Ironman World Championships 70.3
Saturday, November 21, 2009
We got home on Sunday from a great weekend with Alan and Family at IM Florida in PCB, 48 hours later we were packing back up to leave out for Clearwater. This time yours truly was racing. We decided to cancel Tuesday night's reservation and leave out early on Wednesday morning because everyone was exhausted after 2 days of working late, school, training, repacking, and Biggest Loser comes on Tuesday night. Plus it works out pretty good that way because I function better in the morning and "the Diesel" and "the Genius" can sleep while I drive.
We got to Clearwater about mid morning, made a quick stop at Einstein Bros. Bagels for Bfast, and went on to the Hilton where they were extremely nice and let us check in early. It is always funny to watch the bellman's reaction to ALL the gear we unload on to the cart. Such things as luggage, computer, wetsuits, bike gear bags, lots of grocery bags(we have graduated from plastic Piggly Wiggly bags to the "green friendy" woven bags, a little higher class), cooler, bike, and the all important........drum roll please.....................rice cooker. I discovered that I could cook oatmeal in the room with a rice cooker. It does a very good job and is very fast. You just have to us a little more water or milk than you normally would. This is important because at 4 am on race morning I will be eating oatmeal with raisins and banana. Anyway the bellman got us to our room, I gave him a donation towards his hernia surgery, and we were settled in.
Athlete check in and the expo opened on Wednesday so we walked over and got my race packet and did a little shopping. The weather was horrible. A tropical storm had blown up thru the Gulf and a continuation of high winds, cool temps, rough surf, and rain showers were still with us and would be all the way thru Friday. This did not however deter the athletes from getting out and doing their workouts. It would however be interesting to see what is going to happen with the swim for Saturday morning. After all this a World Championship, so rough water or not, will it happen?
Thursday was pretty low key. I went to The Long Center for my swim workout, what a beautiful facility. We hit some of our favorite eating establishments in the area and the girls went shopping for Tyler's Christmas formal dress. Julie logged some run miles as she is already starting to build some base for next year...WHAT??!! I'm not done with this year yet! She and Tyler did spend a great deal of time in the Hot Tub. Hmmm....I think this had more to do with the buff men in lycra than the warm water. I just tried to stay off my feet as much as possible and nap when I could. I also spent alot of time planning and visualizing my race day.
That night we drove down to the athletes meeting to hear all the stuff we here at all the other races. When leaving the meeting, 3 athletes asked for a ride back to their hotel located just before getting to the Hilton. Turns out they were from Italy, spoke little English, and the one doing all the talking was a pro named Daniel Fontana.....2 days later he was Reserve World Champion.
Friday morning, I got up early and went out for a run and then we had invitations to a "Coffee with Crowie" sponsored by Newton Running. Crowie is Craig Alexander, 2X IM World Champion, and a former IM World Champion 70.3. It was a very nice informal gathering in one of the meeting rooms at the Hilton. Crowie talked for a bit, answered some questions, and then stuck around for some autographs and pictures. What a super guy. Afterwards, I slipped out for a 30 min. bike to loosen the legs and double check my bike's racing condition, then to the Long Center for an EZ swim.
I got back to the Hilton and we ran into another former IM World Champion (of the KONA, HAWAII variety) Greg Welch in the hallway of the hotel and he told us they had just made the decision to move the swim into the harbor....I was disappointed.....rough water swim in the Gulf would definitely be an advantage for the strong swimmers. He filled me in on all the logistics and said it would be a Time Trial start however each AG would start at their original starting time....another super nice guy. I confirmed this with another member of the IM staff when I checked my bike and gearbags in about 2:00. I also confirmed that it was ok to have my shoes clipped to my bike and set my bike up the next morning with helmet, glasses, etc. So that left me with an empty bike bag for my wetsuit, cap, and goggles, and my run gearbag.....good to go....just what I wanted. We did our usually prerace Carrabbas meal about 4:30 and slept good Friday night. I got up at 4 am, busted out the rice cooker, fixed enought oatmeal for me and Alan, who after traveling half the night showed up at the room at 4:30. I did all my normal prerace morning stuff and went down to transition about 5:30. I got everything set up and went back to the room to relax before heading down to the swim start. My start time was at 7:55 so I left the hotel about 7 for the 15 min. walk down. They had already blocked the street off because the pros had begun exiting the water, so me and one other guy had to jump the fence with an official's approval to get through. I got to the swim start, finished putting on my wetsuit and another official started yelling for me to get in the corral because they were running 25 minutes ahead of schedule and my wave was fixing to start. I excused myself thru the last wave of guys already gathering and had to settle for being one of the last to enter the water in my wave....not what I wanted.
The swim was crowded and just average. 1 second send offs is BS and accomplished nothing other than to have everyone piled up on one another. I was able to bridge myself back to the front of the guys in my wave but when we got to the exit there was a huge bottleneck of people just treading water waiting to walk up the narrow dock. The officials could only allow 1 out at a time due to how narrow it was and very slick, so 30-45 seconds were wasted here just waiting to exit. I blew thru T1 and was anxious to see how I would feel on the bike. My heart rate was already in zone 4-5 and so I knew it would be well after the bridge before I might have a chance to recover. The 1st 10 miles were surprisingly quiet. I was averaging about 220 watts with what seemed like not much effort. A couple guys blew past but no big groups. Then suddenly a group with about 40 came by...2-3 wide and at least 100 yards long. I just stayed to the right till they all went past and then stayed my 7 meters behind. For 2 miles everything was fine till we hit an aid station and then there was a big crash in the middle of that pack. It broke everyone up for a while. I carried all my fluids with me so I was able to steer clear of all aid stations. After this debacle, I found myself with a couple guys that were riding clean and at my pace. Just after the turn around they both began to fall off the pace and I checked out. The next 20 miles, there were a couple more big packs and as before I just surfed behind until the intensity got too high then I just let them go, but for the most part it was a solo effort all the way back to T2 and I was more than ready to get off the bike. I was concerned because I felt my intensity was even higher than the race in Austin so I knew the run was going to hurt.
The swim was crowded and just average. 1 second send offs is BS and accomplished nothing other than to have everyone piled up on one another. I was able to bridge myself back to the front of the guys in my wave but when we got to the exit there was a huge bottleneck of people just treading water waiting to walk up the narrow dock. The officials could only allow 1 out at a time due to how narrow it was and very slick, so 30-45 seconds were wasted here just waiting to exit. I blew thru T1 and was anxious to see how I would feel on the bike. My heart rate was already in zone 4-5 and so I knew it would be well after the bridge before I might have a chance to recover. The 1st 10 miles were surprisingly quiet. I was averaging about 220 watts with what seemed like not much effort. A couple guys blew past but no big groups. Then suddenly a group with about 40 came by...2-3 wide and at least 100 yards long. I just stayed to the right till they all went past and then stayed my 7 meters behind. For 2 miles everything was fine till we hit an aid station and then there was a big crash in the middle of that pack. It broke everyone up for a while. I carried all my fluids with me so I was able to steer clear of all aid stations. After this debacle, I found myself with a couple guys that were riding clean and at my pace. Just after the turn around they both began to fall off the pace and I checked out. The next 20 miles, there were a couple more big packs and as before I just surfed behind until the intensity got too high then I just let them go, but for the most part it was a solo effort all the way back to T2 and I was more than ready to get off the bike. I was concerned because I felt my intensity was even higher than the race in Austin so I knew the run was going to hurt.
Another good transition and I started out running just under 7s. I was conservative up the bridge but really tried to use gravity and good form coming down. HR stayed 150-152 most of the first 10 miles. With 5 to go I switched to coke and with 3 to go I looked at my watch and saw I had just under 22 minutes to break 4:30. The return over the bridge sent me well into zone 5 and I just stayed there. I was running scared because I knew it would be close. Honestly, I just didn't want to let anyone down. I had a lot of family there, all of which traveled a great distance to be here for me. Most of all I did not want to disappoint Julie and Tyler. Julie is usually racing and having her on the side cheering was different....in a good way. My brother-in-law drove down from SC late Friday night to be there for support. He just did IMFL last week and had told me that when things got hard for him in the late stages of the run, he kept telling himself "you ain't no candy ass". It was something that I thought of a lot in that 2nd loop, and that 4 twenty something sounded better than 4 thirty something. I thought about my goals for this race. I hung it out there earlier in the week to Julie and Tyler so I knew they were clock watching. But mostly I thought of the 4 16 milers in the last 6 weeks that I had to negative split and how I knew my fitness was there, all I had to do was keep running.
Swim 27:39
T1 2:54
Bike 2:21:39
T2 2:28
Run 1:34:53
Total 4:29:32 26th out of 118 finished......138 started in my AG
A few things I observed while here at the World Championships 70.3.........
#1 Everyone here is fit and FAST, alot of amazing athletes...I thought at times I was not worthy.
#2 Most of the Pros are very nice, most of the AGers are not....the pros do this for a living, we do this for fun....be friendly or go find something that makes you happy.
#3 This is one race that the convienence of the Hilton was worth the price of the room....50 yards from the expo and 100 from transition.
#4 Ironman puts on a 1st class event...you are treated like a world class athlete.
#5 IM World Championships and a weak US dollar draws a HUGE international crowd....I would venture to say that 30-40% of the entries were foriegn.
Post race was about family time. First Julie, Tyler, and Gram hit the hot tub. That night we had a great supper at the Island Way Grill and then back to the hotel where Julie, Tyler, Gram, and Pop set up a card game in the lobby. Alan, Gloria(a family friend who has been a cheerleader at more than one our races) and I went back to our rooms and veged. As I sat there in bed I thought about the season and how nice it will be to take some time off.......just let my body heal up and eat some things I normally deprive myself of all year. It always sounds good but when it comes right down to it, I will get to thinking about next year, our schedule, the races and goals, the training, and what it is going to take to get faster.............................. I have a feeling it is going to be a very short off season. I can't wait.
Aloha!
The 3 Coconuts
Oh.....and about my goals for the race. I told the family that I wanted to go faster than I did in Augusta(4:39). This would be tough because of the faster than normal(5-6 min), down current swim at Augusta. If I had a phenom day on the bike I could possibly go under 4:30. If I could pull this off I would potentially be Top 50. Needless to say I had a good day.
Ironman Florida with Alan
Hammerhead buddy Angie...also "most photographed" race morning
Blain, Joy, Leah, and Tyler
My race season is over and the Flipper only has one more. This weekend is the party at the end that we've been looking forward to, Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach. We're not racing this year, just cheering on Alan. It will be his first Ironman. Last year this race was our first Ironman and he came down to help Tyler crew for us. Basically it's a full circle, and a fitting symbolic end to what has been a great year. We're a little run down and tired now, but we filled every minute of 2009 with 60 seconds of living fully.
A short recap:
-National Club Challenge mileage top three for bike (diesel) and run (flipper) miles, in addition to our Hammerhead Tri Teams success.
-Epic family first mountain biking day in Hanna Park where I crashed biggest.
-Crazy trail half marathon in Alafia Park. Where we had to drag ourselves up by roots and slide down hills and through gullies on single track bike paths.
-Sunrise to Sunset run where we (Alan, Diesel, Flipper, Genius, Leah, Josh and Pam) ran our way from the Eastern coast of Florida to the Western coast. 178 miles... and going all night long.
-Olympic races in Miami, Marineland and North Carolina. Personal bests for both of us.
-A family trip to the Big Island, where we caught a 1.2 mile open water swim that all three of us participated in.
-The Genius graduating valedictorian from High School and giving a great speech.
- Half Ironman races at Augusta and Austin. Blain qualifying for Clearwater.
-The 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater where Blain had another personal best.
-A great condo shared at the beach where we all got together and enjoyed each other. Lots of training and card playing.
-raucous fishing trip... and Gram going jet skiing for the first time with Tyler.
This could get really long so I'll stop there. Back to IM Florida.
Those of you who keep up will remember that Alan came out of the Sunrise to Sunset ultra race really painful. After workup they found a stress fracture in his pelvis and just like that his season was over. Worse than that he works in a physical job so he was told to stay home until fully cleared for work. This is a man who has always worked 50-60 hours a week. Now he couldn't train and was told basically no activity and was stuck at home. All the while thinking about his goal and pre paid entry into IM FL. Lets just say it was a long year. He did distract himself with grilling. He apparently grilled every day... until the gas back flashed and he got first and second degree burns. That was just insult to injury at that point. But things started looking up as he hit August with no pain. Dr's visit still didn't recommend running, but allowed some bike and kicking in the pool. Alan never did get fully cleared for running, the Dr. could still see a small defect and left it to his judgement. Alan decided to try, but continued to listen to his body. Augusta 70.3 was his test. He completed it (with almost no run training) and with a personal best. Training started in earnest. Unfortunately so did work.
Alan at body marking prerace.
Alan prerace doing his best Usain Bolt impersonation.
Ironman Florida dawned with great weather. Alan was ready. Blain and I were excited. Alan's wife Joy was there to cheer, or throw her body in front of him if he looked lame, or dial 911. She is my sister, but I was scared to share with her Florida's Baker Act laws, where you can get someone put into a lock down unit if they are deemed a danger to themselves or others. Leah (Joy and Alan's oldest) came down from Clemson to cheer. She wasn't nervous, she's on the tri team and used to the process. We had a blast leading up to the race just spending time together, swimming in the Gulf, getting Leah into a wetsuit for the first time... Then there was the Octopus incident. While Alan was being interviewed after a practice swim by Ironman.com, he handed me a old can he had picked up on his way out of the water. I held the can which felt heavy, but I assumed it was full of beach sand. During the interview, while I was standing behind the cameraman, the can started to move. I looked down to see a slimy, multi legged, miniature octopus thing exiting the can and considering climbing up my arm. This was not about to happen. I did manage not to squeal like a girl, but slung the can away and proceeded to do the big "OMG ickky cooty dance" until the interview was over and I could show Alan what he handed me to hold for him. The camera crew got a kick out of it, and filmed the baby octopus. Apparently they were pretty numerous, as we found another to show to Leah and Blain later in the week.
Tyler and Leah, the "IronChefs."
Flipper the "Trigeek" in support mode race morning.
Blain and I enjoyed reliving our Ironman experience, running the run course early in the day reminded us of some of the wilder aid stations. The naked women, MASH, hippies... it really is a party that goes on for 26.2 miles, with lots of food, drink and porta potties.
Alan, Joy, and Leah....just before the start.
The swim start.
The swim start was crazy. Ownership of Ironman has changed and they accepted alot more entries to the race. They seem to be more concerned about raking in the entry fees than safety. 2800 people started the race... at one time. Crazy. Alan started swimming as an adult and has worked hard at it. But the only way not to get beaten up with that many people is to be REALLY fast and get out front. Lets just say he got mauled pretty good... dunked, arms and feet grabbed, goggles ripped off. He came through the first lap on schedule but got slowed by the wrestling in the second lap. Now we were starting the bike with a little time to make up. After days of needling, Blain had finally gotten a goal time out of him, sub 11 hours. We were hoping for a 1:20 swim and came out closer to 1:30 after T1. But Alan can bike, and he's used to doing it in hills, where this is a flat and fast course. He was so fast we almost missed him coming out of T2. Bike time, 5:10:25 . This was now very doable goal. All he had to do was run a 4 hour marathon. He's been a great runner with numerous Boston qualifications, but has not been able to run much this year... and he just hammered the bike for 112 miles and you don't know if your legs want to play for another 26.2 miles of running. First split, way ahead of schedule... putting time in the bank. Second split, at the half way point, slowed a little but hanging in there. Now Blain and I are running to the computer for splits and figuring down to the minute if he'll be able to come in under 11:00.
Our camp on the run course.
Third split, a really slow one, and he's all the way out in the park where we can't get to him. If he slows any more he won't make it for his goal time. We don't know if his legs are gone, if he's having nutritional problems, or (God forbid) he's having pain in the hip. In fact, he was fine, just realizing he went out to hard. He actually picked it up on the fourth leg of the run!! That's just about unheard of for an Ironman distance. But Blain met him 2 miles out and pushed him to come in hard. He looked great coming down the chute with not so much as a hitch in his stride. Run time 3:51:40. Finish time...........10:46:38. Absolutely phenomenal.
Alan and Leah and THE finishers shirt.
Big celebration food at Waffle House (I ate more cheering than I ever do racing) then we watched the final finishers come in at midnight. This was one thing Blain and I regretted not staying up to do last year. Blain still didn't make it because he was freezing and still had to stay healthy for Clearwater. Joy and Leah, gave up around 11 pm. Tyler and I stayed with Alan, dancing and singing, and watching his Ironman glow... and yeah I was a little jealous. And yeah, two days later Tyler was sick, but we all agreed it was so worth it.
Live Big. There's no guarantee on tomorrow.
Already making plans for next years adventures.
Aloha,
The Three Coconuts.
Live Big. There's no guarantee on tomorrow.
Already making plans for next years adventures.
Aloha,
The Three Coconuts.
Longhorn 70.3 Race Report #2
Sunday, November 8, 2009
When I made the decision to race the IM 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater my training schedule changed. This meant I was still doing the Longhorn race, however, I would not taper just keep on training hard up to the race and use the day to try some race strategies that I might not otherwise try. So the day would be somewhat of an experiment for Clearwater. I decided I would cruise the swim and then go much harder on the bike than I would normally and see how I would feel on the run on much more fatigued legs. But there is one thing I am learning each and every time I race and that is very few things go as planned.
Race morning dawned some wind but nothing like what we had seen the days prior. As usual the men's 45-49 AG was big, 142 of us I think. As our wave was waiting to start I remember looking around and there was a couple of REALLY big dudes that looked like ex-collegiate swimmers pushing their way towards the front of the pack. Normally I avoid looking at anyone. Not that I am unsocial, because I typically speak to most everyone, but I sometimes find myself challenged by how buff and athletic most of the other athletes look. At 5'11", 158 lbs. I am certainly one of the smaller guys out there. Back to the swim....they had us wade out to a line formed by lifeguards in kayaks. It was about chest deep and I eased up to the line waiting on the gun to go off when suddenly I found big dude #1 on my right and big dude #2 was on my left. Both splashed around rather vigorously and took a few warm-up strokes as to announce there presence to the rest of the Age Groupers and confirm to me what I already knew...these two were swimmers. It was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced....I never looked behind me but I honestly felt the rest of the men retreat a few feet from the starting line. I just reminded myself to stick to my plan....today was a fully catered training day, relax, cruise the swim, and have some fun on the bike.
Well, sounded good didn't it? Gun goes off and my two buddies take off like it's a 50 yard sprint and I'm like...GAME ON! By the time we get to the 1st buoy I was anaerobic. By the time we reached the second buoy the guy to my right fell in behind me and I know this because I would periodically breath to my right to see if he was still there and he was not but I felt him touching my feet while he was drafting. The dude to my left was really wanting to push the pace so by the time we got to the 1st left turn buoy I decided to get in behind him and draft. For once I would love to see what it feels like to swim behind someone who can sight and swim a straight line. This guy was all over the place. He swam more of a serpentine and I refuse to swim anymore than I have too, so I tried to swim a good line and was only able to draft about 50% of the time. With about 500 meters to go I took a quick peek back and the guy behind me had fallen off the pace and with about 200 to go the guy in front really picked it up. I was holding on with all I had and kept telling myself......."You idiot, you are going to blow up before you even get to the bike". But then something crazy happened, big dude veered off course just left of the swim finish, and I sprinted up along side of him. I saw him stand as the water got shallow but I did not stand up till I could touch the bottom with my hand. I jumped up and almost mowed down a volunteer, an old lady that started a couple waves in front of us, and the big dude. I crossed the timing mat 1 second in front of the big guy, anaerobic as I have ever been after the swim, and my only thought was....."Oh boy, this is NOT how I planned for my day to start".
I had a great transition despite needing O2 and was 1st out onto the bike. I immediately started modifying my plan...just get into a rhythm, recover till all the uberbikers come flying by and then try and go with them, hold on as long as you can but don't blow yourself. It was probably 30 minutes into the bike when the 1st guy came by, I was able to stay with him for about 20 minutes and kept him in sight for about 45 then he was gone. I continued to play this cat and mouse game for the entire 56 miles. The best I could figure I was either 4th or 5th as I entered the bike to run transition. I took in a few extra calories this time versus my Augusta race which may have been a mistake.
T2 was horrible. I got off the bike, was slow getting my shoes on, fumbled with my race #, and as I was leaving T2 I stopped to empty my bladder. I choose to do this instead of peeing on the bike and this would prove to be a mistake as well.
As I came out of the coliseum, I felt pretty good. I was running just under 7 min/miles but I knew the hills on this run course would be tough. About 3 miles in my stomach started cramping. Not the "lets do the port-a-potty dance" type of cramp, but just an abdominal knot anytime I would take in fluids. I kept forcing water and my Infinit down but the pain just got to a point I just stopped drinking. I figured I would just keep running and I would either feel better or try and get to the finish on what I had in me. With about 4 miles to go I started taking in some coke. It took about a mile but I started feeling better. I was able to keep a respectable pace and finish hard. The best part of the run was being able to see Julie out on the course. She looked amazing and I knew she was having a great race. Seeing her certainly motivates me to be strong and fight through some of the adversities.
Race morning dawned some wind but nothing like what we had seen the days prior. As usual the men's 45-49 AG was big, 142 of us I think. As our wave was waiting to start I remember looking around and there was a couple of REALLY big dudes that looked like ex-collegiate swimmers pushing their way towards the front of the pack. Normally I avoid looking at anyone. Not that I am unsocial, because I typically speak to most everyone, but I sometimes find myself challenged by how buff and athletic most of the other athletes look. At 5'11", 158 lbs. I am certainly one of the smaller guys out there. Back to the swim....they had us wade out to a line formed by lifeguards in kayaks. It was about chest deep and I eased up to the line waiting on the gun to go off when suddenly I found big dude #1 on my right and big dude #2 was on my left. Both splashed around rather vigorously and took a few warm-up strokes as to announce there presence to the rest of the Age Groupers and confirm to me what I already knew...these two were swimmers. It was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced....I never looked behind me but I honestly felt the rest of the men retreat a few feet from the starting line. I just reminded myself to stick to my plan....today was a fully catered training day, relax, cruise the swim, and have some fun on the bike.
Well, sounded good didn't it? Gun goes off and my two buddies take off like it's a 50 yard sprint and I'm like...GAME ON! By the time we get to the 1st buoy I was anaerobic. By the time we reached the second buoy the guy to my right fell in behind me and I know this because I would periodically breath to my right to see if he was still there and he was not but I felt him touching my feet while he was drafting. The dude to my left was really wanting to push the pace so by the time we got to the 1st left turn buoy I decided to get in behind him and draft. For once I would love to see what it feels like to swim behind someone who can sight and swim a straight line. This guy was all over the place. He swam more of a serpentine and I refuse to swim anymore than I have too, so I tried to swim a good line and was only able to draft about 50% of the time. With about 500 meters to go I took a quick peek back and the guy behind me had fallen off the pace and with about 200 to go the guy in front really picked it up. I was holding on with all I had and kept telling myself......."You idiot, you are going to blow up before you even get to the bike". But then something crazy happened, big dude veered off course just left of the swim finish, and I sprinted up along side of him. I saw him stand as the water got shallow but I did not stand up till I could touch the bottom with my hand. I jumped up and almost mowed down a volunteer, an old lady that started a couple waves in front of us, and the big dude. I crossed the timing mat 1 second in front of the big guy, anaerobic as I have ever been after the swim, and my only thought was....."Oh boy, this is NOT how I planned for my day to start".
I had a great transition despite needing O2 and was 1st out onto the bike. I immediately started modifying my plan...just get into a rhythm, recover till all the uberbikers come flying by and then try and go with them, hold on as long as you can but don't blow yourself. It was probably 30 minutes into the bike when the 1st guy came by, I was able to stay with him for about 20 minutes and kept him in sight for about 45 then he was gone. I continued to play this cat and mouse game for the entire 56 miles. The best I could figure I was either 4th or 5th as I entered the bike to run transition. I took in a few extra calories this time versus my Augusta race which may have been a mistake.
T2 was horrible. I got off the bike, was slow getting my shoes on, fumbled with my race #, and as I was leaving T2 I stopped to empty my bladder. I choose to do this instead of peeing on the bike and this would prove to be a mistake as well.
As I came out of the coliseum, I felt pretty good. I was running just under 7 min/miles but I knew the hills on this run course would be tough. About 3 miles in my stomach started cramping. Not the "lets do the port-a-potty dance" type of cramp, but just an abdominal knot anytime I would take in fluids. I kept forcing water and my Infinit down but the pain just got to a point I just stopped drinking. I figured I would just keep running and I would either feel better or try and get to the finish on what I had in me. With about 4 miles to go I started taking in some coke. It took about a mile but I started feeling better. I was able to keep a respectable pace and finish hard. The best part of the run was being able to see Julie out on the course. She looked amazing and I knew she was having a great race. Seeing her certainly motivates me to be strong and fight through some of the adversities.
"The Genius" was cheering and was waiting on me at the finish. As usual she had to take care of me and makes sure that I'm doing everything to rehydrate and recover. She is the bomb. She told me she thought I might have placed top 3 and the results confirmed I was 3rd. My first branded IM event podium. I could not have been happier. After further analysis of the results I realized the minute I took to empty my bladder in T2 cost me 2nd place. But that is OK. I learned that I can go hard early in the race and still recover enough to have a good race. I learned I can go harder on the bike and still have a good run, it is just going to hurt more. But it's not supposed to be easy, otherwise I might have to find another hobby.......not. Oh my time....4:49.
Post race with World Champ....Joanna Zieger.After the awards we ate at Carrabbas, went back to the hotel, cleaned up, packed up, rested up....till about 3 am Monday morning and checked out. We made it through Houston before rush hour.....and without running into Mr. Nasty.
Aloha.
Flipper and the 2 Other Coconuts
Longhorn 70.3 Race Report
After all the vacation fun, it was time to think about racing... it would be easier to take this seriously if they didn't have the cool horns all over the place. Friday we did our usual little quick run and bike then checked our bikes for the race. There were two separate transition areas so there were a few bags involved and a little extra mental effort to make sure the right stuff was in the right place and the right time. Had a late lunch at Free World Burrito (giant awesome burritos... think Chipotle on performance enhancers) then actually got a little pasta delivered that night. Dozed all afternoon while The Genius did homework, then early to bed.
Great weather morning temperatures around 60 with a high around 80 with some clouds that kept the sun from being to nasty on the run course. The swim is in a Lake with long, arm and goggle grabbing plantlife near the shore. Otherwise it is a beautiful swim, with just a little chop in the middle. Swim seemed long, maybe I was just spoiled by the down current conditions at Augusta, and as usual I'm sure I didn't swim very straight. I managed to use up 10 additional minutes during the swim over Augusta and really thought I could be facing a very bad day. T1 was a little slow with repacking wetsuit into the bags as was required.
I was so happy to get on my bike, and so happy my last tri swim of the year was OVER. We had driven the bike course so I knew to expect plenty of hills, rocks, roots and ruts.... yes this was a road bike race, not mountain biking. They definitely need to do some road work in Texas, one competitors theory is that they are trying to keep people from riding road bikes. I did expect a little better in Lance's home town. Tried to keep some fast riders in sight and really pushed hard on this bike. I thought I was likely wrecking my run, but I wanted to dig deep and see what would happen. I was riding so hard I pushed right up and into the dismount line before realizing I forgot to take my bike shoes off. I screeched to a stop, a little confused, and dismounted slowly on very wobbly legs. But I knew the bike was fast, and it was a decision I had made... now it was time to pay the piper. T2 took a while, I just wasn't really focused yet and my legs weren't cooperating. Dropped fuel belt bottles a few times, cursed a lot, almost fell over trying to get my run shoes on. You get the picture. I did do a good job at getting all my nutrition in so I can't blame the carb's... and I was pretty sure I had made back up some time on the bike (even though it was a much tougher bike).
I started the run with some doubts, but just figured I'd start and see if the legs would come around. I planned to start really slowly anyway. No problem there. Loved the race set up with T2 outside the coliseum where the finish line was. Leaving T2 we ran through the coliseum then out for the first of 3 loops. There were concrete floors in the building and volunteers were warning us about slipping... this plays a part in some decisions later. I followed my food plan very carefully after my mistakes in Augusta. I didn't look at my watch till around mile 3 when I realized that I was actually making pretty good time. The course is all hills, you're either up or down.... so I jogged up and ran down. I have an exceptionally good relationship with gravity. This appeared to be working. Second loop still feeling pretty decent, just trying to be steady so I can finish strong. Nutrition... check. GI tract.... check. I thank Infinit nutrition and all my support crew for finally beating some better pre-race food decisions into my head. I smile anytime I can run past a porta potty rather than running to one. Had a slow mile around 9 taking in last of the gels, then I picked up the pace to the end. Hurting but running well. Passed a lady wearing a cupcake top around mile 12. Her age was worn off her calf and I just kept running my pace. She passed me back with around 3/4 mile to go and just kept building. I hung on about 15 seconds back and though maybe I could close enough to make a sprint for it. But I didn't get the gap closed well, she was running scared... and I chickened out when I was thinking about the slippery concrete floor we had to do a loop and U turn on to get to the finish. Maybe I just didn't believe enough, I had a great run so maybe I just didn't have enough left, I hate being injured and really turn into a weenie when anything looks like it might interfere with my future plans... but this will give me things to think about this winter. And the cupcake crew is a large group of triathlete women that regularly compete so I'm already reliving my finish every time I see one of their team tops.
Overall a great race for me and a growing experience. What more could I ask for. I finished in 5 hours and 24 minutes. I made up all but one of the ten minutes lost in the water over the Augusta race. Had a personal best bike average and run average for a half iron distance. And I was tenth in my age group!! Big goal achieved, I had put the goal down on my list but really didn't believe it would happen anytime soon... like I was thinking years down the road. I'm amazed. So I celebrated, felt great, drank lite beer (peed what looked like dark beer), hung with The Genius and Flipper. Watched Flipper get a podium spot in his age group. Getting ready to party at IM FL with Alan (my great brother in law) doing his first Ironman, then getting to watch Flipper go play at the 70.3 World Championships. Will only be home long enough to do some laundry for the next few weeks... Carpe Diem.
Aloha,
The Diesel
for The Three Coconuts.
Uchi.....Japanese for house.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
We are usually very particular about what we eat the last 2 nights before a big race. We start carb loading and really try to cut back on the amount of fiber, for obvious reasons. But food is a passion for the Three Coconuts and when we are out of town we do the research, talk to people, and look for the absolute best places to dine. For us, it is about the culinary experience, the quality of the food, service, and atmosphere. At times, conversation at the table sounds more like an episode of "The Next Iron Chef". So needless to say when we heard that the best restaurant in Austin, especially for sushi, was Uchi ( www.uchiaustin.com ), we could not pass up the chance to try it.
We arrived early Friday evening to beat the crowds. It was obvious when we walked in that this was upscale Japanese and the service and staff were 5 star. Our server went over the menu as well as the specials and as you can imagine there were WAY to many choices and they all sounded excellent. I asked for a recommendation and she said there was a "Chef's Choice" 10 course meal that sampled most of the menu and would be a nice choice for the 3 of us............but!...........we would need an "adventurous" palate for some of the dishes. We looked at one another and decided to go for it.
To make a long story (and I do mean long, we sat there being served for about 2 hours) short, we had stuff you would never, ever consider ordering off a menu. From the sea we had Monk fish liver, sea urchin, scallops, mussels, and many, many different types of fish. From the farm there was foie gras, beef tongue, and rabbit. Most everything was suprisingly very good with the exception of a couple dishes. The foie gras, french for goose liver, was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever put in my mouth. Here are some pics and they do not do the plating justice everything was beautiful. Enjoy!
Tuna roll.........and a wood plate of Nigiri ( 3 different types of fish). Best thing we ate...................MORE PLEASE!!!!!
Sea Bass..flash fried I think....love Sea Bass, but not this preparation.
Mussels wrapped in a potato crepe...those are my chop sticks!
On the right, beef tongue (taste like BBQ), far left is rabbit, and the thing mid left and looks like a testicle is the foie gras..........testicle taste better than this $**T!
Braised scallops..........excellent!
Sea Urchin.....tasted like a seafood porridge.
Don't remember the name of this fish....light smokey flavor.
Monkfish liver.........not too bad. If you don't mind the texture of liver.
This was a potato with a fish sauce on top................YUM!!!!!!!! Don't know what made up the "fish sauce" but it was (and I didn't think this was possible) better than butter.
Well that is some of the highlights.....I might add we washed all of this down with a nice pinot from New Zealand........for the antioxidants pre-race of course :)
As I mentioned before this was not an ordinary pre-race meal. Our hopes were that our GI systems would not rebel and we wind up staring at the inside of one of these on race day.
Aloha and stay tuned for the race reports!
The Three Coconuts.
Keep Austin Wierd
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We had booked a great hotel in Austin. Love those long term stay places with little kitchens and full breakfasts. Got in on Thursday and hit the YMCA to stretch out the kinks, then sprinted through Whole Foods (not just any Whole Foods, but the original mother of all Whole Food stores) before a mad
dash to the movie theater to see "Race Across the Sky", a documentary on Lance Armstrong and 1400 other competitors doing the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. Watching it with the Austin crew was very cool. The Livestrong Challenge was going on in town and everyone was wearing their Livestrong and Mellow Johnny's (Lances bike shop) gear. The movie was a one time showing and really inspiring. An inside look at something we had all heard of but really had no visual images or grasp of the magnitude and diversity of the course. The characters were interesting (racers, management and locals) and the message motivating. All weekend long I kept hearing:
... you can do more than you believe you can... and .... you're better than you think you are.
This stuck. I've read alot of sports psychology and have tried to get a mantra to stay in my head during a race. I haven't had much success, sometimes something sticks... but that doesn't mean it's helpful for racing, and it usually isn't what I had planned. This one wasn't planned, but it was a good one, and I heard it in the gravelly voice of the founder of the Leadville race.
Friday morning, bright and early, Flipper needed a chlorine fix, but first a trip to Mellow Johnny's. The name is a take off the the French maillot jaune, or yellow jersey. Pardon the spelling, it's been a very long time since high school french. The shop was awesome, and absolutely swamped with people in town for the Livestrong Challenge fundraiser. Oakley was doing promo's and all the employees were top notch as was the merchandise. There was lots of Lance's bike memorabilia, a cafe (Juan Pelota Cafe) on one end, downstairs a training center and bike fit area. We loitered awhile and spent way too much money.
We then headed to the YMCA where Flipper got his swim and I begged The Genius to go for a gentle jog. I wanted to share Town Lake with her. Town Lake (now officially called Lady Bird Lake, for the former First Lady who was a long time Austin resident) is a reservoir of the Colorado River in down town Austin. It is full of bike and jogging trails, people, pets and wonderful surprises. I fell in love with the Town Lake paths 2 years ago and wanted her to see them. She has not been running, so she was suspicious that this could result in pain, but we had the best morning.
Jogged up the helix and over the water.
Nippy weather made us playful.
Loved all the dogs running with their owners... and the "Off Leash" areas where it was a canine frenzy.
Beautiful park with nooks, trees, benches and bridges to explore.
Afterwards, lunch at Zax with a great local brew selection and awesome food.
We dropped off The Genius to do some homework while Blain and I went to drive the bike course.
Then to a sushi place for dinner that was highly recommended as a "must try" by the staff at Mellow Johnny's. You're not gonnna believe this place.... will share it with you tomorrow. And don't forget, eventually there is supposed to be a little triathlon at the end of this trip!!
Aloha,
The Three Coconuts.
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