absolute blast. When Erik was about 10, he wanted to go on rides with me so I would swing by the house and pick him up for the last hour of my ride. By the time he was 12 he was going out on three hour rides with me and my training partners with no problems. Ryan has just kind of followed in the same pattern and now we all routinely head out together. They love the individual sport of running, biking, and swimming so it has just naturally moved them towards triathlons."
“They have always been very active and I think they just saw me doing it and wanted to do it for themselves. I never pushed them because I want them to enjoy doing it for themselves and feel no pressure.”
On your race at the Toyosake Olympic Distance Triathlon last month, it was a rough race do to the wind, but it seemed it was harder for you at the end… what was going through your head as you held up the tape at the finish line for a first place finish?
“The 10th of April will always be a day that will hold vivid memories of a firefight that I was involved in while serving in Iraq. We sustained 74 casualties (1 KIA / 73 WIA) that day in a nine hour firefight through the streets of Baghdad. One of those was GySgt Jeff Bohr, he was a leathery tough Marine who I respected tremendously because of how he always looked out for his men. The conditions on race day were tough, but not nearly as tough as that day in Baghdad. During the race my legs were screaming to stop, but I kept pulling inspiration from that day nine years ago and pushing forward. The race was tough, but nothing in comparison. As I neared the tape I was in shock that I had been able to pull it off and honored to have been able to do it in memory of Gunny.”
AeroCat T605
Full Carbon Tri/TT bike - Race Ready
Full carbon- Race Ready bike - High Performance Components
Starting at $2287
Recent Winners - AeroCat Bikes
6 May 2012- AeroCat Triathlete Justin Roeder had an Individual Overall Win at teh Revolution 3 Knoxville in Knoxville, TN in the Olympic Division.
29 April 2012- LtCol Steve Armes finished 1st overall and 1st in his age group while his son Ryan finished 2nd in the Under 17 division at the Courtney Uruma Triathlon in Japan.
28 April 2012- Louis Amelburu for the HarmonyHomes.com team finished 1st in the MM 45+ at the Devil's Punch Bowl Road Race in California.
22 April 2012- At the JWD Ceraland Challenge in Columbus, IN Curtis Tolson finished 1st in the Men's 45+ and Lee Hauber finished 2nd in teh Men's 1/2/3 for the Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team.
20 April 2012- Bill Pinkard from the HarmonyHomes.com Cycling Team finished 1st in the MM 55+.
14-15 April 2012- The HarmonyHomes.com cycling team had a great run at the Tour the Depot in Utah. Mark Schaefer, Louie Amelburu had two 1st and 2nd place finishes a piece. Victor Miera had two 1st place finishes and a 2nd place for the weekend.Ryan Arnold had three 1st place finishes and a 2nd. and Alex Pristash had a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes over the weekend.
31 March- 1 April 2012- The HarmonyHomes.com Cycling Team competed in the Tour Del Sol. In the RR on the 31st, In the MM Cat 1/2/3 35-99 Louie Amelburu and Mark Schaefer took 1st and 2nd for podium finishes. Vic Miera took 1st in the MM 55-99. Alex Pristash took 1st in the Men's Cat 3 with Ryan Arnold taking 3rd. April started on a good note with 13 Top Ten finishes, six finished on the podium.
25 March 2012- Texas Roadhouse cleaned out in Lexington with first place finishes from Curtis Tolson in the MM 35+ and Lee Hauber in the Men's CAT 1/2/3.
25 March 2012- New AeroCat Athlete Angie Carpenter placed 3rd in the Women's 30-39 at teh Colavita-Zipp Time Trials #1 Race at Casstown, OH.
24 March 2012- At the Ohio Spring Road Series#2 at New Haven Chad Burdzilauskas from the Texas Roadhouse team placed 1st in the Men's Cat 1/2/3.
24 March 2012- Three AeroCat Athletes in Japan placed on the podium at the Torri Triathlon. LtCol. Steve Armes placed 2nd overall and 1st in his age group. Ryan Armes placed 3rd in the Under 17 Men's. Sam Fugate placed 2nd in teh Under 17 Women's Division.
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AeroCat Event Calendar
12 May 2012 -Frankfort, KY. McDonald's Captial City Criterium
12 May 2012 - Springboro, OH. Coffman Y Triathlon.
19-20 April 2012 -Winona Lake, IN. Fat & Skinny Tirefest 9
20 May 2012- OSRS #Vandervort's Corner in Clarksville, OH
20 May 2012 -Colavita-Zipp Time Trial Series #3 Baltimore, OH.
26 May 2012 -Fort Wayne, IN. Fort 4 Fitness Twilight Crit.
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Latest News
6 May 2012- AeroCat Triathlete LtCol Steve Armes has been picked to join the National Triathlon Team for 2012.
6 May 2012- AeroCat Triathlete Justin Roeder had an Individual Overall Win at the Revolution 3 Knoxville in Knoxville, TN in the Olympic Division.
4-6 May 2012-Our MWCCC teams Lindsey Wilson College and Notre Dame University competed at Nationals in Ogden, UT. Visit our News Section for more information.
29 April 2012- LtCol Steve Armes and his son Ryan competed in the Courtney Uruma Triathlon in Japan. Steve finished 1st Overall and 1st in his age group. Ryan finished 2nd in the Under 17 division.
29 April 2012- LtCol Steve Armes and his son Ryan competed in the Courtney Uruma Triathlon in Japan. Steve finished 1st Overall and 1st in his age group. Ryan finished 2nd in the Under 17 division.
28 April 2012- The HarmonyHomes.com Cycling Team was drinking out the Devil's Punch Bowl in California. Louis Amelburu finished 1st in the EMn's 45+. Bill Pinckard finished 16th in the Men's Cat 1-5. Ryan Arnold finished 7th in the Men's 35+.
22 April 2012- The Texas Roadhouse Crew was tearing up the streets of Columbus, IN at the JWD Ceraland Challenge. Lee Hauber finished 2nd in the Men's 1/2/3 with Chad Burdzilauskas placing 4th and John Puffer and John Grant pulling out 9th and 10th. Curtis Tolson placed firt in the Men's 45+ and Joe Bosemer placed 6th in the Mens 35+.
21 & 29 April 2012- Ohio Spring Road Series #5 on April 21st, Nathaniel Cornelius from the Texas Roadhouse team took 6th in the Men's 1/2/3. On April 29th at the OSRS #6 at Zanesfield AeroCat Cycling's Jim Jenkins finished 7th in the Men's Cat 3/4.
21 April 2012- Haystack Mountain Time Trials, Boulder, CO. The Psimet Zilla team had a great race! The Team finished in 1st place in the Team Time Trial. Individually: John Guala placed 2nd and Danial Ebner finished 8th in the SM4. David Warfield
20 April 2012- Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team members Mark Schaefer and Donald Armstrong competed in teh East Canyon- Echo Road Race. In the MM 40+ Mark finished 2nd and Donald 15th.
20 April 2012- Bill Pinkard from the HarmonyHomes.com Cycling Team finished 1st in the MM 55+.
14-15 April 2012- The HarmonyHomes.com team had a successful weekend at the Tour the Depot in Tooele, UT. Taking 31 Top Ten finishes, 20 of those on the podium. Visit the News section for more.
14-15 April 2012-AeroCat sponsored teams in the MWCCC finished their regular season meet at Purdue University. visit our News section for more.
14 April 2012- OSRS #4 at Germantown, OH. Texas Roadhouse cyclist Nathaniel Cornelius placed 2nd in the Men's Cat 1/2/3. AeroCat/Miami University rider Ian Cramer finished 1st in the Men's Cat 3/4.
1 April 2012- AeroCat sponsored riders from Miami University competed at the OSRS#3 race at Harrison's Tomb. Ian Cramer finished 5th in the Men's Cat 3/4 Road. In the Men's Cat 4/5 Jordan Frazin finished 18th. In the Men's Pro Cat 1/2 Criterium Adam Messina finished 11th.