Raleigh Ironman 70.3 Race Report

"What matters most is how well you walk through the fire." -Charles Bukowski 

The Raleigh Ironman 70.3 was my first really big endurance race. The distance was daunting and I knew I'd need to actually put in work to get myself across the finish line. We left for Raleigh Friday morning and drove without hassle. We were in Raleigh early and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Downtown location and it was really nice. The Hampton was located among many bars and restaurants which made getting around easy. Transition and the convention center was walkable. 

We went to the convention center and checked through the process and picked up my packet early Friday afternoon. The process was painless and these guys really have their stuff together. We were in and out seamlessly. We walked through transition and I got an idea where I'd be located. 

Friday afternoon I put my bike together and got in a short run. I felt great but I knew it was going to be HOT! Friday night we went out for a few drinks, dinner and some exploring around Raleigh. Overall, Raleigh is an amazing, fun and unique little city! We really enjoyed the city and te time we got to spend there. 

Saturday morning was mandatory bike check at T1 near Lake Jordan at Vista Pointe. I found my rack, walked my swim exit and checked the swim layout. Jordan Lake was choppy and that was only going to get worse. More on that later 

Saturday I spent a lot of time in bed. I wanted to rest my legs and just be off my feet. We ate in and just relaxed. Saturday night I set out my gear and packed my transition bags for the race. I also made my Skratch drinks to put on my bike in the morning. 

Sunday morning we were up at 3:45am and out the door for T1 by 4:15am. I made a quick stop by T2 to put my run bag on my rack. Being a point to point bike ride was cool but it was also kind of a logistic mess with transitions and bussing. 

We got to the lake, I set my bike and then we just relaxed until it was time for my swim wave. 

My age group was broken into two divisions. A-J and K-Z. We had a lot of people. Standing in line for my swim I was nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew I was in for some suffering! 

Once we were in the water I got eerily calm. I was focused and I knew it was time to work! I knew I could do it. One last look to shore and a wave it was time to swim. 

The swim was nothing like I was prepared for. Even starting in water is ROUGH! I got kicked in the chin, I got kicked in the ribs, I got kicked in the stomach and I got swam over multiple times. The swim is basically a sanctioned water fight. I kind of liked it and I dealt my fair share of blows. 

The conditions were awful! The lake was choppy and not very clear. I had an awful time sighting for bouys. Definitely something I already started working on yesterday. I need to get my head up and out of the water to make me fore affective. The back 1000 meters was into the wind and the chop. Lots of folks were holding on to objects. I just kept swimming. I wanted to finish so bad I swam off course, see my poor sighting! I actually swam about 150 meters past the final turn bouy. Overall I was out of the water in 54 minutes. About 14 minutes slower than I thought I'd swim it, but I'm not combining. I learned a lot of lessons in that water sunday. 

The bike was awesome! I've never ridden a bike that well in my entire life. It was a total joy! I enjoyed the scenery and every second of the ride. The rolling hills had no bearing on me and I just hammered down the whole ride. I did get clipped twice. Both times by people I thought were riding unsafe and putting themselves and other riders into harms way. When I say clipped I mean beat elbows with fellow competitors while in aero position. I think some people need to think better and be more aware of how dangerous their actions can be, are a few seconds really worth crashing yourself and possibly hurting others? I think not! 

I was off the bike in 3:20:19 and my legs were definitely not under me as I walked it into transition. The only thought in my mind was "how the fuck am I going to run a half marathon?" 

I racked my bike, changed into my run gear and sat on the curb for a second. I knew I had to move!! It was time to run! I stopped off for a quick pep talk from Beth and I was out running. 

Painfully, running. The weather was easily into the 90's, the sun was beating down and my legs were full of cramps. I knew I was in for total and complete suffering. So, I smiled! I waved at people I didn't know, I thanked every volunteer who handed me something at an aide station, I thanked every officer and every paramedic. I had a blast, so much fun! My legs were excruciating, I could barley trot, I was hot and I was dehydrating and I was the happiest guy in Raleigh! I was soooo happy to see Beth jump off the curb and into the street after my first loop of the run course. Beth really kept me going all day, I just wanted to keep getting back to the places we had picked to meet. That's what kept me going forward "go see Beth, go see Beth," became the mantra! 

The hardest part was the second loop of the run. If seen the finish line and I had to go out for another hot and painful loop. The second loop I really started to feel dehydration kick in. I was having problems thinking, my balance was off and I was thirsty. I knew by mile 8 I was losing the hydration battle and the cramp battle. But I also knew I was close enough I'd make it. I just kept going forward, slowly at times but just kept moving forward! 

Eventually, as the cramps kept coming and my blistered feet kept screaming, I saw the finish line! The sight was glorious, I just ran! Ran like I felt no pain, like a man who wanted to stop going forward! 

I finished! It felt amazing to stop and I just felt better than I've ever felt before! I did it! I accomplished my goal and did something I had no clue I could do. I suffered all day and I overcame my biggest obstacle, myself! I didn't quit, I didn't give up, I didn't give in to the pain, I just suffered and kept going until I got it finished. I still get teary eyed! I'm so happy I completed something so crazy! 

I have to say a special thank you to my coach, Jamie! Wothout you I would have never done this! Thank you soooo much for everything you've taught, showed and had me do! 

Last, and most important I need to thank Beth! She was monumental in getting me across the line. From calming me down, getting my emotions in check and just being ultimately supportive! I think she had more confidence in me than I had in myself leading up to this race. I'm so thankful she helped me get around the course and was there to keep me going! I appreciate everything you did for me, my medal is as much yours as it is mine!! Thank you sooooo much for everything you did and do for me! I'm lucky! 

If you haven't done Raleigh, put it on your schedule! It's fun, it's logistically perfect but it's definitely not easy! You will EARN your medal in the heat and suffering, but that's why it's Ironman and not plastic man! 

Thanks for reading!! 

Fear and Loathing; Raleigh Ironman 70.3 race week

I’ve had this week circled on my calendar for so long it doesn’t seem possible it is finally here.  I also can’t believe how swiftly time has gone to get me to this point.  My brain is swirling, my fear is pretty high and I’m creating a lot of stress for myself.  Life has been rough lately, mostly of my own doing.  I’ve had some training setbacks and they have left me wondering if I’m ready for this day to be here?  Even through all this fear, stress and questioning, I somehow manage to be confident I can do this!  Sadly, my confidence is also making me stress because now maybe I’m too confident and I haven’t taken this serious enough?  See what the brain can do during race week?  Lets dig in and look at whats going on.

I hit the high point in training way back on May 3rd when I finished the Frederick Half-marathon again.  Race day was rather uneventful and its been a really nice confidence booster, especially after riding 40 miles with big climbs the day before and a 5k race the evening before.  Unfortunately, thats when everything turned to shit!  I was off from training the monday and tuesday after the half marathon.  Recovery time before the final push to Raleigh.  Wednesday I went to the doctor to have an “odd,” mole re-checked.  The mole had grown over 2mm in just 5 weeks!  We made the quick decision to biopsy and try to get most of it off/out.  Unfortunately, the procedure meant I’d need to either be 1.) stitched shut or 2.) minimally closed and left to heal on its own.  Once I found out stitches got me back to training faster, thats what I chose.  Unfortunately, I was still sidelined for 14 days thanks to the stitches.  I wasn’t allowed in the water until last week and I’m not allowed to swim open water until tomorrow.  After finding out the biopsy came back as cancerous, a smaller procedure was needed to make sure all my margins were clean and everything was good.  Hello a few more days off from training.  While its nice to know I have a 99% chance I’m going to be ok, I’ll live unaffected and everything is going to be fine, the lack of training has done nothing for my confidence.  I have barely swam this month!  Tomorrow I’ll swim open water but it seems like too little, too late to be of anything other than a stretch out and to make sure my wetsuit is good to go.  

The main concern with my stitches and sweating was infection, followed closely by my doctor’s fear my training may limit how the stitches closed the wound if jostled.  Thus, my time not running or riding either.  The lack of running doesn’t seem to have caused much trouble.  I went out this past thursday and ran 8 miles on hilly ground with relative ease.  The bike, well, the bike is always the bike with me.  We know its my least favorite discipline in triathlon.  I hate to climb, my ass gets really tired of being on the seat and really it just gets boring to me.  I prefer the swim and the run.  I already know next offseason I REALLY need to work on my biking and try to enjoy it more.  Anyway, I think I’ll be fine.  I’ve got the shiv and its decked out to race.  I won’t be going fast in this one, I’m just trying to finish and move on to Placid with confidence.  

I’m honestly concerned to be traveling to this race, alone, at this point.  Initially, my mom was going with me.  Unfortunately, she bailed on me a few weeks ago.  She has important business that arose and she can’t go away for the weekend.  Enter, hmmmm.  Um, my, hmmm.  Do you have that single person in your life that defies your ability to accurately describe them?  They kind of transcend terms, they make words seem generic when you try to find one that fits.  You know, that person who is kind of like the peanut butter to your jelly or in our terms, the vodka to your soda?  Well, she was going with me!  All was right and well in the world, sunshine had rainbows and butterflies were busy spreading glitter through my life.  Water tasted like the dew off new born unicorns and my life has been flooded with kittens.  We were going to have a fun weekend away capped off with the race!  Until, I had to be me and act like an asshole.  I’m the quintessential king of self sabotage.  I’m the guy who can’t leave well enough alone.  My own happiness must make some part of my brain go limp with fear, thats when life is right for me to fuck up something really good.  In true to form fashion I implemented my scorched earth policy and burned through everything good I had in life last week.  One of these days I’ll let my insecurities stop running my mouth, sadly it wasn’t in time to save this.  I’m laying in the bed I created and it feels uncomfortable.  Truth, I almost quit and just said “fuck it,” Friday.  I’d lost my motivation to train, I had no worldly or personal desire to race.  I was finished, done and bailing on myself for a few months in order to regroup.  Thankfully I have a few really good friends who care about me.  My friends drug me up from the wallowing floor of my own life and made me see I’ll hate myself forever if I quit now.  I don’t want to do this without my support system but if I have too, I will.  

The last few days I’ve got in good training.  Maybe I’m stupid but I’m confident I can do this.  I’ve always been one to show up on game day.  I’d love to be able to look back on the last few weeks and know I’m ready as opposed to wondering if my lack of training will come as a harsh reality?  I’m nervous, I’m not trained to where I want to be and I’m petrified.  I’m loathing myself for taking my own shit out on someone so important to me.  I’m scared to travel alone, not because I need someone but because I wanted us to celebrate my triumph together.  My accomplishment will be great but I’ll know in my mind it could have meant so much more.  

Like always thank you for reading!  I’ll write again this week, something more specific to my approach and process leading up to the race this week.  Right now, I just really had to get this stuff off my chest, be human and show that everything leading up to a big race isn’t always smiles and puppies.  I hope by writing and putting all this out into the world my brain can somehow gain a little traction and stop spiraling out of control.  I need to quiet this noise.  

My Own List of 10...

I keep reading all these cheesy blog posts, "10 reasons to date a runner," "10 reasons not to date a triathlete," blah, blah, blah ad nauseum. It is none of my business who, how, when, where or why you want to date someone. But here is a list of 10 realities that one must accept when dealing with or spending any time with ME!

1) I'm moody. If I train too much I'm moody because my legs hurt and my core is sore. I'm moody because my calves are cramping and I find it difficult to sleep because my legs ache. The flip-side, I'm moody if I don't train. Two days without the pool and I'm ready to cut a bitch. Last year when I couldn't run for six weeks I was unbearable. I was apt to moments of spontaneous laughter quickly followed by an angry outburst of cuss words only to end with me crying as I told you "I just want to run!" Trust me, you'll want me to run too and just deal with my complaints.

2) My Jeep will smell like a locker room and also resemble one most days. My seatbelt will have a fair amount of crusty, sweaty salt stains in the summer. It is normal to have at least one bike taking up the normal place of my backseat. Just pretend you don't see or smell any of this mess. If you mention it, you might get an extremely self-conscious type explanation that will be so long and detailed you'll wish you'd have never brought it up. Save us both the time and effort, just don't notice my mess.

3) I create a lot of dirty clothes. And by a lot, I mean sometimes 3 to four changes of clothes a day. And not only dirty, but dirty, smelly, sweaty and salt crusted piles of my own filth. Likewise, I do a LOT of laundry. I can't tolerate the piles of sweaty, funky workout clothes so at least you won't have this to worry about.

4) The spandex obsession and the fact I've become all too comfortable in spandex. If you're a triathlete, part of the sport is owning your intricacies. Part of triathlon is spandex and it's cousin Lycra. How do you ride a sweaty bike seat for 4 hours then go for a sweaty run without chafing your boys or your nipples so bad it feels like a friction campfire a Boy Scout would be proud to make? One word, spandex. Spandex is your sweaty anti-chaffing friend and I'm all too comfortable in mine. Grocery store, quick trip for gas, Target run, sure, I'll go there in spandex. Sometimes I'll top off the look with come compression socks. I lost my pride and humility a long time ago. Just be prepared that I may be wearing spandex at any time to any place. 

5) Yes, you should tell me if I have dried snot on, in or around my nose. Really, I don't know it's there. Sometimes it's full fledged boogers. Sorry, body functions happen and triathletes are fucking disgusting. It's just a rule. Sometimes when I swim, bike or run the effort causes my nose to flow and the labored breathing of a heifer has a tendency to coat me in a thin film of nose mucus. It wipes off, I swear! 

6) Yes, really, I do workout all the time. Not an exaggeration. When I tell you I'm training, that's really where I am. If I don't tell you I'm training but you haven't heard from me or gotten in touch with me for three hours, it's because I'm training. When you say, "you didn't tell me you swam tuesday," usually it's because my robotic consistency and fear of anything non-routine made me just figure you knew. Also, when you say, "you didn't tell me you were training that often," it's because if I told you all of the times I train that is all we'd EVER talk about. I'm not THAT one dimensional, but I'm close. 

7) Why do I train like a mad man? This gets complicated. First, I train because I'm passionate, I want to make myself better. Every training session I get better than the one before. I enjoy the process of positive self change. I like getting faster. I like getting more fit. I like seeing my clothes fit better and I like being able to munch down on that occasional cheeseburger with french fries washed down the gullet with a fifth of good bourbon - minus the guilt. I really like to look good in nice clothes. But the off shoot of all this, I really like girls to wanna have sex with me! Seriously, I'll admit it, sex is fun! The better you look the better your chances of putting your naked fun parts with some naked female fun parts and having an awesome night of bedroom chaos! By the same token, all that cardio and being in shape make for some well conditioned bedroom Olympics. There is one thing that can make me skip that pool workout tomorrow morning at 5am and that's a frisky swim around the bed sheets! There you have it, the truth! 

8) Do you pee on your bike? No. But the caveat, triathletes are gross and I've learned not to put a hard and fast ceiling on my ability to be absolutely disgusting. So, for now, no, I have some goddamn morals and I don't pee on my seat. Might there come a time? I guess only time will tell. If my bike starts living in the garage that's probably a good sign I've become a seat pee-er.

9) "You get up at 4am to go workout? Are you crazy? Aren't you tired?" Will always be met with "fuck yeah I'm tired! That's the dumbest question ever!" Just because I'm a triathlete doesn't mean I don't get tired. Getting up in the middle of the morning is still getting up in the middle of the goddamn morning. But if I dwelled on that aspect I'd never be a triathlete. I'd never get a morning swim or a morning ride or pack my lunch. Yes, getting up a 4am sucks fucking ass. But I do it. Not because I'm a martyr, not because it's any easier for me but because I have goals. I'm willing to sacrifice my personal comfort and lose sleep in order to achieve my dreams. That's the reason, it's simple. I struggle with the snooze button just like you, some days the bed and the snooze bar even win the battle. But over time my passion wins the war far more often. Trust me, this triathlon stuff isn't easy. I'm no different than you, I'm just willing to be a lot more uncomfortable in the present to reach my goals in the future. Don't underestimate what you can tolerate if you're just willing to put your preconceived ideas aside and make a few sacrifices. 

10) I'm driven purely by ego and the fact I think I'm better than everyone. Very wrong! I love myself and I love the feeling I get when I achieve a goal that seems impossible when I start. Have you ever set a goal so high and lofty it scares you? So big it wakes you up at 3am and you can't go back to sleep? If not, then you aren't dreaming big enough! I love chasing down that dream that seems unattainable - until you achieve it. All the sacrifice, hard work, struggle and time pay you back 10 fold when you finally get to the end of the path. When you climb your mountain, tackle your distance or finish that project, that feeling of accomplishment is amazing. That's not egotism, that's self love and getting the feeling that only comes when you really stretch yourself to the limit. That's what I'm addicted too. I got the feeling at my first 5k, I got the feeling at my first 10k, at my first half marathon and my first triathlon. You hit the line, you remember the struggle and the feeling of accomplishment explodes. With me it's usually messy and ugly with tears and hugs - but, it's there. I chase that feeling everyday! There is no better feeling and no better exhibit of self love than chasing down a huge goal with all your passion, try it! 

That's the 10 things you should know about me before you spend time with me. I can be Uber grumpy or I can be super motivating. Sometimes I'm disgusting and sometimes I'm downright lovable. Hate me or love me I'm always just me! 

Long Course Triathlon; the human science experiment

"Self education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is."

Isaac Asimov

This past weekend I set out to prove to myself I am ready for my first Ironman 70.3 race at the end of this month, in Raleigh. The plan was to ride 50 miles on the bike Saturday morning, run a 5K race, as part of the Frederick Running Festival, Saturday night. Sunday morning we'd run the Frederick Half Marathon and collect our medals for a long training weekend. 

Friday night I went to bed early in preparation of the awesome weekend. Saturday morning at 6:30am we set out on our bikes. Unfortunately, we ran into trouble quick. One guy broke his master link within the first 6 miles. We were a rider down quick. We continued on for 38 miles over mountains, steep inclines and various local towns. The ride was going great and I climbed two mountains, for the first time ever. The climbs didn't go well, I learned quick I need to start climbing more to be in Lake Placid shape. 

Sadly, I also found out I need to take better care of my nutrition on the bike. About 35-38 miles into the ride I got severe cramps in my quads! Cramps so bad I couldn't pedal. I had not been eating, I had not been drinking and I forgot to take my salt sticks. All my own doing and my own stupidity. "Train like you race, race like you train," my friend Ginny says. I'll start to heed this advice. I called for a bailout ride to take the drive of shame but friend continued on. Within ten feet he managed to blow both of his ties and needed to come back for a ride. We see these events as an omen and obviously we were supposed to stop our ride thanks to fate! 

Saturday night, I went to run the "NutJob," 5k. The first two miles went great! However, the 3rd mile proved a challenge. My quads cramped again, for the third time this week. I had to do a trot/walk back to the finish. I ran a 34:29, officially. Not my best 5k, but still a race I pushed through adversity and finished. 

Saturday night I went to bed early after laying out my run gear.

The morning of the half marathon was PERFECT! Sunny, in the 60's and no wind. The day would remain perfect. Learning from my cramping mishaps, I doubled up and took 2 salt sticks before the race and continued with two salt sticks every hour. It worked perfect and I had no cramping issues even with a hotter than expected race and a lot of sweat I had no cramping!

The other goal of this half marathon was to test my ability to handle Gatorade. Gatorade has become the drink of Ironman and in a pinch I needed to be able to tell if I could tolerate the drink. First, Gatorade tastes like shit, second, I can tolerate it if I have to drink it. I only drank on course Gatorade and I made it to the line. I also found out Powerbar Vanilla gels are by far the best gels! I love them. Easy to eat and more liquid than other options, I'll be using those for my long course racing. Last, Powerbar Energy Bursts are delicious! I could eat these as candy and I like the way they work. Also, they freakin' taste like candy, did I mention that before?!

Thus, the half marathon did what I needed it to do. I have my nutrition products I like and I have a loose framework for how I'll fuel. I'm also going to carry my own Skratch electrolyte mix instead of using Gatorade. But I'll get into all this more as I find out what I need to take in per hour. 

The best part of the half marathon was running with my friend and his coworkers. I had the opportunity to help pace in some first time half marathon finishers. I got the feeling of giving back and the experience to remember what it feels like to conquer your first distance event! I feel like I upped my run karma! 

Overall the weekend was great! I trained with my buddy and collected some hardware for the effort. I've found my loose fueling plan, now I just need to put my powers of OCD into affect and come up with a concrete plan to follow in Raleigh!  I'm feeling good and confident for the first time! Now, I just need to start climbing on the bike so I can be ready for and tackle Lake Placid Ironman! 

Thanks for reading! I'll post more later in the week!! 

Sex, Drugs and Rock-n-Roll; just kidding, I'm a triathlete and go to bed at 8pm

Writing fun articles for a triathlon blog while plugging away base training on the bike trainer or treadmill isn’t possible.  At least for me and my loathsome winter brain, writing such articles isn’t a possibility.  (If you have the ability to write a fun bike trainer article I think you’re a sadist, but who am I to judge?)  However, the important takeaway is I’m back, I’m writing, I’m excited for a new season of endurance racing and I hope to update more frequently this year.  Now that I’ve made most normal readers click off my page thanks to my incessant rambles, I should start really writing before the rest of you leave.  

First, welcome back to my blog!  I have 13 weeks until we line up at the shore of Mirror Lake and start racing Ironman Lake Placid 2015.  This year’s blog is going to follow my prep, training, things I learn, pearls of wisdom and probably a few heart breaks during these next 13 weeks.  So far, I’m feeling good.  Not great, but good.  My confidence is building and for the first time I’m honestly feeling I can complete this race.  I do need, NEED to be much more diligent in my preparation.  I’ve still been putting people and things before my training.  Truth, hearing that we are just 13 short weeks from race day has my butt hole puckered tighter than an alter boy at a priest convention.  I’m petrified!  I’m not ready but I know with my new level of motivation and determination I’ll be ready on race day!  

Right now my I’m training 6 days a week and resting one day every week.  My coach, call the cliche police I couldn’t not type “my coach,” in a post, has me building and we start my race season this week with a few races.  Wednesday I’m doing a brick/du with my triathlon club, thursday night I’m going for an open water swim, saturday morning I’ve got a long bike ride outside with a fellow Ironman Lake Placid competitor, Saturday night I’m racing a 5k and Sunday I’m running a half marathon (the 5k + 1/2 marathon combo is called the NutJob, so it only seems fitting for me.)

I’m incredibly excited to mention I’ll be working with a ROCKSTAR nutritionist for this season!  Elizabeth Inpyn and Alex Collins of INPYN Nutrition have been gracious enough to accept me into their family of athletes.  I’m humbled and excited to be working with them this season.  I feel like as lonely as triathlon can sometimes be the team you assemble (support, coaching, nutrition, friends, training partners and family) are what really help you get from starting line to finish line on any given race day.  I’m lucky, I’m blessed and I’m thankful to be heading into the 2015 season with the greatest support group any man walking this planet could ask for!  I thank all of you who impact me daily for your support.  “When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.” -Japanese Proverb

Thanks again for reading this post and I hope you’ll check back through the season for updates and screen shots from my season.  Questions or comments, please feel free to drop me a message in the comments section or email me.  Have a great week and happy training!  

Recovery Update 1

I'm shifting my mindset from injury to recovery! Tomorrow I'm back in the game. 9 months until Raleigh and 11 months to Lake Placid, it's time to get to work.

I'm starting to think my injury is a blessing in disguise. For the first time in 2 years I've been forced to rest. I've caught up with friends, ate food I don't allow myself when training and I've lived a chaotic lifestyle with no set schedule. It's time to end this chaos, get on a schedule and feed myself on a plan. 

If I've learned anything it's to try and incorporate more balance in my life. I need to still include things I enjoy outside the training realm. I'm poor at balance, I'm an all or nothing guy, so this will be something for me to strive toward. 

I'm meeting with my coach Wednesday for a full discussion of recovery and return to my offseason plan. For now I know I'll be moving for about 30-45 minutes tomorrow, getting back to an eating plan and Wednesday morning at 5:15am I'll hit the YMCA pool for 6 x 100, all just testing the calf! 

Hopefully I'll be back to normal soon! 

Injury Update

I'm finally walking, with a limp, but I'm walking without pain!! If I move too fast the calf let's me know but overall, for having this happen last Tuesday, I feel I'm making progress. 

I'm going to start back to activity next Monday as long as I keep recovering. I spoke to a friend who offered to try some interesting therapy ideas. I'll discuss this more as I find out more information.

Just wanted to give a quick update! Still looking like an eternity before I can run or ride the bike again. :-(