Consistency in Endurance Sports

Emily ran CIM today and posted a 3:29:44, easily qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which was her goal. She is proof that consistency is the key in endurance sports. 2 years ago, after having our 2nd baby in April, she ran CIM in 2008 and did a 4:14. Then, the following year, she did a 3:41 and just missed Boston. This year, she rocked it and easily qualified!

And the key to all this progress - consistency. She has had a few bumps in the road with a tender right leg for a while, but overall, she has trained very consistently for the last 2 years. It has obviously paid off by taking 45 minutes off her marathon time in 3 attempts on the same course. Here's a shot of her around mile 19.5 or so.

Bottom line is that the key to endurance sports is staying consistent and training day in and day out, listening to the alarm clock every day, and not missing key workouts. This is a good lesson and one that we all need to learn.

Also, another athlete I've been working with taught me a different lesson today - Jen Allen had been fighting several nagging injuries, but decided to give it a try today and toughed out a BQ time herself. I'm really proud of her for her toughness, for sticking it out, and getting across her first marathon finish line. The message to me is that if you aren't willing to put yourself out there and give it a go, you won't accomplish your goals. And sometimes when you are not sure, you may just surprise yourself.

A great day today for Vitality MultiSport athletes!

IM Branson 70.3 - Spectator Report/Pictures

Two of my athletes decided to take on one of the hardest 70.3 courses I've seen - Ironman Branson 70.3. The bike course was really tough and although the run was flat, it was 90+ with high humidity. So the hills took it out of you on the bike and the heat just beat you down on the run.

Nonetheless, Josh Wells and Scott Sivills did their first half-Iron distance races at this venue and both toughed it out like champs!

They came out of the water within minutes of each other - both have made huge strides in their swimming. Going from nothing to 1.2 miles in open water is no joke!

Once on the bike Josh was hammering and Scott was powering his 6'7" frame up and down those hills. It took Scott a little longer, but both got off the bike with no issues and ready to give it their best.

It was a 3-lap run through the Branson Landing area along the river so it was very flat with really good spectator support. The run was brutally hot, but both of them toughed it out and made it through their first half-IM races!

And just a little while after the race, both were already thinking about what was next...

It was a beautiful venue and a well-run race for a first time event and I highly recommend it to anyone. A great time with my family and a great experience spectating.

Race Report - Ironman Wisconsin

This was my 2^nd time at Ironman Wisconsin since I did the race in 2007. Last time was a great experience – it was my 1^st Ironman and I got to do the race with my friend Justin. My whole family was there and I had a great day. It got me completely hooked on the experience and the journey, both during the training and during the race. You learn a lot about yourself in the process. Since then I have done two other IMs – one went fairly well and one did not. But you learn more from the bad races than you do from the good ones and I intended to use what I had learned in this race, roll the dice, and see what happened.

Just Emily and I made the trip up to Madison this time and our kids were staying with their Grandparents in Illinois. The days leading up to the race were very easy and very relaxing. On Thursday, I rode the 42 mile loop (well, almost all of it – when I got back to Verona, I made a wrong turn and cut off a mile or two) while Emily did her long run. Then Friday, Emily and I went down to the Monona Terrace for a nice open water swim.

Oh boy was it CHOPPY!!! In 2007 it was not bad at all, but we were both getting tossed around and slapped in the face pretty good. We went for about 25 minutes just to get the feel of the water.

Practice swim on Friday AM

Saturday I checked my bike and gear bags in and then settled in for the afternoon to watch the Buckeyes whip up on the U of Miami! It was a nice, relaxing afternoon. We had gotten plenty of sleep the last few nights and I was feeling very ready for the race to come. That night we had a relaxing dinner and attempted to go to bed early. Still didn’t get a lot of sleep, though – too excited about the race.

My bike in transition

Transition area

T2 Bags

The alarm finally went off at 4 and I got up and got ready. Rinsed off in the shower to wake up, made my pre-race meal and got everything ready. I was feeling pretty relaxed even though I didn’t get much sleep at all. We drove down to the Alliant Center and took the shuttle over to the Terrace. I pumped up my tires and put my nutrition on my bike first.

A shot of the lake from the top of the terrace

Emily and I before the start at the top of the terrace

Then I went into the Terrace and put my Fuel Belt bottles in my T2 bag. Then body marking and I was ready. I had some time with Emily so we wandered down the helix and towards the water. About 15 minutes to go and I got in the water. I stood by the edge for a bit and soaked in the environment. Then the pros were off and we had 10 minutes to go. I moved up a bit but stayed towards the outside.

Then, without much warning, the canon went off and the day had begun! From the very beginning, it was must a mass of humanity. You basically have to swim with your head up for a while and just try not to get too panicked. There were 2500+ starters this time around and you could tell! It was crowded pretty much the whole time. I tried to get into a rhythm and just swim, but it was tough. Nonetheless I kept plodding along and the 1^st turn buoy finally came. At the turns, it gets REALLY crowded, so I tried to stay wide and out of the scrum. Then I made my way back towards the start of the loop and was hoping it would thin out some, but it never really did. Even on the 2^nd lap, it was still crowded basically the whole time. I kept going end eventually came around the corner of the 2^nd lap towards the finish. I was hoping for a swim in the 1:12-1:14 range, but came out in 1:16 something. It’s a very short part of the day, so I wasn’t too worried. I saw Emily, got my wetsuit yanked off and started the run up the 4 levels of helix. I didn’t want to mess around and kept moving quickly passing people. I went into the Terrace, grabbed my bag and went into the changing room. I put my socks on, put my helmet on and headed out. I just carried my shoes because it is a VERY LONG run to get through T1. I made my way towards my bike, stopped and put my shoes on and a volunteer unracked it for me. I grabbed it and headed down the helix on the other side.

Coming out of the water

Swim: 1:16:21 (138/352 AG, 918/2550 OA)

T1: 7:35

Coming down the helix to start the bike

Once out on the ride, my focus was to “just ride” and soak in the day and all the support. I felt great from the beginning, but did already have to go pee. Probably a good sign actually. With my all liquid fuel plan I knew I’d have to pee a lot and did not want to stop 6-7 times, so I started early and just let it go. I had tried it in training before and it actually isn’t that bad if you can rinse off with water afterwards. Once I went I felt better and continued on just cruising. My focus was on just easing into it for the first 40 or so miles and then riding strong for the last 72. I started my nutrition plan about 15 minutes in and started sipping my sports drink mix of CarboPro and EFS and chasing it with lots of water – I wanted to make sure I didn’t repeat any issues in training where it didn’t absorb well and I had a sloshy gut on the run. The course is a “stick and loop” so you ride out to Verona, then do 2 loops of 42 miles each. I made it out to Verona in like 42 minutes and was making good time. In fact, I passed the 20 mile mark in just about an hour and knew I was doing pretty well because I felt great. I didn’t wear my HR monitor at all and taped over my bike computer speed and power and just went on feel. Thus far it was working very well. I made it to Mt. Horeb and allowed myself one pee stop to just take a short break. I felt great afterwards and then started into the hills after Mt. Horeb. They didn’t feel bad at all and I kept motoring on. Some of the climbs have an incredible amount of support and you feel like you are in the Tour de France. Just tried to soak that all in and enjoy it. The weather was beautiful and I was having a great ride! The 2^nd lap was much like the first. I had finished my first bottle of nutrition and moved onto the 2^nd about 2:30 into the ride. Everything was going very well, although I did get a little irritated at the wind when heading back to Mt. Horeb again on the bottom half of the loop. It wasn’t that bad and tried to just keep riding. I went pee several more times on the bike, but did stop again to use a port-o-potty in Mt. Horeb. I went in exactly the same one. I figure I lost about 3-4 minutes on my bike split from pee stops, but if I had stopped every time I had to go, I would’ve lost like 10-15 minutes. Once I got back to Verona again and started on the way back to Madison, I was feeling pretty tired. I had finished all my sports drink and was just sipping water by that point. I didn’t think I had over-cooked it on the bike, but we were going to find out. In training, I had ridden long, hard 5+ hour rides and then run well afterwards for 2+ hours at ~7:45-8:00 pace. Seeing the Madison skyline again felt great and I headed back towards town and eventually up the helix and into T2. I saw Emily again in T2 and felt pretty decent getting off the bike. I grabbed my bag, changed socks and put my shoes on. On the way out, I stopped to pee again in T2 and so lost another minute or so (really had to go). Then I headed out onto the run.

Bike: 5:41:03 (59/352 AG, 309/2550 OA)

T2: 4:12

Starting the run after a quick pit stop

I was going to treat the run as a 2-hour easy jog and then see what pace I could maintain for the 3^rd hour. If I could make it to 21 or 22 miles at 3 hours, I knew I would have a great day and a good time and could finish it off with whatever I had left. So I started off very easy and started ticking off the miles. I wasn’t paying any attention to pace and just running on feel. I had done this in training several times and it worked out well. Running on the course again brought back a lot of memories for sure. Heading down around the capital and then over towards the stadium and through the stadium. Then you spend some time on a nice, shaded bike path. I got through the first 5-6 miles pretty easy and then kind of hit a turning point. I decided to attempt to pick it up a bit and just see what happens. Although I wasn’t watching my pace on the Garmin, I knew I wasn’t running that fast because I was watching my time vs. mile markers a little and figured that I’d get pretty frustrated to run slow and then crash and burn so I might as well give it a go and see how I held up. I needed to trust my training. It was also great to see Emily so many times. I saw her at transition and then again at mile 6 or so on State Street. Then again at miles 12 and 14 and 19. Anyway, I got through the first half and I think I was in the 1:50-1:55 ball park for the first half. Not nearly what I was capable of, but I also knew that I felt different than I had before in Louisville and CDA. I also asked Emily (per Coach’s advice) to leave me a note in my special needs bag and it definitely was a big pick-me-up! I would not be able to indulge in triathlon or do any of this without her support.

With respect to nutrition, I had used gel at miles 4 and 11 and nutrition seemed to be going well. I had no sloshing in the gut at all so I knew whatever I was taking in was absorbing (many thanks to Sheila L. for her ongoing advice and help). I didn’t know if it would be enough, but I knew it was at least going down OK. My legs weren’t completely shot, either – I wasn’t running fast, but I was still moving.

On the run

I headed out of town the 2^nd time and away from the capital and through the stadium. Running through Camp Randall is very cool… there was a game there the very day before. Once out of the stadium, I headed over through campus and got out towards the bike path again to mile 17 or so. That’s when it got really tough. There is always a line in these things where you are dying to stop running and just give in. Well… I finally gave in and walked for a few minutes. I didn’t let it last or get me down too much and tried to pick it up again. I saw Emily again at mile 19 on State Street and it was another huge lift. I had about 7 miles to go in an hour to break 11, but I knew that would be really tough. On a regular day, I can do that piece-of-cake, but I was 10 hours and 133 miles into the day. I managed to run along the bike path for a while and continued to get water and coke down at the aid stations. My nutrition was going pretty well, but I did end up at one aid station where they had Root Beer instead of Coke and nearly hurled!!!! Nonetheless, I trudged on and then headed out to the turn around. Once past the turn-around and headed back to town, I stopped to walk for a few minutes again. I think overall, I lost at least 10 minutes and maybe 15 by walking. I approached mile 23 and decided that even though I wasn’t going sub-11 on the day, I was at least going to PR on one of the harder courses in North America (St. George is definitely harder, but not many others can be considered harder than Wisconsin). I ran the last 3 miles at sub-9 pace and finished the thing off!! I didn’t quite break 4 hours for the marathon, but I was close, but more importantly I felt stronger in the 2^nd half than I have before. I still gave in and walked, which is my next area to work on – the mental toughness needed in the 2^nd half to race these events.

Approaching the finish

Run: 4:00:52 (46/352 AG, 278/2550 OA)

Overall: 11:10:01 (42/352 AG, 260/2550 OA)

Lots of positives to take away from this race… one is that I moved up from 77^th in my AG in L’ville last year to 42^nd this year. Another is a PR. It wasn’t huge and not what I had hoped, but it was on a really tough course. I am also satisfied that I was able to regroup and finish off the last few miles in a relatively strong fashion. What this tells me is that I had something left physically and it really is the mental toughness you need to get through miles 13-23 that I need to work on. It is a journey of continuous improvement and I am determined to race one of these IMs how I know I can!

Refueling after the race

And the bonus was, since we were kid-less for the weekend, we went back to the finish line at midnight and watched the last finishers – what an incredible experience! The people that finish close to midnight have been out there going at it for 17 hours and are some of the toughest, most determined folks around.

Next is the fall running season (assuming my little aches and pains go away) and then CDA again next year!

Race Report - Ironman Boulder 70.3

I had recovered fairly well from IM CDA and had some successful training in July, so I was curious and anxious to see how I could do at IM Boulder 70.3. The course didn’t look super-hard and I really needed a positive experience after my DNF in Idaho. Boulder is, however, at 5400 feet above sea level and based on what I have read, you can expect a 5-8% decrease in performance for this kind of elevation. This was a destination race for the Total Intensity group so I knew a lot of people racing, which was fun. However, my family didn’t come with me, which is the first time I’ve done that. I didn’t really like racing on my own and try not to miss any event Emily does. But it just wasn’t practical this time. (It's also why I don't have that many pictures).

I got into town late Friday night after working almost a full day. A friend of mine picked me up at the airport and we got back to the house at like 10 PM. There were like 14 other people (at least) staying at this house, which again, was nice to have the company, but was kind of stressful. I didn’t sleep well any of the nights and was always worried about something – what to eat, where to go, how to I get there, etc. Anyway, it was fun, but stressful. Saturday, I got a ride down to the lake to register and ride the course. It’s a 2-loop course starting at Boulder reservoir. Since I wasn’t really tapering much for this race, I thought I might even do 2 loops. I did recover some during the week, but didn’t do a full-on taper. Regardless, 2 loops wouldn’t kill me. It was a REALLY nice ride. Something like 1000-1500 feet of climbing over the whole thing with no steep hills. Mainly a false flat and some rollers. Plus some real fast sections. I rode 2 loops in like 2:41 with not much effort at like 160 watts. I knew it was going to be a fast bike course. The run course is also a 2-looper around the reservoir mostly on fire roads and paths. It would be hot, but not all that hilly, just some rolling hills.

The house where we were staying was about a 45 minute drive, so I got a ride back up there with Nicole (again), but we stopped at Safeway first to get our food for the evening. That night was uneventful, but I could not sleep much. I was in a room with 2 other guys which was basically an open loft and could hear everything. Not good. Plus that day, I noticed my throat really started hurting and I knew I was getting a cold. Oh well, I would give it my best on race day and see where my fitness was. I really like the half-distance because it is tough, but a little more forgiving in that you can get away with less nutrition, etc. Full-IMs and nutrition is critical, but at the half, I knew I could go hard and just see what happened without blowing up too badly.

Race morning started very early. I was awake at like 2 because I couldn’t sleep (got at most 3 hours of sleep) and we headed down the hill towards the reservoir to get there early. As part of the Total Intensity group, we had a trailer with 20+ bikes in it to unload in the AM. That went fairly smoothly and I got my stuff ready to go. I was pretty relaxed as I walked my bike from the trailer down to the transition area while chatting with some other Total Intensity folks. After doing enough of these things, you don’t get as nervous. (If only I could figure that out for a full-distance event!). My wave didn’t start for a while (11/14 or something like that), so I just hung out, watched the pros start AND FINISH the swim, which was cool. Andy Potts is other-worldly and had 2+ minutes on the field coming out of the water. Julie Dibens was first out for the Women. They would both go on to win. I warmed up a bit and got used to the water. Then back out to the beach and in line with my wave. A few more minutes and we were off.

It was more crowded than I expected but not horrible. I attempted to draft a little, but wasn’t quite sure if it was working. I still need more experience at that. 8 buoys passed and I was out on the far side of the triangle course. Then around the next turn buoy and back towards home. I didn’t feel great, but I didn’t feel bad either. I think the altitude was getting to me a bit, but who knows. Either way, I came out in 36-something, which is about par-for-the-course for me on a half (except Vineman, which is an easier swim). Someday, maybe I’ll figure out how to swim faster for a half. At that point, I knew if I wanted a PR, I was going to have to work on the bike and run. I ran up the beach and T1 was OK. Had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off, but not bad. My time was about average. I do need to get better at mounting and may start trying some running mounts (can you say Cyclocross!)

Swim: 36:35

T1: 3:11

Once on the bike, I started pushing it and as I exited the park, I was already passing people left and right. (Well mostly on the left!). Being a roughly mid-pack swimmer (75/173) and much better biker and runner, and starting in a late wave, meant that I’d be passing people the whole ride and run. So before I even got to the main loop, I was already passing a ton of people. I made my way up the false-flat and headed up the West side of the loop on route 36. Then before I knew it I made the turn East and FLEW down St Vrain road. Even after I was off the main descent, I was still holding 30+ mph at 240-250 watts easily. The next part of the loop is still not hard – mostly flat all the way back around and down highway 119. I got back to the park entrance in 1:10 something and was actually pretty surprised. I knew it would be fast, but I didn’t expect that fast. My nutrition plan was purely liquid (Accelerade/CarboPro/Elete) so that was easy and low maintenance and was working well (many thanks to Sheila Leard for her ongoing advice and nutritional wisdom). I may try something other than Accelerade, but otherwise, liquid-only was simple and easy and it worked. All along the 1^st loop I was passing Total Intensity people. I hadn’t seen Nicole, though, so wondered if she got out of the water OK. This was her first half-IM and she is NOT a swimmer. She was debating even doing it. Turns out she got out fine and I was really proud of her. Braver than I would’ve been.

The 2^nd lap was uneventful and I just tried to hold a steady effort throughout and even or negative split it. I ended up with a 2:21 or so, which was almost a perfect even split. Awesome! I had a great transition and even got out of my shoes OK leaving them on my bike. I was in and out pretty quick and started the run.

Bike: 2:21:04

T2:1:33

By the time I was running, it was warming up A LOT. The morning had some clouds and overcast, but they had all basically burned off by that time. The first mile came and went quickly and then I started hitting some of the rollers on the fire roads. I felt them, but nothing horrible. I was really hoping to hold sub-7’s, but was just going on feel and not paying attention to pace. I was just pushing it the whole time. At each aid station, I got a little water and Gatorade and tried to keep things simple. Again, for a half, I can get away with a little less nutrition. I saw a few more TIS people and we exchanged some words of encouragement. I find that to be helpful for your own race and staying positive and enjoying the experience. I was having a decent run and enjoying the day. It’s hard work, but that’s the crazy addiction!!

By the end of the first lap, I think my pace was in the 7:10-ish range and I finished 6.5 miles in 46 and change. If I could even split or close to it, I could probably still PR and I did have Clearwater (World Championship for 70.3 distance) in the back of my mind. The 2^nd lap went OK, but I was definitely starting to feel the effort. And my HR was high the whole time, I think because of the elevation. My legs were getting fatigued, but I didn’t let up. At mile 9, I knew I had only about 30 minutes to go and tried to think of it that way. Just push for 30 more minutes – that’s easy! I only got passed on the run a few times - once was by this 30 year old guy in a fancy K-Swiss get up. I caught him at mile 11 and felt great about passing him back. Only 2 miles to go and I kept going. You could see the finish on the other side of the lake by this point and all I had to do was run along the levy and I was home-free. By 12.5 miles, I was REALLY cooked, but the timing was pretty good since I only had a few more minutes and most of it was downhill. I rolled through the finish with a 1:35 something half-marathon. Not my best, but good for the circumstances – elevation, having a cold, and a hot/exposed run with no shade. Plus I had just ridden a 2:21 (even though my average and norm power have been higher at other halfs).

Overall, I came across the line in 4:37 something so I had beaten my PR by 1 minute!!! Compared to my previous PR, this swim was harder (4 minutes slower), the bike was easier (7+ minutes faster) and the run was harder (4 minutes slower, but was at elevation). I made up some time in transitions and had a really good T2. All-in-all, it was a success and I really enjoyed it. I was 15^th in my AG out of 173, but the interesting thing was that 10 guys came in between 4:34 and 4:37. About 3 minutes faster and I would’ve been 6^th! Maybe even a Clearwater slot. On a different day, I might’ve been able to cut a few more minutes off the run or maybe even off the bike, but that’s always the game with these things – where can you find more time! It was a great transition from a DNF back to a better mental state for IM Wisconsin in a few weeks.

Run: 1:35:17

Overall: 4:37:39 (15/173 AG, 73 overall)

Race Report - Ironman Coeur d'Alene

This was my 3^rd shot at Ironman and I had big expectations. Having done 2 of them before, I knew what to expect and based on my fitness level, I was hoping for a solid performance, mostly focused on the marathon. The last two IM marathons have involved meltdowns at mile 10-13 or so. This time I was determined to get beyond that and my strategy was to strictly cap my power on the bike and my pace in the first half of the marathon. With respect to the swim, my goal was to survive and expend as little energy as possible.

We arrived into town on Thursday prior to the race, which is always my preference – it gives you a couple days to get settled and take care of pre-race business. I registered, which didn’t take very long and then went on a 2-ish hour bike ride out on the course. I rode the hilly part with my friend Bernhard, who was also racing. We enjoyed the ride and scouted out the course. My family was in town and my parents were also showing up on Saturday, along with another good friend of mine, so I had a substantial support crew. On top of that, there were 10 or so other Total Intensity athletes racing, so it was nice to have some company.

Friday morning involved an OW swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene. Leading up to this race there is always a lot of nervousness about the water being really cold, but it rose nicely the last couple of weeks prior and was not uncomfortable, especially compared to water I am used to (Sierra Nevada runoff/snowmelt)! It was a short swim, but I just wanted to get used to the water. It also was not too choppy which was nice. I followed that up with a ride on the run course, which is really nice! It goes out along the lake and is quite scenic. Not super hard, but there are a few hills to deal with. After my little bit of training Friday, I was relaxed and confident.

Saturday I got my stuff checked in and Emily went on a ride on the course herself. Meanwhile, I hung out with our kids and watched the US World Cup game. Very disappointed in the game, but I did stay off my feet most of the day. Saturday, my friends and parents got into town also, and we all had dinner together at a nice Italian place. When we got back, I made all my PB&J sandwiches and got stuff ready for the AM.

The night before a race I usually don’t sleep very well, but it wasn’t bad this time around. I think I am getting more relaxed for these things. My alarm went off early and I got up, rinsed off to wake up, ate my pre-race meal – good, old-fashioned PB&J and a banana with peanut butter. I supplemented with OJ. Then we headed down to the lake. My Wife and Dad went with me. I got my socks put in my T1 bag, which I had forgot the day before, and then just relaxed for a while. Then I got in line at the port-o-potty, which wasn’t horribly long. It took me maybe 20-30 minutes. Then I found Bernhard and we got our wetsuits on and went towards the beach. Gave my wife a last kiss goodbye and meandered down to the beach.

The starts of these things are mass-chaos. 2400+ athletes all on a narrow, short beach, with lots of nerves. Bernhard, his friend Carson, and I lined ourselves up about 2/3^rd of the way out and towards the front 1/3^rd. In hindsight, this was probably a little fast for me, but I honestly don’t think it matters that much. You get in the washing machine no matter where you start. We wished each other luck and the canon went off before I knew it. It was a mass of humanity attempting to swim into the lake, but you can’t really even get a stroke – it’s like gorilla swimming with your head up almost the whole time. I tried to just relax and roll with it, no matter how much contact there was, mostly because you don’t want to give too much energy to your fellow athletes and get frustrated or angry. The lake was also much, much choppier on race day. Regardless, I plodded my way out into the lake, one buoy at a time. I actually made it to the turnaround point quicker than I expected, but holy cow, was it a madhouse at the turns!!! A complete scrum. I basically dog-paddled around about 15-20 yards away from the buoy and was still crushed. I also had to adjust my watch band, which was interesting to try to do while swimming and avoiding so many people. Still couldn’t get much clean water on the way back for the 1^st lap, but kept plodding along. I made it out of the water from the 1^st lap in about 35 and change, which I was fairly pleased with given the circumstances. It was actually nice to get out and run for a few steps before heading back in. On the 2^nd lap, it still wasn’t much better heading out. I also managed to lose my RoadID right off my wrist somehow. Oh well, some scuba diver in the lake will find it someday. The turn was still pretty rough, but then finally, on the way back the 2^nd time, I got into a little bit of a rhythm going from buoy to buoy. I felt pretty good. Got out of the water in 1:14 and change. I was a little concerned about the energy expenditure, but was ecstatic to have that part done. Plus my times keep coming down. 1:22 to 1:17 to 1:14. I am probably capable of faster, but was generally pleased with that.

T1 was a little frustrating. I got my wetsuit stripped off, which is way cool and very helpful, grabbed my stuff and went into the changing tent. No problem so far, but then, when I got to my bike, got everything ready, and tried to take it off the rack, I couldn’t get it off. I lost probably 30-45 seconds, but for such a long day, it doesn’t matter a ton. Once I get a little faster, it may matter more, but the goal for the day was a solid marathon.

Swim: 1:14:23

T1: 5:48

Once out on the ride, I started very easy. My target power for the 1^st hour was WAY easy. I was still cruising along fairly well, but a lot of people were passing me on the 1^st hill. I didn’t mind, that was the plan. I just zero’ed in on the power meter and stuck to it. Once I got past the 1^st hour, I raised the power target by a few watts and held it there as much as possible. The out and back along the lake was uneventful. I say Bernhard’s friend Carson pass me, so I knew I was out of the water before him, but I didn’t know how far ahead of me Bernhard was. Going back through town was fun with all the crowd support. Then I headed out towards the loop with the hills. Away from town and out into the country. I was enjoying the ride and sticking to my power target religiously. My nutrition plan was working out fine, too. A half-PB&J every hour and supplementing with Perpetuem. I felt fine the whole time. 1^st lap was finished in like 2:57, which was fine. I knew I’d have a slow bike split compared to what I am capable of because of the strict power target – again, it was all about the run.

Coming back through town was really fun (again). I did the out-and-back again and then headed out for the loop for a 2^nd time. Everything was going great and I felt fine. I was still focused on my power meter and wasn’t paying attention to much else. The 2^nd lap was about the same as the first and I ended up with a 5:55 bike split. Not nearly as fast as I could go, but I wanted to be conservative and see how I could run.

I got off my bike, grabbed my T2 bag and ran into the changing tent. I had a fairly fast T2 and hit the run. I was my family right at the run out and gave my wife a kiss.

Bike: 5:55:46

T2: 1:58

The first mile of the run is on a short out and back. I felt fine getting started and was paying close attention to the Garmin so as not to go out too fast. I hit the first mile in the 8-8:15 minute range I think, which is about what I wanted. I tried to dial it in there and just keep that pace. I came back through transition after the first short turnaround and saw my family again, which was great. Now it was out through town and towards the lake.

Everything was going OK on the way out and I felt fine. On my way out, I saw Andy Potts coming back to town on his way to victory. I saw some of the other pros, too, which is always cool. Once I got out by the lake, I saw Martin M. who was tearing it up and at least 30 minutes ahead of me. I also saw Bernhard who was probably at least 15 minutes ahead. If I had a good day, I could catch him. Turns out that wasn’t the case. I made it to the first real hill at mile 7 and jogged up. Felt OK and turned around to come back down and head back towards town. Got through miles 8 and 9, but started feeling pretty bad. I think my nutrition was OK, but my legs were just shot and wouldn’t go. It was very frustrating because I had done LONG bricks in training and proven I could run 18+ miles after a hard 5+ hour ride. It just wasn’t meant to be. I managed to get back to town and finish the first lap and saw my family. I stopped for a minute and told Em I didn’t have it in me today and was just going to keep plodding along. At that point, I at least thought I could finish. Well, it just kept getting worse. By miles 14 and 15, I felt awful. Started getting a little light-headed and just plain couldn’t run. I gave in and started walking. Just trying to get to the next aid station. Not to be – I had to sit in the shade on the side of the road. I just sat there for a few minutes and reflected on what was happening and why!? I was relaxed and prepared for this race and physically capable of nailing one of these (or at least as much as they can be). I chatted with a family that was spectating. They were really encouraging and I eventually decided to give it another shot so I “ran” (if you can call it that) another minute or two. I was melting down, though. I had nothing left and the wheels fell off in a hurry. Mentally, emotionally, physically… When you do these things, you ALWAYS get to a point where you really, really want to stop running. In this case, for some reason that I’m not quite sure of, I gave in and listened. Maybe something was physically wrong, but who knows. I sat there for a while and finally called it a day and had a guy sag me in on a Gator. I talked to him a bit – turns out he was an experienced racer who works with WTC sometimes. He asked me how many of these things I had done and I told him it was my 3^rd. He said “Ahh… people doing their first don’t know what to expect and the ignorance is helpful. Sometimes when you are more experienced and have more expectations, it can actually be worse.” Now I think I know what he meant. Anyway, he was a nice guy and let me use his phone to call my family. I told them my day was done. Brian (the Lawyer/Triathlete/WTC worker who picked me up) got me back to the park at the lake and I found my family. I had a little break-down moment but then pulled myself together. I just sat there for a bit while my worried family went and got the medical people. I don’t think it was really necessary, but anyway… While sitting there, I saw Desiree Ficker (former 2^nd place finisher at Kona) and asked her how her day went. Turns out hers wasn’t good either. Sometimes it can happen to anyone.

So there you have it, my first DNF (and hopefully my last). I think you learn more from bad races than good ones and this was definitely the case here. IM is as much mental as it is physical and I have some theories as to what went awry (that’s a whole other long story), so we’ll see how I can change things next time around; I get another crack at it in Wisconsin in September! I have done that race before and am looking forward to seeing how much faster I am!

Race Report - Wildflower Long Course

My goal for the day was to go under 5 hours. A lofty goal since I had raced the course 3 years earlier and did a 5:59 (40 min swim, 3:13 bike, and 1:57 run). However, I am an order of magnitude stronger, particularly on the bike, which allows me to run better off the bike. I have improved my swimming dramatically, too, but that only seems to be worth 3-4 minutes over a half-iron swim.

Wildflower is a great venue - a.k.a. the woodstock of triathlon and we were there camping with several other Total Intensity athletes. I didn't know many of them well, but it was still nice to have a spot to camp with some other folks. In spite of the camping, I slept fairly well prior to the race. Had some anxiety around expectations and the like, but nothing huge. In the morning, I had my PB&J and banana(s) and got ready to roll!

We walked down the hill and since my start was fairly late, I got to hang out with Emily for quite a bit and watch the pros. I love watching the pros start (and finish) the swim; it's always exciting! I was curious about how much improvement I would see on my swim time from 3 years ago after having worked on swimming a fair amount. In 2007, my split was a 40:47. Should have not trouble beating that! My wave was a pretty big one and being the non-agressive swimmer that I am, when we started, I kind of let everyone go and just moved in behind, somewhere in the middle. There actually wasn't a ton of contact and it thinned out fairly quickly. Also, last time at Wildflower, I had some cramps during the swim. Fortunately, this time, I got a little bit of one in my left calf, but it was as I was approaching the finish. In spite of that, I felt pretty good the whole time and thought I had a decent rhythm and so was a little disappointed when my watch had a 36 on it when I got out of the water. Nonetheless, 4 minutes better is progress. My first transition was fairly uneventful - about average in my AG.

Swim: 36:48

T1: 3:31

My plan for the bike was to build into it and not kill myself on the rollers after you exit the park. There was, after all, a big hill (a.k.a. Nasty Grade) looming at mile 45. There is also a fairly big climb leaving transition - for the long course, it's Beach Hill, which is a doozy-of-a-way to start the ride. Anyway, my plan worked really well and I made it out of the park and was just cruising over the rollers as they came. It was not nearly as hard as I remembered it from 3 years ago, but that may be due to the fact that my FTP on the bike is probably almost 50% higher. The back side of the lake is mostly downhill and fast! I tried to take advantage without jeopardizing my plans for the run. My whole goal was to nail the run. My nutrition was working well (went with Perpetuem) and I started actually feeling pretty good as I neared the turn to head back towards Nasty Grade. I took advantage and passed a ton of people on the hill. It's a couple of miles and about 1000 feet of climbing, so it's no joke. I got to the top and still felt pretty good. There was some good downhill after that, but then a false flat and some more rollers back into the park. I started noticing that I was probably going to end up with a sub-2:50 bike split, which was about what I was hoping for. Once I got back to T2, I clocked a 2:45 and change and averaged over 20 for the ride without toasting myself. Pretty good for a ride with ~3500 feet of climbing. T2 was quick and I headed out on the run, ready to tear it up!

Bike: 2:45:54

T2: 1:36

The first part of the run is a little up and down and in 2007, I had major cramps right away at mile 1. NOT THIS TIME! I actually felt pretty good. A little fatigued, but my run legs were there! I was blowing by people constantly on this run and that always makes it feel better. I got to the first little hill by the boat ramp and had not problem. Then it was on to the trails and it actually felt good to have some varied terrain. The big hill at mile 4.5 was looming. When I got there, I just chugged up it. Not fast, but steady, and kept running. Then down the back side I was flying! Still felt strong through the camp site and then came to the "pit." This is a section at mile 9.5 or so where you run down a road to the bottom of a hill and then have to turn around and come back out. It's hot, hot, hot! I went pretty fast down it and just grinded my way back out. A major difference from 2007, when I felt like walking death by this point. Not this time! Sure, I was fatigued and getting near my limit, but still able to run. In fact, only 1 person passed me on the whole run and that was a 47-year-old former pro who is still a machine of an athlete. Then down Lynch hill and into the finish chute... I didn't quite break 5 hours, but came darn close and cut 58 minutes off my time from 3 years ago. I did a 1:33 run! I was hoping to have a top-10 AG run split and just made it at 10th (I think). All-in-all, I had a great experience and it was a blast! And to top it all off, my wife raced the next day and broke 3 hours on the Oly course and was 10th in her AG!!!

Here are a couple of pix:

That's me running through the campground. And here's a shot of Emily finishing her race.

My results:

Overall: 5:01:30, 69th AG finisher

AG: 19th out of 245 finishers

Great progress in 3 years and I was pretty happy with the race. It was fun, challenging, and fulfilling - all the reasons I do the sport!

Wow, it's been a while..

This past year has been VERY busy, getting ready for 2 IM distance races and starting up a small coaching business on the side. Obviously, I still have family and work, too, so it's quite a bit. Nonetheless, i'm going to attempt to keep this relatively up to date. In that vein, I will catch up on some race reports for the 2010 season, which has included Wildflower, IM CDA (sort of), and IM Boulder 70.3 thus far with Wisconsin on the not-so-distant horizon.

Next up - Wildflower.... if I can remember anything!