@openoptionskc Shawnee Mission Triathlon Race Recap - 7/12/15

So at the last minute, I won a free entry to a race!

As I was on vacation with the family, I randomly entered a Facebook drawing for entry into a local triathlon, knowing it was the day after we got back and figured it was a long shot to win.  Wouldn't you know it, I won the free entry!

I'm all about free race entry!  Thanks to Open Options of Kansas City (http://openoptionskc.org/) for sponsoring the event and giving a random entry into the Open Options Shawnee Mission Triathlon!

A little bit about Open Options:

Our Mission
At Open Options UCP, we are guided by our mission to support people to realize their full potential.

Our Vision
We seek to become the premier provider of supports and services for people with disabilities, signifying quality, innovation, and person-centered principles. We are committed to ensuring the sustainability and growth of our organization and are driven by a ceaseless desire to improve. The people we employ will be engaged, dedicated, and invested in our mission.

Our Values
Every day we are given the amazing opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. We are a catalyst for growth, supporting others to see and pursue the many opportunities and options a meaningful life presents, and contributing to the happiness of those around us. The people we serve are our priority and the people we employ are our greatest resource. Our interactions are guided by three core values:

• Demonstrating an unselfish concern for the well-being and happiness of others
• Being open, authentic, and truthful
• Respecting the dignity of every person and every role

But I am "injured"

Lately I have been suffering from plantar fasciitis, and anyone that has had a case flare up, it sucks.  It started the weekend we left for vacation after a long run and got worse as I tried to work out over vacation.  I shifted to spin bike, weights and elliptical to let it rest, but the damage has been done.

So, the last thing I wanted to do was run a race with IM Boulder coming up and in serious need of recovery.

That's when I sent the call out to my local group of tri peeps and found a ringer, I mean runner, for a relay team!  I swam and biked, and my pub crawling, potato-ole eating friend ran.  Problem solved.

It was ugly

The swim was ugly from the start as I went out too hard and it was the worst swim ever at this event.  I have been spotty in my swim training over the past month and coming off vacation with no swimming, it showed.  Unfortunately I'm not the type that can take time off and show up and kill it.

I had to gingerly walk the 0.10 miles to my bike on a paved parking lot since there was no running going to happen with my foot.

After mounting the bike, I produced the worst bike split ever for this race as well.

And then it turned around

My runner busted out the 4.5 mile in sub 7 minutes and propelled us to the 3rd best long course team out of 10 teams.  We actually got some hardware out of the day which made me feel a little better about my crap times.

I would like to think I contributed to the results, but in actuality it was all due to my runner.  If he can bail me out like that again, potato-ole's on me!

SWIM 1000 METERS : 21:17
T1 : 3:16
BIKE 18 MILES : 57:57
T2 : 0:33
RELAY RUNNER 4.5 MILES : 31:00
TOTAL TIME : 1:54:02
3 of 10 LONG COURSE TEAMS

Thanks again to Open Options and Johnson County Rec for the free entry!  If anything it was great to get an open water swim in and try and bust my butt on the bike for an hour.

2015 Atlas Race Obstacle Course Race Report - 4/25/15

What endurance season would be complete without at least one Obstacle Course Race (OCR) mixed in?

I found the Atlas Race OCR series on Facebook, and the timing, distance offered and early bird pricing was just right.  The race offers the "Boss" (3 to 5 miles) or the "Ranger" at 7 to 9 miles.  I was looking for something a little longer than the Warrior Dash or Ruckus Run to make the time to drive out to Lawrence worth the effort (named Atlas Race Kansas City, but actually held in Clinton Lake State Park).

 

So, Atlas Race KC it was for 2015 racing the Ranger course.

 

 

 

This will be a more about my experience racing the course, if you're interested in more of an event review, check out my Examiner article for the Event Review.

 

IT WAS AN ENDURANCE EVENT JUST TO GET TO THE START

Previewing my event review, I expended a lot of energy trying to track down check in, race bib pickup and event logistics in general.  Had a been a lesser driven person, I might have just chucked it.  The short of it was, the Altas organizers ran a loser ship than I'm used to with endurance events and organization.  It was a process just to track everything down and find a parking spot when I got there.

 

AND THEN IT RAINED 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS

Not really... but we had some significant rain the days before the event and mist off and on race day.  It made for some sweet mud at the event, of which we would have had none without the rain.

 

WE'RE OFF

After figuring out what the order of events were, I made my way to the start at the 10am wave after some well timed port-a-potty stops.  All you endurance people know how key that can be when not swimming first off...  It was also disappointing to learn I could have raced an earlier wave and got back home sooner to miss less on the home front since I didn't see the need to drag the Mrs and the kids to this event.  But hey, it's all a part of the experience, right?

 

After racing 4 or so OCR events, I have learned it pays off to start in front and at east get out ahead of the large groups.  After you get 6 to 7 people waiting at an obstacle that only allows 2 at a time, you spend a lot of time standing around.  I wasn't interested in that.  I'd rather race unencumbered at my own pace.  So, I sprinted my ass off for the first 100 yards to get over the wood walls in the few first guys and pretty much stayed at the front for the entire heat.

 

THINGS WERE GOING SWIMMINGLY

I was doing well only trailing to one guy after the first mile.  Was I an OCR rock star?  No.  This race lended itself to cross country endurance runners more than OCR warriors.  There were only maybe 15ish real obstacles with only the end really involving any upper body effort.  Again, reference my event review and you'll see how most of the course was about trail running, which favors a long course runner more than an OCR meat head (no disrespect, maybe).

 

I took the lead after two miles and eventually got passed on the second loop.  What's ironic is that I passed the same guy because of confusion at the second lap entry and I think he did some obstacles he shouldn't have... or the volunteer told me to go the wrong way.  Either way, I was back in front and eventually he caught me again at the finish line.  Good competition.

 

IN THE END

I ended up coming in under an hour.  Pretty sweet for a 7-9 mile OCR event!  Too bad it was only 6 miles on the 910XT GPS.  So, I either skipped some course or someone got a little lazy making the course.  Even if I went around some extra obstacles, there's no way I would have added another mile.

 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

Here's how I stacked up vs the competition.

 

59 : 24 official time

17 / 186 Ranger Course Racers

3 / 28 Age Group

 

I kind of wished I would have signed up for Elite waves.  They were racing for money and I was pretty competitive with their results.  It was also key that attendance was probably throttled due to a first time event, questionable marketing outreach and the race was the same day as Warrior Dash.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I enjoyed getting out and doing some endurance outside of the normal swim, bike and run.  Trail running is good cross training, and OCR makes it even better.  I wished I would have gotten more course in.  9 miles for a 50 minute drive to the race would have been a fair trade, but at least I got in early bird and avoided paying an outrageous price for a short long course.  My review and this recap would have taken a different tone had I paid over $100 at race day reg.

 

I'm happy with my "performance".  As I mentioned with Rock the Parkway, my focus is Ironman Boulder and getting the work done for that.  I did not come into Atlas with any real goals other than a hard run and wasn't tapering or resting for a race effort.  Something to mix it up.  I wanted to get the heart rate up and not get hurt.  Those goals were met, no problem.  I do wish I would have looked at Elite a little harder, but since this was the first time racing Atlas, I wasn't sure what to expect.

 

Stay tuned for more recaps and previews as race season is in full force!

 

 

2015 Rock the Parkway Half Marathon Recap - 4/11/15

A few weeks ago was the first official race event for me of the 2015 season... Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in Kansas City, MO.

I posted my preview thoughts a few days before the race, and to recap, the race just kind of snuck up on me with life going on.  I'm to the point where completing the race wouldn't be an issue, but I was not really focused on improving performance, setting a PR or anything resembling being competitive with myself or anyone else.

Mostly I just like the event, been in it one form or another since inception and they have a nice early bird pricing deal.  ;)

OFF TO THE RACES...

So, decided I would brave the race myself and leave the fam behind so the Mrs and the kiddos wouldn't have to sit around to see me at the start and umpteen minutes later at the end.  Kind of anti-climatic at this point for spectators.

As I have dialed in my eating habits, which translate into eating smart and not being a pig, I allow myself a day of the week to pretty much stuff whatever I want into my face.  This was that day and I delighted in trail mix with extra Reece's pieces mixed in.  Delicious.  So there I was munching mutant mix on the way to the start, not really paying attention to the fact I ended up eating too much that close to a race.  I had an hour to let it settle, but I didn't pay attention and ended up with too much to digest that quick.

So, I cut off the food after parking and sipped some gatorade while milling about the pre-race port-a-potty routine.  Hydrate, dehydrate, re-hydrate with some #2 mixed in.  Glorious.

Too bad I ate too much and didn't time my last pee break good enough before the race.

AND WE'RE OFF

Mile 1, feeling good.

AND WE'RE NOT FEELING IT

Mile 2, had to pee and trail mix was giving me problems.

AND WE'RE STOPPING

Mile 3, pee break at the first aid station port-a-potties.  Break for the tummy as well to stop sloshing at 165bpm heart rate.

AND WE'RE RUNNING AGAIN

Break neck speeds and 165bpm, just holding on for as long as possible.  I actually did not stop running again for entire race, opting to jog and sip at pit stops for hydration.  That's pretty rare for me.

It was a balancing act of aggressive running and gurgling trail mix in the gut.  Around mile 11, on the final stretch, I let it all hang out and drove for the finish line.  I've been more taxed after an event than I was at RTP 2015, but I've never been more happy to stop running with a stomach of half digested food.  I didn't barf, either, so there's a winner right there.

AND WE'RE DONE

So, my PR at the half marathon distance was 1:35:53 last year at the same race, same course.

2015 results were : 1:35:34 - a 19 second PR.  Not bad for not really paying attention to a training plan and overeating before the race.  I'll take it.

In all seriousness, I do believe the more attention I have paid to eating a better diet and eating to live instead of living and working out to eat has helped in my running.  I've permanently dropped a few LBS and that's made me feel a little quicker and lighter on my feet.  My philosophy is the less weight I have on me, the less punishment my joints take with workouts in general over the years.  I'm going for longevity, not the short term.

So, if I can come out and consistently stay close to my PR's in races, I'm pretty satisfied.

Glorious.

IRONMAN KANSAS 70.3 RACE RECAP - 6/8/14

So, it's been a while... I'll pick up where I left off.

Ironman Kansas 70.3 was the last race preview I left you all hanging with.

Here's what happened when I hit the swim start, condensed version.  ;)

It was half Ironman distance triathlon 7 for me, and it ended up being one of the best overall half yet.  If you read the preview, maybe you wondered if I ran a 5k Friday night, half marathon Saturday morning and then a half ironman Sunday.  To end the suspense, I ran the 5k on Friday night with the kids in the running stroller, opted to ditch the half marathon as it was raining and the kids were sound asleep and raced Kansas on Sunday.

After running a 28ish minute 5k pushing 150 pounds of kids and stroller, I was a little sore, but ok to hit it hard Sunday morning.  I was hoping for a half PR and getting under 5:30.

 

SWIM : 34:15

The swim was perfect.  Calm waters.  Calm winds.  Temperatures allowing wetsuit legal race, but not too cold.  No rain.  Perfect conditions for a swim PR by a few seconds, literally.

It felt great compared to where I came from with my swimming skills.  I used to be back of the pack getting caught by all the other waves... now I'm the one trying to swim through the back of waves ahead of me.  Nice change.

 

BIKE : 3:01:33

Not a PR, but I like the 18.5 mph average over a tough course.  There were minor winds to deal with, but nothing near what we have had to deal with in the past.

I also made an effort to get more speed out of my workouts after IM Texas.  It's time to hammer the rides and the way I have to structure rides, I have to get the most work out of less time.  It paid off.

I also made it a point to get at least half and half with water and sports drinks.  I ate some bananas and Cliff bars on the ride, but after Texas, water was the key even if the temps were not extreme.

I wanted to leave the bike with something left, but a little less than I have had in the past.  Push the edge to see how close I can get.

RUN : 1:47:58

The run could not have been better for that race on that day.  PR by around 2 minutes from last year.  The run was a little warm, but staying on top of water, hydration and nutrition left me with enough to push a consistent pace until 3 miles to go to let it all go to see what I could do.

I was running along flirting with a sub 5:30, but I was in the space of pushing too much too early to get ahead of the mark and risk melting down, or laying off too much and missing my window to get there at the end.

With 3 to go, I opened it up and made a push for sub 5:30.

FINAL : 5:30:40

SO CLOSE!  I was one port-a-potty stop in T2 from getting sub 5:30.  I was tempted to let it go on the bike, but didn't realize it would be the difference between 5:30 and sub.  Oh well.  One way or another, I needed the bio-break or it would have been a painful 13.1 miles.

THOUGHTS

Race day was perfect.  The only hiccup was the race was to be converted to a 1 transition area race, and they changed it the day before to the traditional 2 transition race it had always been.  It's not a deal breaker, but I'm not sure why not just stay with what works?  Why tease us with changes.  Oh well.

I played this race pretty close to the chest.  I didn't go all out, but I was careful to keep the PR in site.  Always want to do better than the year before and doing this race as many times as I have, I know the course well.

I like how each year I have done better at the swim.  This year was a PR in the swim and run.  I have yet to beat the first year's bike time, but I'm almost 30 minutes faster in the run than my first HIM.  Not a bad trade off going up by 6 minutes on the bike and down 30 minutes on the run.

It was also awesome to race with my athlete, Tim, that I trained and mentored remote since he lived in Illinois and I'm in Kansas.  It was his first HIM and he did great!  He definitely gained an appreciation for what race day would take and word on the street is he's looking at a full IM.  Good luck!

More to come as I hopefully get more time to dribble my thoughts onto blogger to keep you posted about triathlon, endurance sports, gear, family and life.

IRONMAN TEXAS 2014 RACE RECAP - 5/17/14

Sometimes you don't know where the edge is until you cross it and it's too late to come back.

After a stellar swim and an acceptable bike ride, I found myself with 9 hours to complete the 26.2 mile run to get in under 17 hours and only needing to complete the run in 6.5 hours to better my Ironman Lake Tahoe time at the 2014 Ironman Texas triathlon... but like a dumbass, I got greedy and put all my training and racing blunders of the day front and center.

It was reminiscent of Mother Nature pissing her pants-suit...

What if I had trained more focused on my bike rides?  What if I completed more of my scheduled long rides instead of cutting them short?

What if I had accounted for the time lost going from part time to full time work and dropped the stuff that truly didn't matter in the grand scheme to focus more on training properly?

What if I would have drank enough water and not as much sports drink on the bike and run start?

What if I would have not been aggressive with walking every other aid station to start the run?

What if I would have made myself throw up the crap I had in my stomach and started over with lost of water?

There are a lot of what if's for that Saturday.  What's not a what-if is the fact I turned in my 2nd DNF of my triathlon life.  Ironman Kansas 70.3 in 2011 was for mechanical reasons and Ironman Texas was for physical reasons.

At mile 13ish on the run, I was light headed, thrown up once and from my abdomen to my quads cramped up in so much pain that I can only think that maybe that's what child birth is like for women... ok maybe a 10th of that pain, but I was hurting.  I could not physically get up off the sidewalk to keep walking and ended up in an ambulance to the med tent for IV zofran for nausea and IV fluids for good old fashion dehydration.

Lets take it from the top...

After traveling Thursday and Friday the week before, and then traveling to Tulsa, OK, for a work conference from Monday to Wednesday before IMTX, I loaded up and took off right after dinner on Wednesday and pulled an all nighter to drive to Houston.  That wasn't a smart move.  I rolled in at 5am Thursday morning and used my hotel room for 6 hours before I had to check out and head to athlete check in.

It was the finest moment, but I had little choice and in retrospect I would have stopped somewhere around 11 to catch some z's before finishing the trip.  It would have kept me on a better sleep pattern, not necessarily got me more net sleep.

Meeting my Ride to Give teammates was great!

I met Melissa and Dave from Ride to Give.  Dave was racing for Xavier and Melissa was racing for Team Mallorie.  I was racing for Ironhearts and kind of picked up IMTX on a whim, which I never thought I'd ever race a spring Ironman.

We hit the practice swim on Friday, and I rode with Melissa Thursday.  It was nice to have that added camaraderie, but I was so thrown off by being in a rush to get there from work conference, travel and being tired, I didn't take full advantage of hanging with the team.  It was survival mode most of the time.

The swim was awesome.  2.4 Miles : 1:14:13

That's good for sub 2:00/100 and easily the best IM swim compared to Tahoe, besting by 12 minutes.  It was so great in fact that at the T1 tent, I could feel my fingers and it only took 11 minutes compared to 26 at Tahoe.  What can I say, it went pretty well aside from getting kicked, punched and pulled under and going a little off course.

My only issue is I much prefer the rolling start like Tahoe.  Your time starts when you pass the arch and enter the water instead of a mass water start.  I spent way too much energy trying not to get killed in the first mile and I even started behind the mass of people at the very front.

I was mildly worried that I wasn't getting enough time in the pool, but I was at least maintaining and sort of getting speedier... and with a wetsuit legal swim, it turned out great.

The bike was sufficient.  112 Miles : 6:39:41

After Lake Tahoe, I had no idea what to expect over the rolling 112 of Texas.  Luckily this was easiestly the coolest Texas race by far with highs at maybe 83... so the bike was not a suffer fest like it could have been.  I took a laid back approach, knowing I did not get in rides like I wanted in training and hoping that I was leave enough to get through the run in good shape.

I focused on electrolytes, sports drinks, nutrition and felt pretty good about how I managed that aspect.  I did have to stop 3 times for pee, bananas, back stretching and special needs bag that I'm sure cut into my time, but 6:40 compared to over 8 hours on the bike from Tahoe is hands down the best IM day ever.  Score.

I came into T2 feeling a little tired, and hammy's were screaming a little, but no serious cramping or issues to note as I headed to the changing tent.

I will say this, there was maybe a 15 mph wind on the way back, and being from Kansas I was perfectly ok with that, what sucked was the 40 miles of chip seal roads.  Talk about a momentum killer.  But hey, at 6:40 for a "realistic" IM bike course time, I'll take it.

The run... oh the run... 26.2 Miles : DNF at mile 13.75

So over 8 hours into the race coming out of the tent, I only needed a 6.5 hour marathon to beat Tahoe time and 9 hours to finish before the cutoff.  Why the hell I got so greedy to try and get under 12 or at least under 12.5 is beyond me, in retrospect.

I started walking every other aid station which was probably 1.5 miles or so.  I felt ok, and loaded a hand held water bottle with sodium/potassium mix with sports drink at the tent to take with me.  There I was sipping my drink, grabbing water and bananas at aid stations and thinking I was doing pretty good.  And, I was until I headed on the second loop.

As I passed the changing tent on loop 2, the first bought of cramps hit.  Groin and hammy's.... plenty of time to walk it off and walk the aid station.  I sipped my drink and grabbed a banana half and sports drink to try and get the sodium replaced and potassium on board.

I felt good enough to trot again and went to walk at every aid station.  That was working ok until mile 12ish and it was disaster time.  Mother Nature pissed her pants-suit.

Nausea, dizziness and dry mouth were my nemesis.  I could no longer stomach the thought of anything else going into my gullet.  So I walked.  I walked to mile 13 aid station, yarfed a little in the port-a-potty, laid on the sidewalk while a sweet gal poured cold water on my and regrouped.

I can do this.

Started walking again.

Got more light headed.

Stopped to sit on a bench to get a rock out of my shoe.

Cramps. Groin.  Both quads.

Laid on the sidewalk to stretch out.

Not letting up.

Didn't feel like responding to "are you ok" any more.

Bike riding EMT's on the scene.

"Do you need to wait it out?  Anything we can do?"

No, I can't move.

They called transport to take me to med tent.

I now have a new reason to shave body hair.  When they hook up monitors, they need bare skin, so they shave your chest anyways.  They do NOT shave your shins where they hook up others.  Word to the wise, even if you don't think it will be you, shave.  You will save yourself agony of ripping highly adhesive monitor patches off your skin and your hair with them.  I was left with a happy face shaved into my chest and missing patches of hair on my legs.

That's just one lesson I learned that day after I puked up my socks in the med tent and felt 110 percent better after IV zofran and a bad of fluids.

I also learned my sodium, potassium and electrolyte levels were good, despite the concern I was losing the fight.  My wife and I put our minds together and realized I didn't have enough plain old H2O.

READ:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-you-drink-saltwater1.htm\

Potential Effects of Drinking Saltwater (or ingesting too much sodium with sports drink / powders or pills)

Have you ever been minding your own business on an elevator when an aggressively perfumed person stepped on? What happened? Did the Lady Stetson/Drakkar Noir stay on the person? Nope, it wafted all over the elevator so that everyone could smell it. That's diffusion in action. This net transport of matter from a region of high concentration to a region of lower concentration is happening all the time.

When it comes to diffusion and saltwater though, human cells have biological membranes, which can prevent salt from freely waltzing into our cells. Although our bodies can normalize sodium and chloride concentrations to an extent, dealing with extremely high concentrations of salt in the blood is challenging. That's because a cell's membrane is semipermeable -- although sodium, chloride and other substances may not be able to easily diffuse in and out of the cell, water can. When the salt concentration is higher on the outside of our cells than on the inside, water moves from the inside to the outside of the cells to correct the imbalance. The attempt to equalize the concentrations of matter on both sides of a semipermeable membrane is called osmosis.

If you're consuming seawater, the results of osmosis are spectacularly disastrous. Remember the salinity of seawater is almost four times that of our bodily fluids. If gone unchecked, the net transfer of water from the inside of your cells to the outside will cause the cells to shrink considerably -- and shrinkage is never good.

Unless you drink a lot of freshwater, the body's regulatory mechanism in this situation is potentially fatal. With seawater, the change in sodium concentration outside our cells is the main culprit. In order to regain an isotonic state, a must for cell survival, the body attempts to eliminate the excess sodium from its extracellular fluids. It secretes urine. However, human kidneys can only produce urine that's slightly less salty than saltwater. So, in order to remove the extreme amount of sodium taken in by saltwater, we urinate more water than we actually drank. And dehydration sets in.

So, if you're guzzling seawater, you actually aren't taking in any water but are incurring a net loss, leading to depleted body fluids, muscle cramps, dry mouth, and yes, thirst.

The body tries to compensate for fluid loss by increasing the heart rate and constricting blood vessels to maintain blood pressure and flow to vital organs. You're also most likely to feel nausea, weakness and even delirium. As you become more dehydrated, the coping mechanism fails. If you still don't drink any water to reverse the effects of excess sodium, the brain and other organs receive less blood, leading to coma, organ failure and eventually death.

Of course, consuming small amounts of saltwater won't kill you. The take home message is clear, though: Salt and water are best consumed separately -- and any salt intake should be accompanied by plenty of freshwater.

So, what's the conclusion?

Do I have a chip on my shoulder for IMTX?  No.  It was my own stupidity that lead to my DNF.  My conditioning should have got me to the finish line.  I left out one simple undeniable requirement, water.

My pride and ego is hurt more than feeling the need to either quite Ironman racing or race Texas again to prove I can do it.  I've already finished Ironman Tahoe and know I can do 140.6.

What I do need to do is weed out the superfluous junk in life to focus on the important stuff in life.

Up until now I had been trying to fit it all in while going from self employed part time to full time at a company.
Family
Friends
Work
Triathlon Training
Writing
Product Reviews
House Chores

It had to give and at mile 13.75, it came to a crashing halt.

The plan has to change.  I wasn't getting it done, being stressed, frustrated and upset that everything seemed half assed.

No more.

The new focus:
Family/Friends
Work
Triathlon training and racing.

This will result in stuff like this recap being a week after the event.  I probably won't be pumping out as much writing content.  Product reviews will probably be few and far between.  The important stuff needs to get handled, I need sleep and all else can wait.

Hopefully all that look to this blog for any pertinent info will understand.  It's not going away, but it won't be nearly as consistent as before.

Safe racing everyone!

2014 ROCK THE PARKWAY HALF MARATHON RECAP - 4/12/14

So here I am, traveling for work relishing the past weekend of racing...

...where yours truly pulled a miracle out of my rear and posted a new half marathon PR at the 2014 Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in Kansas City.  With everything going on with traveling for work, home, family, family medical emergencies, Ironman Texas training and no taper whatsoever and riding my bike to the race to get a bike ride outside for once, how did I pull this off?

Well, it wasn't a walk in the park.  I wish I could say with all of my LA Marathon training and Ironman training that posting a new half marathon PR was cake, but it wasn't.  Everything past mile 1 sucked and hurt.  Going out I had a tailwind, but hills.  Coming back was more downhill with a headwind, well, more like a breeze.

So I worked going out to build a comfortable pace cushion and used it up dealing with headwinds coming back.  I would not recommend my training regimine at this point to anyone.

From jamming dinner in for me and the kids and family over to watch the kids the night before to getting all the bike and running gear together AND getting it to fit in my Camalbak, there wasn't really any rest involved with this race.  That's life now these days.

I woke up earlier than I usually would to get food and enough time to ride to the race.  I ate as standard as I could but packed a PB packet to scarf an hour before the race since it would be about 2.5 hours from when I ate to race start.  It was just an akward expereince making this happen, but I did it to myself.  Remember, the goal is Ironman Texas, it wasn't a Rock the Parkway PR unless conditions allowed it.

So there I was, after running a mile warmup and getting elbowed at the start line with people trying to wedge into the start chute, hoping I had enough nutrition and reminding myself to drink up on gatorade on the course.  It was actually one of the warmest days in KC yet this year, topping out near 80.  I knew running hard I would sweat like a pig and I needed electrolytes and fluids.

Off we went and I was trucking to keep 7:15 min/mile pace as long as I could.  I ran the aid stations chugging as much gatorade as I could keep in the cup and only taking an extended break at mile 6 and 10ish.  I knew I needed more fluids than was sloshing out of my cup running.

Luckily I found a tallish dude to draft from the headwind at miles 10 to 12.  Thanks.  Hopefully you didn't mind my clodding feet and out of breathe breathing.

Mile 12 started the downhill into the finish and I knew if I hauled butt, I could have a new PR.  Mile 12 was 6:35, my best mile by 18 seconds.  I was leaving it all out there.  Thanks to that effort I have a new half PR by around 2 minutes at 1:35:53.  Rock the Parkway has proven to be my A-game race for half marathon PR's.  I don't know how I keep pulling it out... maybe I'm so excited to finally run a race outside in KC after a cold winter?

Who knows, I'll take it.  Then I took a 5 mile run to finish my mileage for the day and THEN preceeded to ride my bike home taking what I thought was a direct trail to my house.  Turns out I missed a turn, found a trail that worked and rode into a headwind all the way home.  It's been a while since I have seen a 13 mph average over 20 miles on the bike.  Barf.

At any rate, the race was successfull.  The training day was successfull... but I took Sunday off as I felt ran over and sore.  I missed having a peak week of training volume wise, but as I sit in my hotel room writing this, I'm eyeing my running gear and 60 degree weather for tonight's run on the traveling road.

There are no excused to not getting it done.  Before the kids get up, after they go to bed, pack your workout gear, find a hotel with a treadmill... make it happen.  ;)

2014 @ASICSAmerica @LAMARATHON RACE REPORT - 3/9/14 #BetterYourBest

The 2014 ASICS LA Marathon is in the books for this runner.

When I think back to the whole experience of getting connected with ASICS and getting to run the 2014 LA Marathon, the words that stand out the most is the hash tag they wanted us to use on social media (which is one of the very things they really requested of us to do for the chance to run besides training and running).

#BetterYourBest

I had my lofty Boston Qualifying time goal for LA.  The best marathon time I had ran was at Kansas City last October at 3:48 before this race.  BQ time was 3:08.  Sure, cut out 40 minutes, no problem.

I had a plan from Coach Andrew Kastor.  I had the logistics of getting there and training gear taken care of from ASICS.  LA was going to be my first event since KC last October so 90 percent of my training was dedicated to making LA spectacular.  The table was set to focus on running and capture the holy running grail, while at the same time setting a huge new marathon PR.

If only the LA Marathon course knew what I wanted to do and would have cooperated.

The stage was set with perfect weather and a perfect and interesting course.  The sad part was how much I took for granted the climbing on the course.  If I could handle KC, surely this would be a breeze.  Not really.  Another factor when you train and race in freezing temps and on treadmills and then race in a warm/hot climate, you can overlook the heat factor by the excitement of running outside with shorts and a shirt only instead of 5 base layers.  But enough foreshadowing...

I had a awesome dinner of lasagna the night before and gazed upon the finish area being constructed the night before.

Dinner for adults!  No Chipotle here.

Sleep tight LA Marathon finish area.

I had my gear all lined up.  I did have a new shirt from ASICS, new visor and had to pick up a new set of sunglasses at the Expo since I left mine in KC.  But, nothing extremely unfamiliar for gear on race day.

Nice and vibrant to see me in a crowd.

I even brought breakfast from home to make sure race day morning was as standard as possible.  The bus ride to Dodger Stadium provided a chance for a cat nap and then some time prepping in the stadium club.

If I only I knew what was ahead.  How about the ASICS lite show reflective gear!?

I opted to leave my phone at the hotel and use the Gatorade Endurance provided at aid stations with PowerBar Gel blasts every 45 minutes.  I wanted to be as minimalist as possible to achieve the best time I could get.  I was on a mission.  Semi-spoiler alert : I opted to not chug as much water and gatorade pre-race as I usually do.  I hate having to pee every 10 minutes leading up to the start and wanted to avoid the 4 pee stops during KC last October.  I tried to hydrate like a mad man the day before and sipped Gatorade up til 30 minutes before the start.  With the cloud cover, I was banking and getting close to the finish before heat became a factor and I would need more electrolytes.  Bad move.

After sitting in the corals for what seemed hours, we were off!  This was by far the biggest race I have been in (Dublin marathon in 2004 was larger, I think, but that was before I had any clue about endurance sports and paid attention).  The start was crowded, but opened up right out of the stadium parking lot and I had very few issues staying with the pace group I targeted.

Speaking of pace... for BQ, I would have had to been at 7:12ish minutes per mile.  I shot to stay with the 3:15 pace group and figured I could determine if I had a shot for a BQ.  If I felt good and could hang with them comfortably, I was going to calculate where I needed to make a break to catch up to 3:08.  If I wasn't feeling it, it would at least give me a good start to a sub 3:30, my backup goal.

And they are off!

Here's where it gets interesting.  Miles 1 to 6 I hung with the 3:15 group and was doing pretty good.  No wild heart rates, but the hills were pushing it to stay up with them.  Then, at mile 6 I needed a full bio break.  By full... I mean a sit down.  It was quick, but I lost the group and knew that if I tried to catch them, I'd be in the pain cave for the rest of the race.

I opted to drop back to 7:30ish pace.  Keep that 3:30 alive.  I felt good, but it was full effort to stay with 3:15 with no walk breaks.  BQ was not in the cards, and you know, I was ok with that.

Off I went with dreams of sub 3:30, until mile 12.  I opted to take a walk break at the aid station, take in some gel blasts, gatorade and walk for a moment to re-collect.  After that, my pace feel dramatically.  I was now 7:45 to 8 min/mile and knew I was going to have to dig a little to pull out a sub 3:30.

I targeted a walk break every 3 miles, which was what I did during training to take in hydration and nutrition.  Stop 18 was pushing it.  We had run some tough inclines and the course has ups and downs, but the overall trend was uphill from around 12 to 22 miles.  I was feeling it.  And, the sun decided to come out.  It was amazing how much difference there was in sun and shade in the temps.  Full sun was actually getting brutal.  We rounded a climb around the VA hospital and at the peak, it hit.  Cramps.

Sh*t.  Tires started going flat and rubber starting flying off and the wheels were holding on by a lug nut.  I had to stop, stretch and walk off left hamstring cramps.  My forearms were also cramping and that's when I realized I was covered in salt from my sweat.  I mean COVERED.  I was taking in gatorade at every station it was offered, but in moderation.  I avoided the sloshy/bloated gut situation, but at the expense of electrolyte depletion.

Would you like some salt for your margarita?

From 19ish miles to 22 it was a cramp fest.  Both hammys, arms, sides, and a full on right leg lock up at mile 22.  The only thing I could do was slam a banana, fluids and stand there and wait for it to subside.  After what seemed like forever, I started walking it off.  I actually got back to a decent trot and walked when I felt a cramp coming back.  I wasn't hearing the volunteers asking if I needed medical.  I could at least finish the damn race.

Sub 3:30 was out of the window.  Heck, sub 4 hours was in jeopardy.  My pride was the only thing that kept me moving to the finish line.  That, and the spectators giving walkers a hard time at the finish chute.  "It's only a few hundred feet, run it in!"  Ease up there cowboy.

It was a very painful conclusion to a great trip and experience.  I ended up with a 3:41:31, which is a new marathon PR by 7 minutes.  I was so aggravated with the cramps that I probably came off as dismissive about the accomplishment given my goals were so lofty.  But, when a race goes bad, you have to retreat and decide on what's attainable.

But, it embodied the mantra for the ASICS blogger team #BetterYourBest.  I may not have reached BQ time, but I did Better My Best by 7 minutes.  That in itself was a great accomplishment with a course that it no joke and some pretty nasty heat at the end.  Endless streams of ambulances were taking overheated runners to the hospital.  It was carnage, but I pulled it out.

It's in the books.  Marathon 7 and it was memorable.  Afterwards we got dinner down the street as a team and said our goodbyes.  We all headed our separate directions to resume our "normal lives".

Pretty cool bunch of people. Ignore the flashing by Shut Up and Run in the Front - she'd be ok with it.

ASICS LA Marathon - Epic

Dear hotel toilet, I'm sorry what I did to you post-race.

2013 KANSAS CITY MARATHON RECAP - 10/19/13

I need to get better organized with my approach to marathons...

"You've done been shrunk, tiny bladder!"

Oh ya... my bladder is way too small.

There's so many things that went right, but so many things to work on improving for marathon running.  Honestly, I approach the marathon as if it were a part of a triathlon.  Kind of systematic and utilizing aid stations and being patient and methodical.  I could cut out some time if I changed mentality a little bit and had a larger bladder.  Stopping 3 times to pee over 26.2 miles is no way to get to the finish line quickly.  Sure, you feel better without a full bladder, but I need to find that line where I'm hydrated enough to start and what I'm expending in sweat is enough to justify what I'm taking in.

Here's how I train...

Most of my long runs are 3 miles running and then stopping for water and recovery for 0.10 miles before the next 3 miles.  That keeps me pretty much at fluids every 30 minutes and every other stop is powerbar blasts or nutrition and water.  So, I'm on the 30 / 60 minute plan for fluids and nutrition.

Here's how I ran...

KC marathon aid stations were every 2ish miles.  So... that threw off my timing from training.  I decided to get fluids every other aid station and nutrition and water with a minor walk break on the other aid stations.  So, I was utilizing every aid station, but not walking every one of them.  It was a delicate balance of water with nutrition (either powerbar blasts or my home brew of hydration with extra suppliments) and gatorade on other stops.  GI upset is always on my mind and with the temps starting around freezing race morning and the high only forecasted around 45 degrees, I knew I would not be sweating off very much of the fluids I drank and I did not want a sloshing gut at mile 20.

The theme for the marathon was, less is more.  I was going to pace myself at 150 beats per minute, short choppy gate on the hills, and open it up on downhills after the major hill at 22 miles.

It seem to have worked.

With a new PR of 3:48:13, shaving around 4 minutes off my previous best.  It wasn't a monster PR, but it's always nice to do better with age.  It also met my expectations of getting under 3:50.  I thought I was going to have a chance at sub 3:45, but it just wasn't in the cards.

I did spend way too much time stopping at port-a-potties at aid stations, though.  My bladder was not on the same game plan as sweating was a non-issue with the low temps.  During the race, I drank appropriately to stay hydrated, but not have excess in the gut.  I didn't even thing I drank an excessive amount before the race, but obviously my bladder thought different.  It was nice as mostly the port-a-potties I did take breaks at had no lines and I was in and out.  And let me tell you, it's a huge relief to get that weight off your shoulders when you're running.  Nothing's more distracting than having to pee when running... well, maybe having to poop when running?

I did commit a major error by leaving my running gloves in a port-a-potty before the race.  Cleanliness is next to godliness, except when you forget to put your gloves back on after taking care of business.  They were cheap throw-aways, but I would have LOVED to had them for the entire race.  The shade and head wind was a little chilly.  I survived, but it would have been much more comfortable.  I realized it after getting to the start chute, and had 10 minutes to try and go back... but I wasn't really interested in waiting at the door and stalking the johns looking for my gloves.

It was cold.  I wore under armour long pants, shorts, under armour short sleeve undershirt, tech t-shirt, and arm warmers under a light long sleeve.  I was planning on tossing the long sleeve, but opted to keep it the entire race.  It worked out well until after I finished and realized the sweaty clothes were getting COLD just standing around.  I didn't really think I would need 3 layers, but I did.

Speaking of finish line... I was very heart broken to realize they had chocolate milk at the finish line, but were completely OUT by the time I got done.  And, it's not like I was last.  Someone didn't plan accordingly or all the 5k and half marathon people took more than their fair share.  That's all I wanted besides a banana... sure, they had BBQ and beer for finishers, but that just doesn't sound appealing to me after running a marathon.

Overall it was a great 4th year...

My marathon running has shown steady improvement after 4 years of KC and Northface marathons.  I've learned a lot from those races and from my Ironman race about perspective and training.  This was by far the best I felt immediately after a race.  Mentally cognizant, wasn't overly exhausted and was able to get to the car, change and get home with major cramping.

Heading home to switch gears to daddy and husband was pretty seamless, but Sunday was a little rough.  My body was a little angry at me, almost more so than after lake Tahoe.  I was moving and doing stuff all day, but my lower back, legs and knees were grumpy.

More than likely a combination of leftovers from Lake Tahoe and the impact of combing recovery and immediately turning around to race another long distance endurance event.

But, that's probably the end of the long course events for 2013.  Kind of sad, but kind of relaxing as well to change gears to focus on the other disciplines of triathlon, nutrition - and lots of it at Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Afterthoughts from 2013 Ironman Lake Tahoe

It's almost been 2 weeks since my last Ironman...

I'm slowly taking the 12 steps to get back to life and "normality", whatever that is these days.

In all seriousness, it does take some adjustment mentally and physically to move on from an Ironman race.  Less training volume.  You have to allow your body to recover before you work out like you normally would.  You could feel great, but your muscles are still in a fragile state.  Luckily, I've been checking out the Marc Pro for a product review and hopefully speeding up the process.

All and all, I was only sore maybe two days and swimming, biking and running 3 days after.  Granted, they were just workouts more for fun than a specific purpose.  Ride for an hour.  Swim for 2000 yards.  Run the kids to and from school in their running stroller.  Nothing super intense.

I am trying to get back into my pattern, but work picked up a little and adjusted my plans for me.

So what would I say to those wanting to race IMLT 2014?

Pack clothes for every occasion.  Could be cold, hot, windy, sunny, cloudy, snow, raining.... anything can blow in within a couple hours.

Pick a good place to stay.  We hit up Lake Tahoe Accommodations on the North Shore and the condo was within 10 minutes walking to the swim start.  It was great for practice swims and race morning.  I heard plenty of horror stories about how long it took some people to get to the start line from Squaw Valley using the shuttles WTC provided.

On the topic of clothing, start stocking up on cold weather throw-away gear.  I was finding all sorts of good deals for $5 vests and $10 jackets.  Moral of the story is that I would have not been sad to ditch clothes if I got too hot on the bike.

Be ready for cold.  Once that sun goes down, the temperature drops.  If you are going longer than 10 hours, you will be in the dark and cold.  Pack gloves and warm weather stash for the run special needs.

Ride a lot of hills.  If you do not live around the area, find hills and ride them, a lot.  Plan your training around having something left after the bike.  If you are focusing on killing the run and don't have the legs to get you through a brutal 112 miles, you're run training won't mean squat as you walk 26.2 miles.

Seriously check into compact cranks and climbing cassettes.  If you have mechanical issues like I did, it may not work out like you planned, but the climbs are the limiting factor.  You are not going to have miles of open road to hammer in high gear to make up time.

Bring neoprene caps and swim booties for the swim.  Don't leave skin exposed if you have problems being cold to begin with in the swim.

Get to the start early, in case you find your bike wet, covered in snow, ice or some other random issue.

Bring a "finish" mentality to the race.  Trying to hit a time goal is next to impossible.  There are so many factors with this location, if you are going to get worked up about things not going your way or your bike time taking longer than you planned, you might lose your grip and just hang it up at T2.

Break it up into small chunks.  Break each climb up and focus on getting to the next mile or aid station.  There's no shame in taking a bike break.  They have racks at aid stations to hang your bike, use the port-a-potty, grab some food, grab some drinks and stretch out.

What are my thoughts about my race and experience...?

Glad you asked.

This race was in a beautiful area.  The views distracted me from the shear awe inspiring concept I would be spending more than 14 hours going 140.6 miles in one day.

But, for a first time IM competitor, it was a doosy of a first choice.  All other races seem pedestrian now in comparison without altitude and 7500+ feet of elevation gain.  Now, there are some that heat plays a factor, wind and other elements, but you can count on multiple combinations at Tahoe.

It didn't burn me out and I'm looking forward to racing more Ironman distances.  My first marathon, I swore I would never race another one.  Now here I am slapping one on after 2.4 miles of swimming and 112 miles of biking.

I wish we would have schedule more time before and after.  There was enough interesting sites to bring kids, and find some fun family stuff to get in to.  Leaving the morning after, having to get up at 3am to pack and drive to Reno to fly out was brutal.  3 hour nap and them sprinting around at the speed of sound.  We were wiped out.  Plus, we missed any post-race activities on Monday like awards and other fun stuff.

Condos were the way to go.  We had ample space, full kitchen and easy access.  There's no dealing with hotel parking, elevators and a cramped hotel room.

Buying food in Reno worked out well.  We loaded up to eat in as much as possible and not live off going out to eat and spending a fortune, especially in a tourist area.

Even with pre-purchasing lodging, flights, rental car, bike transport and everything I could think of, we ended more than we wanted.  Nothing is free, and Ironman brand supports that concept.  We cheaped out on what we could with gear and I'm crossing my fingers that the finisher gear goes on sale at the end of the year since only 1700 people finished of 2700 registered.

In the end, I did the best I could with what I had.

Situations change and I've been through some job changes as well and family changes and as kids get older, they require more... of everything.  I was content that I found a solution to get the long workouts in being self employed during the week as not to impact family weekend plans, but I'm not sure of the longevity of that plan.

Things will change and I'm a little anxious and nervous about how Ironman Chattanooga is going to play out with training and being able to afford the adventure.  I pretty much made every long workout for IMLT, and only skipped or moved a few smaller workouts when schedules went wonky at times.  That's one reason I felt I completed Tahoe and didn't DNF or DNS.  Hopefully I can keep a good base into the winter and not have too much issue adding for IM Chattanooga.  Time will tell.

2013 Ironman Lake Tahoe Triathlon Race Recap - 9/22/13

It's been over a week post-race and the full report is long overdue...

But I don't want to bore you with details like what I ate, minute-by-minute description of the event, when i ate, what I ate, when I peed, when I poo'd or when I felt like dieing.

Instead, I'll take a look back at my preview "goals", address them and give you some high and low points of each section.

Precurser

Let me start off by saying, if you're not overly prepared for an Ironman race and any conditions that could come up on race day, you're not doing it right.

Lake Tahoe had:
2.4 miles of swimming in a clear lake at altitude - it could be 2 to 3 foot waves, windy, cold, sun in your face, snowing, raining... so be ready to tackle anything that comes your way.  Don't be defeated before you even step to the start line.  You are a DNF waiting to happen.

112 miles of 7500+ of elevation gain at altitude - on top of just riding 112 miles, it had 2 major climbs that we had to ride twice.  Be ready for cold, sun, heat, altitude, rain, snow and wind.

26.2 miles of running at altitude - the elevation profile was pretty tame, but after the bike course, if you didn't play your cards right, it will be a long 26.2 miles in sun, cold, dark, could be rain, snow, wind and maybe even bears.

Like a boyscout, I brought every piece of gear I thought I would need.  Cold weather, hot weather, rain, snow, wind... Tahoe could throw anything at you in an instant. Be ready.  I stocked up on throw-away bike clothes, planned special needs bags on the run for sunset and fast dropping temperatures... and so much more that I cannot even recall.  I was mentally ready for a 15 to 16 hour day on the course and determined that I will keep trudging on unless I was cramping, missed a cutoff or made to leave by the med staff.

Here are some other posts for the event:
Preview
Good and Bad Part 1
Good and Bad Part 2
Prelim Recap
Ironman Lake Tahoe Event Review

START

Let me say, having a condo within 10 minutes of walking to the start was awesome.  It was great waltzing in and having enough time to find out a spoke had busted on my rear wheel over night and getting to the bike tech for a new rear wheel.  More about the results of that on the bike section, but it pays to be OC to air your tires up one more time and have a tech notice a spoke just flopping around.  I knew something didn't sound right, but from freezing over night, I thought maybe some ice was in the wheel.  No... it was the nipple for the spoke flopping in the wheel.

Crisis averted.

After that, it was all port-a-potty stops, chillin in the visitor center in the heat and wearing my wetsuit from the moment I left the condo to getting into the water.

I was not interested in a "warm-up" swim.  The water was low 60's while the air was 30.  It was cold.  I hate being cold.  I wore swim jammers, full wetsuit, neoprene swim cap, race swim cap, ear plugs, swim booties and I was still freezing.  No need to be WET and COLD.

I did enjoy the rolling start as they corral you up and make you run under the start arch and enter the water.  A lot less contact (I assume, first IM) and you get going at your own pace.

SWIM : goal was 1:10, reality was 1:22:08

12 minutes over for my first guess at my first IM.  Not bad.  I hadn't accounted for how much sighting I would be doing over 2.4 miles of swimming.

So, while defending yourself against the onslaught of swimmers hitting, kicking, grabbing, going under and over you, I was sighting every 6 strokes in the sun and fog.  My lower back started to get taxed and my legs were getting somewhat crampy being cold and being unusually used on the swim to support sighting and fighting.

 Even with all of my gear, my hands were still ice and I was SOOOOOO cold.  So many times I found myself wishing I was done with the swim or at home in bed.  It was just a mental test to keep flapping my arms in the water to keep making progress.  Celebrate each buoy that I passed and not focus on where I was in the 2.4 miles.

Speaking of... rumor has it one buoy got lose and we swam a little extra.  No big deal, but some got 2.7 miles instead of 2.4.  Oh no, 0.3 more miles!  GASP!  ;)

T1 : 26:13

Yes, I spent 26 minutes in T1.

I knew I wanted to change ALL CLOTHING.  Riding a bike at 30 degrees in wet clothes is not a smart idea.  Well, the other 2700 triathletes had the same idea.  The changing tent was a mad house.  Naked men clamoring to get their clothes on EVERYWHERE.  I had to take about 10 minutes just to walk into the tent and find an open area.  After waiting 5 more minutes, a seat opened up.  10 more minutes and I was changed.  I've never experienced anything like that.

The tent was heated, but it was coming down in parts from people flailing everywhere.  It's been a long time being so cold.  I could not stop shaking, even after all my bike gear was on.

BIKE : goal was maybe 6:30ish, reality was 7:40:29 - 14.59 mph average.

Take what your goals are about riding 112 miles in an IM and just throw them out the window for this course.  The climbs in Northstar and the highway after that were insane.  Nothing in Kansas or Missouri compares.  3 to 5 miles of constant climbing, not just uphill. Out of your seat, mashing the pedals, breaks to stretch... I have never seen or heard of so many accomplished triathletes so broken after a bike leg.  Some people got to T2 and just quit.  They had nothing left.

So there I am in two pairs of socks, toe warmers with the air activated hand warmers in each toe warmer, under armour stretch underwear, tri shorts, biking shorts, tri top, sleeveless vest, arm warmers, biking jacket, bondi band under the helmet and heavy duty gloves on my hands.

They did offer a clothing drop for the excess gear when you got warmed up, but the only warm parts were the climbs and everything else was cold.  The high was around 60, and I kept EVERYTHING on but the gloves for the 112 miles.  You can't make this stuff up.

After hearing the war stories, I was pretty happy with my time.  I intended to go out steady and leave something for the run... and I did, but it took everything I had to get past the 4 major climbs.  I spun when I could, I coasted when I could, I stopped for bathroom and food breaks... it was survival after mile 35.

Items of note, the rear wheel replacement made it through the 112 miles, but it was a lower gearing than my race wheel which felt AWFUL on the climbs.  Normally I would have had an easier gear left, but the gearing left me with nothing.  Race saved, run legs demolished.

That left me with severe groin cramps at mile 70 starting round two of the climbs.  I hit a little climbing section at Truckee and bam, they hit.  I had to get off the bike, stretch, walk it off and hit the GATORLYTES (review coming) and bananas.  I had a little more downhill until the sever climbs started to get something in for the cramps.  Normally I have issues with excessive heat, but the shear amount of elevation gain had taxed my system to the limits.  Luckily I got it under control and pressed on to get to T2.

RUN : goal was around 4 hours, reality was 4:49:11 - 11:02 min/mile pace

Like I said, with this bike course, time goals go out of the window.

I knew I had ample time to complete the race, and in reality I felt pretty darn good considering wanting to quit at the last bike climb.  I had enough mojo to muster 8 min/mile for the first 6 miles, and then the wheels fell off.  Well, GI distress kicked in anyways.  That bloated and sloshing feeling kicked in.  Oh gas, my old friend.  My gut decided it was time to stop processing liquids (I only ate some PB at T2 and no other solids after that on the run).  It sloshed, it felt horrible and it was not helping my time.

Now, instead of pressing on and maybe heaving along the run path like a few others I saw, I opted to walk it off.  Take it down a notch, run 0.5, walk 0.1, which got me to the run special needs, my gloves and emergency mountain dew.

Oh yes, that nasty crap health nuts tell you causes cancer was my saving grace.

My hand were starting to freeze as dusk settled in, so I stretigically placed some awesome gloves in the SN bag and guzzled down my bottle of MD.

After walking a mile, burping up some gas and deposting some liquids at a few port-a-potties, I was moving at a brisk pace and feeling pretty good.

I passed a LOT of people walking or just slumping along.  You would be amazed at what a simple tweak can do to keep you going.  The run-walk I had going carried me through 13 more miles to the finish line.

FINISH : goal was 12 to 14 hours, reality was 14:25:02.

Ya, I might have made sub 14 with a quicker T1 and pushing harder on the run.  Lots of what-ifs and lessons out there.  The constant was that bike course.  It was a killer for this Kansas boy.  There was nothing I could have done, and even the best laid plans in gearing was thwarted by a busted spoke.  Maybe a compact crank, but who has the money and time?  Not me.

But, I was not racing for a Kona spot out there.  I was racing to finish and finish upright.

I recall some of the finish experience, but I was so inundated with the catcher, pictures, food, heated massage tent that I lost focus of trying to find my wife.

The finish line is pretty overwhelming, and it wasn't even that crowded.  It was a blur, and I recall most of it, but if anything was going on outside of the 1 foot circle around me, I had no idea.  The resort could have been on fire and if the volunteer didn't tell me, I would have missed it.

Looking back, it was a great experience minus the climbing on the bike.  I'm not good at climbing to begin with and it was straight carnage out there.

So much could have derailed me, but I pressed on through busted gear, cramps and GI issues to prove that if you break your goals down into itty bitty chunks, nothing is insurmountable.

Special thanks to...

My wife, Emily.  She had to grin and bear it more than her fair share as we muddled through what Ironman training looked like with work, kids and life.  Love you.

My family, Mom and Mother-In-Law.  When Emily wasn't able to overcompensate for my selfishness and training, they picked up the slack.

Thanks to Kokua Multisport for the guidance, TK Muscle Therapy for keeping me whole and Maximized Living in Olathe for keeping my spine right!

Bring on Ironman Chattanooga 2014!

I have sent out the challenge to friends and family to match my time per dollar to kick off fundraising for IM Chattanooga, Ride to Give and Mended Little Hearts. Please consider donating $14.25 to the cause to get me going and spread the word.

2013 Ironman Lake Tahoe Race Report - Part 1 - Reader's Digest Version - 9/22/13

So, I'm sure everyone is dieing to know how it all went down... 

Right now, I find myself just trying to catch up to reality of being back home, kids and work. Luckily training is non-existent while I recover. Hammies, quads, gluts and calves are mighty tender. That leaves me time to tackle kids (who inadvertantly knee you in the thigh while climbing on you causing immense pain), catch up at work and unpack.

But, to tide you over until I have time to relate all the excitement, I'll give you the reader's digest condensed summary.

	I posted about the highs and lows of being at race location. We arrived on Thursday morning for the Sunday race. It gave us time to acclimate, get checked in, get settled in and be less pressured with time constraints. Read part 1 and part 2.
As race day approached, it got more real with check-in, spending too much on Ironman gear, packing transition bags, special needs bags, bike prep, checking the bike in, dropping bags off and the athlete dinner Friday night. The food wasn't anything special, but Mike Reilley talking to the crowd and hanging out with a couple thousand triathletes and supporters was pretty awesome. They had some good inspirational videos to distract us from the forecasted rain on Saturday and cold temperatures Sunday.
	Before I knew it, race day was on us. It started at 26 degrees and moved up marginally from there until the high of maybe 60 in the afternoon. As soon as the sun set, it was COLD again. I planned on this and had everything I could think of to keep warm, and in reality that plan worked. What caught me off guard was a broken spoke on my rear wheel race morning. Luckily bike techs had a spare so I didn't have to subject myself to finding this out on the race course. I was having issues figuring out my athlete tracker device and my front bottle holder for the aero bars snapped a zip-tie that caused some frustrations. The swim was a rolling start, which meant we were in a corrall and funneled through the starting arch crossing the timing mat in the water. The swim was cold and physical. I didn't comprehend how much sighting for 2.4 miles would affect my back, arching up out of the water. Paying for it now. By the end I had lost feeling in my hands and my muscles were contracting to the point of cramping until the heated transition tents, naked bodies and full wardrobe change. I started cramping at mile 70 on the bike, heading back for round two of the mountain climbs from hell. Everyone knew it was going to be rough, and the course didn't disappoint. I rode easy trying to save anything for the run, but it took everything I had, anti-cramping supplements, bananas and stretching off the bike to get to the run. Cruising along until mile 8ish, GI stress started in. My gut stopped working and I was left with a sloshing stomach and bloated. It finaly subsided enough after special needs at mile 13, gloves and an emergency mountain dew to run 0.5, walk 0.1. That was my race strategy to the finish. Every 0.5 was a little trot with quick steps to keep moving, keep the body temp up and KEEP GETTING CLOSER TO THE FINISH LINE!
It was great to be done. I didn't hit any of my time "goals", but I hit my goal of finishing, which 20 percent of people that started the race did not. I wasn't in too bad of shape. I was wobbly and it was hard to find my wife, but after some food and sitting for a minute, I was back to packing my bike and gear to TBT back to KC, back to the condo, sleep for a bit (only 3 hours til we had to get up, pack and drive to Reno to fly out), get up and head for home.
	Officially I finished in 14:25:02. Swim : 1:22:08 - 1141 overall T1 : 26:13 Bike : 7:40:29 - 1237 overall T2 : 7:01 Run : 4:49:11 - 928 overall

Will I do another Ironman Triathlon? Yes, already signed up for IM Chattanooga 2014! Will I do Lake Tahoe again? Not in the immediate future. This probably was a one time thing to go out to Tahoe. Never say never, but it will take a while before I think about that bike course in a positive way.

Also, I have sent out the challenge to friends and family to match my time per dollar to kick off fundraising for IM Chattanooga, Ride to Give and Mended Little Hearts. Please consider donating $14.25 to the cause to get my going and spread the word. I'll be writing more on that as I get past recovery and back to "normal".