The view from our place.

Here's me and my nephew Grant.

Here's a pic of my wonderful daughter and I.
IMLP Race Report


Got back from the Adirondacks earlier today. We had such a great time and even found time to do an Ironman !

To start off with the house we rented was the BOMB! Man I felt like a rock star ! My wife did great. It was so huge and comfy that I didn't want to leave. Big wide screen plasma was on 24/7.

The town was rockin by Wednesday,and we took in as much of the festivities as we could.In hindsight I probably should have stayed off my feet and out of the sun a bit more. , but you know what....it was fun,and thats what matters, because triathlons are something I do to test my limits every so often. It ain't my day job.

Started carbo loading on Friday,but for some reason just could not get into eating like I should have. Same thing Saturday....it was a major ordeal getting the bike and T bags checked in. That took up some eating time, but I felt relaxed by the end of all the comotion and had my head on straight.

Race Morning-

Got up at 4 am as planned. Pounded 3 cans of Ensure while I stretched a bit. Also got in my waffles,PB and Honey for a total of 1700 cals to start the day.

Headed down to the T1 to pump up my tires and last minute bike check. It felt like the Superbowl in there . Goose bumps ran thru me like never before. Very very cool.

Proceeded to look for the family on Mirror Lake Dr where I would meet up with them before the swim start.

2200+ in the water @!!!!! It was stupid crowded. Bad,bad....bad.

Lined up to the far right and overheard most everyone around me claiming to swim 1:15's..cool ,this is my spot. Wrong ! I got caught in the worse herd ever. This was the fuckin 1:45 group ! Had no place to go for the first 2000 yds. I got clawed, every which way w/o at least a dinner to start things off with.
To make matters worse. ..I decide to hammer for some clean water and pegged my HR. By the leg back of the first loop I decided to swim easy and extend my glide to recover from this fiasco.

2nd loop was a little bit better. Clocked a 39 to make a dismal 1:28 total. Oh well...thats the difference between a training swim w/ 5 of your partners vs. 2200 IM athletes.

Bike-

It was a cold steady rain as I exited T1. No biggie as I did EpicMan in pouring rain..so I knew the course well enough to not be too worried. Still there was a lot of traffic,nervous folks in the downhills, made for a slow 3:16 first loop.
By the start of the 2nd loop it was starting to get a bit sunny. Pacing was good...things as planned and smiling for the ASI photoguys ! By the last steep climb on Haselton I dropped my chain in the worse spot possible. The hill was too steep for me to slip it back on by hand,which I am usually pretty good at while rolling. So I am forced to unclip and w/o really noticing, I stepped on the shoulder of the road which was beach sand. After struggling w/ the chain, I get on and can't clip in my Speedplays !! Shit shit shit...can't climb the hills if I'm not safely in. I remembered Mojo sand episode not too long ago and just had to laugh! iTS FREAKIN contagious I tell ya. Anyways.....I finally get clipped in after losing close to 5 mins and decided to pick up the pace heading out to Wilmington. Once I got back on the flats I took some fairly big swigs of my CarboPro, and I must have spiked my HR one too many times by now as it started a GI issue that was not fun., So whats at guy to do ? slow down again and wait for my gut to settle along w/ my HR. I stood up a lot hoping that things would even out in there. Must have worked as I started to feel better by mile 90, but by then I had dropped my avg speed to 16-17 mph and felt a mean hammy pull coming on. I knew that if I didn't pull over to try to roll it out, the climb into Whiteface could end my day.....so once again I dismount and stretched w/ a few other riders who were doing the same thing. I was telling myself that my taper was too long and I cut the volume on the bike too much. This never happened during training.

By the time I got into T2 my bike computer showed 7:17....FU*K!!! 6:20-25 was the goal for a conservative bike. But I immediately focused on the fun factor once again. This was going to be a great day no matter what, I kept telling myself. I've got my whole family here, a bunch of friends that drove up from everywhere...there was no way I was going to spoil whats already a very selfish endeavour for everyone else by trying to pretend I'm fast....cause my goal of 13:15 is very average these days....so I made sure I kept my eye on the prize. Just finish DUDE!

Next time you can race it !

The Run-

Started the run after a 12 min session w/ a very cool ART guy . I decided that my hammy and right quad needed some attention. Better to sacrifice the 10 or so mins than to hobble the 26 miles. Well- that paid off well as I got out there and according to my Garmin avg'd 9:30's for the first 5K. By the turnaround I felt good and took in as much coke and ice as I could. On the way back into town the crowd was unreal ! They really bring you in. Clock showed a 2:30 split for the first 13...not too bad as my PR for a 1/2 mary is about 1:45-50 on a similar rolling course.

Things are going well until mile 15. By this point I felt ready to hammer,but both my shins all of a sudden started to hurt like a mutha. I have never had a shin problem ever....so why now. In retrospect I should have gotten newer Asics'. Mine were border line w/ about 200 miles on them. I felt they were so comfy that it would not be an issue. Well, I probably could have had more cushioning.

This pain I knew I could not stretch out. It was very sharp, and I felt that if I pushed it too much- it might end up being a long term injury. This plus I still had a HIM,and an OLY to do, plus a 2 week trip to Europe in September.

I weighed all my options because I was on pace to run a 4:50 marathon and possibly hitting my goal time. So I tried a little more running to mile 17 and it really felt sharp...so I decided to just walk the rest of the way, which at times was even painful.

Regardless, I was having fun meeting other guys that were walking too. Lots of war stories...all good. Hey we all can't be studs today, so just keep smiling and do what you can. You're already a winner for just making it thru training and showing up on race day.

By the 24 mi marker the town was going nuts. It was dark already,but the glow off the Olympic arena was a sight ! I could here the music and Mike Reilly bringing everyone home. I had a moment where I decided to dig deep, suck it up and run the last 2 miles in . This is THE SHOW baaaby ! Suck it up and run home for your moment of glory. Well...I did. It was surreal because as soon as I hit the infamous Mobil station, I was overcome by all sorts of emotion,PLUS it started raining. I said , Holy Shit ! I feel like I'm starring in my own Nike commercial. I wanted to cry , but I think I was dehydrated and had no fluids to spare...so I ran into the finishing chute, the crowd was roaring as I pumped my arms to the heavens, thanking God for the day,ran in with my awesome daughter( who by the way won the Kid Duathlon the Friday before the race) and as we entered the arena saw us on the Ford jumbotron....and then it was all over !

A tick over 15 hrs. No excuses @! It is what it is.....had an awesome time.

I think I'll concentrate on running for next season as it is my weakness.

Also, I was amazed that my 1/2IM best time of 5:41 is not enough to even bag a sub13 here.

I think my distance is 70.3. I like the fact that I can do 2-3 in a season,and they're a crapload cheaper and just as much fun.

So there it is ....my first IM experience.