7 months ago
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The race itself!
So the full contact sport of open water swimming began! I just sorta moved forward as the fish in the front of the pack took off. When the gun started I was in the back but there were a ton of people behind me as well. I swam doggy, breast and free with my head up until I could get some space..... then I went to a free with my head in, would pull up quick to avoid people and search for space. In the first 300 meters I was kicked, swam over, squeezed out by people, hit with hands, elbows and fists. I would get a little space and then jam up....it was like a slinky for the first 1000 meters. The most damaging blows was a deadly accurate kick to my nuts and vicious kick to the face that knocked my goggles from their seal and left a noticeable slash across my face (I didn't notice until Ed pointed it out at the finish line). It was pretty cool though and I was trying to pick my spots...
I swam parallel to the edge of the wall and as the lake opened up to the right I somehow found myself up against the buoys and pulling left..... went of course a bit but not to bad...... The first left turn was a mad house and I just breast stroked through it....swam to the turn and was pumped to be on my way to the end of the swim. Found some good space here and swam the best I could..... I had a little trouble before we got back to the starting line..... this was the longest I have ever swam and conditions were tough..... I kept pushing though and got passed the bridges and could see the finish line...... I pushed hard...made that last left and headed to the line................So happy to get to the stairs....took me second to pull myself up once I latched on. (my watch read 1:30 ...a huge sucess for me but my official time is 1:32) A guy helped me up the stairs and directed me where to go because I had no idea...he explained that the wet suit strippers would get my wetsuit off and to sit down..... I was pretty disorientated and they pulled my suit off w/out me undoing my calf zippers...... I thought I was cold when I got out of the water.....that was nothing compared to when my wetsuit was off and I was just in my swim shorts. I starting shivering uncontrollably and was walking towards the transition tent...I started to jog to try and warm up.......got my bag and went into the tent..... the tent was a mad house!
Found a seat, sat down and ripped of my shorts and put biking shorts on...I wanted something dry on! I put the HR monitor strap on and my tri top.... I slowly put socks on and my shoes.....my ear flaps fell off again and I was so pissed.... it took me forever to get them back on since my hands were shaking. I took my time applied chamois again figuring it was a long day and a long transition was allowing me to get my sorts about me after that swim.... I finally made it out of transition and on my bike in 13:24. I know that is crazy long but o-well!
It took me about ten minutes on the bike to not be freezing anymore.... the sun was starting to really shine and was warming me up! I cruised out of town feeling pretty good but felt something pushing against me...almost a resistance....what the hell!...it was the wind that wasn't suppose to be there! It was at about this time I realized I had left my Garmin in my bag at the transition area. Not a horrible thing though b/c now I turned to pain threshold with my leg to gauge my effort. The wind was trying to push me back down the bee line but my will would not falter! I forged ahead, determined to get to that first turn around. Guys were flying coming back and I needed that boost to my morale.
About a mile from the turn around I noticed my brakes were scrapping the tire...great!...I had been cycling with resistance for 18 miles.... I stopped and fixed the brakes and felt stronger....at the turn around point I felt like I was unleashed and bolted down the beeline...at times I was hitting over 30MPH........ Back down in the city I navigated through the streets to complete my first loop.... and at the turn around Joanna Zeiger blasted by me! This was not the first nor the last time I was passed by a girl that day so my fragile male ego handled it well! First lap was 2:14:58...not good for 38 miles but I was still working it!
I pushed forward on my second lap and told myself I was feeling stronger b/c I was going faster up the beeline this time....in all actuality the wind had reversed and was now pushing us up the beeline.....50 Miles dropped quickly, I knew my average pace was slow but thought I would have energy in the last lap to "turn it on". I stopped to pee around mile 54. My legs felt so heavy though and there was just no pop. I also began to stress because I had planned for my special needs back at 3:00 (both bottles of perpetuem were 3:00 bottles) and wasn't going to get it until 4:00 b/c my time pace was so slow.... I reverted to gel and enduralytes until I got the bottle at special needs. I knew I wasn't going as fast down the beeline this time and just tried to push forward. Saw Chris McDonald and Chris Lieto flying through the course...was pretty cool. This lap finally ended at 2:20:27 and I pushed into the final lap just wanting the bike to be over.
I felt some twinging in the hammy this lap so I didn't push it. I had thought I would be faster the second 56 miles but it just didn't happen. My quads felt heavy and the hammy was not working for me but it was aching either so it was holding..... I wanted to make sure I finished so I didn't push it. I had to pee again during this lap but just held it..... I just kept grinding out those miles and my morale was sky high when I hit the final turn around... My strategy the entire bike was to brake it down into 6 lengths so during that finale length I definitely picked it up. Of course I had never gone over 90 miles in my life so hitting 100, 105, 110 and pulling in at 112 was a pretty significant accomplishments for me. That lap was 2:14:42 for a total bike time of 6:50:05...16.4 average pace... I had felt I would at least maintain 17MPH the entire time but just couldn't............my legs just didn't get it done but at least my hammy held and I made it through.... My nutrition was fine and my stomach felt good coming off the bike.... perpetuem, gel, eduralytes and water only.
I got of the bike and felt pretty damm fresh. I pulled my bike shoes off and jogged to get my bag, made a very quick transition, then spent almost a minute in the toilet peeing and was then off on the run course! (T2 4:21)
I had pop in my legs and my stide felt good.... I saw Meg as I left out on my first mile and waved. Ed's friend Lane came yelling at me and encouraging me to push on. I hit the lap button on my watch to track my run as best I could without my garmin (left in my swim to bike bag by mistake).... I believe I was at about 8:25 or so when I started the marathon. My nutrition plan was Gatorade at every station, gel every 30 minutes and water when needed for the run. My first mile was 8:30 which I know was way to fast and I brought it back down and averaged 8:45 the first two miles. I know, I know, this was too fast a start but without a Garmin I had trouble monitoring my pace. I was moving just fine but started to have stomach issues. I was trying to monitor my pace and knew I was running strong (physically at a 9:15 or so pace but it did seem to start slipping as my stomach worsened....
I saw Ed at my miles four or so and we passed encouragements...he looked great and was cruising. I stopped taking anything in at mile seven hoping that my stomach would settle..... I saw Meg at mile 8.5 (start of second lap) and again at mile 11.5 but my stomach was doing me in and beginning at mile 11 I started to get light headed.... I knew coming off that bridge I was in trouble. Initially I was thinking of running until my leg wouldn't let me anymore.....but my hammy never limited me on the run...then I was thinking a 4:00 marathon, then 4:30 as my stomach started to get bad and then I just thought about survival.
At the special needs run bag site at mile 12 (at that point I was 1:57 into the run) I sat down for second thinking I was going to pull my long sleeve shirt out but left it there, put my sun glasses and came to the conclusion that I better start taking in nutrition or I would DNF. So I walked up the hill telling myself walk the hills and run the flats and downhills...my stomach revolted and I was resigned to walk.
I took in water, Gatorade at the first aide station I came upon and never stopped walking, I then tried oranges and it was then a guy riding his bike by the run course started chatting with me.... he was a coach and monitoring 11 of his athletes out on the course. I explained to him my stomach issues and he told me I looked good physically and should try bananas and water since oranges and Gatorade may upset my stomach b/c of the acidity. He was very encouraging and told me I had made the right decision to walk so I could take in nutrition. He said 4 of his athletes had already fallen out of the race.... He made me feel better as I pushed on walking faster now. I drank water and had a banana piece at every rests stop. I was determined as ever to finish and stating that last lap was tremendous for my morale.
I walked the rest of that second lap and when I got past aide station number one I saw a 72 YO and 56YO guy walking and talking and then I saw them jog. It motivated me to try jogging......my stomach revolted and I started to walk again..... I tried it again on the other side of the bridge on the downhill and felt OK.... I then started walking two light posts and jogging one, I progressed to one and one, then jog two, walk one and then jog three and walk one...... I continued to play this game making sure I walk up every hill, ran down all hills and walk/ ran the flats..... while listening to my stomach.... I still ate bananas, drank water and tried some other stuff but my stomach never really settled.... but I was no longer light headed.
I kept passing the same people and then they would pass me..... heading to the back side I knew there were only 5 miles left..not sure of my exact time but realized I needed to push it if I was going to brake 14:00. Kept run/walking while managing the stomach. At mile 4, I somehow calculated that there was no chance I could brake 14:00...my morale was crushed but I still was determined to get the finish.
Somewhere on the back side of that course in the span of about 5 minutes two things happened................ The first was that I hit the three mile mark at 13:20 and realized I had 40 minutes for the last 3.2 miles in order to brake into the 13:00s. The second was a girl who I had been passing and being passed by started walking faster and then ran up the biggest hill on the course...as she passed me I said "great job: and she replied "thanks, have a good race" as she pushed ahead of me!.....right, I know......like I wasn't going to see her again! Can you believe that? I should thank her though b/c those two incidents pushed me over the edge.
At the top of the hill I ran all the way to the aide station at the bottom...it was my longest spurt yet. I got some nutrition and started run/ walking again. I caught her at mile 23 and then buried her as my running became faster and my walking became shorter. As I crossed the final bridge I knew I would brake the 14:00 mark and was wondering if I could brake 13:50. I ran a almost the entire finale stretch to the swim start ignoring all aide stations. I walked about 25 feet before the bridges for my finale spurt to the finish. At the fork in the road I was thrilled to be going left towards the finisher shoot. I bolted to the finish line not realizing just how far it was and that it was up a small hill....it took everything I had not to puke as I was running but I crossed that line running!... a women handed me a blanket and I refused at first telling her how hot I was and then puked at the finish line....nothing came up though as I looked at the volunteer and just smiled saying "nothing in there!".
She determined that I was OK, by this time I wanted the blanket, saw Meg and went to over to her...Ed and summer were there waiting for me as well.
Awesome sense of accomplishment. While I was out there I told myself I would never do this again. Of course if you know me you know I am full of crap! I love the pain and suffering...... I thrive in it!
If your still reading this, thanks for all your support and encouragement through the past year. I look forward to getting healthy and coming out strong next year!
I swam parallel to the edge of the wall and as the lake opened up to the right I somehow found myself up against the buoys and pulling left..... went of course a bit but not to bad...... The first left turn was a mad house and I just breast stroked through it....swam to the turn and was pumped to be on my way to the end of the swim. Found some good space here and swam the best I could..... I had a little trouble before we got back to the starting line..... this was the longest I have ever swam and conditions were tough..... I kept pushing though and got passed the bridges and could see the finish line...... I pushed hard...made that last left and headed to the line................So happy to get to the stairs....took me second to pull myself up once I latched on. (my watch read 1:30 ...a huge sucess for me but my official time is 1:32) A guy helped me up the stairs and directed me where to go because I had no idea...he explained that the wet suit strippers would get my wetsuit off and to sit down..... I was pretty disorientated and they pulled my suit off w/out me undoing my calf zippers...... I thought I was cold when I got out of the water.....that was nothing compared to when my wetsuit was off and I was just in my swim shorts. I starting shivering uncontrollably and was walking towards the transition tent...I started to jog to try and warm up.......got my bag and went into the tent..... the tent was a mad house!
Found a seat, sat down and ripped of my shorts and put biking shorts on...I wanted something dry on! I put the HR monitor strap on and my tri top.... I slowly put socks on and my shoes.....my ear flaps fell off again and I was so pissed.... it took me forever to get them back on since my hands were shaking. I took my time applied chamois again figuring it was a long day and a long transition was allowing me to get my sorts about me after that swim.... I finally made it out of transition and on my bike in 13:24. I know that is crazy long but o-well!
It took me about ten minutes on the bike to not be freezing anymore.... the sun was starting to really shine and was warming me up! I cruised out of town feeling pretty good but felt something pushing against me...almost a resistance....what the hell!...it was the wind that wasn't suppose to be there! It was at about this time I realized I had left my Garmin in my bag at the transition area. Not a horrible thing though b/c now I turned to pain threshold with my leg to gauge my effort. The wind was trying to push me back down the bee line but my will would not falter! I forged ahead, determined to get to that first turn around. Guys were flying coming back and I needed that boost to my morale.
About a mile from the turn around I noticed my brakes were scrapping the tire...great!...I had been cycling with resistance for 18 miles.... I stopped and fixed the brakes and felt stronger....at the turn around point I felt like I was unleashed and bolted down the beeline...at times I was hitting over 30MPH........ Back down in the city I navigated through the streets to complete my first loop.... and at the turn around Joanna Zeiger blasted by me! This was not the first nor the last time I was passed by a girl that day so my fragile male ego handled it well! First lap was 2:14:58...not good for 38 miles but I was still working it!
I pushed forward on my second lap and told myself I was feeling stronger b/c I was going faster up the beeline this time....in all actuality the wind had reversed and was now pushing us up the beeline.....50 Miles dropped quickly, I knew my average pace was slow but thought I would have energy in the last lap to "turn it on". I stopped to pee around mile 54. My legs felt so heavy though and there was just no pop. I also began to stress because I had planned for my special needs back at 3:00 (both bottles of perpetuem were 3:00 bottles) and wasn't going to get it until 4:00 b/c my time pace was so slow.... I reverted to gel and enduralytes until I got the bottle at special needs. I knew I wasn't going as fast down the beeline this time and just tried to push forward. Saw Chris McDonald and Chris Lieto flying through the course...was pretty cool. This lap finally ended at 2:20:27 and I pushed into the final lap just wanting the bike to be over.
I felt some twinging in the hammy this lap so I didn't push it. I had thought I would be faster the second 56 miles but it just didn't happen. My quads felt heavy and the hammy was not working for me but it was aching either so it was holding..... I wanted to make sure I finished so I didn't push it. I had to pee again during this lap but just held it..... I just kept grinding out those miles and my morale was sky high when I hit the final turn around... My strategy the entire bike was to brake it down into 6 lengths so during that finale length I definitely picked it up. Of course I had never gone over 90 miles in my life so hitting 100, 105, 110 and pulling in at 112 was a pretty significant accomplishments for me. That lap was 2:14:42 for a total bike time of 6:50:05...16.4 average pace... I had felt I would at least maintain 17MPH the entire time but just couldn't............my legs just didn't get it done but at least my hammy held and I made it through.... My nutrition was fine and my stomach felt good coming off the bike.... perpetuem, gel, eduralytes and water only.
I got of the bike and felt pretty damm fresh. I pulled my bike shoes off and jogged to get my bag, made a very quick transition, then spent almost a minute in the toilet peeing and was then off on the run course! (T2 4:21)
I had pop in my legs and my stide felt good.... I saw Meg as I left out on my first mile and waved. Ed's friend Lane came yelling at me and encouraging me to push on. I hit the lap button on my watch to track my run as best I could without my garmin (left in my swim to bike bag by mistake).... I believe I was at about 8:25 or so when I started the marathon. My nutrition plan was Gatorade at every station, gel every 30 minutes and water when needed for the run. My first mile was 8:30 which I know was way to fast and I brought it back down and averaged 8:45 the first two miles. I know, I know, this was too fast a start but without a Garmin I had trouble monitoring my pace. I was moving just fine but started to have stomach issues. I was trying to monitor my pace and knew I was running strong (physically at a 9:15 or so pace but it did seem to start slipping as my stomach worsened....
I saw Ed at my miles four or so and we passed encouragements...he looked great and was cruising. I stopped taking anything in at mile seven hoping that my stomach would settle..... I saw Meg at mile 8.5 (start of second lap) and again at mile 11.5 but my stomach was doing me in and beginning at mile 11 I started to get light headed.... I knew coming off that bridge I was in trouble. Initially I was thinking of running until my leg wouldn't let me anymore.....but my hammy never limited me on the run...then I was thinking a 4:00 marathon, then 4:30 as my stomach started to get bad and then I just thought about survival.
At the special needs run bag site at mile 12 (at that point I was 1:57 into the run) I sat down for second thinking I was going to pull my long sleeve shirt out but left it there, put my sun glasses and came to the conclusion that I better start taking in nutrition or I would DNF. So I walked up the hill telling myself walk the hills and run the flats and downhills...my stomach revolted and I was resigned to walk.
I took in water, Gatorade at the first aide station I came upon and never stopped walking, I then tried oranges and it was then a guy riding his bike by the run course started chatting with me.... he was a coach and monitoring 11 of his athletes out on the course. I explained to him my stomach issues and he told me I looked good physically and should try bananas and water since oranges and Gatorade may upset my stomach b/c of the acidity. He was very encouraging and told me I had made the right decision to walk so I could take in nutrition. He said 4 of his athletes had already fallen out of the race.... He made me feel better as I pushed on walking faster now. I drank water and had a banana piece at every rests stop. I was determined as ever to finish and stating that last lap was tremendous for my morale.
I walked the rest of that second lap and when I got past aide station number one I saw a 72 YO and 56YO guy walking and talking and then I saw them jog. It motivated me to try jogging......my stomach revolted and I started to walk again..... I tried it again on the other side of the bridge on the downhill and felt OK.... I then started walking two light posts and jogging one, I progressed to one and one, then jog two, walk one and then jog three and walk one...... I continued to play this game making sure I walk up every hill, ran down all hills and walk/ ran the flats..... while listening to my stomach.... I still ate bananas, drank water and tried some other stuff but my stomach never really settled.... but I was no longer light headed.
I kept passing the same people and then they would pass me..... heading to the back side I knew there were only 5 miles left..not sure of my exact time but realized I needed to push it if I was going to brake 14:00. Kept run/walking while managing the stomach. At mile 4, I somehow calculated that there was no chance I could brake 14:00...my morale was crushed but I still was determined to get the finish.
Somewhere on the back side of that course in the span of about 5 minutes two things happened................ The first was that I hit the three mile mark at 13:20 and realized I had 40 minutes for the last 3.2 miles in order to brake into the 13:00s. The second was a girl who I had been passing and being passed by started walking faster and then ran up the biggest hill on the course...as she passed me I said "great job: and she replied "thanks, have a good race" as she pushed ahead of me!.....right, I know......like I wasn't going to see her again! Can you believe that? I should thank her though b/c those two incidents pushed me over the edge.
At the top of the hill I ran all the way to the aide station at the bottom...it was my longest spurt yet. I got some nutrition and started run/ walking again. I caught her at mile 23 and then buried her as my running became faster and my walking became shorter. As I crossed the final bridge I knew I would brake the 14:00 mark and was wondering if I could brake 13:50. I ran a almost the entire finale stretch to the swim start ignoring all aide stations. I walked about 25 feet before the bridges for my finale spurt to the finish. At the fork in the road I was thrilled to be going left towards the finisher shoot. I bolted to the finish line not realizing just how far it was and that it was up a small hill....it took everything I had not to puke as I was running but I crossed that line running!... a women handed me a blanket and I refused at first telling her how hot I was and then puked at the finish line....nothing came up though as I looked at the volunteer and just smiled saying "nothing in there!".
She determined that I was OK, by this time I wanted the blanket, saw Meg and went to over to her...Ed and summer were there waiting for me as well.
Awesome sense of accomplishment. While I was out there I told myself I would never do this again. Of course if you know me you know I am full of crap! I love the pain and suffering...... I thrive in it!
If your still reading this, thanks for all your support and encouragement through the past year. I look forward to getting healthy and coming out strong next year!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
IM Arizona 2008 race report
I slept good on Saturday night. Meg and I went to dinner with Ed and Summer at PF Changes and I was asleep by 9:00PM. I awoke at 0340. What I didn't mention before is that I was having my typical digestive issues and had taken four digestive "assistance" pills the day before and spent 1/2 the early evening on the toilet. It seemed to work in my favor though as I was able to take care of business that morning and I felt fine.
That morning I ate:
2X ensure (500 calories)
1 cup of coffee (50 calories)
1 Kashi bar (190 calories)
1 Banana
Water
Ed had suggested a liquid breakfast so I tried to follow suit as best as possible. I had put my stuff together the night before so I was ready to go that morning. I grabbed my two frozen Perpetuem bottles from the freezer right before I left the room. (Both Ed and I froze both bottles but wrapped one in a towel and place it in ice for our bike special needs bag.... would recommend one or the other.... it was cold right away but warm up pretty quick...do not need to wrap it in an "ice" towel and put it on ice in a plastic bag..too hard to unwrap during the race)
Ed and I rolled and arrived a little before 5:00AM. We parked across the street in the garage and made our way to our bikes. We had to stage our bikes the day before so I checked my bike (Lucy was fine), put my first bottle of perpetuem in a cage, extra enduralytes, some race cap supreme pills Ed gave me and some 800MG Motrin, 1 Hammer flask and then just sorta surveyed the area................ incredible to take in all these awesome bikes and sleek looking athletes!
I then went to the transition bags with Ed to place some stuff. IM race are different than all the races I have done in that you transition not on your towel but with a pre-positioned bag that is handed to you and you make your transition in a tent. In my swim to bike bag I put:
tri shoes
socks
biking shorts
tri top
Aero Helmet
Sunglasses
Chamois Cream
HR Strap
Garmin 301
In my bike to run bag I place:
socks
Newton Running shoes
Hat
visor
I then hit my special need bags and placed:
Bike:
Frozen bottle of perpetuem in the bag of ice
Run:
long sleeve shirt
hammer flask
I pumped up my tired to 155 (Max pressure is 165 but I wanted to play it safe with the expansion of the tires). I sat for a while... arranged my stuff....chatted with a few folks and then as time got near I put my wet suit on....I was freezing though as the ground was very cold... I dropped my bag with all the cloths I had been wearing and went to find Ed. He was still in his socks so I used his shoes to keep my feet of the ground..... his buddy Joel found us and we finally made that finale journey toward the water's edge. We looked for Summer and Meg but couldn't find them... I was watching everyone just jump into the lake it all seemed so confusing and the announcer was saying we had only five minutes to the race started....
I started to get nervous and knew I want some time to get acclimated to the water....we edges ourselves towards the water and we sashayed ourselves onto the dock like structure...lost track of Ed and Joel. Heard the announcer say three minutes to the star and I jumped into the water!......................so cold! Moved forward..not sure what stroke you would call it to the start line. Had no clue where Joel and Ed were....we all had blue caps swim caps on! Saw some smart folks on the edge of the lake holding on to the side and envied them for being so sly.... Was trying to get orientated and I my heart dropped as I heard the loud boom of the starting gun go off as a foot came out of no where and wrapped me in the left leg and before I knew it I was moving forward! Please, if you have never experience what I am about to describe..... go to Utube and punch in IM AZ swim start and watch the video...it is crazy! I will try to describe it but you have to just watch it to appreciate it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUC2qDrg-Lk
Here are a couple pictures of Ed and I putting our stickers on the bike....
Will finish the rest tomorrow and post pictures from the race!
IM AZ in reflection
1st you should all know that I am starting this race report Wednesday night and am drinking from my M Dot pint glass... it is full of Harpoon Winter Ale!
Although I have an M dot pint glass and IM AZ coffee mug I will not be getting the M Dot Tattoo.... I prefer to be more subtle with my bravado but could not resist a small M-Dot sticker for my car! (no offense to all that have that tattoo b/c you deserve to artfully place that symbol of pride on your body forever!)
With that said I will tell you that I have an overall sense of accomplishment and feeling of pride for grinding though my first IM. I am proud of "soldiering though" my injuries, gaining the IM experience and making some good decisions on race day in order to accomplish my ultimate goal of finishing. While I know I have a low 12:00 in my body... I am at peace with a sub 14:00 finish. Arizona was awesome, my buddy Ed had a sub 11:00 finish, the race was a one crazy day for me and the trip was one hell of an experience.
I am going to write a race report now............might take me a day or so to give the experience the proper retrospect so be patient!
Although I have an M dot pint glass and IM AZ coffee mug I will not be getting the M Dot Tattoo.... I prefer to be more subtle with my bravado but could not resist a small M-Dot sticker for my car! (no offense to all that have that tattoo b/c you deserve to artfully place that symbol of pride on your body forever!)
With that said I will tell you that I have an overall sense of accomplishment and feeling of pride for grinding though my first IM. I am proud of "soldiering though" my injuries, gaining the IM experience and making some good decisions on race day in order to accomplish my ultimate goal of finishing. While I know I have a low 12:00 in my body... I am at peace with a sub 14:00 finish. Arizona was awesome, my buddy Ed had a sub 11:00 finish, the race was a one crazy day for me and the trip was one hell of an experience.
I am going to write a race report now............might take me a day or so to give the experience the proper retrospect so be patient!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
13:50:45
It wasn't pretty but I made it! I am flying back to NC this morning and will post a race report later this week!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
In Arizona
I am know officially checked into the race! I am the proud wearer of a silver bracelet!
Arrived yesterday, got the rental and waited for Ed to get in from Seattle. We went and drove the bike course and then went to his buddy Joel's work and then to his home. We ran 54 minutes...not sure the distance but definitely over 6 miles....hammy felt OK, not great...not sure if the run was smart but right now I feel OK so who knows..... the run wasn't taxing for me though so....... Grabbed some dinner and racked out.
I slept pretty good but woke about 0400 (0600 my time) and had thoughts about the race running through my head...nodded back off and got some more sleep.
We rolled to the race site for a swim, check in and bike pick up..... pretty cool walking up to the swim start and Andy Potts was there giving swim instructions..... starting taking out my stuff and realized I had forgotten a swim cap....walked around and found out that we didn't need one and was putting on my wetsuit when an older women asked me for some anti- chaffing aides..... normally I wouldn't share my stick of body glide with an unknown but she had a cool accent and was real sweet.... they were from the Netherlands and were very nice..... she gave me a really nice swim cap from her Dutch Tri club when I mentioned I didn't have one with me..... very nice couple.
The water was cold! I think we swam about 1000 meters or so just trying to get our bearing and sighting.....also trying to understand the course and identify some sighting points..... weird but sometimes I felt great out there others times it felt so weird.... tons of people out there swimming in every direction did not help! Its funny though the distance didn't freak me out like I thought it would..... we'll see race day though!
Saw they were giving out massages so I got some work on my leg/hip and buttocks..... Joel has this thing called a DMS (Deep muscle stimulator that I have been using that just kicks ass) the leg felt good after the work.......... we changed and talked with a female pro triathlete and her husband (name I will remember later) and then walked by in the in and out sport tent and spied my Lucy in the bike rack calling my name....
Line way too big for check in so we browsed the tents... I bought Meg something.... and then we got back in line... I checked in (rather seamlessly) and then went to the Community Fund Section to get the additional paraphernalia you receive for paying all that extra money.. (thank god for the Bush rebate checks last spring).. Got a sweet running jacket, LS shirt and visor. I then went and freed Lucy from the clutches of the bike racks.
Joel took her home and Ed and I went and grabbed some lunch. We returned after lunch and Ed got his bike out of tri bike transport. We ran some errands and headed back to Joels to check out the bikes.... I noticed there was some play in my top tube/ front fork area..... not sure how this could have happened but not stressing about it... I made some cosmetic changes to the bike and we went on about a 15 mile ride stopping at the bike shop to get Lucy fixed. It took the dude like 30 second to fix and we went cruising.... Ave pace was good and I even picked it up once to 30MPH on the flats. Still not sure about the hanmmy but we will wait and see.
Had dinner with some of Ed's friends tonight..... I am pretty damm tired tonight. We are planning a light swim tomorrow (all the buoys will be up) and another message on the leg. We have the pre race meeting and Meg gets in at 5:00 PM. Will report in when I can and take some pictures tomorrow for posting.
Arrived yesterday, got the rental and waited for Ed to get in from Seattle. We went and drove the bike course and then went to his buddy Joel's work and then to his home. We ran 54 minutes...not sure the distance but definitely over 6 miles....hammy felt OK, not great...not sure if the run was smart but right now I feel OK so who knows..... the run wasn't taxing for me though so....... Grabbed some dinner and racked out.
I slept pretty good but woke about 0400 (0600 my time) and had thoughts about the race running through my head...nodded back off and got some more sleep.
We rolled to the race site for a swim, check in and bike pick up..... pretty cool walking up to the swim start and Andy Potts was there giving swim instructions..... starting taking out my stuff and realized I had forgotten a swim cap....walked around and found out that we didn't need one and was putting on my wetsuit when an older women asked me for some anti- chaffing aides..... normally I wouldn't share my stick of body glide with an unknown but she had a cool accent and was real sweet.... they were from the Netherlands and were very nice..... she gave me a really nice swim cap from her Dutch Tri club when I mentioned I didn't have one with me..... very nice couple.
The water was cold! I think we swam about 1000 meters or so just trying to get our bearing and sighting.....also trying to understand the course and identify some sighting points..... weird but sometimes I felt great out there others times it felt so weird.... tons of people out there swimming in every direction did not help! Its funny though the distance didn't freak me out like I thought it would..... we'll see race day though!
Saw they were giving out massages so I got some work on my leg/hip and buttocks..... Joel has this thing called a DMS (Deep muscle stimulator that I have been using that just kicks ass) the leg felt good after the work.......... we changed and talked with a female pro triathlete and her husband (name I will remember later) and then walked by in the in and out sport tent and spied my Lucy in the bike rack calling my name....
Line way too big for check in so we browsed the tents... I bought Meg something.... and then we got back in line... I checked in (rather seamlessly) and then went to the Community Fund Section to get the additional paraphernalia you receive for paying all that extra money.. (thank god for the Bush rebate checks last spring).. Got a sweet running jacket, LS shirt and visor. I then went and freed Lucy from the clutches of the bike racks.
Joel took her home and Ed and I went and grabbed some lunch. We returned after lunch and Ed got his bike out of tri bike transport. We ran some errands and headed back to Joels to check out the bikes.... I noticed there was some play in my top tube/ front fork area..... not sure how this could have happened but not stressing about it... I made some cosmetic changes to the bike and we went on about a 15 mile ride stopping at the bike shop to get Lucy fixed. It took the dude like 30 second to fix and we went cruising.... Ave pace was good and I even picked it up once to 30MPH on the flats. Still not sure about the hanmmy but we will wait and see.
Had dinner with some of Ed's friends tonight..... I am pretty damm tired tonight. We are planning a light swim tomorrow (all the buoys will be up) and another message on the leg. We have the pre race meeting and Meg gets in at 5:00 PM. Will report in when I can and take some pictures tomorrow for posting.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Flying tomorrow morning.
I am leaving work at lunchtime to get my affairs in order. I fly tomorrow. Not sure if I'll be able to but will try to post some updates while in Arizona.
I stopped working out last Friday with the intent of maximizing the healing process in my body. I swam on Sat, nothing on Sun, Yoga on Mon and am doing Yoga today at 1200.
Not sure how the leg feels.......sometimes good other times not great...... we shall see!
I am not nervous yet...might have to do with me lessening my expectations upon myself...maybe that is a good thing? Again, my only goal is to finish....anything more than that is just icing.
I stopped working out last Friday with the intent of maximizing the healing process in my body. I swam on Sat, nothing on Sun, Yoga on Mon and am doing Yoga today at 1200.
Not sure how the leg feels.......sometimes good other times not great...... we shall see!
I am not nervous yet...might have to do with me lessening my expectations upon myself...maybe that is a good thing? Again, my only goal is to finish....anything more than that is just icing.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
My Day!
How nice of the Government to set aside a day to celebrate me! Why did I get up at 0600 if this is my day?
Last week:
Wed:
PM: Yoga
Thurs:
AM: Swam 3800 yards........longest ever.....epic swim...couldn't pull the last 200 more but o-well... so tired at the end! Shld felt great though after swim!
Lunch: 60 min ride
PM: Yoga.....did some crazy ass extension that hurt my shoulder...great, I get hurt at Yoga!...shoulder still not right
Fri: Core/ weights
Sat: rode 2:56, 52 miles...bit more spirited than my norm
Sun: Rode 1:04.....pretty sure it was 19.3 but clock said 18.3...confused/..going to verify this afternoon
-swam a bit in the afternoon but my shoulder hurt.
Mon: Yoga X2 sessions
Tues: Yoga/ core
Drove to Cary to drop of my bike yesterday. Also sent a bag with, so was scrambling around the house yesterday morning before Yoga throwing it together!
Strategy this week: Run, swim, bike X2 this week........no huge effort.....maybe 2- 2 1/2 this weekend on the bike. Rest and try to heal for next Sunday....yes thats right I said next Sunday! I feel better and am going to try the strategy of resting this hamstring/ glute muscles as much as possible over the next two weeks.
I realize that running long this weekend will not do anything for me......the fitness I have is what I have..........I would rather heal and try to save it all for IM.... I am going to run tomorrow to see how it feels while running...every day it seems a bit better but haven't run on it in three weeks. I am hoping my shoulder feels better as well by tomorrow.
Last week:
Wed:
PM: Yoga
Thurs:
AM: Swam 3800 yards........longest ever.....epic swim...couldn't pull the last 200 more but o-well... so tired at the end! Shld felt great though after swim!
Lunch: 60 min ride
PM: Yoga.....did some crazy ass extension that hurt my shoulder...great, I get hurt at Yoga!...shoulder still not right
Fri: Core/ weights
Sat: rode 2:56, 52 miles...bit more spirited than my norm
Sun: Rode 1:04.....pretty sure it was 19.3 but clock said 18.3...confused/..going to verify this afternoon
-swam a bit in the afternoon but my shoulder hurt.
Mon: Yoga X2 sessions
Tues: Yoga/ core
Drove to Cary to drop of my bike yesterday. Also sent a bag with, so was scrambling around the house yesterday morning before Yoga throwing it together!
Strategy this week: Run, swim, bike X2 this week........no huge effort.....maybe 2- 2 1/2 this weekend on the bike. Rest and try to heal for next Sunday....yes thats right I said next Sunday! I feel better and am going to try the strategy of resting this hamstring/ glute muscles as much as possible over the next two weeks.
I realize that running long this weekend will not do anything for me......the fitness I have is what I have..........I would rather heal and try to save it all for IM.... I am going to run tomorrow to see how it feels while running...every day it seems a bit better but haven't run on it in three weeks. I am hoping my shoulder feels better as well by tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Last ditch efforts to get healthy
Mon PM:Yoga
Tues AM: 2200 Yards
Lunch: Rode 16 miles with one of my Lieutenant who just bought his first bike. Pace was at a snail but my leg wasn't feeling great so that was fine.... we had to stop a couple times so I could make some adjustments on his bike. He did the right thing though and bought a nice bike instead of going cheap......will be good to have someone at work to ride with once he gets some time in the saddle.
Wed: Aqua jogged 40 Min and then did Yoga right after.
Last night I spent almost five hours at Gregg's house getting my bike fitted w/ the RETUL system and the following:
-Range of Motion Assessment
-Muscle and Pelvic Asymmetry Assessment
-Foot and Arch Assessment
-Prescribed Body Balance Exercises
-Prescribed Physical Therapy Exercises to Address Pelvic Asymmetry
-Core and Yoga Exercises
-Prescribed Self Treatment Techniques for Myofascial Release and Trigger Point Therapy
If you are interested I have Gregg's link on the blog.
Prognosis: Bike fit way to aggressive.......not comfortable. Moved my Aero bars in, moved my cleats back, took out the shim in my right left side, moved my handlebars, flipped the stem, and lessened the angle on my saddle so I don't slide of the bike anymore. I am chopping at the pedals, I am inflexible, Pelvic is not aligned which causes my legs not to align perfectly when bent and I have a neutral foot.
Gregg, thinks my problem may lie in my buttocks area and I may have some myofascial tissue in the hammy. The butt is where, when I apply pressure there is a tremendous amount of pain...not in the hammy...they hammy is a result of the symmetry issue in the pelvic region. I just returned from the store where I bought a softball and baseball to use as a rudimentary tool for trigger release until I order something better. I am considering a few options. I will start the PT exercises he prescribed tonight.
Today my hammy feels great but my hip hurts......... Gregg said there would be discomfort if I can brake up that myofascial tissue...I hope that is what is happening.
I am doing away with pain relievers...no mas! My dream is for all this stuff to fix me and me be 100% right before IM.... I am a realistic though but I can't hope that it helps heal me a bit so I can at least complete the journey.
Let this be a lesson to you all..........get flexible and work on your posture now before you end up like me! I am making a civilian Chiropractor appointment to get the pelvic thing realigned.........it takes 21 days to see a military chiropractor......this my friends is the downfall of socialized medicine!
Tues AM: 2200 Yards
Lunch: Rode 16 miles with one of my Lieutenant who just bought his first bike. Pace was at a snail but my leg wasn't feeling great so that was fine.... we had to stop a couple times so I could make some adjustments on his bike. He did the right thing though and bought a nice bike instead of going cheap......will be good to have someone at work to ride with once he gets some time in the saddle.
Wed: Aqua jogged 40 Min and then did Yoga right after.
Last night I spent almost five hours at Gregg's house getting my bike fitted w/ the RETUL system and the following:
-Range of Motion Assessment
-Muscle and Pelvic Asymmetry Assessment
-Foot and Arch Assessment
-Prescribed Body Balance Exercises
-Prescribed Physical Therapy Exercises to Address Pelvic Asymmetry
-Core and Yoga Exercises
-Prescribed Self Treatment Techniques for Myofascial Release and Trigger Point Therapy
If you are interested I have Gregg's link on the blog.
Prognosis: Bike fit way to aggressive.......not comfortable. Moved my Aero bars in, moved my cleats back, took out the shim in my right left side, moved my handlebars, flipped the stem, and lessened the angle on my saddle so I don't slide of the bike anymore. I am chopping at the pedals, I am inflexible, Pelvic is not aligned which causes my legs not to align perfectly when bent and I have a neutral foot.
Gregg, thinks my problem may lie in my buttocks area and I may have some myofascial tissue in the hammy. The butt is where, when I apply pressure there is a tremendous amount of pain...not in the hammy...they hammy is a result of the symmetry issue in the pelvic region. I just returned from the store where I bought a softball and baseball to use as a rudimentary tool for trigger release until I order something better. I am considering a few options. I will start the PT exercises he prescribed tonight.
Today my hammy feels great but my hip hurts......... Gregg said there would be discomfort if I can brake up that myofascial tissue...I hope that is what is happening.
I am doing away with pain relievers...no mas! My dream is for all this stuff to fix me and me be 100% right before IM.... I am a realistic though but I can't hope that it helps heal me a bit so I can at least complete the journey.
Let this be a lesson to you all..........get flexible and work on your posture now before you end up like me! I am making a civilian Chiropractor appointment to get the pelvic thing realigned.........it takes 21 days to see a military chiropractor......this my friends is the downfall of socialized medicine!
Monday, November 3, 2008
20 days and counting!
Sitting on the couch yesterday drinking a beer I realized that in three weeks I would be enduring the most pain I have ever felt in my life............ I had my first dream about Ironman on Saturday.....can't remember the details but I think I will be having more of them in the next few weeks!
Sat: rode 20 miles....went real slow first 20 minutes to test out the leg.......it loosened up and I had no troubles.
Aqua jogged 45 min
Sun: Rode 52 miles, 3 hours. My legs didn't really feel decent until after the 2d hour. I felt fine after the ride though.........not tired in the least.
Mon: Did an hour of core/ weights to include leg exercises.
This morning was the first morning I have felt zero pain when I woke up. I feel a discomfort now but not major pain........I haven't taken any pain medicine today. The discomfort is high on the hamstring around around the buttocks.
I want to believe I am getting healthier but who knows. I would like to go 5 hours on the bike this weekend but will have to wait to see how I feel. I plan on riding during the week as well but staying in the pool to jog.
Sat: rode 20 miles....went real slow first 20 minutes to test out the leg.......it loosened up and I had no troubles.
Aqua jogged 45 min
Sun: Rode 52 miles, 3 hours. My legs didn't really feel decent until after the 2d hour. I felt fine after the ride though.........not tired in the least.
Mon: Did an hour of core/ weights to include leg exercises.
This morning was the first morning I have felt zero pain when I woke up. I feel a discomfort now but not major pain........I haven't taken any pain medicine today. The discomfort is high on the hamstring around around the buttocks.
I want to believe I am getting healthier but who knows. I would like to go 5 hours on the bike this weekend but will have to wait to see how I feel. I plan on riding during the week as well but staying in the pool to jog.
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