2009 Ironman 70.3 Augusta Race Report

Have I mentioned before how much I love triathlons?

Yeah, I probably have. But, since you read my blog, guess what? You get to hear it again :)

On Sunday September 27, 2009, I completed the Inaugural Ironman 70.3 Augusta race. According to the Ironman people, this was the largest half-Ironman event ever. There were 3400 registrations and about 3000 athletes competed. I was number 1455 with a finish time of 5:57:11. It was a blast!!!

After arriving in Augusta and spending some time enjoying the city on Friday and Saturday, Steph and I buckled down late Saturday night and planned for my race on Sunday.

We got up around 4:45am on Sunday and began the trek to the transition area, which was about a mile away. We decided to drive to the transition area early, then drive to a parking lot near the finish, and then take a shuttle bus to the swim start. I'm glad we did. The logistics of getting to the swim start were a nightmare for those folks who didn't take a shuttle bus.

After arriving at the transition area, I paused a bit and took in the sight. There were 3000 bikes. I quickly figured the math that if we average each bike at around $3000, that is $9 million dollars in the transition area in bike hardware. Whoah!!! Anyway, I got things set up and we headed to the start.

At the start, I saw something I've never seen. I've been to races before where there were disabled athletes, but I've never seen so many at one race. It was awe-inspiring. I saw multiple athletes missing legs and more than a few blind athletes. It was a humbling experience.

After getting my wetsuit on and kissing my wife, I entered my heat and waited for my turn to hit the water. There were about 150 men in my heat (35-39). There were three heats in my age group, which means there were a lot of 35-39 year olds in this race.

The start was in-water, so I jumped in and grabbed ahold of the dock to await the start horn. About 30 seconds later, it blew. We were off. The swim was wonderful, except for the debris in the water. There was tons of algae and flora. We had a huge thunderstorm the evening before and I think it stirred up the water pretty well. Anyway, 1.2 miles later, I emerged from the water with a swim time of 29:34.

I quickly ran up the boat entry to the transition area. Just prior to entering transition, there were wetsuit strippers waiting to help us out of our wetsuits. I dropped to the ground and in less than 3-4 seconds they had removed my suit and I was up running to my bike.

5:38 minutes later, I was on my bike. My T1 time is slow. I need to work on that. Anyway, I was out on the course and loving it. The weather up to this point was cool and overcast. It was perfect. The bike course had a few rolling hills but nothing compared to WV. The wind was a bit of a bear, but overall I really liked the bike portion. My bike itself did wonderfully. The old girl held her own against some of those fancy, shmancy TT bikes. My nutrition on the bike was perfect. After my experience with the Morgantown half-IM, I backed off a bit and eliminated one Hammer Gel from my intake. It worked great. I pulled into transition in 3:11:32.

T2 was 2:59. Again a bit slow.

Then, the run. The weather had become sunny and clear by this time, but the temp stayed pretty reasonable. I think the high was 82 or 83. Anyway, nothing really eventful happened on the run other than the fact that the course is ideal for spectators. I must have seen Steph like 5-6 times. It was wonderful!!

I was a bit slow on the run, but felt very happy with my time: 2:07:29. I crossed the line, saw Steph, got my medal and headed to the finish festival. I finished 1455 out of 2532 (500 or so people did not finish). 251 out of 370 in my age group and 1136 out of 1815 in my gender. Total finish time was 5:57:11.

Overall, I had a wonderful time and would do this race again. With the exception of the initial logistical problems before the race, this race was managed well. I was impressed. The volunteers were great too and the citizens of Augusta were wonderful. Thy treated us well and cheered us on the entire way.

Of course, Steph was there every step of the way. I cannot overemphasize what it means to have her there with me. It means more than I can describe. She wrote a few messages on my bike to keep me motivated and diligently helped me plan, pack, set up, and document this race. She is wonderful and I fall more in love with her every day.

Random thoughts:

• The water conditions were fine with the exception of the flora in the water. Yuck. I mean really yuck. I came out of the water with plant life all over me.
• Sponges are wonderful!! The race volunteers had bunches and bunches of water-soaked sponges we could grab along the run route. They helped tremendously.
• My comments on drafting: In most triathlons, drafting is illegal. I tend to agree with this. Did that stop anyone from drafting? No. I saw more than a few pelotons which frustrated the hell out of me. I would be cycling along by myself then suddenly be passed by like 10-15 people drafting. It sucked. Look, I follow the rules. You should too.
• My nutrition was perfect. I had no GI problems and no bloated feelings. I was hungry at the end but that was expected.
• The finish festival was great...we had free pizza, cookies, bagels, fruit out the ying-yang, just about anything you could want, EXCEPT for Coke. I need Coke people!!!!
• Again, $9 million dollars in bikes. Wow!!

My next event is the Richmond Half-Marathon on November 14th.

Woot!

The Secret

I can be a jerk. I know this. There is not a day that goes by, and rarely an hour, where I am not critisizing someone for something. My wife thinks I am a crotchety old man. My extended family even has a nickname for me. I'm known as the "jackass". My sister-in-law went so far as to buy me pajama bottoms that say jackass on them.

The way I see it is either you live in the world truely or you are deceiving yourself. When I was fat and out of shape, I knew I was fat and out of shape. I didn't claim that I liked it (big is beautiful) nor did I blame some other thing for my problem. I knew where the problem began and ended. It was me and my appetite.

So, when I see things in the world that are purposely deceptive, I tend to get angry. And, when I get angry, I can be a jackass.

Over this past weekend, Steph and I spent some time in Ocean City, MD. While we were there, I saw someone walking around with that book called The Secret. I remember when this book came out a few years ago as some of my friends and family read this thing and then claimed to know the secret to success and happiness.

On the road trip back home yesterday, I began to think about that book and what it stands for.

According to Wikipedia, proponents of the Law of Attraction (as described in the book) believe that:

"thoughts have an energy which attracts whatever it is the person is thinking of. Thinking of what one does not have, they say, manifests itself in not having, while if one abides by these principles, and avoids "negative" thoughts, the universe will manifest a person's desire."

Really? Thoughts have energy? Anyone read a physics book? The universe will manifest our desire if we simply have positive thoughts? Give me a freakin' break.

I remember someone close to me actually writing a check to her future self for a million bucks because if she believed that she would have the money to cover the check, the money would magically appear and allow her to cash the check.

No. That doesn't happen. It never has happened. People are successful (however they define that term), because they take action. They don't believe. They do. I'll concede that having a vision or goal of where you want to be is important. Vitally so. But it means nothing if you don't do anything to realize it. The universe gives a rat's ass for you. It doesn't care about what you're thinking and will not manifest your desires. Your thoughts do not attract anything.

I would not be an endurance athlete if I only thought I could be one. If I didn't get out and swim, bike, and run it wouldn't happen. Again, I believe wholly in setting goals. But, just setting them, does nothing. In fact, setting goals and then repeatedly not reaching them is probably more unhealthy for you than not setting them to begin with.

So, how do you become successful?

Like Aristotle said, 'We are what we repeatedly do.'

Want be a runner? Go be one. Walk out your door and run. You will feel like crap and it'll hurt, but you are moving towards your goal. Want to be swimmer? Go swim. Want to make a million bucks. Go make a million bucks.

Each of us has talent. Each of us is blessed to be good at something (I am killer at WoW). Whatever it is that you want to do well, go do it. Stop thinking about it. Stop telling yourself that some externality (like energized thoughts) will enable you to be successful. There is only one thing that can make you a success: You!

Woot!

Triathlon and family

I never thought that Steph would want to do a triathlon. After completing my first marathon, I desperately tried to convince her to run a full marathon. She has always claimed that she never had time to train for a full. She's probably right. She has a yeoman's career and really doesn't have the time; however, she has run multiple half-marathons.

Equally as impressive, she has supported me. In fact, I would say that I complete every race I enter because Steph has been there for every step I've taken, every mile I've biked. A couple of weeks ago, she cheered me on for 6 hours straight. At the end of September, she'll do the same. People always compliment me on lasting in a race. Going the full length. Surviving. But, I'll let you in on a secret. It has nothing to do with me. It has to do with my wife. I don't want to fail her.

So, when she told me she wanted to do the Sprint, Splash, and Spin Triathlon, I was bowled over. AWESOME!!! Steph wants to be a triathlete. Woohoo!!!

For the last 4-5 months, she has diligently been training: swimming, running, biking. Many times she forces me to go out when I don't want to because she wants to get her workout in. And all her complaints about time? She gets up most days at 5:15am to get out for a run before she heads to work. Then she comes home and either bikes or swims. She's an animal and I love her for it.

This Saturday she will become a triathlete. She will swim, bike, and run. And she will finish. She will once again remind me of why I love her so much and her example will inspire me to keep going.

Woot!

PS. Video and pics of her race to come shortly after she finishes.

Video of my Half-IM on Sunday

2009 SOM Half-Ironman Race Report

Yesterday, I completed the 2009 Spirit of Morgantown (SOM) Half-Ironman triathlon. What a great race!!

Two weeks ago, I did the Cinci Olympic tri and felt pretty good about my finish. So I was ready for this race. The day started early. We arrived at the race about 6:10am Sunday morning. The place was packed. I think there were around 500 competitors. There was also a sprint and olympic distance at the SOM, so many of the athletes were competing in those races. I'm not sure how many people competed in the half-IM. The results haven't been posted yet.

The course began with a 1.2 mile in the Monongahela River, followed by a 2-loop 56 mile bike ride to Mt. Morris, PA and back to Morgantown. Lastly, we ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles) along the banks of the river. All of this we did on the hottest day of the year. It was around 91 degrees....ugh.

Anyway, I unpacked my gear, set up my bike, and then headed to the swim start. The sprint and olympic athletes started first. Each group was then broken up in waves. So the swim start began with the sprint elite and 20-29 athletes. Then 30-39, etc. You get the idea. The olympic athletes then started the same way, as did we. So, although the race started officially at 7:30am, I didn't hit the water until 7:57am.

Swim:

The water was cold so we were allowed to wear our wetsuits. After getting to the swim start, I quickly put my suit on and walked down to the dock where we entered the water. The swim entry was a "jump" off a boat dock; we literally jumped feet first into the Monongahela and then began swimming. It was kind of weird. You had to get out of the way pretty quickly to avoid getting jumped on by the people behind you. I tried to hold my swim goggles on as I hit the water, but I ended up getting water in my right swim goggle. So, for the rest of the swim, I pretty much swam with my right eye closed...hehe.

I didn't have too much bumping with the other competitors and quickly got into my swim rhythm. The swim course was a big rectangle ending back up at the boat dock where we began. The swim was pretty uneventful with the sole exception of some current towards the end. As I was rounding the next-to-last swim bouy, the current picked up dramatically. I'm not sure why the current became rough, but I heard rumor that some swimmers were actually injured by the current throwing them against the bouy. I made it through, but it was definitely surprising.

I rounded the last buoy and headed towards the end. To exit the swim, we had to pull ourselves back up onto the dock, like doing a push-up. That was probably the hardest part of the swim...hehe. I looked like an idiot. Anyway, I made it up and ran towards the transition area to prepare for the bike. Although I don't know my official swim time, I think I did pretty good. Steph caught me on video starting the swim at 7:57am and exiting at 8:38....so that's about 40 minutes for 1.2 miles.

Bike:

The bike was a two-loop route, 28 miles each, for a total of 56 miles. It was out and back to Mt. Morris, PA. There were two decent hills but overall, I felt it was a great route. It would have been much better if the roads were in better shape. The potholes were unbelievable!!! I saw two people with flats.

I felt really good about the bike. The way the course was laid out, we had a aid station every 14 miles, which was great. I decided earlier, that during the bike that I would go through two bottles of Perpetuem. I think that was a mistake as when I got to the run, I was having stomach problems from too much protein I think.

The course consisted of rolling hills with two major climbs. The first was on Route 19 coming back from Mt. Morris. The reward for that climb is the awesome downhill afterwards. I got close to 40mph on the way down. Towards the end of each loop there is the second craptacular hill. I was in my lowest gear and still had trouble making it to the top both times. The reward for making it through this hill, is that it's only 3 or so more miles until the end.

I rolled into the transition area feeling great about the bike and ready for the run. I finished the bike around 3.5 hours.

Run:

And this is where things went bad. I blew up on the run. All of that protein I took in on the bike really gave me problems on the run. Almost immediately I was having stomach problems. Not to mention, the heat was unbelievable. This was the hottest day of the year for us. And, I haven't done any training in the heat. So, the heat was a major factor. In fact, the race organizer said at the end, that everyone, including the pros, were significantly slower than usual.

The run was a two-loop out and back, 6.55 miles each loop for a total of 13.1 miles. The run was along the river which was great as much of the run was shaded. I have no idea what pace I was at, but it had to have been 12-13 minute miles. I usually run 8-8.5 minute miles. It was crazy. Between the heat and the stomach problems, I was in a world of hurt. Thankfully, I saw a number of folks who were there to cheer me on and that helped a great deal. Moreover, the race volunteers were wonderful and kept us fully hydrated. I never thought I would say this, but I can't tell you how happy I was to have a flat Coca-Cola at one of the aid stations. It tasted sooooo good.

Finally, I reached the last corner and headed towards the end. I heard someone yell my name (turns out it was a friend of ours) and could see the finish line. I saw Steph with her video camera, and crossed the finish line around 6 hours and 49 minutes. I quickly grabbed another coke and spent some time with friends who came out.

Randomness:

• People said that a half-IM is about as hard on you as a marathon. Recovery time, etc, is about the same. Although, this race was hard, I think a marathon is harder. Well, at least the two that I have run have been harder on me. Maybe because I'm a better athlete now. I don't know. But, it felt easier than a marathon.
• I can't say enough about the volunteers. They were great!!! They were spot on with everything from getting us hydration to telling us where to go and what to do. They were wonderful.
• Next time, I will pay more attention to my nutrition, particularly my protein intake. I never want to go through that stomach thing again.
• Thanks again to everyone who supported me through this. I'd like to thank Jamie and his family for coming out as well as Chad. Jamie was there the entire time I was out on the course. Besides Steph, he was the only one there the whole time for me. Thanks Jamie. It means more than you know.
• Lastly, I can't thank enough my wife and her dad. Both have been behind me 100%. Joe is always checking in on me to make sure my training is going ok and that I'm doing well. He always calls after each race and asks how it went. He's the greatest. Steph is my manager. She is there to tell me what I need to do and when I need to do it. She helps me with everything, from getting set up to cheering me on to helping me pack up and clean my gear. She is there. Always. I love you.

The next event is Steph's first triathlon on August 29th. She's doing the Sprint, Splash, and Spin. Woohoo!! After that, I get to do another half-IM in Augusta, GA on September 27th.

I'll have a video up soon of this race.

Woot!!

Update: Results--6:41:01. 96 out of 146. 44 minute swim (this is misleading as the swim time didn't get logged until you ran like a 1/4 mile from the exit). 3:20:02 bike (16.8 mph). Awesome!!!!! 2:31:01 run (11:32 pace). Very slow for me.