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.

I am.

A while ago, someone told me that completing a Half-Ironman is equivalent to completing a marathon in terms of the stress put on your body. If that is true, then the next two months are going to be one of the greatest physical and mental challenges I've faced in my life. This coming Sunday (August 9), I will complete my first Half-Ironman, the Spirit of Morgantown. On September 27, I'll complete my second Half-Ironman, Ironman 70.3 Augusta.

In effect, over the next two months, I will put my body through more physical hardship than it has ever experienced. Not only will both races be a challenge, but my training volume and frequency won't let off until after the second race. More importantly, these two months are nothing compared to next year's full Ironman.

Am I ready?

Bill Bryson, in a great book entitled A Short History of Nearly Everything, describes the precariousness of human life:

"Welcome. And congratulations. I am delighted that you could make it. Getting here wasn't easy, I know. In fact, I suspect that it was a little tougher than you realize. To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and intriguingly obliging manner to create you.

The bad news is that atoms are fickle and their time of devotion is fleeting--fleeting indeed. Even a long life adds up to only about 650,000 hours. And when that modest milestone flashes past, for reasons unknown your atoms will shut you down, silently disassemble, and go off to be other things. And that's it for you.

To be here now, alive in the 21st century and smart enough to know it, you also had to be the beneficiary of biological good fortune. Of the billions and billions of species of living thing that have existed since the dawn of time, most--99.99 percent--are no longer around.

Not only have you been lucky enough to be attached since time immemorial to a favored evolutionary line, but you have also been extremely--make that miraculously--fortunate in your personal history. Consider the fact that for 3.8 billion years, a period of time older than the Earth's mountains and rivers and oceans, everyone of your forebears on both sides has been attractive enough to find a mate, healthy enough to reproduce, and sufficiently blessed by fate and circumstances to live long enough to do so. Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected its life's quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result--eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly--in you."

Fleeting. That is what we are. Fleeting. We have few opportunities in life to make a difference, in our lives and others. Life can be easy and futile or it can be hard and exciting. We can either mundanely survive our way through each day or we can savor and value all that is around us. We either accept life as it comes or we challenge ourselves to change it.

Am I ready?

Yes. My 650,000 hours will be spent pushing myself intellectually, physically, and emotionally.

I will find truth in the suffering. And my atoms will know, when they disperse to become some subsequent wonderful example of life, that I wore them out.

If you live in Morgantown or are in town on August 9, please come out and cheer me on. I'll be on the course 6-7 hours.

Woot!

2009 Cincinnati One World Tri Race Report

Well, count this race in the books. Steph and I usually try to run the Cincy Flying Pig half-marathon every year as her sister lives there. Well, earlier this year, when we were at the race expo for the Flying Pig, I saw the advertisement for this triathlon. Knowing what my plan was for the year, I registered for it.

Fast forward to this weekend. On Friday, Steph and I hopped in the car and drove to her sister's house. After arriving and grabbing some Indian food for dinner, we quickly hit the sack as we were both beat.

On Saturday, we got up and went for a run (I know, I ran the day before my race...I'm an idiot). I got in 5 miles. Steph and my brother-in-law ran around 6. After our run, we headed out to the race course to scope it out and pick up my registration packet. We also wanted to attend one of the info sessions for the race.

Unlike running races, triathlon's tend to have race meetings prior to the race as triathlons are a bit more technical than running races and its good to know what the transition area looks like, where it's exits are, etc. So we picked up my packet and then waited around for the meeting. Uhmm, I'm not really sure how to say this, but the race director for this race is an idiot. I was more confused after the race meeting than before. I felt certain that on race day, I would royally screw something up because this guy was just abysmal at explaining the race details. Anyway, we headed home for a big pasta dinner and I hit the hay around 10pm.

On Sunday, we got to the course around 6:10am. I got everything set up and then we headed to the swim entry. We swam in the Ohio River. The swim distance was .85 miles. I felt pretty confident for the swim. Most triathlete's get a little nervous about the swim, but I've been swimming so much this summer, I felt this would be relatively painless. Thankfully, I was pretty close to being right. I completed the swim in 21 minutes, which is wicked fast for me. I think the current in the river had a lot to do with my speed, but hey, who cares? I ROCKED that swim!!!

I crawled out of the river and ran to the transition area for what's known as T1 (Transition 1). I quickly changed into my cycling gear and took off for the bike portion. The bike was 25 miles. It was a two loop route and was equally as fun as the swim. There were really only two tough portions on the bike course and they were insane hills. But, I got through it great. I passed a guy who clearly had bonked on the swim and also a woman who was having a really tough time. I offered a few words of encouragement to both and headed on. One guy and me must have passed each other like 20 times. He clearly was a speedster, which I am not. I'm more of a hill guy. So, he would pass me on the straightaways and I would pass him on the hills. It was actually pretty funny. We did that for the entire cycling portion. I was just happy to stay with him as he had a killer bike. It was way nicer than mine. Anyway, finished the bike in 1:24 and headed to T2 (Transition 2).

After changing into my running gear, I had 6.2 running miles ahead of me. The run course was through the park that runs along the Ohio river. It sucked. The course I mean. It really was a bad course. You run through the park and then run across the Purple People Bridge and then back through the park. Then you get to do it again on the second lap. Nonetheless, I felt good about the run and pulled into the finish line in 2:44hrs. I ran my 6.2 miles a bit slower than I usually do (54 minutes I think). Anyway, I came in 5th in my age group and 40th overall. I am really, really happy with my top 5 finish.

Thankfully, the volunteers for the race had clearly marked the course for all three legs and the race director's confusing directions didn't factor into anything on race day.

I don't think I'll do this tri next year. It was ok, but I felt things were disorganized. Also, some of the volunteers clearly didn't want to be there (I passed two guys who were laying down and asleep and two girls who were laying down). Anyway, it was a good time, but next year I'll find something a bit more friendly.

Ohhh, and guess what???? I get to do a Half-Ironman in two weeks. Woohoo!!!!

See below for a video that Steph took and I edited of the race this weekend.

Tomorrow is bike and swim.

Woot!!

And so it begins...

On Sunday July 26th 2009, I'm officially starting my triathlon season and the training for my Ironman. Up to this point, I've been working on my base for the two half-ironman events this year and the full Ironman next year. I know it seems like I've been doing a bunch of running, swimming, and biking, but it is nowhere near where I'll be next year. My goal this year is to prep and warmup for the full Ironman next year.

On the 26th, I'll be in Cincinnati competing in the One World Triathlon. I'll be racing the

Olympic distance which is 1.3k swim (.84 miles) 40k bike (25 miles), and 10k run (6 miles). I'm a little nervous as it looks like the high for Sunday is going to be 78 degrees which means the water is going to be a little cold. So, I'll be wearing the new wetsuit I bought. I've never competed in a wetsuit. I'm going to get in an open water swim today and hopefully tomorrow in my wetsuit. I didn't really intend to use it this year as I thought the weather would have been warmer. Thankfully, I didn't buy the full wetsuit. I got a sleeveless version (you can see it over there on the right). It should be an interesting swim to say the least.

More importantly, this race is a training race. I'm doing it to get the details down for my Half-Ironman in Morgantown on August 9th. I'm pretty psyched for the race. I figure I'll finish in a little under 3 hours. The bike looks fun and the run should be a breeze. My nutrition is down. I'm ready. Now it needs to hurry up and get here.

BTW, in case you don't know, a Half Ironman is 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run (in one day). And the full Ironman is 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run (in one day).

6 miles run down. Swim this afternoon. Long bike and swim tomorrow.

Woot!

Tour De France

I can't tell you how excited I get when it is Tour time. I love to watch it. It is amazing what the competitors put themselves through. 2200 miles in 26 days. It is humbling to see the effort and focus these guys put into racing.

But, this year, it has been a nightmare for me to tune it in. We don't have Versus on our cable package. Versus is the only television broadcaster of the Tour. And, I don't think there is any other way to watch. I can pay to watch it online, but 25 bucks? Nope.

So, I am left to look at the standings and watch the videos put up after the stages. It sucks.

However, I am happy at the standings. Contador is 2nd; Lance is 3rd. Team Astana holds 4 of the top 5 spots after 10 stages. I couldn't be happier. Most people either love or hate Lance. I love him. I think anyone who goes through what he's gone through gets to be as arrogant as they want. Maybe I'm wrong, but what the hell? You get diagnosed with cancer. Have multiple surgeries, including brain surgery. Then you come back and win the most grueling endurance cycling event there is. 7 times. You freakin' rock in my book.

On top of that, he establishes a foundation that raises gobs of money to help fight cancer. How many of you wear yellow bracelets?

All of this leads me to my real point. I admire folks who push themselves through adversity. For some of us, that adversity is riding a bike 100 miles a day, running a marathon or a 10k or swimming a few laps in the pool. For others, it is simply the act of going out for a walk or turning down that dessert. The bottom line is that whatever your adversity is, you had better meet it head on. On your feet. No compromises. We get one chance at the life we lead on earth.

Are you going to be remembered as a quitter?

1 mile swim followed by 25 mile bike today. Tmw is 6 mile run and swim.

Woot!

Facebook, Blogger, and the solution to my woes

Ok, so I had earlier decided to only update Facebook Notes with my blog postings, but it appears that I can import my blog postings from here (recastiniron.blogspot.com) to my Facebook profile. I was having some problems keeping both updated. Now, it appears I can do both at the same time. Back to frequent blogging!!!!

Today, I did a brick. I did a 25 mile bike followed immediately by a 6 mile run. If I had swam today, it would have been the exact race distance as I'm doing on the 26th of July: the One World Triathlon in Cincy. I'm doing the Olympic distance (1.35K swim, 40K bike, 10K run).

Anyway, about halfway through my bike today, I got stung by a bee. I was pedaling along at 20mph or so and felt something hit my leg right below my left knee. About a millisecond later, I felt the sting...Yowza!!!! I used to be allergic to bees, but apparently not anymore. I continued my bike and run. IT hurt the whole way, but tonight, I have no swelling or pain. More importantly, I didn't have any allergic reactions. Woohoo!!

Tomorrow is swim and bike. Steph and I will swim in the morning. She'll then run and I'll bike again.

Woot!!

2009 Flying Pig Half Marathon Race Report

Steph and I ran the Flying Pig yesterday. What a race!! We so enjoyed it again this year. If you ever need a fun, well-organized half, this is it (as is the Richmond Half). So, to get the numbers out of the way:

1:55:09 was my final time. I was 1235 out of 8577 runners. 853 out of 3120 men. 131 out of 471 in my age group. And, I was almost four minutes faster than last year's race. The average finish time for the half was 2:31:11.

Steph's numbers are even more impressive. 2:12:32 was her finish time (with an injury mind you). 3318 out of 8577 runners. 1509 out of 5457 women 288 out of 889 in her age group. She didn't run it last year, so she ROCKED!!

We arrived around 5:15am and waited in the car as it was raining. Thankfully, it was just a drizzle and didn't last for too long. We took trash bags and wore them until right before the race. We took them off before the start and it worked out fine. The rain held off until after we were done with the race. My achilles is still giving me fits and I felt it on this race, but it didn't hamper my performance too much.

As you may know, this particular race is known for its hills. It has lots of them. Not so much in the beginning, but miles 6-10 are nothing but hills. I think the elevation rise is something like 500 feet over those 4 miles. It sucks!!!

Although I have to say, I prefer hills to going down them. The only sore part of my body are my quads. God, I hate downhills. The final 3 miles are almost all downhill. So, the reward for going up, is the damage coming down...hehe.

Steph and I orginally had wanted to run the Pittsburgh Half, but it filled up too quick. I think we'll probably stick witht he Cinci Half. We really like it and we get to spend time with family we have there.

Although I'll probably do a bunch of the local sprint Tri's around Motown, my next official race is in July and it's the Cinci Tri. I'm doing the Olympic (1350m swim, 40K bike, and 10K run). Steph I think is going to do the local half we have here (Decker's Creek). Then Half-IM in Motown, and then Half-IM in Augusta. No more running until the Richmond Half this fall.

BTW, I'd like to give a shout-out to a friend of mine who is running his first marathon this fall in Richmond. If you follow this blog at all, you know we have a bit of a tradition of inviting friends and family to run, walk, crawl, with us at the Richmond race. We do the race, then a family friend and his band plays a bluegrass show for us while we chow down on some good, filling food. It's sooooo much fun. Anyway, Jamie is running the marathon and hopefully he and his family will join us with our celebration.

Matter of fact, if anyone else is interested in joining us, please please let me know. We'd love to have you :)

Woot!!!
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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

20 mile bike

So, I took my new ride out for its inaugural 20 miler.  Everything went great.  Since I was in VA I was going to do a 40 miler in the flat hills of Central Virginia, but the weather was pretty bad so I just did 20.  Nonetheless, it was a great ride.  I only had one problem and that was the fact that I popped my chain once. I tried to crossover gears and I caused it to pop. I'm an idiot. 

But, otherwise it was wonderful.  At on point I was near 35mph on a nice little downhill. It was awesome!!!

I've begun to focus on time and not distance anymore for my training.  I've been reading a bunch about long-distance tri training and most folks seem to recommend that for a number of reasons.  So, tmw is 50 minute run.  Tuesday is 50 minute run and 1 hour ride.

Woot!



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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

And how much do I love my bike?

Let me count the ways:

1. It's black. Black as night. I like my bikes like I like my...er....uhm...nevermind.
2. It weighs less than my dog. Our dog weighs 22 pounds. My bike weighs about 16. I can lift it over my head with one hand.
3. I literally feel like I'm running when I'm pedaling. It sounds weird, but it's true.
4. I got some really great shoes to go with it. Sidi if you are interested.
5. It's is all DA hardware. Rockin!!!
6. The wheels are ultegra, which I'm not entirely enthused about, but still pretty cool.
7. I am going to try and get professionally fit this weekend. I'm visiting VA as my dad is having surgery on Friday. I have a 40 miler planned and then a fitting (hopefully) the day after his surgery.
8. My first real ride was last Sunday. I got burnt to a crisp as the sun was really out and I didn't wear any sunscreen. It was totally worth it :)
9. I am so obsessed with it, that I haven't removed it from my Element in the event I can go for a ride whenever the mood strikes.
10. I love it!!!!

Tmw is 5 mile run and Sat. 40 mile bike.

Woot!


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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

My New Bike!!!!

Woohoo!!!

My new bike is an 2008 Cannondale Six13 1 with Dura-ace hardware. WOOT!!! The best part is I got a heck of a deal. I mean an HECK of a deal. My local bike shop, Pathfinder, is awesome!!

Here's a video.  I post some pics later this weekend after I pick it up :)

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Ironman here I come

Well, it's official.  I have registered for my two half-Ironmans this year: Spirit of Morgantown (08/09/09) and Ironman 70.3 Augusta GA (09/27/09).  If you live in or near those areas or are interested in coming out, please do so.  I need all the cheering help I can get :)

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

NUUN is the shiznit!!!

Over the last week or so, I've been testing out NUUN.  NUUN describes itself as a portable, electrolyte, hydration drink.  The cool thing about it is that it has no calories.  So, for folks like me who control what they take in (like carbs and protein) while they're training, it's perfect.  I get no additional calories from my drink (unless I want them).  Also, it's not sweet.  One of the problems I have with things like Powerade or Gatorade is that I have to cut them with water.  Over a long run, the syrupiness of those drinks gets to be too much, especially if I'm taking in GUs as well.

The NUUN packaging is also pretty convenient.  It comes in a tube and you simply drop a tablet in 16 ounces, give a minute or two, and you have your drink.

I took NUUN out for a long run last Saturday (and plan to do so again this Saturday).  It worked great.  It actually is a little fizzy.  I know that sounds like it wouldn't work, but it really does.  It comes in like 6 flavors I think.  I have tried all but the Kona Cola flavor.  The best ones are Orange/Ginger and Citrus Fruit.  The others are a little too funny tasting for me.  I also tried HammerGels this past week too.  The taste of those are less overwhelming than GU, so I'm going to give it another shot this weekend as well.  I'm digging the fact that I can tone down the sweetness of this stuff and still feel satisfied with the products.

Ran 4, swam 1 today.  Nothing tmw, then 10 on Sat.

Woot!

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Swim Clinic

On Wednesday, my local triathlon club held a swim clinic.  Last year, we held one about this same time and I stunk....literally I could barely swim 25 yards.  At this year's clinic, they video taped us. Here's mine:

Today, I swam a mile.  That makes three miles in three days of swimming.  Woohoo!!!  Of course, before I get to confident, please feel free to comment on my technique.  I'd love any pointers you can offer.

Oh, and watch the below....how can you not want to do an Ironman:

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

No Pain!!!

F**k yeah!!!

No more pain in my foot!!! I can finally run with no pain. On Saturday, Steph and I did seven and eight respcetively. The only pain I had was a little tightness in my calf, but that was because I started out to fast, but other than that, it was great. This is first time in a while that I've run without any pain in my Achilles.

In other news, I've kicked up my swimming regimen. Tomorrow is a mile straight. I've been doing 300 meter repeats with 30 second breaks in between, but tomorrow I'm going for the full mile. I'm actually kind of excited to buy my first wetsuit and hop in our local river (or lake). I've never been swimming in a wetsuit before (other than SCUBA, but SCUBA isn't swimming). Once I get a little cash, I'll be buying a wetsuit....any suggestions?

Also, I just ordered some NUUN and some products from Hammer Nutrition. I can't tell you much I hear about NUUN. It's like all over the place. And, I'm tired of watering down my Powerade. So I'm going to give it a shot. I'll let you know how it goes. In terms of the Hammer stuff, I ordered a sampler. I am mainly interested in their recovery drinks and their vitamin supplements. With the all the activity I'll be doing this season, I thought it was about time to get serious about recovery, etc.

Tomorrow is just swimming.

Woot!



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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

A roof is overrated

Well on Wednesday night we nearly lost our roof.  The storms that passed through our neck of the woods had winds upwards of 70 mph.  It was lots of fun.  Anyway, we now have a big pile of shingles that blew off and our flashing is sticking straight up in the air.  Ugh!!!!  Good thing our homeowner's insurance will take care of it.

Today is a rest.  I swam three times this week...about a mile each time (I actually did 300 meter repeats instead of swimming the full mile at one time).  Next week I'll go for the full mile all at once.  My heel is feeling better...I go through times where it feels like crap and the other times when I hardly notice it....that usually means I'm healing, but we'll see.

Tomorrow is 6 miles.

Woot!

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

4 miler followed by 1 mile swim

In may Steph and I are running the Pittsburgh half mary. So, I'll be kicking up the running to get in shape. Today, I ran 4 followed by a 1 mile swim. Everything went well, but I'm still having foot/heel problems. I don't get what it is. I've rested it, cut my running back, everything I could possibly do.....ugh. It actually felt better today, but my speed is not what it used to be and it's because of the pain.

I realized today in the pool that I need new shorts. I looked down and realized that the material has become almost see-through....oops.

Tomorrow is bike and swim.

Woot!

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Ok...really?

And yet again, its been a while since I last blogged. My apologies. It's just hard to blog when you don't have anything really to say...winter training, just....kind of...is. No much to report. Although, I have seen another new thing at the gym that I've never seen.

Today, as I was heading out from the locker room to begin my workout, I had to visit the little boys room. It is in the locker room, not far from the entrance. Anyway, as I turned the corner, some idiot was in fron of the mirror in a robe.

A ROBE!!!!! What?!?!?!?

He was shaving. I've said this before, but stupid should hurt. Who the hell brings a robe to the gym?

I swear, one of these days, I'm going to walk in and there is going to be an all out orgy going on.

Tmw is swimming and running.

Woot!

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To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Finally back running

So for the past two weeks, I've been running 4 times per week. My heel is still a bit sore, but it feels ok. Today was great. I actually kicked it up a notch or two in terms of speed. I think next week, I'm going to hit the swimming pretty hard. I'm in beautiful Monterey, CA for three days next week and what better place is there than to really hit the swimming.

I've booked most of my triathlons for this season. The first on is the CINCI One World Triathlon. I'm doing the Olympic distance, which is 1350m swim/40k bike/10k run. Right after that, I do the Spirit of Morgantown Half Ironman. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. then, in September I head to Augusta, GA for the Ironman 70.3 (same distances as the Morgantown race). Steph and I are also running the Pittsburgh half-mary this year in May.

I will probably do the Beach 2 Battleship Half IM as well, but we'll see how my body is feeling.

Ohh, one last thing.....winter training sucks.

Woot!

___________________________________________________________
To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.