Ironman Florida 2013 – 11:53:28

(Check back for updates with pictures)

My goal for this race was to have a good day and a strong run.   IMWI 2011 was awful for me, and after suffering through flat tires and nutrition problems I wanted a better day this time.   So, my definition of success wasn’t tied to a particular time or split but more to a feeling, which is odd for data driven Mike.  I think it worked out pretty well for me though. 

Swim

Time:  1:10:49

Pace: 1:50/100m

The swim was a mass start to Van Halen’s ‘Panama.’   At the cannon almost 3000 people ran into the ocean, and almost immediately the ocean hit back.   Three foot breakers pushed us back towards the shore.   The swim was tight, where I had seeded myself.   It was a very congested push to the first bouy, with a lot of contact.   My goggles were kicked a few times, my ankle got grabbed once.   I really had to fight for every inch until the first turn.   The first turns was very congested so I dove under some other athletes hanging onto the buoy and sighted the next buoy. 

The course was two loops in the ocean, with a brief beach run in between.  When I got to the shore the first time I saw that I was at about 35 minutes, which was great.  Better than expected.  Luckily the second loop was less stressful.  

In general, I just kept reminding myself that it was a long day, and to not be in a hurry.  I just got the swim done, and I was out in about 1:10.   My ‘best day’ prediction was 1:12 so I was really happy with the result. 

T1 12:46

The T1 run was pretty long, but not as bad as the IMWI helix run.  Things went to plan, I didn’t run but I just moved ‘purposefully’ through transition.  I noticed that for some reason my left heel was hurting, but I couldn’t really do much about that. 

Bike

Time:  5:21:19

Pace:  20.91 mph

The bike was also pretty congested.  There was a combination of deliberate and involuntary drafting going on for most of the bike.   I kept my distance the best I could, but there wasn’t really anywhere to go.  Every time I’d back off to eat/drink I’d get passed by pace lines that I’d have to again repass.  

There was a NW wind, at less than 10 mph that created a minor headwind on the way out, and a minor tailwind on the way back. 

For the most part I just tried to put my head down and do work.    That said, being in your own head for 5 hours is just a long time.  It’s hard to focus that long.  

Just like cedar point 70.3 I had problems either with my power meter or my effort level again.   My quarq said I was riding about 20-40W under goal.   My RPE said I was working hard enough.   My speed indicated I was holding right around 21 mph.   So, I road mostly by effort.   This is a big problem I need to solve though.  It might be that there is something wrong with my electronics, or my calibration process.   It could also be that I’m so mental about the run that I’m afraid to push the bike even a little, and that’s giving my RPE a bit of a false read.  A third option is that in a race there is always a pack to avoid, nutrition to eat, aid stations to go through, and turns to negotiate, and maybe I’m just not good at holding power while doing those things.   Whatever the cause, I was happy with my pace and if I left some on the table so be it.

  

At about mile 70 I hit a real mental low point, and I started singing songs from ‘The Little Mermaid’ to myself.   I remember passing this girl singing and getting a funny look.  I shot back, ‘come on, you know the words.’  I’m just about positive I heard her singing behind me! 

I saw Lana and Tam on the bike around mile 90, just when it seemed like it would never end.  I hit the century mark at 4:46 and I was jazzed about that.  My fastest century by 14 minutes. 

My ‘best day’ goal for the bike was around 5:10 and my ‘average day’ goal was 5:30.  So, 5:21 was really right where I should have been.  It also lined me up for going sub 12 hours if I could run a 5 hour marathon, which would be really neat.

T2 8:27

So, T2 was thankfully much shorter than T1.   I did what I needed to do, but still didn't run in transition.  I knew I’d get plenty of running soon enough.  The volunteer helper I had was in such a hurry he took my T2 bag away before I got to put my shoes back in it, or get my sunblock out.   So, I’m sitting there in T2, with bike shoes in hand and run shoes on.   I yell to him ‘Dude, I still have my bike shoes.’  He says something like ‘sorry, it’s been a long day.’  Yeah, funny, me too…  

Run

Time: 5:00:07

Pace:  11:27/mile

I noticed that every time I put my left leg down my heel would hurt.   Same place I noticed in T1.   Not much I could really do about it, but it was there and painful. 

I ran by heart rate, trying to stay in zone 2, for the first few miles.   That was working out really well at first.   But, then, my heart rate dropped to between 90 and 100 bpm after the first few miles.  That wasn’t right.   It wasn’t something I had experienced in training however, and had no idea how to fix it.  So, I just did my best to ignore it and run the marathon on feeling.

At mile 5 I noticed the 18 mile mark on the run course, for the second loop, and made a mental note.  That’s where the race starts, mile 18.   That’s where I’m going to have to really work for it. 

Somewhere on the first loop I ran into Mirinda Carfrae, on her second loop.  As she ran by I sped up just a bit and was like ‘hey, you’re Mirinda Carfrae.’   I guess it’s sorta stupid to tell famous people who they are, because, well, they know.   Anyway, I was like ‘ok, I’m gonna let you go ahead, you got this.’  And so I let her go, since she was leisurely jogging my 5k pace.   That was cool though, we’re totally running buddies now. 

For the first 13 miles, the sun was pretty hot and it was sort of humid.  Those conditions are not great for me to run in.  I did my best running between aid stations and walking/recovering my HR as I drank between aid stations. 

Every mile I’d take a self-assessment of my condition.   How was I feeling?  In general I was less hydrated than I wanted to be.  My pace was ok, but not what I was hoping for, but being a terrible runner isn’t exactly news worthy.  From my first few splits, it looks like I had a shot at that sub 12.    Energy level was ok, all things considered.   Stomach was going between good and bad, back and forth.   I wasn’t cramping at all.  Things were all green across the board, given where I was.

At mile 13 I had a minor asthma problem and hit my inhaler.   I thought I’d walk for a bit and see if I could recover, but it didn’t get any better.   I used my inhaler again, but it still really didn’t improve.  So, at that point I just decided to run again.  Running didn’t really make it worse, so I kept back on my plan.

When I hit mile 18 I had a massive side stitch.   Self-fulfilling prophecy I suppose.  I don’t normally have issues with side stiches, so I wasn’t sure what to do.  I walked again for a bit, it eventually went away.

At mile 22 I looked down at my watch and realized that if I pushed I could still hit the 5 hour mark on the run, somehow, after all that walking.  Admittedly I was a little bummed that I had a shot at sub 12 after this deep into the marathon, because it meant some hurt was coming.  So, I made my mind up to do it.  At mile 23 I stopped walking the aid stations and just ran.   It’s funny, I was pushing so hard I felt like I was running 7 minute miles.  In reality, it was more like 10 minute miles.   I saw Lana right before I crossed, but couldn’t really do much more than try to smile.  I crossed the finish right a few second over 5 hours, and for some reason had it in my head that I had finished in over 12 hours.  

A volunteer immediately grabbed me and took me to medical because I was clearly smoked.  I sat down, drank some chocolate milk and got my head back together.  While I was in medical I heard someone say ‘these guys are right at 12 hours’ so, I looked down at my watch and realized I had finished in under 12 hours as well.   I met a worried Lana outside of medical and made my way back to our condo. 

Post-Race Thoughts

I really had a great day.  Because of the awfulness that was IMWI 2011, in some ways it feels like my first ironman. 

Of course I usually want more, and today was no exception.  I would have liked, given all the training I put in, for my run split to be closer than an hour off my open marathon.  I did the best I could with what I had though, and it was pretty good result.  My ‘best day’ prediction was 4:30, so I guess in the back of my mind I think there’s another 30 minutes in there somewhere, but that’s about as deep as my genetic well goes I’m afraid.

Our Panama City Beach ‘Vacation’

After IMWI I think I laid in bed for two days.  This time I was much better prepared in general, and I hurt a lot less the next day.   I was sore, but it wasn’t awful.

That painful heel I mentioned was the worst of it.   I had a big puncture wound on my left heel.  My best guess is that I stepped on a sharp bit of shell on the beach as I was heading to T1.

I got up at about 6am to go with Lana so she could register for 2014.   We had to get there two hours before registration opened, to secure a spot.  With WTC, it seems the 4^th discipline is standing in line.

My legs were of course really sore, but that was to be expected.   We joined some friends on the beach for drinks and that certainly took the edge off.  

Two days out I felt way better.   Most of the pain was gone.   I was experiencing some episodes where I’d go from ‘fine’ to ‘I’m going to kill someone if I don’t get some food’ in a matter of seconds, so I gave myself a pass to eat pretty well. 

The highlight of our dining experiences in PCB was ‘Buddy’s Seafood Market’ where we went in, picked some fresh seafood, and they steamed it while we waited.   I ate about a pound of fresh shrimp and some scallops, along with potatoes and corn.  It was really delicious. 

We also ate at ‘The Boathouse’ with some friends.  It was great as well.  I had grilled local grouper with a bottle of Beaujolais.  

Thanks

I have many people to thank for this big epic day, and the training to lead up to it.   

First and foremost, thank you Lana for getting me to the starting line safe, healthy, and sane.  And for keeping the house together while I trained.  And for all your love and support.  I really can't thank you enough love.

Thank you friends and coworkers, for supporting me in doing this and talking about it non stop for the last 12 months.

Thank you trisharks and fellow Epic Endurance team members for your support and well wishes on facebook!  You guys are an inspiring bunch.

And last but not least thank you to Laura Wheatley for pushing me further than I would have pushed myself.   

Cedar Point 70.3 - 05:29:01.830

After a stomach flu related DNS at Cedar Point last year, and a terrible DNF at the half distance this year, I really wanted Cedar Point to go right. 

Please be sure to read this post on how I revamped my nutrition for a cramp free (but still very colorful) experience.

Lana had to work until Friday evening, so we drove half way from Illinois to Ohio Friday night and we stopped at South Bend Indiana, in this awful hotel.   It was right on Notre Dames campus, and there were groups of drunk hockey players out playing bags in the parking lot until 3 in the morning.   The next morning they had ‘breakfast’ that both of us were pretty afraid of, but since there was no microwave in the room we made do.

We made it to Ohio and got a quick swim in, then registered.  After registration I was shaking down my bike when I discovered my front wheel was flat.   I fixed it and noticed the wheel was once again leaking from the valve.   I changed the valve extender, and my problem was fixed so I checked my bike in.  To say I was on edge would be a massive understatement.

That night we made dinner in our room, as extra food poisoning prevention. Unfortunately Lana said her stomach was already upset.  I walked down the beach to check my bike one last time that night.  The tire was holding…  I set the alarm for 4am and went to bed.

That night, at about 2 am, Lana was sick.   It seemed very similar to what I had the year before.  After the tire stress, and then this, I had really had my fill of this race.  Two years in a row…

I thought about it, but I knew Lana would want me to race.  She went back to bed.  I felt terrible for her.   When I got dressed that morning I had a problem with the zipper on my new jersey.   I’d only worn it once before, so Lana suggested I take her bike jersey with, just in case…

Swim

Time  35:19

Distance 1.2M

Rate 2:00/100

AG Place 13 / 75

The lake swim was moved to the bay this year, because a 25ish mph wind was creating some rip currents in the lake that made swimming too dangerous, according to the coast guard.

It was a TT start, and I had to wait forever (it felt) to swim.   The swim was at least half a mile from T1. 

My swim went really well.   I had a new wetsuit I was looking forward to wearing (Tyr Hurricane Cat 5).   My only complaint, and it happens a lot in triathlon swims, is that the distance just doesn't add up.   My GPS reported 1.33 miles instead of 1.2.  That’s the difference between a 1:33/100 swim and a 2:00/100 swim.   Admittedly, I could have sighted poorly or my watch could have been off, but I rarely swim as slow as 2:00/100, even on a cool down lap, and I doubt very much that a 2:00/100 pace would have gotten me 13 in my AG.   So, I choose to believe I swam the 1.3 miles.  :)

T1: 09:35

Note previous comment about long long run to T1.

Bike

Time 2:36:07

Distance 56 Miles

Speed 21.53

AG Place 16 / 75

Well, the good news is I had air pressure in my tire!

Conditions were pretty bad.    It was very windy and misting rain, enough to make the cornering slow.

After the first 10 minutes I started working at my goal watts.  My RPE was way too high though, like time trial high.  But I was still missing my numbers by about 5W.  I looked down and noted I was averaging about 23 Mph.   Nope, too hard.  Something’s wrong with the quarq maybe.   I was questioning everything, trying to figure out if I should push it, back down, or something else.  What’s the plan?   I spun the pedals backwards a few times to try to zero the quarq out.   Still, things aren’t feeling right, and I seriously doubt my electronics.   Then I remember that I calibrated the quarq when it was in the rev3 rack.  Maybe that?  

 Then comes a wave of doubt.   Have I already blown it?   Did I go too hard chasing that number to run later?   In the end, I made the call to flip to my plan B screen, which has heart rate but not power on it, and rode by RPE and heart rate. 

By mile 56, I was ready to get off the bike, and my average pace was right in line with what I did at route 66, on a worse day.   So, even if I wasn't hitting my numbers, I was going hard enough for today. 

The last ten miles of the bike were with a wicked cross wind coming from over the beach.  It was like being sand blasted.  I was holding on for dear life, and sand was everywhere.   Up my nose, in my mouth, everywhere.   I was happy to be done, but unsure about the run.  

  

T2: 04:13

Right off the bike into T2 I noticed the zipper had broken on my new jersey.   Seriously?   Luckily I had Lana’s bike jersey at her request earlier.  

I took my time in T2, changing into dry socks, plan B for wet weather on the bike.  I glanced down at my HRM and saw that the sock change brought me down into zone 1, so I figured I’d go out and run a few miles at low zone 2 and see what stuck, I was wanting to be careful at this point.   Thinking about Lana sick in bed, I didn't want to drive all the way out here for another DNF, so a conservative approach was warranted.

Run

Time 2:03:48

Distance 13.1 Miles

Pace 9:31

AG Place 25 / 75

After the first few miles ticked by, I was pretty pleased to see I was sitting right around 9 minute pace, at the lowish end of zone 2 heart rate.   Combined with quick aid station walks, I was averaging about 9:20.   Not speedy, but I knew at even that pace I was lined up for a huge PR.  I was running really well, and decided to stay at that conservative pace.  (Yes Laura, your run training is working!!!)  

At about mile 5 I picked it up into upper zone 2, but I was really staying at about the same pace.  

Around mile 10, I finally let myself hit zone 3.   Running back into the park the last two miles, I was running directly into the wind and I was very glad I was as fresh as I was.   I was right at threshold, running a 10 minute mile.   Once we finally turned, I was all out, trying not to barf, and running to the finish.  

And finally, having executed every plan B in my race plan, thinking about my poor wife with the same stomach bug I had last year, my jacked up quarq, and the flats the day before, I turned down the finish chute to smile for my finish line picture, in my purple woman’s bike jersey, relieved to cross the finish and happy that an anvil didn't fall from the sky to bonk me on the head.   Good grief, what a race.

Dairyland Dare 8/13/2013

Sometime last winter Lana and I were thinking ‘you know, we need some more glassware.’  Well, rather than doing what a normal person would do, and  buy some, we decided that if we both completed the three triple crown rides, we’d take home a combined total of 6 commemorative pint glasses.  That clearly seemed like the smarter choice.   So, off we went to sign up.

Every year Spree Touring puts on the Wisconsin Triple Crown, which is a series of three very difficult bike rides.  If you can complete all three you get a cool Triple Crown Jersey.   This year Lana and I had worked all three into our schedule.   I rode the 100K with Lana for the first two, Arcadia’s Brute and The Kickapoo Kicker.   The plan was to cap off the series with the 200K Dairyland Dare route.

So, that was the plan.   Ride 126 miles, and climb almost 11000 feet.   The terrain is such that the ride would take me about 8-9 hours to do.   Here’s what happened.

Race Day -1

I’ve been so busy lately, that details have been falling through the cracks.    I finally got around to cleaning my bike and checking it over on the Friday we were supposed to leave.  As I was going over it I noticed a bulge in the carbon on my handlebars.   I took a deeper look, and sure enough, they were damaged.   I’m not sure how, or what happened, but they needed to be replaced so I had an emergency to deal with.  

Luckily, Bloomington Cycle and Fitness was able to save me (yet again) and had a very nice set of s-works shallow drop carbon bars.   Unfortunately those bars had to be installed.   So, I spent a few hours racing around getting that done before we left.   Nothing new on race day, right?  Oops.

In the haste of switching out my bars, I forgot to reattach my garmin mount, and I had to attach my bike computer with electrical tape.

I didn’t sleep well at all that night.

Race Day

We woke up about 5 am, and I had coffee and a PB&Honey on white bread.   My goal was to practice ironman style nutrition all day, so that included my normal pre-race breakfast.  I’d also be aggressively hydrating, taking salt, and eating cliff bloks. 

Once we got to the start, I realized I forgot my phone and had to bike back to the hotel (we couldn't get the car out), but that was cool, I like a nice long warm up before I do a 200K bike ride anyway.   That's 4 bonus miles, bringing my daily total to 130 btw...

Mile 0 - 60

The first few hours were pretty uneventful.   I was averaging about 16 mph with the climbs and targeting .68 IF.  My NP was up near 80% most of the time, in an effort to keep my cadence in at least the 60s on the big climbs.   The climbs were frequent rollers most of the time, with a fairly steep 20% climb.  At about mile 30, Lana caught up with me and we rode together until about mile 58. 

Miles 60-87

The hills got just a bit worse, but in general Dairyland Dare was the easiest of the three rides.  Don’t get me wrong though, it’s still plenty hard.   We ended up on some bike path on this portion of the course and that wasn’t so fun.  It was soft, slippery, and a little dangerous.  

Also of note was the absence of Roberts Road.   From 2010, I learned about this massively steep climb, at about mile 90, that was something like 22%.   It was gone this time.  I wasn’t sad about that.

At the mile 87 aid station I snagged a PB&J, I had been eating bloks for about 6 hours at this point...and I could have kept doing it, but PB&J just looked way better.

Mile 87 – 107 (The Dark Times)

This part of the course was a bit surreal.  I swear I was the only cyclist on the road.   It was quiet, lonely, surreal, and, well, hilly. 

 I started coming up with some theories that I decided I was testing, including:

• Wisconsinites are really sadists that lure us here to suffer on their hills, put numbers on our backs, and race us for sport.  Bonus points for their ‘miles until beer’ signs.  (Thus far I haven’t disproven this theory, and am of the opinion that it’s true.)
• Riding a bike is fun, but riding a bike for this many hours is kind of stupid.
• Am I lost?  I’m not sure…I’d ask that cow, but, well, I don’t speak cow.

Mile 107 to the End

At the mile 107 aid station I lingered a bit.   I tend to do a bit of a self-assessment, and I felt like I was doing good.   Let’s see:  Body?  Butt sore, back sore, hands sore, legs…doing ok. Shiney.   Energy…meh, well, I just rode a bike 107 miles, felt worse.   Hydration?  Still peeing at reasonable intervals.  Food?  Never want to see another cliff blok, other than that, pretty good. 

All in all, I was a bit shocked.  The last time I did the DD 200K I’d have ranked it as a 10/10 in difficulty.   This time through, I’m holding steady at about 7/10.   Feeling good, just keeping my head in the game.

So, then some of the hardest climbs hit.   There were a few 12-15% grades that just went FOREVER at about mile 118 I think?   I was riding with a few other guys, but they were holding me back and making things take longer, so I decided to just go and drop them.   They were very nice, but I was just ready to be off the bike.   At about mile 120 I was on a flat into town, and I decided I might as well get this over with so I got down into the drops and pushed at about .85 until the finish.   Someone caught my wheel and I pulled him all the way back home, which I’ll admit felt pretty good.  

In the end, my moving time was about 8.5 hours.  Not stellar, but not at all bad for a heavy guy, untapered, on a very hard course.   I finished strong and, honestly, could have ridden another 100k, but I was plenty glad I didn’t have to.

Post race was at the Lands’ End corporate offices.  It was a really awesome post-race event.   I got a shower, a massage, some beer by capital city brewery, and some post-race food. 

The next day we ran 6 very very slow miles and checked out “The House On The Rock” which was, the best I can tell, an interesting collection of junk in the middle of nowhere, assembled to separate tourists and their money, but to be honest it was totally worth it, definitely a must see place.

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 2012 3:58:32.4

What Came Before…

The story of this race starts in January of 2012.   After not really being able to budge my running fitness for an entire year, I decided to try a mileage based approach.   I worked my up to between 40-50 miles a week in the winter and tried to hold it.    My biking suffered, I didn’t swim, and my running got just a very little bit better, but mostly I was flat. 

When we ran St. Pats in March of 2012 I had loads of base, but I paced myself for a slight PR and totally blew up.   I was really frustrated; running is just the sport I don’t really get.  

After a mediumish season of doing half ironman distance I decided to hire Mike Ricci from D3 Multisports to coach me and things started turning around.  My proving ground would be the Indy Monumental Marathon, and my goal was a sub 4 hour run.   Before meeting Mike, I’d either get slow mile based approaches, like above, or I’d get so much speed work, so hard, I’d just blow up and be wiped.  Mike really helped me balance the “work” with the “easy” and set me on a path that allowed me to improve quite a bit in the 8 weeks or so that I had between my last Tri and my Marathon.

Unfortunately for me, I injured my right calf in July when I got a severe cramp on a hot day, and that injury was brought center stage with my new found speed.    With about three weeks left, when it was time to taper, I was really hurt.   I couldn’t run without pain and cramping in my right calf.  

With massage, stretching, and foam rolling, I ran through it and made it to taper.   My hope was that it would heal as I rested.    I knew I’d be flat on race day, but it was what I had to work with.  

But then it got worse.   Two days before the run I was doing an easy 2 miler and my calf cramped.   I hobbled home.   That was it; I wasn’t going to be able to run.   My second DNS of the year…

Defeated, I loaded up the car for Indy.   Lana was healthy and planning a great run and I wasn’t going to miss that at least.

The night before the race, I made the decision that I would run until I couldn’t.  I was pain free, and it was a well-supported race with plenty of medical folks, so why not?

I also had a dedicated ‘pace’ team.   Seth and Logan were going to be running with me.  Logan was taking the first 6 miles, and Seth would be doing the last 20. 

The plan was a negative split, starting at about 9:30, and finishing around 8:50/

The Logan Miles

The first 6 miles, I took it pretty easy peasy as planned.   Lana took off and was way ahead of me, gone.   About one mile in Logan and I both jumped as Mark ran up behind us and grabbed my ass.  He went on to pace his wife to a PR half. 

Logan was disturbingly cheery.   He was talking about how great the race was going to be, how my injured calf was going to hold out…the whole deal.  My guess is that Seth slipped him some SSRIs in his morning coffee.  

The run was going well, my calf was holding out.   My legs were heavy, and the pace was harder than it should have been, but that’s what three weeks of over tapering/resting will do.

The Seth Miles

At mile 6 Seth jumped in and relieved Logan of his duties.   Things were pretty easy and uneventful, for at least the first 15 miles.   My legs were still heavy.  Seth talked.  And talked.   And talked.  

Starting at about mile 18 things started getting a little more serious.   My calf was starting to cramp just a little, and I’d feel occasional shots of ‘electricity’ through my leg.   I made it a point to relax the best I could.   Seth suggested I work to not fire that muscle and just run around it.   My negative split wasn’t really happening, but I was still on target to finish sub 4.  

At about mile 20, Seth started telling me a story about floating in the water in this lake, and how it was kind of this surreal experience, comparing it to a scene in Battlestar Galactica where Baltar was experiencing something similar.  

And then he was talking about the movie Gattaca, where inferior Vincent triumps over the genetically perfect Anton because of desire and passion.   You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton: I never saved anything for the swim back.  Two hours after the race, that thought was extremely inspiring, however 22 miles in I mostly thought Seth talked to much…  J

At mile 26, finish line in sight, I couldn’t hold off the injury any more.  So that was it, it held together just long enough.   My right calf cramped completely, just a few feet from the finish.   I put my foot down, and put my weight on it, forcing my calf to release.   It hurt.  It hurt alot.   Seth was visibly ready to push me over the finish, and I stumbled over the line just a few minutes ahead of 4 hours. 

On the way back to the hotel I almost fell over in the grass of the capital as my calf just totally gave out.   It locked up and wouldn’t release and I was in a lot of pain.   I was getting rained on, and was starting to shiver.  For the first time that day I was getting sort of scared.   After about 10 minutes on my back, thankfully it released and I made it back to the hotel. 

The Celebration

The best part of any big race is the celebration afterwards.   This was one of the best.   We went out to a Brazilian steak house, ate EVERYTHING, and drank an awesome bottle of Malbec.  Then there was ice cream, and more drinks.  It was a great time!  

The next morning we woke up and I registered for IMFL 2013.   Then we went to a Colts game for the afternoon.

And then…

It took me around 2 weeks to run again.  After that, it took about 6 more weeks of being very patient with the calf to finally clear that injury.  

Rev 3 Cedar Point – The Race Report That Didn’t Happen

So here it is.  Cedar Point was my A race for the year.  The goal of this year was to build on the bike, and build on the run, so that I could get some revenge on my 140.6 performance at IMWI. 

The Plan

Swim - I worked hard in the pool this year.  I suffered a lot.  I swam so hard that I spent as much time gasping for breath at the gutter as I did swimming I think.  And I improved.  A lot.  My best guess is I’d have gone around 33 minutes in a wet suit, give or take a minute.

Bike – My 20K TTs have always been strong.  This year I really worked to spread that fast out over 56 miles.  My best 56 miles was done in 2:38 in training.  That was two months before Cedar Point, and I was sharp.  On a clear day, on a very flat cedar point course, with agreeable wind and a taper, I was optimistically expecting 2:23.   The power numbers were working out.  It would have been great.

Run – My run still really wasn’t where I wanted it, but with some help I have been able to improve my comfort at the marathon pace speeds tremendously.  I ran a 2:09 on a hilly course, a month before, but my coach and I believed I had 1:55 in me on race day.

So, That’s 33 minutes + 143 minutes + 115 minutes + 10 minutes for transition = Right at 5 hours, give or take. 

That would have been a phenomenal time. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.  The day before the race we did the normal pre-race stuff.  I stood in lots of lines, got my bike set up, did some 10 minute shake down workouts, etc.  Then we got some food at the Outback Steakhouse in Sandusky and went to bed. 

I jumped up out of bed around 4am, ran to the bathroom, and threw up.  My brain went into triage mode “Maybe it was just nerves, I thought.  I’ll be ok… that’s stupid, you don’t get that nervous…ok, first thing is you need to get your prerace breakfast in you so you’re ready to race in three hours.  PB&Banana sandwich time!”  But I was nauseated at the thought of eating, and found myself in the bathroom throwing up again.  There was no way.  I was getting sick over and over, and I knew that was it.  My race was over.  I told Lana, and posted something on facebook so people wouldn’t be watching for my splits.  And I went back to bed.  The next 24 hours were a blur of vomiting, watching myth buster reruns, and sleeping.  At about 2pm I trudged through transition to pick up my bike.  For the most part I hurt too bad to be sad I wasn’t racing, but when I saw folks out on the run course my heart was broken. 

The next day, I was mostly back to normal.  I woke up wanting food, which was a good sign.  And as I ate, the feeling of loss really came over me.  I was so fit, would I have really broken 5 hours?  I don’t know.  I never will know.  I remembered back to a day a few months ago.  I worked all day with Lana to stain our deck.  Then I went out and did a long run.  And then I finished staining the deck.  I was so tired I was dead on my feet.  There were so many days like that, were I had sacrificed sleep, comfort, and sanity to build for my race.  I felt really cheated; I worked really hard, but didn’t have anything tangible to show for it. 

And then something great came out of it!  No, just kidding, not really.  There’s no happy turn of events to report.  I still feel cheated.  I still don’t have anything to show for it.  I may or may not have broken 5 hours, and I may or may not ever be in that place again.  I’ll never really know.  All I can really do though is move on and focus on the next race. 

Race Report: Dells Rev3 70.3

Finally, I’ve made it to my first real race of the year.  On one hand, I was really happy to be racing a 70.3.  On the other, I knew this wasn’t the course for me.  The bike was hilly enough that it would use my weight against me, and kill my bike strength.  The run was hilly enough to be dangerous to my weak hamstrings and overall poor running.  It was going to be a tough day.  But, I was running better than I had been in a while.  My bike was strong.  And most importantly, I knew I was out to enjoy the day because the course took the pressure off of a PR. 

I was really excited for Lana though, this was her first 70.3.   She sure did pick a hard one!  Anyway, on with the race report. 

Swim

Time  35:38

Distance 1.2 Miles

Pace 1:51/100m

The swim was at Tommy Bartlet’s Water Show.  It was probably the coolest swim venue I’ve gotten to swim in.   I remember being 7 years old, watching the water show with my parents on vacation.  It  was pretty cool to be swimming in that same spot. 

It was a TT start, which is odd, but it was run well and things went off great. 

I metered my effort by breathing, and I think I left way too much on the table in the swim.  I finished feeling like I put out a pretty leisurely effort, and I was shocked and surprised by my time. 

There was a long uphill run, on asphalt, up to T1.  That part wasn’t so much fun. 

Bike

Time 3:00:45

Distance 56 Miles

Pace 18.58 Mph

I had ridden the course, so I knew the bike was gonna be tough.  And, it was.  I targeted .8 IF and felt great at that power level.  I was averaging about 21 mph until the 3 big climbs hit.  Then things got slow.  I tried to hold my power even, but just getting up the hills and making forward progress meant riding at 100% IF a lot of the time.  It was a climber’s course, which favored the very lite.   That isn’t me.  On the second climb, Seth flew by me looking especially strong and I’m pretty sure saying something like “weeeee, this is fun!”  Ok, so, maybe that wasn’t what he said exactly, but I sure did wish I was built to climb!

I operated in 15 minute intervals.  Every 15 minutes I’d do my best to hold .8 IF, eat a ¼ of a poptart.  Drink, and reset the clock.  Lana and I were recently watching Battlestar Galactica, and I was reminded of an episode we had recently watched where the cyclons attacked every 33 minutes, and so for days, the fleet lived 33 minutes at a time.  Every 15 minutes I’d “reset the jump clock” and go again.  It worked really well, and was a great strategy I’d use again.

After the big climbs, my pace picked up again.  I’d have averaged 21 mph, if I could have just removed those stupid hills.  Maybe I’ll stick to courses that work for me a little more next time.

I was feeling just a little weak towards the end.  I think I could have used some more calories overall, but it was a good ride in a bad place. 

Run

Time 2:09:12

Distance 13.1

Pace 9:51/mi

Out on the run I felt pretty good.  I knew it was hilly, I knew I was a weak runner, I wasn’t expecting much.  I held back on the first 5 miles, and kept it fairly easy.  I saw Emily (aka Captain Blood) right out of T2 .  In the athlete meeting the day before, we were warned NOT to swear at volunteers, and there was Emily in a volunteer shirt.  I suppressed the urge and kept jogging. 

About 5 miles in I picked it up a little bit, and turned the effort up to about a 7/10.  I saw Seth again, and he was going really hard.  And then came the hills.  They were rough, and the downhills were worse than the ups.  My hamstring issue flared back up again, and I was just hoping to avoid injury.  I walked a few of the hills, and I knew it would kill my pace, but there was just nothing I could do.  I saw Lana, about 3 miles behind me, after the turn around.  She was looking tired but strong, and I was really relieved to see her.  We both always worry about each other when we’re racing at the same time, and I was glad to know she got off the bike without any mechanicals. 

About 10 miles in I tried to turn it up again, but it wasn’t happening.  I was pretty much done, and I just held my pace.   I rolled into the finish feeling like I had raced, but with just a little in the tank.  My push was limited, because the PR was off the table.  But I had a great time, and had a good race.  I was saving that PR for cedar point in a few weeks.

Post-Race

Post-race, Rev had Brats and potato salad.  It was very “Wisconsin” and pretty tasty I thought.  I ate A LOT of potato salad, which is a bad idea in general, but it was pretty tasty that day.  Later on I watched Lana finish and we walked over to recover our bikes before joining Lana’s parents for pizza, and pancakes the next morning!

Evergreen Triathlon – Sprint - 1:39:31.1

Overall Place 7/150

AG Place 2/11

Normally I do the Olympic distance event at Evergreen, but not this year. 

This race report starts about a month prior to the race.  I spent the week in San Jose on business, away from my bike.  The combination of bad eating, abnormally high run mileage (compensating for the bad eating), and hilly topography resulted in a hamstring strain of some type.  I’ve had a weak hamstring on my right side for a long time, and that became a big problem after that week. 

At first I did what every runner with pain would do, I ignored it.  Then I started bombing some runs, and seeing my run pace drop.  I couldn’t ignore it anymore, I was hurt.  So, I took some time off.  Then I stretched, strengthened, and rehabbed the best I could.  But as the Evergreen Olympic got closer, I realized I was in no shape to run a hard 10k.

Luckily the race director let me move my entry down to the sprint.  The evergreen sprint is an interesting event in that it keeps the 40k bike.  I hadn’t done a 40k all year, but in general I’m pretty strong on the bike, so I wasn’t incredibly worried, and who knows, because of the smaller race size I might even be competitive in my AG, which I’m certainly not in the evergreen Oly. 

On race morning I got to the event, got setup, and started my warm up.  I went into the race somewhat recovered, but mostly not tapered, haven’t really only taken about 3 days easy.   As I got on the bike that morning, my hamstring immediately started complaining.  I thought it was doing better, but maybe not. 

Swim - 10:29 / 600m / 1:55/100

The swim was a little long, based on my GPS.  I also swam it very conservatively, having over done it just a bit at the Trishark sprint tri a month before.    Overall I think it went well, however I left a ton on the table.  In a 600m swim though, that’s just a few seconds, so no big.

T1 - 1:21.1

My T1 went pretty well.  I’m not fast at transitions, but I’m much improved this year. 

Bike – 1:01:20.4 / 24.8 / 24.31

My bike went pretty well.  I struggled a bit with the flying mount this time around, having maybe gotten just a little cocky about how well it went last year.  I struggled just a little keeping my head in the game on the bike as there wasn’t really anyone to race on the course.  The sprint started after all the Olympic groups, so I was able to use a lot of folks to slingshot down the course.  I felt just a little guilty using the pass zone of slower folks to accelerate me, but it’s all part of the game on the bike.  I even got a “thumbs up” from a draft marshal while I was doing it.  

I got passed by local athletes Kevin McCarthy and Mick Hannah, each on a turn, later in the race, and had to work to pass them both back.   Both made it very clear that my bike is all speed and no finesse.  That’s something I’m going to seriously work on.  I’m still skiddish in corners after a crash in 2010, and a general lack of experience, but enough is enough.  I’m probably losing a minute on my 40k cornering like an old woman in a Cadillac. 

The hamstring started whining with about 5 miles left, and I backed off just a bit.

According to the split I was around 24.3, but there’s no way.  I think the course was a bit short this time.  The winds were good though, so who knows. 

T2 – 1:29.3

My T2 didn’t go so well.  My transition spot was pretty much on the other side of transition from bike in, and I unclipped wearing my bike shoes to run my bike through T2.  That cost me a ridiculous amount of time, it was a really long run in cleats. 

If I were going to focus on this short course stuff, I’d learn how to take my shoes off on the bike and run barefoot…   But I’m not a short course athlete, so I’m not going to stress about it. 

Run - 24:59.8 / 3.1 / 8:02/mi

My run went pretty well, considering the hamstring thing.  It didn’t really start bugging me until I started racing someone else in my AG.  In the last mile it really started threating to cramp up, when I was descending a small hill, so I shortened my stride and cruised home.  In the end it held me a back a little but I still had a pretty decent run.

Afterwards

Post-race I found out I did well enough for 2^nd place in my AG, which I’ll happily take on a good day.  Being that it happened on a short course race while injured, that’s a bonus. 

Lana got 5^th in her AG in the Oly as well, with much more fierce competition!

Race Report: Trishark Classic 2012 1:12:11.3 (1:15:55.7)

Tri-Shark Classic Triathlon 1:12:11.3

Note:  Since this is my fourth year doing Tri-Shark, I've put last years results in parenthesis for comparison.

Age Group Place: 10/53 (8/31)
Overall: (76)

Trishark #4, the open to the 2012 tri season for me.

Swim

Distance: 600y
Time: 10:46.4 (13:18.3)
100y: 1:48 (2:13)

I had a great swim this year.  I made the sprint with the fishes in my AG and hung on.  Maybe I went a little to hard, I was still feeling the swim on the bike, which I've never experienced before.

T1

I spent alot of time trying to improve my T1, and I think it worked for the most part.  Basic flow was:
-Wetsuit off half way on the run, all the way at the rack
-Glasses (under helmet straps
-Helmet
-Bike shoes clipped in and banded on

Note, I was a 9ish seconds faster last year, but I didn't swim with a wetsuit last year.

Time: 01:41.8 (1:32.9)

Bike

My bike split was exactly the same as last year.  I really underachieved here.  I think I payed a little for how hard I went on the swim, but also I was missing some of the push I needed to actually race.  I knew I was a long way from the podium and my bike ride was more of a pity party than a TT.  I ended up pulling off a power number closer to a 40K TT than a 20K.

Time: 33:28.6 (33:28)
Distance: 13 Miles
MPH: 23.3 (22.3)

T2

My T2 is much improved this year.  I'm still 20 or so seconds off from "good" but I'm 30 second from where I was...  Short course transitions have never been my thing, but I'm working at it in hopes to take a few more minutes off the long course.

Time: 01:20.6 (1:54:.0)

Run

I definately underachieved on the run.  Same excuses as the bike.  Not a fitness thing, it's my head, not my body.  I had 23's in me, I just didn't have a reason.

Time: 24:53.9 (25:42.5)
Pace: 8:02 (8:17)

2012 Illinois Half Marathon - 1:45:11

This is going to be a crazy race report, it's more about my life than my race. It will be a complicated read, and it tells a story 6 weeks long, but I'm telling the story this way because racing and life are so often just perfect analogs of one another for us crazy few endurance athletes.

Pre Race

Lana and I woke up at 4:30, in a Red Roof Inn in Champaign, after running a 5k the night before. Completing both the 5k and the half netted us a special award, so we duffed the run the previous night.

Breakfast was peanut butter and honey on white bread. Then off to the races. It was stormy morning, and the temp was in the high 40s. The wind was about 20 mph SSE. The rain cleared before the 7am start.

I met my friend Mark and a coworker of his before the start. He was planning on pacing his friend to a 1:44:xx finish. My PR for the half was last year's race where I ran 1:46:34. I knew that if I had a PR in me for today, it would be small and hard fought, and my plan was to stick behind Mark as long as I could and see what happens at mile 10.

The national anthem was sung, we smashed up to the front of our corral, and we were off. After the first mile, my legs already hurt, but I was still conversational. A long winter of aerobic base training my run seemed to have left me with a big aerobic engine and a body unaccustomed running hard. This was going to hurt. Races are, and have always been where I fight against myself.

4 Weeks Prior, Wednesday

“I'm very sorry, but you have a leak in your aortic valve my friend.” A few weeks prior my low heart rate earned me a trip to visit a cardiologist. Then there was a 24 hour halter, a stress test, and echo, and a few EKGs. It was all a big joke. I exercise, I have awesome lipid levels, my resting heart rate is in the low 30s, I'm as fit as people get. But then it wasn't a joke anymore. I had a leak...in my heart.

“That's not good” was the only response I could muster. My new cardiologist gave me the gist of it. It's mild to moderate, whatever that means. Maybe I've always had it, or maybe it happened recently. Maybe it will never get worse, or maybe it will. Maybe I'll need open heart surgery someday. Maybe I'll need a valve replacement that comes from a dead person, or one from another place in my heart...but maybe it would be a mechanical valve that would require me to live the rest of my life on blood thinners. Increased risk of bleeding. The end of my days on a racing and competing. Maybe. Or maybe nothing. Or maybe nothing until I'm 80. Where do you go from there?

Where I went wasn't a great place. Worst case scenario. Plan for the worst. Identify the weakest link. Mitigate risk. But that didn't work here. The cold analystics that I apply to engineering computer systems maybe applies to a population of cardiac patients, but not a single person. I'm the single point of failure, the non redundant node. Nothing I could do. Where do you go from there? Where I went was to the lobby. I texted Lana. I had fought so hard to get my life back, to come back from where I was to be here.  And now this.  I sat down and cried. I was totally overwhelmed.

Mile 2

I stuck by Mark. My legs warmed up a little bit and I felt a little better. I never had that “wow, this is easy” taper feeling though. I didn't want to think about how bad it was going to get when the suck found me. For now I just tried to live in the moment. I'd worry about mile 2, mile 13 was a lifetime away.

4 Weeks Prior, Thursday

I didn't even want to get out of bed. I went between panicked, resolved to fight, ready to quit, and back again as I analyzed my new condition. I learned about it, thought about it, and tried to wrap my head and my emotions around the situation. But I did get up. That morning at 5am I did a 2x15 minute bike ride at 95% Threshold. When it got hard I quit. I can count the times I've walked away from a workout on one hand. This was one of them. I was afraid my heart would quit. I'd need to monitor my blood pressure daily now. It was sky high suddenly. I was a ball of stress.

Mile 4

My lungs were starting to work a little harder, my legs were feeling better. I was still in this. I choked down a gu and picked up a few cups of water as we turned into a head wind. Mark was dropping the pace just a little bit, doing a great job leading us towards a 1:44 goal.

3 Weeks Ago

Every morning I wake up, stand in front of the mirror, and brush my teeth. When I do, I'm reminded of my previous life. The 400 pound me is gone now, but not forgotten. I'm reminded of that person every time I look in the mirror and see the 20 pounds of loose skin hanging from body. I carry it with me every day as a reminder.  I had something new to carry with me now.

I spoke to a few other cardiologists, and I got some better news. Alot of the time, the thing I had doesn't get any worse, maybe it will never get worse for me. When it does get worse, it's usually when people are alot older than I am. I was maybe reaching acceptance, maybe, but I had something new to carry around.  I'd need to avoid salt, and take medicine to keep my blood pressure super humanly low.  

Mile 7

I still kept hanging on. It still wasn't easy. I was purposely keeping my blood sugar higher than normal to take the edge off. My legs were starting to fail. Before the suck had really found me, I was in a place where I could no longer will my legs to turn over at the speed required to stick the pace. Frustrating, but I dug deeper. The line was 10 miles. I had to make it to mile 10, then I could gut out the last 5k. Even if I couldn't drop my pace, Mark had banked us enough time that I could PR. If I could just hold on a little longer.

2 Weeks Ago

Friend, uber endurance runner, and cardiologist Dennis tried to ease my mind about the situation. After talking to him I was reassured. Alot of the time it just doesn't get any worse. Nothing is for sure in life, but if the news is that I might need heart surgery when I'm 70...well, who can't say that?

Sometimes it degrades really quickly, but I'm not sometimes. This is probably something I did to myself with uncontrolled high blood pressure, when I was 400 pounds, doing my best to commit suicide by food.  

It's a hard lesson to learn. There are things you can do to yourself that can't be undone by an older wiser you. It's an obvious lesson, I suppose. Life is hard, but success for me has always been measured more by “showing up every day” and less about winning the big race.

My mind went to a quote I just saw in a friend's email signature:

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

-Rocky Balboa

Mile 10

I made it, Mark was still in sight, but I was falling off the back. He was dropping to the 7:30s I guessed, and I couldn't follow. I surged, tried to catch up, and then fell back and recovered into a sustainable pace. If I could hold on, I could PR.

Mile 11

The suck finally found me. The seconds ticked by, everything hurt, and my goal became to get to mile 12 at my current pace. My brain disassociated with the physical stuff. A PR was still possible. I couldn't will my legs any faster, so I just focused on trying to be as economical as possible.

There may be a day I can't do this anymore. My heart valve might give out. Or maybe it will be my knee, that was supposed to never work well again, but it does.

My mind went to something else I heard, this time not from Rocky but from Aragorn, in “The Return of the King.”

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! 

There may be a day when I can't do this anymore, but that day isn't this day. Finally I was able to let the suffering in, let it wash over me, and welcome its familiarity.

And I got faster.


Mile 12-13.1

I saw Seth and Ryan (who ran the half in 74 minutes...wow) running a cool down around mile 13.  I was in my groove and rushing to the finish.  I had just enough to kick a little bit on the .1.  I crossed the line in 1:47 gun time, a PR for sure. I walked a bit to cool down but I was a real mess.  There was no way I could have run another step.  

Finish

It's no secret I'm not much of a runner. A 1:45 half is nothing special to be sure, as far as 30-34M goes at least, but today I did pretty good. (And in the words of Billy Madison “It was hard for me, so back off!”) I put it all on the table, there was nothing else left. I finished running my 5k pace, in complete agony, but smiling, proud of where I was able to take myself. I crossed the line in 1:45:11 chip time, 666^th out of 6756.

Splits

1 – 8:11

2 – 8:01

3 – 7:56

4 – 7:56

5 – 7:51

6 – 7:39

7 – 7:59

8 – 7:44

9 – 7:46

10 – 7:59

11 – 7:56

12 - 8:08

13 – 7:53

13.1 – 7:22

The Next Day

I regained consciousness at about 6:30. I moved my legs and pain was reintroduced into the vocabulary of my mind. Ouch. William was moving down stairs. I was hungry and there was a bowl of oatmeal with my name on it. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was my beautiful wife laying next to me. Yesterday I fought against myself and won. I was up for an easy Sunday morning. I can't help but feel very lucky.

A few days ago I told Curt from “Running on Guinness” that sometimes it's like having two different lives, coming from where he and I were to where I am now. That's true, but also, getting from there to here has involved so many struggles and hard fought victories, of which a screwed up heart valve is just the newest.

“my life has been extraordinary
blessed and cursed and won
time heals but i'm forever broken
by and by the way...

i know that i am meant for this world”

-Muzzel, Smashing Pumpkins