140.6

Journey Complete.

Short Version:

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

Long Version:

486 miles swimming, 13,770 miles biking, and 4,860 miles running

Super long, extended, detailed version:

Sometimes the path to your goals does not turn out exactly the way you had planned it, but adapting to the path you find yourself on, is part of the journey to finishing.....not just an Ironman or race, but anything.

The weekend started off well.  I was able to get up to the Woodlands early to register before the crowds, look around, and get a feel of the venue and transition areas.  I usually like doing that before the crowds show up.  That way, I get to talk more with the volunteers, and get their stories and tips, as they have more time to talk to individuals (and some of the volunteers are actually really experienced triathletes who have a lot of good pointers....just an fyi).

 (credit to Kevin)

On Thursday night there was an athlete dinner.  Usually I avoid events like this, but I am glad I went.  I was by myself, so I just sat at a table near the back.  Met two nice ladies from Chicago and a guy from Minnesota.  I told them they lucked out on the weather (low humidity and first time ever the Texas Ironman had been completely wetsuit legal).  You would have thought we had all been friends forever talking, joking around, and telling stories......but that is another reason I like triathlon as a sport, really down to earth people with unbelievable stories (ok, there are some triathletes that are complete a*% clowns, but I think every sport has those....right??).

PRE RACE

The crew.  One last time.

Jamie is a rockstar being able to entertain this crew all day while waiting on me.  And just getting them up at 5AM to come hang with me before the swim start.  Playgrounds are always good too. :)

Just a soothing, reassuring feeling before getting in the may-lay they call a swim start.  This was the real deal though - no wave starts (where age groups usually start 5 minutes after each other, until everybody has gone).  Everybody, all at once.........it was pretty awesome.

As always, some good pre-race advice from this one.  Since I've never had a coach or an official tri group that I belong too, she fits that role for me.  At least from a motivational aspect.

Swim:  1 hour 26 min

Yep, a bit slow.  Didn't get a clean start, and was a little bogged down in the masses at the beginning.  Swim went smooth though, didn't get kicked or smacked too bad, and only had to kick a couple arms off my feet.  First half mile was a little crowded, but I found my way to some relatively "open" water, and settled in.

The end of the swim is pretty unique.  For a little less than the last mile, we swam down a canal which was lined on both sides with spectators.  It was pretty cool to see and hear them so close during a lengthy portion of the swim.

I felt great at the end of the swim.  Not tired or sore.  No cramping.  Felt like I could have kept swimming for another long while.  As I climbed out of the water, I felt really comfortable with my day and the plan I had laid out.

Bike:  6 hours 40 min

And this is when everything fell apart.  No planning or training could have prepared me for what was in store the rest of the day.

I was just settling in and getting mentally comfortable with the long ride that was ahead of me.  Started to get excited about the course I had reviewed online and all the sites I was going to get to see, especially the ride through the National Forest.

Then, as I passed a slower cyclist.......things fell apart - very quickly.

First, when passing you are only supposed to be two riders wide, especially near the beginning, when the lane we are constricted to is narrower.  As I was passing, another cyclist started passing me on the left (making us 3 wide), which I was fine with - until the biker on the inside, who was going pretty slow, had no one in front of him, and had no one to pass.  He started drifting left - I had nowhere to go.  He bumped me, and that was enough.

This is what it would have looked like, with me in the middle (and the two behind not so close):



From just getting settled in and getting comfortable, to skidding across the asphalt/concrete at 22 mph.  Probably skidded about 10-15 ft.  I distinctly remember while skidding, tucking my head, and thinking to myself, "Please.  Let it be a bike and not a car that hits me."  When I stopped skidding, I was amazed that I was not hit by either a car or a bike.  As I stood up, I started to take inventory of myself.  Amazingly, nothing was broken.  Nothing felt cracked or fractured.  My whole right side was scraped up pretty good though.  Arm was pretty bloody, helmet saved my head (J got this close up the day after).

Once up, I started to look around for my bike (unbelievably no one else fell or was effected by the wreck).  An officer who was helping with the race had my bike off to the side of the road, a good ways away.  As I walked back to retrieve my bike, my thoughts turned to how my day was going to end.  All the training that I had put in for this day, to have it end so early into the bike. I was so sad, discouraged, and frustrated with how my journey was going to end.

As the officer handed me my bike, he asked if I needed medical attention, I half heard him, as I was trying to figure out what was damaged on my bike (as I was sure something was): wheels, spokes, cables, chain, pedals, gears.  As he asked me a second time, I hadn't noticed any significant damage other than the chain had come off.  I respectfully declined the medical attention, and told him I thought my bike might be "ok".  I fiddled with the chain a bit, got it back on, spun the peddles, and everything seemed good.  I told him I was going to ride it for a bit and see what happened.

He had seen the whole thing, and was as shocked as I was that I wasn't seriously hurt and my bike wasn't damaged.  It was an uncomfortably long ride.  My right side was pretty beat up, but it was the pain behind my right knee that bothered me the most.  Must have landed on it awkwardly at some point during the wreck........but I was on my bike and riding - I had gotten a second chance.  At that point, I was thankful to still be a participant, and all my meticulously laid out and calculated plans had changed from specific times and goals for certain miles on the bike and run to..........just finish.

 I love biking.  I was excited for the 112 mile bike ride.  The bike course was absolutely stunning and beautiful.  But on this day, I was really thankful to be off the bike (as in dismounting and racking, not as I had earlier found my way off the bike).

Run:  5 hours 42 min

Humbling.

I had run a marathon back in January to get a feel for the distance, and had done alright for a first timer (3 hr 43 min).  But there was nothing kind or comfortable about this marathon.  I take that back.  The course and fan support (mainly along the river walk, which was a good portion of the race) were amazing.  The best I have ever seen.

You know it's never a good sign when you hit mile 3 and know your body isn't fully functioning properly.  At that point I was determined to do whatever it took to finish AND fully enjoy every moment of the final hours of my journey.  So on the first two laps, I made sure to stop and talk and hug and chat with my support crew for a minute or so.  I think the kids really enjoyed that.  And it gave me a little relief from my right knee. ;)

Big shout out to J and the kids, and Jamie's Dad and Mom and Deesh coming to cheer me on!  Much appreciated and needed.  After I passed the crew on lap two, they headed to the finish line, and I had about 10 lonely miles to figure out how I was going to get there.  Pace and cadence came in key.

(the expression explains a lot)

The back of my right knee that had bothered me biking, became noticeably more uncomfortable each mile of the marathon, until about mile 17 when it was just a tad on the painful side.  Miles 17-26, took me places I didn't know existed. Part of the allure of Ironman, to me, is to test your limits.  What can you really do?  What is your body actually capable of? The marathon I ran in January gave me a glimpse of what it was like to have your body tinkering on completely shutting down physically, these last 9 miles gave me a glimpse of what was mentally possible.

Mile 17 to 18 consisted of me arguing with myself to "just finish.  You could walk the rest of the way and easily make the time limit." and my other voice saying, "This is it. Leave everything you have out here.  You already missed your goals, your body is beat up from the bike wreck, but don't just do enough to finish.  Give it a good honest final effort.  Find your limit."

Miles 18-26 were about 12:30 min pace, which is all I had.  It was almost like after making the decision to sell my body out, my mind completely shut off.  I couldn't feel anything, not the pain in my knee, not the sore legs, nothing.  It was almost like me, watching me.

Incredible.

The crowd, the excitement, the noise, the atmosphere, and the finish were all more than I had even imagined.

And all of this for one last medal.  A medal that will forever hold a story, a journey, and experiences I would have never imagined.  While the medal may be tangible, it is the intangible stories and experiences of triumph, trial, discouragement, improvement, support, and accomplishment that will always be the true value of the medal.  What a journey.
 

Thanks for all the love and support.

Special thanks to Jamie for bringing the kids each time to my races and corralling them during the races, just to see me for a brief moment and a high-five here and there.  To Jamie's family for coming and helping her with the kids and cheering me on in the warm weather.  To Ryan and Chad for riding with me super early on Saturday mornings - you two would have loved the bike course. And to my family who followed my every moment online and by texts with Jamie.......must have been close to 100 texts I read through eating dinner after the race.

Deesh and the kids eating pizza, where's mine?  That would have tasted good around mile 20! ;)

p.s.  While my journey is complete, I'll still be keeping in shape for marathons or half Ironmans, so if anyone gets the urge - give me a call and I'll be there with you. :)

Oceanside 70.3 Triathlon

After my LONG (as in distance - Houston marathon) detour from my journey, I returned to the plan......and found myself in Oceanside, CA

My journey was never intended to be such a long road, but the more I dabbled in the sport, the more it got its hooks in me, and the more I found myself taking just one more step on my journey.........next stop May 17th, Woodlands of Texas (my first full 140.3 ironman) - and suddenly you find yourself doing things you thought were completely impossible.

First things first.  Can you go to So. Cal. and NOT stop at an ocean-side pier for some fish and chips?  The answer is no (also had to get me a couple pounds of smoked salmon after the race, that is another must do).

 

So. Cal. has it figured out though.......playgrounds literally right n the beach.  We went down to check out the race venue, and ended up staying all day as the kids played on the playground and beach and in the ocean all day.......what a set-up!  Well done Oceanside, well done.

 

 Seriously, could I actually type anything to describe their joy better than the picture depicts up above?  They loved every minute of that playground/beach set-up.

Sam did awesome in her big race too.  Sometimes Ironman races have an Ironkids race the day before, and Sam loves racing in those......really, she likes the medal at the end, but who doesn't? :)

 

 She did great.  Alayna was going to join her, but after all the fun on the playground/beach, Alayna had already crashed for the night in the stroller......and we do not wake sleeping toddlers. :)

There is something that just seems so right about this picture.  Pre-race T1 bike rack.  Just seems to catch the moment of every tri morning before the cannons go off, and all that anxiety and anticipation starts to slowly become realized.

My support crew is the best. Sam giving me some pre-race advice and strategy tips, while trying to figure out how much money was spent on "all those bikes." :)

About those bikes.  Big shout out to Endurance House in Oceanside, CA.  I shipped my bike from TX to CA for the race, and didn't bring any bike equipment except a spare tire kit.  Picked my bike up and my gears were all messed up, and my left crankarm was loose and about to fall off.  I know it happened during transport because I had literally rode my bike to the shop to drop it off the day of transport, and it was running smooth.

Endurance House took time to look at my bike the afternoon the day before the race, and got me all worked out and in tip top shape for race day.  The bike ran smooth.  Great shop, great people, great service...even to an out of towner they may never see again (although if I am ever in the area, I'll go buy something there everytime). 

Pre-race family pic ops.  Jamie is awesome.  Getting up early, and bringing all the kids.  It's good to see them, and get to a good quiet motivational mind set, before all hell breaks lose during the open water swim.

Luckily the swim start also had a play ground area right on the beach, which helped Jamie entertain so early in the morning.

The transfer of gear has occurred.  The mornings are always a little bit cooler, and Sam likes stealing all my pre-race clothes and putting them on as I take them off.

Swim: 40:21

You know, my swim time is not really improving.  But that is mainly do to me trying to get ready for the full IM in May.  All my swimming sessions are for endurance and yardage, and not really time.

The swim went fairly well.  I positioned at the front outer edge again, to stay away from the free for all at the start.....which worked well.  The problem with that strategy is that if you are not careful, you could end up swimming a lot further than everyone else as you are out on the edge on all the turns (kinda like a race track.  Starting in lane 8 is not horribly bad, if it is just for a straight away, and then you cut to lane 1 at the first turn, not ideal, but not all that bad.  The problem is if you stay out in lane 8 for the whole race, then that's bad.).

I was doing great until I ran into the notorious zig-zag swimmer.  Guy couldn't sight worth......well, he had difficulty let's leave it at that.  Hard to get around those guys as you usually get bumped or smacked by them a couple times before getting by and clear of them.  Seriously, the buoys are huge florescent colors.......gigantic.

T1 6:41 went slow.

Remember in my past posts about how much I like the wet suit rippers?  Every race I've done, they've been there, and I didn't even think twice this time.......but alas, no rippers.  Well, although it didn't go terribly bad....my appreciation for them has only grown more fond.  They are awesome. :)

Bike 2:50

Bike was awesome.  Love biking.  The first part of the bike was pretty flat, and slightly down hill, with the coastline and ocean off our left-hand side for probably about 20-25 miles.  The views were amazing.  The whole ride was in and out of Camp Pendleton (a marine military base), which was pretty cool to see, and probably not a sight most people ever get to see, since it is usually closed to the public (but they open it for the 70.3 race each year).  Some of the marines were out cheering and lending their support......what I do (racing and just my general work) is so incredibly not important compared to what they do for us.  I appreciated their support that day, but more so their life of service for me, for us.

I knew there were some hills on the back half of this race course, and had been forewarned in my research.....and knew where they were mileage wise.  After coming up a shorter hill (not one of the main talked about hills), there was a guy at the top, talking to a Marine volunteer about how he had trained for "that" hill.  I started to laugh a little inside, knowing "that" was not the hill.  As I rode by, I heard the Marine say, "You are in trouble if you think that was "a" hill!"  Might of laughed out loud a little.

There were hills.  Over the summer I was lucky enough to have a chance to be able to ride over the Teton Pass, Pine Creek Pass, and the Alpine Pass.....all substantially bigger than any of the hills I was sure I'd see.  And they were, all bigger, and steeper.  But that mind set did not give enough respect for the hills California rolled out during this 70.3 course.

I recently got a new Garmin bike computer, and have been using it on my local rides around Houston, Texas.  I set my Garmin to auto shut off, if I dropped below 10mph.  If I'm not going 10mph, I must be stopped at a light, slowing for stop signs, or just starting or finishing.  Well, I didn't even think about the auto shut off until I was about half way up the first big hill.  Everyone was crawling, some were even walking their bikes up.  I was making small talk with some of the riders about how Houston only had little man-made hills........just then my Garmin beeped.  It had auto shut off.  My computer thought I had stopped! LOL!  I told everyone, "Ah man, I'm going so slow, my computer thinks I quit."  Everyone got a pretty good chuckle, which we all needed, as the hill ate us up.

All in all, the bike went well.  Pretty happy with that time for that course.

T2 3:36

Pretty slow......that's because I couldn't find my number to rack my bike.  I was lost.  Luckily Jamie and the kids had come with me the day before to drop my run stuff off, and they were yelling at me as to where my bike should be racked,  Pretty comical.

Run 2:04

Some days you just know it's not going to happen the way you planned.  Felt great off the bike.  Fueled like I wanted to, and was set to have a good run.  For the first mile I felt great, right where I wanted to be.  LOL! (for 1 lousy mile)

Not that I completely fell apart, but I could feel my legs twitching...quads and hams, but nothing serious, but way too early to get that feeling.  That stuff usually happens later in the run.  So from that point it was maxing what I could do, without aggravating anything that could completely shut me down.  Held to 8:30min/mi for awhile (wanted to be closer to 8:00), then slowly got ate up by the sun, slow rolling hills, and the steep ramps they had on the course.  I finished with a 9:30min/mi pace, which is not were I wanted to be, but was shocked it wasn't closer to 11:00min/mi.....because that is what they felt like at the end.

Did I mention Jamie brought reinforcements this time?

My support crew was second to none.  Dad and Janice were in town, Nate and Brittany and their son Noah (even baby Eli came) live there, Gail and Andy and their two daughters Summer and Dawna were there, and Jill and Eric and their son Ryan and daughter Erika were there too.  It was pretty fun having them around and seeing them throughout the run.

Ok.  In all honesty, we were all there for Nate and Brittany's new baby Eli's baby blessing on Sunday the day after my race......but hey, they still made time to come cheer me on during the run too.  Jill is working on putting together the distances for a half ironman (olympic is her next distance, but I keep trying to put the bug in her ear for a half), and when she gets there, I'll be there. :)

 

Some of the crew post race.  Jamie appreciated the help, and I appreciated the familiar faces throughout those 2 hours.

Is any race complete without a medal?  Hey.  Sammy got one, so I had to go get one too.  The feeling of finishing is awesome, the feeling of finishing with so much family around is unforgettable......more people to share the moment with.

Official Stats from the Race 

Now, I'm only missing one medal from my collection, before it's complete.

What do you do at a California post race?  Beach of course.  San Clemente beach to be exact.  Hung out there a couple hours just taking in the scene, and enjoying the beach and company.  Cousins are awesome.

Come on.  Is this not a classic pic of Summer.  She owns babies.  Putty in her hands.  Even our crazy, full of energy kids.

A walk with Grandpa and Grandma Janice.  On San Clemente beach, where all the older kids grew up playing and hanging out.  Crazy how things seem to always come full circle......over and over and over again.

The real reason everyone was in town.  Eli's baby blessing.  What a great Sunday it was with family all around.  Nate did a great job.  Nate and Brittany did an awesome job hosting everyone. And if you can't tell......Alayna was super excited - the whole time.

What is a trip to So. Cal. and not taking in Disneyland?  We don't know, and we don't want to find out.  Sam and Alayna loved it, and danced and messed around all day in both parks.....witness picture two, they just fed off each other....bunch of posers.  Peyton slept through most of it.

It was really nice and relaxing, non stressful, get off our legs type of activity Jamie and I needed after the race weekend...........well.......Sam and A loved it, so mission accomplished.

.

Houston Chevron Marathon

Detour from my journey.......ok, a "long" detour

along my journey.

So........I decided to figure out just how far 26.2 miles really is.

“Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.” - Tim Noakes

My logic was sound.  Run a marathon to get a feel for the distance before having to go that full distance at the end of Ironman Texas (http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/texas.aspx#axzz2r64oGyKQ).  But then my "Holiday" genes kicked in, and it slowly turned from "run it and get a feel for it" to "throw everything you have at it".

26.2 miles is really far.  Admittedly, my conditioning for this distance was lacking severely.  After all, I was only going to "get a feel" for this distance originally.

Pre Race

Everything went smoothly.  Got up at 4:00 AM and got a ride down to Houston after my sister in-law told me in no uncertain terms that she was not waking up at 4/4:30 to be at the Houston Convention Center at 5:00 AM (I think the terms she used was "Hell, to the NO").  She's pretty awesome.

Drove down with a buddy of mine from work who is a marathon guru.  He's ran a lot.  No, even more than the number you are thinking of.  No, even more than the new number you are thinking of.  At least now, you are kinda close to his actual number of marathons ran.  Since this was my first marathon, it was good getting a couple pre-race pointers (bag check, corral layout, insider tips, etc).

(obviously this is a post race picture)

After using the above group's secret bathrooms (which was life saving), we headed out to the starting corrals.  I should mention I only know two guys in the picture above.  It is really of their running group, but since I tagged along with my buddy, they let me sit in for the picture. :)

Once in the starting corrals, we waited a few minutes before the National Anthem, which is how every sporting event, everywhere should start........truly amazing the sacrifices that are made for our country.

My running buddy gave me a tip to bring a "throw away" long sleeve t-shirt to keep warm while waiting in the corral before the start of the race..........he is an alumni of UT (Texas), so guess what shirt I brought as a "throw away" shirt?  Yep. :)

There is one strong advantage for triathlon pre races compared to marathon pre races.  Even though I use the restroom several times before both pre races, I always have pre start, right before the gun gitters, and usually have to go one more time........all I'm saying, is that when competing in a triathlon, that is not a problem in the least.  Yep.

Miles 1 - 20

These miles went great.  Felt great, felt strong.  Didn't go out too fast, held a steady pace (about 8:00 min/miles).  Took my GUs and first salt tablets as planned.........mile 8 GU pack, mile 10 salt tablets, mile 13 GU again, and mile 20 should have been salt tablets again.  You wouldn't believe how many times I went over that in my head.  Over and over and over.

But as I hit mile 20 (which mind you is the furthest I've actually ever ran), I felt great.  In fact, I distinctly remember thinking in my mind, "I only have 6 miles left, that's just a 10K, I've got this, I'm going to crush my goal time."  Thus, I decided to hold off on my salt pills a little longer.  Idiot.

Miles 21 - 23

 This is when I ran into my awesome support crew (Jamie, Sam, Alayna, Peyton, Mike, and Gayla - Jamie's parents).  They also were cheering for "Deesh" who was running the half marathon (she did awesome). A much needed pick me up, and fortunately before I completely fell apart.

I started to slow down a little, could feel the pace escaping me, so I put my salt tablets and a GU in right around mile 22.  Too late.  When I hit mile 23, I remember thinking, "You're in trouble, you have a whole 5K left, and this aint looking good."  I couldn't believe how quick I went from feeling "great" to "you're in trouble".  I've done a few half Ironmans before, and have had some issues cramping, and with fatigue, but they came on gradually........this time it seemed to go from "yeah, I'm a little tired and fatigued" to "Uh oh" in abut half a mile.

The frustrating part is that your lungs, heart, and mind are all fine.  Each of them feel as though they could go on forever, but your legs just seize up, start cramping, and you can't get them to do exactly what you want them to do.  You just manage the pain and fatigue through stride cadence and try not to aggravate anything from completely cramping up.  Extremely frustrating.

Mile 24 and 25

 These were some dark miles.  We have a reference in our family about the "bear" coming to get you during running events.  Usually it is used by us when referring to the last 100 meters of a 400 meter run, or the last 200 meters of an 800 meter run.  But it always refers to that moment when you just feel completely exhausted, and the going has gotten real tough, but you have to push through and carry on to the end........even if you have to carry the bear on your back to the finish line.

Well the bear I encountered was not this guy:

No, no........he looked a lot more like this! Scary mofo (can anyone name the movie?).

Mile 26

 By this time my nutrition and salt pills were flowing through my system, and my cadence management had alleviated the potential cramping......still had sore legs, but was able to pick up my pace and finish the last mile relatively strong.  And that finish line, was a great sight, and had quite the atmosphere around it (http://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-7064?lc=en)..........it was pretty neat to take in.

Post Race
(total time 3 hours 43 minutes about 8:33 min/mile pace)

Medals of course.......for those who could stand.  Deesh (Michelle, Jamie's sister with whom I was going to stay until she found out what time I wanted to arrive at the marathon) and me.  She ran the half marathon and did great!  Even with IT band issues leading up to the race week, she still crushed it!

 I am starting to hear rumblings of another possible marathon, with some unlikely characters, which would be really awesome..........stay tuned!  ;)