So...
No, I don’t blog much at all nowadays. But I will to publish a race report so I’m not clogging up people’s Facebook feeds. Anyway...
This story starts back in January. I was a couple weeks out from the Rock N Roll Marathon, in pretty good shape, and it happened.
It.
Injury.
And no... not running related. I somehow managed to step off of a curb onto some uneven concrete and broke my fibula and the fifth metatarsal in my right ankle/foot. It sucked.
What really sucked though, was I was registered for my first world major marathon, Chicago, in October. I did the 3 weeks on crutches, 5 more weeks in a boot, 4 more weeks of being unable to run thing, and made my “running return” at the Crescent City Classic 10K. I had a long, challenging, uphill road in front of me. So of course, I decided to try to jump right in to a really aggressive training plan.
Yea, that didn’t work. At all.
And besides the fact that I wasn’t even remotely in shape to attempt such a plan, I also was dealing with some major challenges at work that made keeping up with a tough schedule even more difficult. Finally, sometime in late July/early August, I tapped out. It just wasn’t happening. And I was angry with myself, frustrated, and about ready to pull the plug on the whole thing. But after a day of feeling sorry for myself, I found a 12 week plan that wasn’t particularly aggressive, loaded it up in Training Peaks, and re-committed myself. I stuck to that plan nearly perfectly, only missing a couple easy workouts. My ankle started feeling really solid again. And my long runs, despite the heat, were going just as they should. Hard fast efforts still hurt, so I had to limit those, but otherwise I was back where I could enjoy the training process again. Training for Chicago culminated in a 3 hour long run that worked out to be a touch under 19 miles. Every other marathon I’ve run I did at a minimum a 20 mile long run. Some... 21, 22 miles. Needless to say, I felt like I was undertrained. I was fully expecting Chicago to be a total 5 hour shit show of a race.
But then... as race weekend approached I started paying attention to the weather, and it was looking like it could possibly be nearly ideal. And instead of getting taper crazies, I just felt like I was backing off a bit and getting my legs loose. And my last long run (9 miles) felt really good. I started thinking this might not suck nearly as much as I feared.
On Friday, myself, Shellie, and Brynn (the comfort goat) boarded our flight to the Windy City. We checked in to our hotel, headed to the expo, got me checked in to race, and then hit Labriola for some Chicago deep dish pizza. Saturday, I got up to 38 degree temps and took in a 4 mile run along Lake Michigan while enjoying some of the scenery. Then we gathered up and headed to the Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, and did some touristy stuff. We capped off the evening again at Labriola, this time for pasta, before calling it an early night. Sunday was just a few hours away.
Race Day
I woke up Sunday morning about 4:30am. I rarely sleep well the night before a race, but I did that night. I got up, ate a Larabar, got dressed to run with cheap sweats over my race gear, and then headed out to the starting line. Once I got to Grant Park, it quickly became obvious this was different than anything I’d ever done before. There were no family members, as only runners were allowed in the park. And I had to pass through metal detectors to get into the start area. Strange... I got to my corral around 6:30 or so, and just kinda hung out for a while. Nobody was particularly social, unlike an Ironman start where there’s always that one over-enthusiastic guy giving everyone high-5s and trying to hype up everyone. No... here, people just kept to themselves, stayed quiet, and loosened up without much fanfare. At 7:15 I made my way to my corral, and put myself all the way at the back since I was proabably corralled one to far up. The national anthem played, the wheelchair athletes went off, then the elites went off, and I started my walk to the start line. 15 minutes after the gun went off, I was finally racing the Chicago Marathon!!
5K - Plan was to run a bit “slow” and settle into a groove and get comfortable. Saw Shellie and the Comfort Goat right before the 1 mile marker. Got hugs. Was blown away by how many people were running.
10K - Try to step up a bit, but not quite target pace for this segment. Had some phone issues and had to walk a minute to resolve. Still felt really good. Lincoln Park is pretty awesome.
15K - Time to start putting in work. Got into a solid groove right at my target pace. Wrigleyville is insane. My ankle barked at me a bit right at mile 9 but settled down within a quarter mile.
20K - Headed back into downtown. Feeling REALLY good. Still blown away by the crowd support. Are there really that many people that want to watch people run? Probably a bit ahead of schedule on pace, but all the other metrics were right where they needed to be. And where did that wind come from???
Half - 1:54:20 - Probably the easiest 13 miles I’ve run since.... uh... I dunno. Been a while since I had an ‘easy’ 13 mile run. Felt amazing though. Ready to step up the pace a bit and take on the back half of the course.
25K - Started doing math in my head and thought that possibly a sub-3:40 finish was likely. Then I remembered that 15+9=24, not 26. D’oh!
30K - Getting into deep water here. I hadn’t run this far since Ironman Texas. And that sucked. But this didn’t. Still felt really strong. But starting to feel like I was ready to be done.
35K - Last segment of running a target pace. Can’t believe that I’m still feeling like I can run like this forever. Then I hit mile 23...
My plan was for the last 3.2 mile to try and run it like a 5K. Hahahahahahahah...
It turned into ‘hold on for dear life for the last 5000 meters”. Every mental trick in my book was deployed. “It’s just a 5K.... Look, you swam further than that in shitty green duck poop water in Texas,..... 2.5 miles.. nothing. 2500 meters... you swam further than that in the Pacific Ocean... 2000 meters... what’s that in American??? I can’t math any more..... 1 mile... You got this... 800 meters... Almost done... 400 meters... I’m still not done yet????”
Then I hit the finish... and was, uh, a bit underwhelmed.
After going down the chute at Ironman a couple times, I was expecting HUGE. But instead the bleachers are all VIP and not very crowded. And I guess because of the two assholes at Boston a few years back the general crowd can’t be at the finish line. So after 25.5 miles of the most incredible crowds, the finish line was meh.
But... I finished in 3:47:08. I had a plan going in and executed it almost perfectly. And without having to make a couple pee stops I probably would have gone under 3:45. Heck, if GPS worked in downtown Chicago I may have been more aware of where I was distance-time wise and could have made the pace change. Initially I wasn’t thrilled with the result, but upon reflection and thinking about where I was in January, I’m pretty happy with it.
Next up? Dopey.... Because why the F not?
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Ironman Hawai’i 70.3 Honu Race Report
Hawai’i. The Big Island. Kona. The Queen K. The Hawi turnaround. Legendary places in the island chain where Ironman was born. And I got to race here!
Mentally, I approached the race as a “participatory event” while on vacation with Shellie and Brynn (comfort goat). I took 2-3 weeks to recover from IMTexas to where I was feeling close to 100%, and didn’t really do any focused training for Honu. I figured I’d enjoy the course and just rely on residual fitness to get me to the finish line. Looking at course maps, that seemed like it would be sufficient.
Course maps lie.
Pre-Race:
Traveling to Hawai'i is a chore. Traveling to Hawa'i' with a bike... Bleh.
We left Armstrong airport at 6:30 AM on Wednesday for what was about 12.5 hours of travel to Kona International Airport, and arrived at 1:44 Hawai'i time. After driving to the resort and getting lunch, we got checked into our condo and made ourselves at home.
Thursday morning, I got up and went for a run to try and get an idea of what I was in for, but athletes were restricted from running on the golf course. I ended up running about 3.5 miles and was feeling pretty good. That afternoon we went to the beach where I did some swimming. Swimming here is nothing like swimming in Lake Woodlands, or Lake Ponchatrain, or anywhere else I've ever raced. The water was crystal clear to the bottom. I saw fish that I've only seen in aquariums. It's breathtaking.
In between my run and my swim, I went over to the expo to get checked in. I also got to meet Mike Reilly again, and as a 'Thank You' gift from BnG Endurance to Ironman for an amazing weekend in Texas, I gave him one of our team's trucker hats.
Thursday evening, we drove the bike course up to Hawi. Between the wind and the hills, I began to dread the bike leg of the course. I knew it was going to be a bear when our Jeep was getting shoved all around the road by the wind. But in Hawi we found a funky cool sushi place for dinner, then stopped at a shoreline to see the sunset.
Friday, I got up early and went for a bike ride on the Queen K. I wanted to make sure my bike was working well after the disassembly/reassembly, and also get an idea of just how bad the bike was going to be.
It was rough. I rode from our condo to Hapuna Beach where the race starts, and back. Going north was insanely tough between the climb and the wind. Coming back, I hit 30+ MPH on a downhill.
After going to the athlete briefing and hearing Mark Allen talk about his first race against Dave Scott, (yes... that Mark Allen!) I dropped my run gear at T2 and met back up with the family to get lunch and head up to Hapuna Beach to drop off my bike and get in another swim. Again.. crystal clear water and visibility clear to the bottom of the ocean floor. But the wind made the swim back in really difficult. We left the beach, picked up some fresh Mahi Mahi for dinner, and came back to the condo to eat and get to sleep.
Race Day - Swim
Saturday morning, I got up early, ate some oatmeal, drank some coffee, and got dressed. We took the half-mile walk down the hill to the Fairmont to get on a shuttle bus to Hapuna Beach, where I put my Infinit bottles on my bike, blew up my tires, and did a last check for anything else I'd need. There was a designated swim warmup area which I took advantage of. The wind was much calmer and the water was almost glass smooth. It looked perfect for racing.
My wave was set to go off about a half-hour after the race started, so I waded out into waist deep water to watch the first couple waves go out. Then I lined myself up in the swim corral and waited.
Finally the M45-49 AG was ready. I seeded myself to the back of the wave and hoped for the best. We had a beach start, so I sprinted to the water, walked out to about waist deep water, and started swimming. Between the timing of the start and the clarity of the water, it was easy to find space to swim in. I had zero contact with other swimmers for probably the first 500 yards, and the contact I did have was a tap on my hand by someone's foot who was breast-stroking to figure out where he was going. Around 1000 yards in, the women in the wave behind me were catching up to me, so it got a bit more congested, but still nothing like Texas. And at this point we were probably a quarter-mile offshore, and were swimming over reefs in 40' of water. Had I not been racing it would have been pretty amazing... Actually, it was amazing. Slowly, but surely, I made it to the turn around and worked my way back to the last turn buoy. And the last 50 or so yards in, I was able to basically body surf my way in. It wasn't a fast swim, but it was fun.
Bike
The bike course was, uh... challenging. It went out from Hapuna Beach, south to Mauna Lani, then turn around to go north to Hawi, then back to Mauna Lani. The Hapuna to Mauna Lani stretch was fast between the downhill and the tailwind, perfect for building up false expectations. But then after turning around it was nothing but headwind and mostly uphill riding for about 7 miles. Then at Hwy. 270 there was another long downhill before the long climb to Hawi. Prior to starting the climb to Hawi, I was on pace to go under 3 hours. But 5 miles at a 2-3% grade into a monster headwind wrecked that idea.
After turning around at Hawi, that long grinding climb turned into a fast fun downhill. And the views... Spectacular! At one point, I was awestruck looking at an overlook over the ocean. But then soon after.. back to grinding up another long climb. Eventually I got back to the Queen K, and from there to the resort was a net downhill. I took advantage of that to get my legs loosened up to go run.
Run
The run took place mostly on the golf course at Mauna Lani. Lots of cart paths and fairways, which meant lots of surface changes. And for good measure there was a stretch of road that went out into a lava field that was affectionately referred to as "Hell's Kitchen".
I was in and out of T2 in about 3 minutes or so. And at the first aid station (about .7 miles in) I covered myself in sunblock, because it was hot and the sun was beating down. I knew this was going to be a hot slog of a run. What I wasn't prepared for was the sudden elevation changes on the cart paths. People who had done the race had said the fairways were tough to run on, but I had more difficulty with the sudden up and down on the cart paths between the fairways. And Hell's Kitchen was a straight road with a slight downhill to the turnaround, which I also didn't really have an issue with despite the heat.
At every aid station, I'd dump ice down the front and back of my jersey, and shove a cold sponge over each shoulder. I also got sprayed down and occasionally dunked my hat in ice water the aid station workers had the sponges in.
The second loop was easier than the first, as some clouds and vog rolled in which cut the brutal sun down quite a bit. But getting any sort of rhythm on the course was next to impossible. Still, it was on a golf course overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Big Island of Hawai'i.
And the coolest part of the run... There are a bunch of feral goats on the island, and there were quite a few who decided to spend their Saturday watching a bunch of idiot humans running on 'their' golf course.
It wasn't a fast day. It wasn't one of those race efforts that I'll look back on as a pinnacle of my athletic achievement. But on a really tough course in really tough conditions, including my first ocean swim and first non-wetsuit Ironman swim, I'll take it. I'd love to do this race again if it wasn't so prohibitively expensive to do so. If you're ever in a position where it's a possibility... Just go.
Mentally, I approached the race as a “participatory event” while on vacation with Shellie and Brynn (comfort goat). I took 2-3 weeks to recover from IMTexas to where I was feeling close to 100%, and didn’t really do any focused training for Honu. I figured I’d enjoy the course and just rely on residual fitness to get me to the finish line. Looking at course maps, that seemed like it would be sufficient.
Course maps lie.
Pre-Race:
Traveling to Hawai'i is a chore. Traveling to Hawa'i' with a bike... Bleh.
We left Armstrong airport at 6:30 AM on Wednesday for what was about 12.5 hours of travel to Kona International Airport, and arrived at 1:44 Hawai'i time. After driving to the resort and getting lunch, we got checked into our condo and made ourselves at home.
Thursday morning, I got up and went for a run to try and get an idea of what I was in for, but athletes were restricted from running on the golf course. I ended up running about 3.5 miles and was feeling pretty good. That afternoon we went to the beach where I did some swimming. Swimming here is nothing like swimming in Lake Woodlands, or Lake Ponchatrain, or anywhere else I've ever raced. The water was crystal clear to the bottom. I saw fish that I've only seen in aquariums. It's breathtaking.
In between my run and my swim, I went over to the expo to get checked in. I also got to meet Mike Reilly again, and as a 'Thank You' gift from BnG Endurance to Ironman for an amazing weekend in Texas, I gave him one of our team's trucker hats.
Thursday evening, we drove the bike course up to Hawi. Between the wind and the hills, I began to dread the bike leg of the course. I knew it was going to be a bear when our Jeep was getting shoved all around the road by the wind. But in Hawi we found a funky cool sushi place for dinner, then stopped at a shoreline to see the sunset.
Friday, I got up early and went for a bike ride on the Queen K. I wanted to make sure my bike was working well after the disassembly/reassembly, and also get an idea of just how bad the bike was going to be.
It was rough. I rode from our condo to Hapuna Beach where the race starts, and back. Going north was insanely tough between the climb and the wind. Coming back, I hit 30+ MPH on a downhill.
After going to the athlete briefing and hearing Mark Allen talk about his first race against Dave Scott, (yes... that Mark Allen!) I dropped my run gear at T2 and met back up with the family to get lunch and head up to Hapuna Beach to drop off my bike and get in another swim. Again.. crystal clear water and visibility clear to the bottom of the ocean floor. But the wind made the swim back in really difficult. We left the beach, picked up some fresh Mahi Mahi for dinner, and came back to the condo to eat and get to sleep.
Race Day - Swim
Saturday morning, I got up early, ate some oatmeal, drank some coffee, and got dressed. We took the half-mile walk down the hill to the Fairmont to get on a shuttle bus to Hapuna Beach, where I put my Infinit bottles on my bike, blew up my tires, and did a last check for anything else I'd need. There was a designated swim warmup area which I took advantage of. The wind was much calmer and the water was almost glass smooth. It looked perfect for racing.
My wave was set to go off about a half-hour after the race started, so I waded out into waist deep water to watch the first couple waves go out. Then I lined myself up in the swim corral and waited.
Finally the M45-49 AG was ready. I seeded myself to the back of the wave and hoped for the best. We had a beach start, so I sprinted to the water, walked out to about waist deep water, and started swimming. Between the timing of the start and the clarity of the water, it was easy to find space to swim in. I had zero contact with other swimmers for probably the first 500 yards, and the contact I did have was a tap on my hand by someone's foot who was breast-stroking to figure out where he was going. Around 1000 yards in, the women in the wave behind me were catching up to me, so it got a bit more congested, but still nothing like Texas. And at this point we were probably a quarter-mile offshore, and were swimming over reefs in 40' of water. Had I not been racing it would have been pretty amazing... Actually, it was amazing. Slowly, but surely, I made it to the turn around and worked my way back to the last turn buoy. And the last 50 or so yards in, I was able to basically body surf my way in. It wasn't a fast swim, but it was fun.
Bike
The bike course was, uh... challenging. It went out from Hapuna Beach, south to Mauna Lani, then turn around to go north to Hawi, then back to Mauna Lani. The Hapuna to Mauna Lani stretch was fast between the downhill and the tailwind, perfect for building up false expectations. But then after turning around it was nothing but headwind and mostly uphill riding for about 7 miles. Then at Hwy. 270 there was another long downhill before the long climb to Hawi. Prior to starting the climb to Hawi, I was on pace to go under 3 hours. But 5 miles at a 2-3% grade into a monster headwind wrecked that idea.
After turning around at Hawi, that long grinding climb turned into a fast fun downhill. And the views... Spectacular! At one point, I was awestruck looking at an overlook over the ocean. But then soon after.. back to grinding up another long climb. Eventually I got back to the Queen K, and from there to the resort was a net downhill. I took advantage of that to get my legs loosened up to go run.
Run
The run took place mostly on the golf course at Mauna Lani. Lots of cart paths and fairways, which meant lots of surface changes. And for good measure there was a stretch of road that went out into a lava field that was affectionately referred to as "Hell's Kitchen".
I was in and out of T2 in about 3 minutes or so. And at the first aid station (about .7 miles in) I covered myself in sunblock, because it was hot and the sun was beating down. I knew this was going to be a hot slog of a run. What I wasn't prepared for was the sudden elevation changes on the cart paths. People who had done the race had said the fairways were tough to run on, but I had more difficulty with the sudden up and down on the cart paths between the fairways. And Hell's Kitchen was a straight road with a slight downhill to the turnaround, which I also didn't really have an issue with despite the heat.
At every aid station, I'd dump ice down the front and back of my jersey, and shove a cold sponge over each shoulder. I also got sprayed down and occasionally dunked my hat in ice water the aid station workers had the sponges in.
The second loop was easier than the first, as some clouds and vog rolled in which cut the brutal sun down quite a bit. But getting any sort of rhythm on the course was next to impossible. Still, it was on a golf course overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Big Island of Hawai'i.
And the coolest part of the run... There are a bunch of feral goats on the island, and there were quite a few who decided to spend their Saturday watching a bunch of idiot humans running on 'their' golf course.
It wasn't a fast day. It wasn't one of those race efforts that I'll look back on as a pinnacle of my athletic achievement. But on a really tough course in really tough conditions, including my first ocean swim and first non-wetsuit Ironman swim, I'll take it. I'd love to do this race again if it wasn't so prohibitively expensive to do so. If you're ever in a position where it's a possibility... Just go.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
IRONMAN TEXAS!!
This is gonna be kinda quick and kinda dirty. Sorry.
Prelude:
Last year, my triathlon season sucked out loud. I was registered for the Louisiana Tri, but couldn’t race because I had to adult. I registered for Crawfishman (best. race. ever.), and it got shortened due to weather to a 400Y swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run. I wasn’t even warmed up until about mile 6 on the bike. Bleh. I registered for the Big Easy Sprint, which got cancelled due to construction on the course. I registered for the Escape from NOLA Olympic which got cancelled due to lack of participation. And I registered for Ironman New Orleans 70.3, which got cancelled due to a freak storm that ended up blowing down the tents at the race site, flooding the bike and run courses, and making for a pretty nasty day.
Prior to IMNOLA, some folks on my team, BNG Endurance, were signed up for Ironman Texas. I’d done a full. I know how much they hurt. I know how hard they are to train for. But I also know what that finish line feels like, and the idea of traveling to The Woodlands with 14-15 of my teammates seemed like it would be an absolute blast. But Shellie (the wife) was adamant about letting me do another Ironnman. But while she was sitting in the parking lot at IMNOLA waiting for me to get my rain-soaked gear, she knew. It was going to happen. And happen, it did.
Training:
I spend a couple weeks after NOLA doing some basic base work while looking for a training plan. I talked to a coach, looked at online plans, and eventually settled on Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 plan. I also relied heavily on Zwift for my bike training, since I was training over the winter and outdoor rides would be miserable at best. I’d load my workout from Training Peaks to Zwift, ride in the Zwift world on my Tacx Flux, and get my bike work in that way. I ran as much outdoors as I could but also relied pretty heavily on my treadmill. And for swimming, I’d head over to Pelican Athletic Club in Mandeville and take advantage of their heated pools. Going into race week, I was in fantastic shape and felt like a caged animal after tapering for 10 days or so. I felt confident and ready to tackle IMTX.
Race Week (Wednesday):
Wednesday morning, we (Shellie [Sherpa], Brynn [Comfort Goat], and me) loaded up the MDX and headed west to The Woodlands. We arrived mid-afternoon Wednesday and I was able to get checked in to the race and get my wristband and swag-bag. Unfortunately, the expo was closing shop, so we didn’t get to visit with the exhibitor booths. That evening we opted to grab some Mexican grub where we ran into Parrish and Joe from BnG. Joe had a set of challenges facing raceday that nobody should ever face, and Parrish was “winging it” for the race. We ate, cut up, and generally had a good time. Later that evening we walked some of the run course trying to find good spectator spots as well as figuring out the logistics for me for the race. The Woodlands venue was beautiful and almost idlyllic for watching a race like this.
Thursday:
Thursday morning, I got up early and went for a run. Taper madness had set in and I needed to burn off some energy. I ran down to the waterway, and then over to North Shore park where the swim was to start. “Glorious” by Macklemore was on my headphones as I ran along the lake with the sun rising in the east, and it was indeed Glorious. In just 48 hours, I’d be chasing my second Ironman in that lake, and I was ready.
After breakfast, we (Sherpa, comfort goat, and I) went to the Ironman Village to get some swag and hit the athlete briefing. I got to get a pic with Mike Reilly (Voice of Ironman) and spend some time with the BnG crew. Afer that, we decided to do a bit of window shopping and just relax the rest of the afternoon. I split off from my family to visit the athlete banquet with the team and then met back up with them and some friends in The Woodlands for my second dinner.
Friday:
Friday morning was the practice swim at the Swim Start. I got up early, met up with Mike and Julie and we went to meet the BnG crew for breakfast before the swim. The practice swim screwed up my head something fierce, as I hadn’t swam in a wetsuit since Augusta 2015, and the water was colder than I was expecting. But once I was in the water and settled down, I was able swim a fairly comfortable half-mile. But I was still way nervous about the swim on raceday (as I usually am). I started over-thinking things until Shellie talked me back down to relative sanity.
After the practice swim, I packed my Run and Bike bags, threw the P2 on the back of the MDX, and took them to transition to check in. At this point, there was no turning back. Ironman Texas was going to happen with or without me.
Friday evening we met up with Mike and Julie, and Tara and Darren for dinner. After dinner, we hit the hot tub at the hotel to relax while I got my head right for the next day. It was almost time to race, finally.
RACE DAY (Swim):
Finally... Time to race. I got up about 3:30, ate some oatmeal, and got dressed while the girls did whatever it is they do to prepare to leave. We went over to transition so I could drop off my nutrition and check on the bike and then made the mile walk over to swim start. Walking over, I felt like I was walking out to a cage fight, which was fitting for what was about to happen...
I arrived at swim start with about 40 minutes or so before the race started. I got into my wetsuit, put on my swim cap and goggles, and seeded myself in the 1:31-1:40 group. Based on my training this was a conservative estimate of where I should be. I was confident that I’d have a good swim. Hahahahahahahhah!!
After the cannon went off, I finally got to the water about 10 minutes later. I got in, did an easy breast stroke out about 50 yards from the start, and then started swimming. But somehow I ended up in a mass of bodies and got kicked and punched more in the first 500 yards than I’ve ever been hit in a race. It was miserable. Eventually I was able to find some open water (that was on course) to swim in and finally settled into a rhythm, but I knew I wasn’t even close to where I wanted to be. After the turn-around bouys, I had plenty of space to swim, but my swim cap was cutting into my forehead and I had to stop and adjust. More time lost. Blah. Finally we made our way to the waterway and I was headed to the swim exit. I ended up close to a guy that did everything in his power to keep me from passing him, and was just PO’ed by the time I got around him. And if that wasn’t enough, at the swim exit, the guy to my right decided he wanted to use the stairs on the left to get out the water and cut across the path of 4-5 other swimmers, and kicked me in the face in the process. Dick. When I got out of the water, I noticed my wetsuit had been opened somewhere in the scrum. I’m not sure where the zipper got pulled open, but I’m sure that contributed to my crappy swim time.
Bike:
The bike started out fun. I came out of T1 last amongst my BnG teammates (not shocked) and figured I’d have to do some work on the bike. The first 30 or so miles were fairly uneventful, except for the woman that didn’t understand “on your left”. I prepared myself for spending the entire day yelling that since I was out of the water so late. Once on the Hardy Toll Road, I was able to settle into a groove and just focus on my ride. I covered the first half of the bike in what was a PR for me for 55 miles. I was hoping to get off the bike in under 6 hours but it wasn’t to be. I started wanting actual food and grabbed a couple things at an aid station. I checked and saw one of the items was Ginger Ale flavored Clif Blocks, and thought that would be perfect. But the second one I ate pulled a crown off of a tooth, which necessitated me stopping to deal with it.
Not. Happy.
Not long after that, while coming down an overpass, I hit a Gatorade bottle at about 25 MPH while tucked in aero. How I stayed up, I have no idea. It took a few minutes to get my nerves settled to finish my ride. Eventually I hit the 100 mile mark and then made my way from the Hardy to T2. My bike split was close to what I was targeting, and I felt good going into the run.
Run:
The run... Time to do what I do. I headed out of T2 sunblocked and lubed up ready to tackle 26.2 miles of what was turning into a warmer than expected afternoon. I ran the first mile to assess what was going on, saw my heart rate was way elevated for my pace and decided I was going to have to Gallo-Walk the marathon at a 4/5/6-1 interval of running and walking. Blah.
The first of 3 laps was relatively uneventful. I figured I’d get through two more like that and get my second Ironman Finish, then find food. The second lap got a little slower, but I was still able to hold my intervals. I’d hoped the third lap would be the opportunity to run, but my calves started cramping bad. I couldn’t run more than two minutes at a time, and had to walk 3-4 minutes to get the cramps to go away. But finally, there was CHICKEN BROTH on the course. I struggled through three aid stations to get two servings of chicken broth, hit mile 19, and was ready to finish this mess. My time goals were shot, so I figured I’d enjoy the last lap of the beatutiful run course. Once I got some broth I was able to resume my run/walk intervals (though the 1 sometimes crept to 2 or 3). I never doubted I’d finish at this point. I just wanted to do so without a trip to the medical tent. The last three miles went by smoothly and I was able to see my support crew before making my way down the finish chute. I hit the carpet, and walked the last couple hundred yards, soaking in the finish line. Mike Reilly called my name. I was done. I was a 2x IRONMAN.
It wasn’t a pretty day. It was hard. It was challenging. But I got it done. In retrospect, I wonder what would have happened had I had a better swim and were better prepared for the heat on the run. But there’s no second guessing in this game. You show up, you race the course in front of you, and you do your best for the time you’re out there.
As for now, I’ve got a couple 70.3s left for the year. And while I’m not 100% sure, I think I’m finished with racing this distance. I’ve done it twice. I finished both times. I’m not ashamed of either of my performances. But I know to improve, I’d have to make even greater sacrifices than I already have, and I’m not prepared to do that. For now though, I’ll be proud of what I’ve done in my two Ironman races. And prep for the 70.3 distance, where I can actually race.
Prelude:
Last year, my triathlon season sucked out loud. I was registered for the Louisiana Tri, but couldn’t race because I had to adult. I registered for Crawfishman (best. race. ever.), and it got shortened due to weather to a 400Y swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run. I wasn’t even warmed up until about mile 6 on the bike. Bleh. I registered for the Big Easy Sprint, which got cancelled due to construction on the course. I registered for the Escape from NOLA Olympic which got cancelled due to lack of participation. And I registered for Ironman New Orleans 70.3, which got cancelled due to a freak storm that ended up blowing down the tents at the race site, flooding the bike and run courses, and making for a pretty nasty day.
Prior to IMNOLA, some folks on my team, BNG Endurance, were signed up for Ironman Texas. I’d done a full. I know how much they hurt. I know how hard they are to train for. But I also know what that finish line feels like, and the idea of traveling to The Woodlands with 14-15 of my teammates seemed like it would be an absolute blast. But Shellie (the wife) was adamant about letting me do another Ironnman. But while she was sitting in the parking lot at IMNOLA waiting for me to get my rain-soaked gear, she knew. It was going to happen. And happen, it did.
Training:
I spend a couple weeks after NOLA doing some basic base work while looking for a training plan. I talked to a coach, looked at online plans, and eventually settled on Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 plan. I also relied heavily on Zwift for my bike training, since I was training over the winter and outdoor rides would be miserable at best. I’d load my workout from Training Peaks to Zwift, ride in the Zwift world on my Tacx Flux, and get my bike work in that way. I ran as much outdoors as I could but also relied pretty heavily on my treadmill. And for swimming, I’d head over to Pelican Athletic Club in Mandeville and take advantage of their heated pools. Going into race week, I was in fantastic shape and felt like a caged animal after tapering for 10 days or so. I felt confident and ready to tackle IMTX.
Race Week (Wednesday):
Wednesday morning, we (Shellie [Sherpa], Brynn [Comfort Goat], and me) loaded up the MDX and headed west to The Woodlands. We arrived mid-afternoon Wednesday and I was able to get checked in to the race and get my wristband and swag-bag. Unfortunately, the expo was closing shop, so we didn’t get to visit with the exhibitor booths. That evening we opted to grab some Mexican grub where we ran into Parrish and Joe from BnG. Joe had a set of challenges facing raceday that nobody should ever face, and Parrish was “winging it” for the race. We ate, cut up, and generally had a good time. Later that evening we walked some of the run course trying to find good spectator spots as well as figuring out the logistics for me for the race. The Woodlands venue was beautiful and almost idlyllic for watching a race like this.
Thursday:
Thursday morning, I got up early and went for a run. Taper madness had set in and I needed to burn off some energy. I ran down to the waterway, and then over to North Shore park where the swim was to start. “Glorious” by Macklemore was on my headphones as I ran along the lake with the sun rising in the east, and it was indeed Glorious. In just 48 hours, I’d be chasing my second Ironman in that lake, and I was ready.
After breakfast, we (Sherpa, comfort goat, and I) went to the Ironman Village to get some swag and hit the athlete briefing. I got to get a pic with Mike Reilly (Voice of Ironman) and spend some time with the BnG crew. Afer that, we decided to do a bit of window shopping and just relax the rest of the afternoon. I split off from my family to visit the athlete banquet with the team and then met back up with them and some friends in The Woodlands for my second dinner.
Friday:
Friday morning was the practice swim at the Swim Start. I got up early, met up with Mike and Julie and we went to meet the BnG crew for breakfast before the swim. The practice swim screwed up my head something fierce, as I hadn’t swam in a wetsuit since Augusta 2015, and the water was colder than I was expecting. But once I was in the water and settled down, I was able swim a fairly comfortable half-mile. But I was still way nervous about the swim on raceday (as I usually am). I started over-thinking things until Shellie talked me back down to relative sanity.
After the practice swim, I packed my Run and Bike bags, threw the P2 on the back of the MDX, and took them to transition to check in. At this point, there was no turning back. Ironman Texas was going to happen with or without me.
Friday evening we met up with Mike and Julie, and Tara and Darren for dinner. After dinner, we hit the hot tub at the hotel to relax while I got my head right for the next day. It was almost time to race, finally.
RACE DAY (Swim):
Finally... Time to race. I got up about 3:30, ate some oatmeal, and got dressed while the girls did whatever it is they do to prepare to leave. We went over to transition so I could drop off my nutrition and check on the bike and then made the mile walk over to swim start. Walking over, I felt like I was walking out to a cage fight, which was fitting for what was about to happen...
I arrived at swim start with about 40 minutes or so before the race started. I got into my wetsuit, put on my swim cap and goggles, and seeded myself in the 1:31-1:40 group. Based on my training this was a conservative estimate of where I should be. I was confident that I’d have a good swim. Hahahahahahahhah!!
After the cannon went off, I finally got to the water about 10 minutes later. I got in, did an easy breast stroke out about 50 yards from the start, and then started swimming. But somehow I ended up in a mass of bodies and got kicked and punched more in the first 500 yards than I’ve ever been hit in a race. It was miserable. Eventually I was able to find some open water (that was on course) to swim in and finally settled into a rhythm, but I knew I wasn’t even close to where I wanted to be. After the turn-around bouys, I had plenty of space to swim, but my swim cap was cutting into my forehead and I had to stop and adjust. More time lost. Blah. Finally we made our way to the waterway and I was headed to the swim exit. I ended up close to a guy that did everything in his power to keep me from passing him, and was just PO’ed by the time I got around him. And if that wasn’t enough, at the swim exit, the guy to my right decided he wanted to use the stairs on the left to get out the water and cut across the path of 4-5 other swimmers, and kicked me in the face in the process. Dick. When I got out of the water, I noticed my wetsuit had been opened somewhere in the scrum. I’m not sure where the zipper got pulled open, but I’m sure that contributed to my crappy swim time.
Bike:
The bike started out fun. I came out of T1 last amongst my BnG teammates (not shocked) and figured I’d have to do some work on the bike. The first 30 or so miles were fairly uneventful, except for the woman that didn’t understand “on your left”. I prepared myself for spending the entire day yelling that since I was out of the water so late. Once on the Hardy Toll Road, I was able to settle into a groove and just focus on my ride. I covered the first half of the bike in what was a PR for me for 55 miles. I was hoping to get off the bike in under 6 hours but it wasn’t to be. I started wanting actual food and grabbed a couple things at an aid station. I checked and saw one of the items was Ginger Ale flavored Clif Blocks, and thought that would be perfect. But the second one I ate pulled a crown off of a tooth, which necessitated me stopping to deal with it.
Not. Happy.
Not long after that, while coming down an overpass, I hit a Gatorade bottle at about 25 MPH while tucked in aero. How I stayed up, I have no idea. It took a few minutes to get my nerves settled to finish my ride. Eventually I hit the 100 mile mark and then made my way from the Hardy to T2. My bike split was close to what I was targeting, and I felt good going into the run.
Run:
The run... Time to do what I do. I headed out of T2 sunblocked and lubed up ready to tackle 26.2 miles of what was turning into a warmer than expected afternoon. I ran the first mile to assess what was going on, saw my heart rate was way elevated for my pace and decided I was going to have to Gallo-Walk the marathon at a 4/5/6-1 interval of running and walking. Blah.
The first of 3 laps was relatively uneventful. I figured I’d get through two more like that and get my second Ironman Finish, then find food. The second lap got a little slower, but I was still able to hold my intervals. I’d hoped the third lap would be the opportunity to run, but my calves started cramping bad. I couldn’t run more than two minutes at a time, and had to walk 3-4 minutes to get the cramps to go away. But finally, there was CHICKEN BROTH on the course. I struggled through three aid stations to get two servings of chicken broth, hit mile 19, and was ready to finish this mess. My time goals were shot, so I figured I’d enjoy the last lap of the beatutiful run course. Once I got some broth I was able to resume my run/walk intervals (though the 1 sometimes crept to 2 or 3). I never doubted I’d finish at this point. I just wanted to do so without a trip to the medical tent. The last three miles went by smoothly and I was able to see my support crew before making my way down the finish chute. I hit the carpet, and walked the last couple hundred yards, soaking in the finish line. Mike Reilly called my name. I was done. I was a 2x IRONMAN.
It wasn’t a pretty day. It was hard. It was challenging. But I got it done. In retrospect, I wonder what would have happened had I had a better swim and were better prepared for the heat on the run. But there’s no second guessing in this game. You show up, you race the course in front of you, and you do your best for the time you’re out there.
As for now, I’ve got a couple 70.3s left for the year. And while I’m not 100% sure, I think I’m finished with racing this distance. I’ve done it twice. I finished both times. I’m not ashamed of either of my performances. But I know to improve, I’d have to make even greater sacrifices than I already have, and I’m not prepared to do that. For now though, I’ll be proud of what I’ve done in my two Ironman races. And prep for the 70.3 distance, where I can actually race.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Walt Disney World Marathon 2017 Race Report
Preface:
Before I get into the actual race report, I feel like I need to recap the prior 18 months or so of what I'd been training for.
April 2015 - Had a minor medical procedure done that had me on the bench for a couple weeks. To mark my comeback, I raced the Louisiana Triathlon 15 days post-op. It wasn't a particularly fast race as I'd only been in the water a couple times prior and on my bike once, but it was fun and felt good to be back out competing. In the week following the race, I started a focused training plan for...
September 2015 - Ironman Augusta 70.3. This was my 2015 'A' race, and what I spent the summer of 2015 training for. Raceday went well despite the wind on the bike course and a bit of cramping on the run. After Augusta, I took off a week and started a focused training plan for...
February 2016 - Rock N Roll Marathon New Orleans. My goal was to break 3:30, but I blew up bad at mile 24, where the course turned onto Wisner Blvd. Still, I PR'ed by 5 minutes with a 3:33:02. The day after the race started my 30 week training plan for...
September 2016 - Ironman Chattanooga. It was HOT. Like 97 degrees and humid hot. But I finished, upright, smiling, and was able to skip the medical tent. All in all, a good day.
By this point, however, I was fried mentally. I was supposed to jump right into my marathon plan for WDW, but I had to take off about 3 weeks just to get my brain and body reset.
Training:
I started my training for WDW 11 weeks before the race by jumping into a training plan by Joe Friel that I found on Training Peaks. However, after about 4 weeks of that plan, I wasn't seeing any real improvement. So I defaulted back to Hal Higdon's Advanced 2 plan that I used for my last marathon. I did take an extra rest day each week in lieu of one of the easy runs, and I missed one of the three 20 mile runs due to a trip to Arizona for a conference for work. But by the time the biggest weeks of the plan rolled around, I was hitting my goals for pace on race pace runs and tempo runs. Weather forced me onto a treadmill (dreadmill) for my two remaining 20 mile runs, which SUCKED. By the time my taper started, I felt ready for 26.2 Magical Miles through the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Goals:
My goals weren't set in stone, as weather can be so screwy in Florida in January. If conditions were ideal, I was going to target a 3:40-3:45 race. If not, I was going to take advantage of my C corral placement to take character pics on the whole course.
Race Weekend:
We (The wife, kidlet, and me) loaded up on Thursday at O-Dark-Thirty to get on our plane to Orlando from NOLA. Preliminary weather reports looked like there would be rain on Saturday, giving way to a clear 40-45 degree morning and 55 degree temperature about the time I'd finish. That's about as perfect a day for marathoning as I can imagine. For raceday, I packed shorts, a singlet, arm warmers, and a throwaway sweatshirt to wear in the corral before the start.
Friday morning, we hit the race expo to get our bibs and so Brynn could run the Mickey Mile. There was some chatter about some really bad weather coming through Friday night and RunDisney was watching it because of Saturday's Half Marathon. Shellie was nervous as she was registered for the 13.1, but there wasn't anything we could do about it.
Brynn ran well in the Mile, not far off of her PR in Cross Country. And got what might be her funniest race photo yet:
Friday night while at dinner at the Kona Cafe', we got the email that Saturday's Half Marathon was cancelled due to the impending thunderstorms. Shellie was bummed, and I was bummed for her. She trained all summer and fall for the race and was excited to race a RunDisney race. After we got news of the cancellation, I made the Executive Decision that all three of us were going back to Magic Kingdom and closing down the park.
I woke up about 5:45 or so Saturday morning and the lightning was putting on a show. RunDisney definitely made the correct call, as much as it pains me to say it.
We eventually got up and headed to Epcot, and while there, the temperature was falling off of a cliff. It was around 70 when we arrived, low 60s when we ate lunch, and when the sun set, mid 40s. And the winds were picking up. After dinner with our friends at Via Napoli, we cut the evening early and headed back to our hotel. It was time to sleep because Sunday was race day.
Race Day:
I woke up Sunday at 3AM (worst part of RunDisney races are the God-Awful early start times) to eat breakfast, drink some coffee and get ready. I checked the weather and according to my phone it was 35 degrees with a north wind of 18MPH. That's a wind chill of 24 degrees. In Florida. ACK!
Because of the forecasts before we left, I didn't pack any cold weather running gear. I improvised with a pair of my wife's fleece lined tights, and two pairs of gloves, but I really wanted my tights and long sleeve shirt. Brrr...
I got to the parking lot at Epcot and tried to find somewhere I wouldn't freeze to death before we made the long walk to the corrals. I met up with Alex from AP Racing for a few minutes before finding Justin just before we began walking to the corrals.
Finally, at 5:42, the fireworks for Corral C went off and my 2017 WDW Marathon was under way!
And I was cold. Very cold. To make things worse, at about the 1 mile mark, the course turns on to World Drive headed north to the Magic Kingdom, right into that brutal cold wind. I looked ahead and saw a photo stop with Jack Sparrow and decided I wasn't chasing time. Instead, I'd spend the next four or so hours enjoying Disney. I stopped at that picture stop, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one....
Between each stop, I was running about an 8:30-8:45 pace. But I'd lose a minute or two for each picture. And every time I'd think I wanted to lose the sweatshirt, I'd unzip it, feel the cold, and zip it right back up.
The course enters Magic Kingdom just past the 5 mile mark, and heads up a very crowded (with spectators) and narrow Main Street before circling through the back of the park and exiting by Frontierland. The highlight is running through the Cinderella's castle (which was still decorated with lights for Christmas). If someone has run the WDW Marathon, they've probably posted a similar picture on Facebook or Instagram.
Leaving MK, the course goes out between the Grand Floridian Hotel and the golf course, through the back roads by the water treatment facility, and into a back gate of Animal Kingdom. The stretch between MK and AK is probably the least interesting part of the course, unless someone is really fascinated by Disney irrigation. There's just not much to see there, no matter how many signs they post trying to make it interesting.
Right after mile 9, my legs were getting warm, so I ducked into a Porta-John, and lost the tights. Again, I tried to ditch the sweatshirt, but it wasn't happening.
The halfway point of the course is in Animal Kingdom, right at the gate for Expedition Everest. Unfortunately, they weren't running it as it was only around 7:45 and the park opened at 9AM. Otherwise I would have hopped on for a quick encounter with the Yeti.
The second half of the course is more visually interesting with trips through Disney's Wide World of Sports and a lap of both the track and the baseball field, Hollywood Studios near the Tower of Terror, a run through the Boardwalk area, and a pass through Epcot's World Showcase on the way to the finish. At this point, I'd settled into a really comfortable groove and got to that "I could run forever" point in my mind. I stopped for character pictures, walked the aid stations, clowned around with volunteers, and was truly enjoying simply running. I again tried to lose the sweatshirt coming out of WWOS around Mile 21, but it was still too cold. Grrr...
I finally hit the 26 mile point right where the course exits Epcot into the parking lot and instead of being relieved, I felt like I do when a roller coaster ends. I knew it had to end at some point, but I was ready to run an even 30 miles, especially at WDW. I got to the finish line, high-fived Minnie Mouse, and crossed at 4:23:03, only 50 minutes slower than my marathon PR. Didn't care though, as I had an absolute blast running that race. 
After the race, I collected my finisher's medal, a bottle of Powerade, a space blanket, and took a couple more character pictures. Because of the cold, I suggested Shellie and Brynn skip the finish line and I'd meet them at Magic Kingdom after I ate and cleaned up. I then headed to my bus back to my hotel.Postrace:
I grabbed some food at the hotel, cleaned up, got my legs back under me, and like every good Disney tourist, headed out to the Magic Kingdom wearing my finisher's shirt and medal. Since I didn't run hard, I was able to enjoy the rest of the day with the Wife and Kidlet riding rides, seeing shows (including the Hall of Presidents because they have really comfortable chairs), and just enjoying some time with the family. That night, we had dinner at Sanaa in Animal Kingdom Villas before the eyelids got too heavy to hold up.
I was sore the following day, but not cripplingly so. We spent a half a day at the Animal Kingdom before boarding the bus to the airport and coming home.
About the half-marathon... Shellie had 4 options:
1. Refund in the form of a Disney gift card. But she would have had to forego the day at Epcot to go stand in line to get the card.
2. Two one-day Park Hopper tickets. Meh.
3. Defer registration to another Disney Half Marathon in the next two years.
4. Run the Marathon.
I pushed for her to run the Marathon. She's not nearly as dumb as I am when it comes to endurance sport stuff, so she will defer her registration to another race. Which means we'll be making yet another trip to RunDisney. Except maybe next time I'll be spectating.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Ironman Chattanooga (aka Might As Well Be Walking On The Sun) Race Day
Sunday, September 25, 2016. 3:40 AM.
Eyes opened. Like they were on springs. I was wide awake almost immediately.
The TV was off. The room was cold. It was dark. But I was wide. Effing. Awake.
It's a race morning. I never sleep well the night before a race, so I was prepared for this.
I got up, ate a couple oatmeal bars, drank a cup of really awful coffee, and let the oatmeal and coffee do what they do. Then I grabbed my pre-race pile of stuff and got dressed while waking up my wife, Shellie. Once she was out of bed, I found an Eminem playlist on my iPad, and put that on to fill the morning silence. Normally, I'm a rock guy but this wasn't a normal morning. Once her and I were ready, we woke up Brynn to get her dressed.
Once everyone was up and moving, we left to head to transition so I could blow up the tires on my bike, drop my special needs bags, and load up my bike nutrition. It was dark, not cold (this is important), and a tiny bit humid. I left the girls to head into transition to do what I needed to do, clowned around with one of the volunteers in a T-Rex costume, dropped bags, set up the bike, and met back up with Shellie and Brynn to get on the bus to swim start.
We got to the swim start about 6:15 or so and started walking down the line to the wetsuit wave, aka the "I suck at swimming" wave. The water temperature was 82-83 degrees, meaning anyone in a wetsuit wouldn't be eligible for AG awards on Kona slots. I'm not fast enough on the bike for that to be a concern. XTerra's Lava Pants are considered a wetsuit, and I'd trained a fair amount in them was quite comfortable swimming in them even when the water was warm, so I planned to race in them.
About 7:15, my cousin Tim who had come down from Chicago and my Aunt Kathy who joined him on the trip showed up at swim start as well, completely unexpectedly. I figured they'd sleep in and see me at T1. We hugged, clowned around, took pictures, and enjoyed the final few moments before I jumped in that river. And in retrospect, it was really good they were there because my pre-swim anxiety never really materialized.
A few minutes later, we stood for the National Anthem, the pros got in the river, and the cannon fired to officially start the race. 10 minutes after that, the AG race started with another cannon shot. It was finally here. I'm racing an Ironman! I hugged and kissed the kid and the wife, hugged Tim and Kathy, high-fived and fist bumped the other guys in the "I swim like shit" wave, and even offered my family to share some pre-race love with the guy that was waiting by himself for the race to start.
Swim
After the AG swimmers moved to the dock, us in the wetsuit wave lined up behind them. I finally got my first look at the dock and the river from water level, and got nervous. But there was no looking back as the line moved forward and I was in it. Eventually I crossed the timing mat, walked to the end of the dock, and slid myself into the water. I ducked my head under water, came up, and breaststroked about 15-20 yards while getting a good visual of the river. Then I put my head down, and started swimming.
I set my watch to go off every 500 yards so I'd have an idea of where I was on the swim, and this turned out to be a good idea. Feeling the buzz on my wrist every 8 or 9 minutes was comforting as it reassured me that I was actually moving forward. At 1000 yards, I checked my watch and was at 16 minutes and change. I knew the dam on the river had been shut down to minimize current, but I was still swimming pretty well and quicker than I normally do, indicating there was at least a little current.
The first mile of the swim, there's no landmarks to measure progress against. It's just a wide open river, buoys, and water safety crew. But there's also a really wide river to swim in making it easy to find space and not get swam over. I found myself really comfortable and making good progress.
 |
| Be glad this is before the wetsuit strippers. |
They pulled me out the water and directed me to T1. I stopped at the wetsuit strippers to get the lava pants off, and then headed up the hill to the change tent. On my way I saw Kathy and Tim at one point, and Shellie and Brynn at another. I was fired up as I just completed an Ironman swim. 3.5 years ago I couldn't swim a 400 in a pool without feeling like I was dying, and I had just swam 2.4 miles in open water. I was stoked!
I grabbed my bike gear bag and headed to the tent to change into cycling gear and start the second leg of the race.
Bike
 |
| My best bike photo ever. |
I grabbed an empty chair in the tent, and started fishing out my stuff from my bag. A volunteer came over to help get my stuff sorted and I quickly towel dried and started getting dressed. This was about the point where I realized that the opening to the tent was just over my shoulder and some spectators were seeing more of me than they probably should... Oh well. I finished getting dressed, turned on the Beacon tracker, put on my helmet, and headed out to my bike to begin my 116 mile journey through NW Georgia. I gulped a bunch of water in T1 and ate a Gu to get some calories back in my stomach and set up my nutrition plan for the bike. I felt good and was eagerly anticipating the bike ride.
On a map, the IMCHOO bike course looks kind of like a butcher knife. Racers ride the handle, then ride two laps of the blade, and then ride the handle back to transition. From the hilt of the "handle" to the tip of the blade the course is mostly false flats and uphills as the course is a net elevation gain. The tip of the blade back to Chickamauga is a net downhill, and there's a decently long climb just before the blade "tip" and another coming out of Chickamauga. My plan was to ride the first loop according to power/heart rate goals, then follow the same guidelines on the first half of the second loop. The second half of the second loop I planned to push harder since it was a net downhill and I should be able to make up time on everyone that went out too hard. Then I wanted to keep pushing until I was back in Chattanooga and ride comfortably back to T2. I relied on Infinit mixed at 150% strength and Base Salts for nutrition, supplemented with water at the aid stations. At Special Needs I'd grab three more bottles for the second loop. I'd tested this plan in training on my 4-5 hour rides and always always felt good and well hydrated. I was confident this would work.
I hit the first aid station just past the 15 mile mark and just drifted to the left while everyone slowed to grab water/gatorade/nutrition. Then when I saw the porta-potties, I figured it was probably a good idea to take a quick pit stop. 2 minutes later I was back on the bike heading south again.
Crowd support on the course was surprising for how rural the area was. There were people parked at every intersection cheering. A farmer had hung a big banner off of a backhoe and parked it along the road. The volunteers were enthusiastic. It was awesome that so many people chose to spend their Sunday watching us ride through their town.
Continuing south on W. Cove Rd., I maintained my nutrition and pacing plan. But it was getting warm, and quickly. I finished my first nutrition bottle around mile 25, tossed it at aid station 2, and grabbed a water bottle. I drank about half the water bottle, dumped the rest on me to cool down, and continued on to the big climb before the blade tip. From the crest of that climb, through the tip, and back the 20+ miles to Chickamauga, the course is a net downhill. Without pushing really hard, I was 1-2 MPH faster going back north. And this road was about as picturesque a place to ride as could be found. I also started getting passed by the pros on their second lap and realized just how remarkably average I am on the bike.
I hit Special Needs about 3:15 into the ride. Riding into Chickamauga was a blast. The city set up barricades and people were 2-3 deep cheering and ringing cowbells for about a half-mile. The volunteers were quick about getting our bags, and I swapped out my bottles, and grabbed the sunscreen I put in the bag. I sprayed down quickly, and offered it to someone behind me on their bike. I imagine it got passed to 4-5 more people, but who knows. I also took another pit stop (needed just to make sure I was staying hydrated) before heading out of Chickamauga to start my second loop.
 |
| Our team kit (TriDat) looks damn good. |
I made the second climb to the "tip" and started heading north again. I was feeling fresh still and wasn't nearly as affected by the heat as most people, so I started riding hard. I'm not sure how many people I passed, but it felt like a bunch. I also didn't get passed much. But I did hit Aid #3 and douse myself in water as well as dumping as much ice as I could shove in my shorts and jersey. I repeated this at #4 and #5 just trying to manage the heat, while seeing people just laid out all over the course. Occasionally an ambulance would pass by, or I'd see a van with 2-3 competitors and their bikes in it. It was rough. And there was no break whatsoever from the heat.
Eventually, I made it back into Tennessee and on my way to T2. The family had set up camp around W45th Street to see me come through the corner, and that was a huge mood booster. Those extra 4 miles that are on the Chattanooga course are the longest 4 miles I've ever ridden in my life. But I made it to T2, upright, and still feeling really good. It was time to cool down a bit, change clothes again, and go to work.
Run
I got to T2, dismounted from the bike and started walking it in until a volunteer took it from me to rack it. (Thank you!!) I grabbed my run gear bag and headed into the change tent to change to my run kit, get some nutrition and water, and go start the marathon. But before I did anything, I found some ice water to try and cool down and rehydrate.
While I was changing, a friend from work who has several IM finishes came over to ask how I was feeling. He wasn't looking good as he had cramping issues on the bike over the last 25 miles or so. I finished changing and a guy in a medical shirt came over to check on me. He asked how I was feeling and I told him I felt good. He warned me to be careful because "It's 95 degrees out there right now".
I knew it was hot, but holy... shit...
I left the change tent, hit the porta potty, and was walking to the sunscreen volunteers when another friend of mine, Coach Kevin of GNO Tri, who was spectating and coaching grabbed me and said "All those time goals you had... Forget them. Just get to the finish line. Today is about survival."
For the first time that day, I started questioning whether or not I'd finish.
 |
| Leaving T2.. So HOT! |
Between the 3 and 4 mile aid stations, Base Salt had set up a tent and Danny was out encouraging people. His enthusiasm was infectious and really brightened my mood. And at the 4 mile station, Tim was waiting. He was asking how I was feeling as I came through and I honestly was feeling much better. I made the turn off the highway and my wife, kid, and aunt were all waiting for me. It was amazing to see them there where they weren't expected.
 |
| Just slightly less hot. Maybe only 92 degrees |
I hit run Special Needs and grabbed a couple gels I had in my bag. But my stomach was still wrecked from earlier and the thought of eating one wasn't pleasant. It was at the #1 aid station that I discovered the joys of chicken broth! It was warm, and salty, and not sweet... It was a little cup of manna. From there on I'd alternate chicken broth and coke. And for the next 8 or so miles, it worked. I wasn't running fast, but I was running. And passing people. And Danny was still out on that highway yelling and cutting up and acting like a fool. "Russ!!! Dude!!! You're gonna be an IRONMAN!!!"
The second time on the riverwalk, it was dark, quiet, and lonely. Almost eerie. I just kept chugging along stopping to get what little calories I could get in me, trying to not walk. At the 20 mile mark some guy said "we just have a 10K left. We can do that in our sleep." And I thought about all the 4:45 mornings when I was up running 6-7 miles before I was actually awake and thought "yea, I got this." Almost 3 hours prior, I was afraid I'd pass out on side the road, and now I was finally confident that I was going to finish this thing.
 |
| Almost There... |
 |
| Finish! I'm an IRONMAN!! |
And then I heard it... "Russell Laughlin, you're an Ironman!"
I did it. 30 some-odd years ago, my Dad and I sat on a sofa on a random Sunday afternoon watching ABC's Wide World of Sports and they showed this crazy race in Hawaii where people swam 2.4 miles, cycled 112 miles, and ran a full marathon. He thought they were insane. I thought they were awesome. But I never, ever imagined I could ever do that. But I did.
A volunteer put my medal around my neck and walked with me to make sure I didn't need medical aid. He grabbed my finisher shirt and hat, and a bottle of water for me which I drank quickly and it was replaced by a recovery drink from Beachbody. I took my finish line photos, turned in my timing chip, and turned in my Beacon Tracker as I met up with my family. I'm sure I was grinning like a fool. They mobbed me like a rock star, except Brynn because she didn't want a sweaty hug. She got one anyway.
 |
| Best Finisher Pic Ever! |
Tim had already taken my bike and my gear to his room, so we just had to head out. Finding food was unsuccessful, as the only thing open was a diner and it was packed and mediocre. Plus I started feeling bad and just wanted to lay down. I finally got to bed about 1 AM that night once the adrenaline and caffeine wore off. But.. I went to bed an IRONMAN.
And I totally wrecked a breakfast buffet the next morning.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Building The Machine
Fourteen and a half weeks from tonight, I'll be on that dock in the Savannah River, ready to embark on another 70.3 mile journey.
But to get there, I need to get ready. That means more laps in the pool, more miles on the road, and more intervals on the trainer. But this year I'm going in with a completely different mindset than I had last year.
Last year this journey was foreign to me. I had never swam 1.2 miles in a wetsuit in open water. I'd never ridden more than 50 miles at once. And I'd never contemplated running a half-marathon after a 50+ mile bike ride. I hired a coach to write my training plan. I put my trust in his experience to get me to the finish line, and felt like for a first 70.3 I had a really good race.
This year, I've opted to write my own plan. A friend of mine turned me on to "Run Less, Run Faster" and I've adapted a half-marathon plan from that book, combined with a bike training plan from Trainer Road and the Half-Ironman Swim Plan from Swim Smooth. My focus will be mainly on the bike where I feel I can pick up the most time from last year.
To do so means the bulk of my bike training will be on a trainer while staring at a green line on my iPhone instead of riding outside. 2-2.5 intense trainer hours will be more beneficial than a 2 hour ride with traffic, road hazards, and distractions. It's not going to be fun but it will make me faster. Which is all that matters at this point.
A friend of mine has referred to this point of training as "building the machine". And that's exactly what it feels like. Like I'm building a beastly diesel powered machine that can run all day long without breaking down or losing power.
Now to make that engine run faster...
Thursday, May 14, 2015
2015 Louisiana Tri - A Black Tie Affair
So... back to triathlons.
In a fit of impulse prompted by a Facebook post by a friend, I registered for the Louisiana Triathlon which was held last weekend on May 9th. Normally, I would have done the Big Easy Sprint or New Orleans Triathlon and Crawfishman, but extenuating circumstances prevented me from racing in any of those races... Namely work for Big Easy/NOLA, and the fact that Crawfishman didn't happen this year.
And as a result of those races not happening, I decided that taking a couple months to lay low, not follow a training schedule, and handling some minor medical stuff that needed to be done would be a pretty good idea. I had been training for an 'A' race pretty much non stop for about 2-2.5 years with Dopey, Crawfishman last year, Augusta 70.3, and RnR NOLA and needed a mental break. Burnout was approaching, and it was time to recharge the batteries.
But with the mental break came some challenges. Because I had focused so much on RnR NOLA, I had put my bikes away and hadn't ridden since the day of Augusta. I also hadn't been in the water at all over the winter and early spring. Clearly I wasn't in Triathlon shape. I was still running a fair amount though, and even ran the third leg for a relay team at IM NOLA. (That was miserable and hot... Lakeshore drive, no shade, 85 degrees, starting at noon. I'd do it again.)
But the week after IM NOLA, I had to have a minor medical procedure done. My doctor told me I could swim after about 3-4 days, and start running and riding again within a week. So 4 days after, I was in the pool... And swimming 500 yards sucked.
Two days later, I swam 1000 though and it wasn't horrible. The following Saturday I ran 5 miles on my treadmill without any pain as well. I would have ridden Sunday, but the weather didn't cooperate and riding my trainer didn't sound fun. The Sunday before the race, I bit the bullet and registered for the Louisiana Triathlon.
And then a couple days later I was on a plane to Houston for work.
My biggest concern for the race was the bike leg. The distance wasn't daunting, but I could have had major issues if I wasn't fully recovered from my procedure. I intended to test myself out beforehand, but never got an opportunity. Race day would literally be the first time I'd be on my tri-bike since Augusta.
The Louisiana Triathlon is a sprint distance race (800M Swim/ 18.6 Mile Bike/5K Run) held in New Roads, LA on False River. The swim was a triangle course in False River. The bike was an out and back along False River, and the run was a loop on LA 1 and through a neighborhood. The bike course was especially nice as the road along False River was recently resurfaced and it was a pretty area with views of the water, camps, and beautiful homes.
I originally intended to drive to Jackson, LA (about 20 miles from New Roads) with some friends and stay overnight, but I didn't land in NOLA from Houston until 5PM and didn't get home until after 7. I ended up packing my transition bag, loading my car, and set out at 4AM on race day.
I arrived at the race site about 5:45, picked up my packet, got body marked, and checked into transition. A few of my Tri-Dat teammates were close behind me, so we hung out until the officials opened the lake for a warmup swim. Knowing the course was a triangle, I figured I'd swim to the turn buoy and back as a warmup and I'd be good.
After I did my warmup swim, they added a second buoy about another 100 yards from the one I turned around at. Really? Blah...
Finally at 7:38 my wave started. We started in the water, so I hung back about 20 seconds to let the faster swimmers get out ahead of me so I could have some clear water to swim in. I felt good for about the first 4-500 yards, but started fatiguing, probably because of a simple lack of swim fitness. However, for a change, I wasn't the slowest swimmer in my AG. I was close, but not the slowest. I do remember checking my watch and seeing I still had about 200 yards (or so I thought) and being annoyed. Turns out I probably swam 100 yards or so longer than the marked course because of my inability to swim a straight line.
My bike leg was better than expected. I started out kind of cautiously because of the circumstances, but after about a mile and a half, I started getting comfortable being back on the bike and concentrated on staying tucked down in aero and focused on making steady power. I averaged right at 19MPH for the bike leg... Which was about 1 MPH faster than last year's Crawfishman split, and right about where I was for Augusta. Apparently I hadn't lost much bike fitness over the layoff... Just some endurance. And best of all.. no pain.
Since I wasn't competitive due to the swim, I didn't push too hard on the run. I wanted to stay under an 8:00/mile pace and catch the guy in my AG that passed me on the bike about mile 16. And I did both, so I was satisfied with that.
Post race I hung out with the Tri-Dat crew and another club from Mandeville and enjoyed a post race beer and a bowl of jambalaya.
Considering all the extraneous circumstances going into this race, I'll consider it a good day. I'd like to have been in better shape, especially for the swim, but compromises had to be made. Now it's time to start getting ready for Augusta again, which means early Saturday swim classes, and the huge Sunday brick workouts.
Can't wait.
 |
| Finally... A decent pic of me on my bike. |
In a fit of impulse prompted by a Facebook post by a friend, I registered for the Louisiana Triathlon which was held last weekend on May 9th. Normally, I would have done the Big Easy Sprint or New Orleans Triathlon and Crawfishman, but extenuating circumstances prevented me from racing in any of those races... Namely work for Big Easy/NOLA, and the fact that Crawfishman didn't happen this year.
And as a result of those races not happening, I decided that taking a couple months to lay low, not follow a training schedule, and handling some minor medical stuff that needed to be done would be a pretty good idea. I had been training for an 'A' race pretty much non stop for about 2-2.5 years with Dopey, Crawfishman last year, Augusta 70.3, and RnR NOLA and needed a mental break. Burnout was approaching, and it was time to recharge the batteries.
But with the mental break came some challenges. Because I had focused so much on RnR NOLA, I had put my bikes away and hadn't ridden since the day of Augusta. I also hadn't been in the water at all over the winter and early spring. Clearly I wasn't in Triathlon shape. I was still running a fair amount though, and even ran the third leg for a relay team at IM NOLA. (That was miserable and hot... Lakeshore drive, no shade, 85 degrees, starting at noon. I'd do it again.)
But the week after IM NOLA, I had to have a minor medical procedure done. My doctor told me I could swim after about 3-4 days, and start running and riding again within a week. So 4 days after, I was in the pool... And swimming 500 yards sucked.
Two days later, I swam 1000 though and it wasn't horrible. The following Saturday I ran 5 miles on my treadmill without any pain as well. I would have ridden Sunday, but the weather didn't cooperate and riding my trainer didn't sound fun. The Sunday before the race, I bit the bullet and registered for the Louisiana Triathlon.
And then a couple days later I was on a plane to Houston for work.
My biggest concern for the race was the bike leg. The distance wasn't daunting, but I could have had major issues if I wasn't fully recovered from my procedure. I intended to test myself out beforehand, but never got an opportunity. Race day would literally be the first time I'd be on my tri-bike since Augusta.
The Louisiana Triathlon is a sprint distance race (800M Swim/ 18.6 Mile Bike/5K Run) held in New Roads, LA on False River. The swim was a triangle course in False River. The bike was an out and back along False River, and the run was a loop on LA 1 and through a neighborhood. The bike course was especially nice as the road along False River was recently resurfaced and it was a pretty area with views of the water, camps, and beautiful homes.
I originally intended to drive to Jackson, LA (about 20 miles from New Roads) with some friends and stay overnight, but I didn't land in NOLA from Houston until 5PM and didn't get home until after 7. I ended up packing my transition bag, loading my car, and set out at 4AM on race day.
I arrived at the race site about 5:45, picked up my packet, got body marked, and checked into transition. A few of my Tri-Dat teammates were close behind me, so we hung out until the officials opened the lake for a warmup swim. Knowing the course was a triangle, I figured I'd swim to the turn buoy and back as a warmup and I'd be good.
After I did my warmup swim, they added a second buoy about another 100 yards from the one I turned around at. Really? Blah...
Finally at 7:38 my wave started. We started in the water, so I hung back about 20 seconds to let the faster swimmers get out ahead of me so I could have some clear water to swim in. I felt good for about the first 4-500 yards, but started fatiguing, probably because of a simple lack of swim fitness. However, for a change, I wasn't the slowest swimmer in my AG. I was close, but not the slowest. I do remember checking my watch and seeing I still had about 200 yards (or so I thought) and being annoyed. Turns out I probably swam 100 yards or so longer than the marked course because of my inability to swim a straight line.
My bike leg was better than expected. I started out kind of cautiously because of the circumstances, but after about a mile and a half, I started getting comfortable being back on the bike and concentrated on staying tucked down in aero and focused on making steady power. I averaged right at 19MPH for the bike leg... Which was about 1 MPH faster than last year's Crawfishman split, and right about where I was for Augusta. Apparently I hadn't lost much bike fitness over the layoff... Just some endurance. And best of all.. no pain.
Since I wasn't competitive due to the swim, I didn't push too hard on the run. I wanted to stay under an 8:00/mile pace and catch the guy in my AG that passed me on the bike about mile 16. And I did both, so I was satisfied with that.
Post race I hung out with the Tri-Dat crew and another club from Mandeville and enjoyed a post race beer and a bowl of jambalaya.
Considering all the extraneous circumstances going into this race, I'll consider it a good day. I'd like to have been in better shape, especially for the swim, but compromises had to be made. Now it's time to start getting ready for Augusta again, which means early Saturday swim classes, and the huge Sunday brick workouts.
Can't wait.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)