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!