Ironman World Championship 2011

 Kona has come and gone and I couldn't be happier.  Thanks to my family, friends and coaches, this experience was incredible for my first attempt at racing on the Big Island.  Just getting to Hawaii safe looked bleak just  a few weeks ago as a friend and I were hit by a car, then I broke a spoke in the middle of nowhere.  All in all, this year took a lot out of me racing Texas, Canada and now Kona, and while it was a fantastic ride, some down time is in order.  As I've said before, I appreciate how everyone has supported me over this year and I don't think I could ever repay enough for how great that felt before and during the race.

Before even getting on the plane things were off to a ridiculous start.  Mark Allen was sitting 20 feet away in the terminal!  Trying not to stare, of course I get caught a few times.  Boarding the plane, and I see him in his seat, I look at my ticket, HOLY $HIT, he's sitting next to me!  Holding back the urge to scream like a school girl, or like my brother when he saw Dudley Moore in Aspen, I calmly get to my seat and try to coolly let him know I won't bug him "too much".  It was a great flight and we actually didn't talk too much about tri's.  He loves to surf and has a son who is just going to college.  Mark Allen is definitely enjoying living a normal life down in Santa Cruz which is great to see.

Arriving in Kona last Sunday, I was the first of the family.  Thirteen of us were coming to town for Team Iron Kitty, and I was excited to see my brother and sister's families with all the nieces and nephews.  The week was full of fun experiences, and mellow workouts to keep my body tuned up.  Of course some trips to Dig-Me Beach, and the Underpants Run were in order.  Thanks god I don't get sea-sick either.  Some boat trips to pass the time were great, but there was a big swell in the waters that left quite a few queasy.  Wednesday a romantic sunset cruise with Whitney and then a snorkeling trip with the family.  Here's a quick run-down in pictures of the week.

 
Race Day!

3:00 am wake up, almost on my own.  Slept surprisingly well, about 6 hours!  Normal process, make coffee, bagel with peanut butter, honey, yogurt and granola.  Relax, try to check on how the pre-race IM Live feed and got WAY too excited and shut it off.  Dad got up to hang out with me and drive to the start.  Whitney got up a bit later as well and we were ready to head to Dig-Me beach.  The place is just buzzing with excitement and trying to keep my cool was hard.  Seeing some SF friends there volunteering, Abby and Doug,  was a welcome sight. and helped me calm down a bit.  Around the hotel and to body marking, still holding it together and chatting a bit with anyone that wasn't locked into their "Ironman Stare".  

Marked, stretched, suited up and all my "business" done I head for the water with about 15 minutes left before the cannon goes off.  nerves are still under control, but I'm anxious to get going.  Walking down the steps of Dig-Me beach and reality and immenseness of this event is finally coming to me.  I stand knee deep in the water, just looking around at something I'd worked for over the past 5 years.  It was an honor to race this course, and whatever result came of today I'd be happy, but I wished it would be a great day none the less.  So many other great athletes coming into the water, it was hard not to feel inferior at times.  Just remembering M2 and Tom telling me to race my race and not get caught up in moment, have faith in your training and stay patient and the race will come to you. I decided the best avenue for goals today would just be to break it into three races.  That way if one event goes to shit, I can still concentrate on the next and take home the experience.

Goals:

Swim - 1:05 to 1:10

Bike - 5:05 to 5:15

Run - 3:15 to 3:25

Wading out in the water, rear the floating Ford, it was much calmer than I expected.  Not much energy to keep afloat, I mulled around and had to move back a few times as the currents pushed everyone forward quite a bit.  The swells were still coming in from the week and there was 3-4 foot waves out on the course.  Its going to be a "fun" swim, especially since I've already documented, swimming is not my strong suit.  I put a great effort in over the past month to improve my swim, so lets go see how this works out.

I hear "1 Minute" over the loudspeaker and get lined up about 10 deep on the start.  Last minute fiddling with watch, goggles, then BOOM!  Holy crap, I didn't hear a countdown!  The race was going with or without me.  Head down and into a good stroke, "this isn't so bad".  Not freaking out, not getting crushed, This is AWESOME!  I was amazed with the civility of everyone.  You'd run into someone, but the both parties would back away.  No wrestling, just cruising along.  Big problem developed at about 10 minutes.  My goggles were leaking.  I tried them out the day before, but yes, fiery salt water coming in.  Had to stop every 5 minutes to get it out.  The swim in itself is great.  The waves and currents were causing some issues for everyone.  Every few breaths would bring a wave and a gulp of saltwater if you weren't paying attention.  Passing the boat and turn buoy, I glance down and see cameras which was fairly amusing.  The water was really clear out there and on a nice day it would be great to float around.  Heading back to the pier because a bit arduous.  The TYR speed suit started tearing into me, and the salt water burned!  No draft I could find for long and my calf muscles were cramping, so not much kick.  Seeing the pier was all I could hope for, and when I finally got there, my first Kona swim was behind me!  Thank God!  From the race pic I figured out that my cap had slid under my goggles, causing the leak.  Damn-it, no more mask for me.

Swim 1:17:04 1259th place - HA! No goal here today as usual.

Off to my favorite part, passing people on the bike!  Not quite as anxious as in Texas since I didn't have to "make up time" for a Kona spot, but still pressing.  Quite dangerous over the first 20 miles anyways with the massive crowds around town and out and backs.  Such a sight though and my family and girlfriend had a fantastic spot at Hot Corner to cheer me on.  Holding a cautious effort, and just wanting to get out on the Queen K was my goal.  My Dad disappeared on us for a while at this point last year and had us worried.  He flatted, so surviving was my only thought.

The climb up Palani was great.  Crowds lining the street, almost like a Tour climb.  I could hear "Go Kitty" all the time which was amusing for me at least.  Cresting the climb and passing my Iron Kitty cheer squad for the last time, I was ready for the long grind out of town to Hawi.

The Queen K was a line of bikes for as long as you could see.  Normally this might be demoralizing, but I was competing against the best in the world, so all I could do is swallow my pride, put my head down, and chase them down.  Had to yell "On your left" a few times, but for the most part, everyone rode correctly.  Definitely some drafting going on in the field, but the ref's were out in force and plenty of red slashes were dished out.  I settled in with a few guys doing about the same as me, and we would pass, and re-pass, and cheer each other on.  No real winds yet, so the trip out was really uneventful except for the first bottle exchange.  Looked like a war zone with bottles everywhere across the road.  Had to be careful and pick the right line. 

This is just a beautiful ride, and I don't think I could even come close to doing is justice describing it.  Rolling through the lava fields, the volcano on one side, and the ocean on the other, I have to go back to take it all in on a relaxed ride.  Making the turn towards Hawi, off the Queen K, there was another big crowd cheering everyone on.  My Dad and I came this way earlier in the week, and the winds were crazy!  20-30 mph side winds the whole time, so it was the only part that worried me.  As we approached Hawi though, purely a headwind.  It was a great sign, but we had to climb a hill, into a stiff headwind which is not what I like to do.  That climb was a grind.  Tucked deep into aero, and pushing 300 watts, I passed quite a few lightweights!  A few wobbles when the wind changed direction a little, but no real surprises.  Making the turn at Hawi and cruising into special needs, my frozen brick water bottles worked great this time!  I had slushie Perpetuum and Gatorade!  Yelled to the girl there was a PayDay in the bag for her, and I was off, ready to crush the downhill with a tailwind!

Before the downhill, the one thing I feel bad about happened when a girl stopped in the road in front of me the the left of the white line.  I was putting a bottle back, and luckily looked up enough to see her and got my bike out of the way, but got a bit of shoulder into her in the process.  Sorry!

Once on the downhill I could see people bracing themselves for the crosswinds.  They never came and I was in full aero, spun out of gears and still accelerating up to 40 mph, WAHOOOOO!  This was my favorite part of the race, and I couldn't believe the winds settled in to the benefit of everyone. Cruising back to the Queen K, the heat was starting to build.  Popping salt like candy, dowsing my body with water and taking in my cool slushies was a treat.  Back on the Queen K it was desolate for a few minutes without many people around.  All the sudden I crest the hill at Hapuna Beach and the amazing line of bikes can be see again for as far as I could see, WOW.  Still had to keep it in my head to ride my own race, or I'd be walking a marathon.  Still an hour and a half left, feet and butt starting to hurt, legs still good though!  The Queen K's winds started to pick up now though and riding into the moderate headwind was going to make my head spin.  Keeping a keen eye on my watts, I pass the airport and it was time to gear down a little in preparation for the run.  Making the last few turns to Hot Corner was a joy as all I wanted to do was get off that bike and RUN!  Fantastic ride at the same time, thanks M2!

 Bike Time - 5:07:20 - 405th split - 609th place, passed over 600 people on the bike!
Watts - 251 Avg

Strava Ride Link

A few things usually go wrong in an Ironman and I nearly forgot my Garmin on my bike in T2.  Luckily, my bike catcher was a fast one, and was half way down the pier, on his was to racking it, so I didn't backtrack too much to go get it off my bike.  Grabbed my run bag, sat down, no cramping (extra salt works! 8 total), shirt and socks changed, visor on, and Iron Kitty is ready to take on a marathon!

Racing uphill and through Hot Corner again, it was hard to contain myself like my coach Tom said would happen.  Looking at my watch, and I had better try because running sub 7 minute pace would either be a ridiculous PR, or a certain flame out by mile 6.  Getting down to Ali'i Drive I settle into a comfortable pace, bouncing between 7-7:30 pace.  People are going nuts for the Hello Kitty shirt, and I am all smiles as a result giving some high fives especially at Lava Java where the crowd is immense.  Flowing down Ali'i, I'm picking off quite a few walkers and slow joggers who probably blew themselves up on the bike.  I knew my buddy Stefan had a good lead on me already, but that was who I was hunting for.

My real highlight was at mile 3 where my family's house is.  I was wondering what was in store for me there and they didn't disappoint:)

I was feeling great throughout Ali'i.  Saw Stefan and gave a good cheer for him.  He had a good 10-15 minutes on me, so catching him was going to be hard unless he died on the Queen K.  Coming back into town and the crowds were bigger as the pro men had come in and the women were soon to follow.  Climbing up Palani, I tried to conserve as much energy as possible for my next Queen K grind of the day.

This course is really two different races.  Once you pass Palani, its another world along the Queen K.  Desolate, lonely, and HOT.  Aside for the awesome aid stations, with music pumping, and crazy people staffing them, you are on your own to deal with everything in your head at this point.  On the way out on the Queen K, I kept it together.  Some fatigue was setting in, but still passing people and keeping a good pace.  Run by my buddy Ken Glah who gives me a "Looking Strong!"  Brought a good smile to my while I was pushing into my pain cave.  Making the turn into the infamous Energy Lab I see my buddy Ryan who is crushing it and I started to wonder how it was all going to unfold for me.  My pace was telling me I might be able to pull off a 3:15, but who knows how my body was going to react again when the heat turned up like in Texas.

Trying to talk to people at this point was amusing.  You figure I could at least get a smile wearing a Hello Kitty kit, but no luck.  A few word interchanged every once and a while was all I could pull.  I see Stefan again, give a big cheer for him as he is holding his gap and I am set to hold onto my race as it is.  The aid station and special needs area has one of the most boisterous people working it.  They know the pain we are in, and it seems if they could pick us up and carry us for a bit, they would.  Trying not to burn my legs out climbing out of the Energy Lab, a few running mates I actually got to talk came back to me and cheered me to the top of the hill.

From the top of the Energy Lab its 6 miles to the finish.  Knowing you have less than an hour left is such a relief, but at the same time, knowing you have nearly 9 hours into your legs is not.  Still two long grinding hills left to conquer, including Mark and Dave Hill.  The first hill puts a hurting on my legs, but I'm still moving enough to keep pace with everyone.  Trying to stretch my stride to take advantage of the downhill and not much is happening.  I'd either bonked or the heat was getting me, but I knew this was the dark place for my race and I'd have to get out of it or the final three miles would be ugly.  Shorten the stride, take time in the next aid station, ice, water and try to get my head straight.  Climbing the last hill was the worst feeling of the day.

Tired, feet, shoulders, everything hurting, then I see my Dad at the top screaming for me and it goes away.  "Time to go Brett!" and its on.  I start down Palani, but halfway down, my right hamstring seizes up!  Stopping and stretching it out, it releases, and I take it easy for a minute to make sure it doesn't come back.  All that's left now is a downhill, then a turn to the finish on Ali'i.  Concentrating on my breathing, stretching my stride and finishing strong.  Tried to enjoy the finish, but worried spending any more time on course would leave my legs cramping.  My family was waiting at the turn, and while I felt I was running fast, they asked if I was cruising it it, ha ha.

The finish is just a blur.  So many other races have great crowd and energy around the finish line, but this just lifted you up and I couldn't fee anything.  All I could think about is my Dad crossing the line last year and what a journey its been.  Crossing the finish, a weight was lifted, a few tears came down, and I was happy to have put in my best effort for my first Ironman World Championship.

Run Time - 3:21:14 - 276th split - 389th final place
Strava Run Site
Total Time - 9:53:40

Being whisked away into the athlete's area behind the King K, the legs were wobbly, and I was getting a bit chilly.  Dehydrated and body in a ravaged state, Ivy finds me, and she is just way too much of a bundle of energy at this point, lol.  The family and girlfriend find me and I can hardly put down a piece of pizza. 

My friends, family and coaches have been more than supportive over this journey and I can't thank you all enough for that.  Having met my long terms goals from years ago is really a credit to them as well.  Nobody can do this alone and having the support team to help me along was my greatest asset.

Motivation - Kona and beyond

Heading into any race it is important to know what you are racing for.  For Canada, I wasn't really racing for anything except to have fun, and it showed.  For Kona, its a bit of a different story and brings my life full circle to setting and achieving goals, while getting back to what makes me truly happy.

Lets go back over 15 years to my last year in Track and Field.  Having a very promising Junior year, my season was looking great and pushing for a trip to a regional or state qualifier.  In retrospect, I let some things distract me from that goal, be it drinking, or other things.  Typical for a High School kid, but a trend that started non the less. 

College basketball fell in line with this attitude.  Working hard, but not making the sacrifices to be great.  Lucky for me, I did well in school and didn't squander a great college experience in multiple ways.

Heading into the real world, athletics took a back seat.  There was always "tomorrow" to get back to my old self. Shedding the 5-10 pounds I thought was hanging off me.  All the sudden, the 5-10 pounds turned into 40!  What the hell did I do to myself?  Work and personal life can give you a great number of excuses to not take care of your body, but this was out of control.  My own intervention was in order.  Luckily I have the Dad I do to help right the ship.  Once I had even a slight interest of getting into shape he was on it and registering me for an Escape From Alcatraz clinic and race that coming year.  That was the major wake up call.  Even in my own head I thought I could shape up in a few months and breeze through the race, but real life doesn't let you do that.  After the longest three and a half hours of my life, hurting back and pride, it was time for change.

My journey back to fitness has been one of sacrifice over the past six years.  Quitting a few bad habits, some I'm still embarrassed to post publicly, and learning to live a healthy lifestyle were starts, but in the process of wanting to be great at something, extra effort was needed.   Some might see this as self aggrandizing, and I can't argue with them, but all too often people reeeeeeeeeeeeeally want to do something, but fall short and then turn around and blame someone or something else for a shortfall.  That was a pitfall of mine in a few instances.  Not now.  I hope to help people see what is necessary to accomplish what you set out for, be it work or personal gain.  Do I need to go to this "Happy Hour" on a Wednesday, is it necessary to close out a bar to have fun?  These are the questions I faced over recent years.  Many people didn't understand some of my choices, even some of my tri-friends, but how often do you get the chance to do something great in your life though.  For many, something as trivial as Ironman doesn't qualify as "Great".  That's fine, but there isn't anything about that opinion that should keep me from trying.

The driving force is now wanting to inspire others and give back to those who supported me.  I have family members, friends and co-workers I would love to see get out and get fit.  They all can see how I push myself for my training, and if that inspires them to get out for a run, then that makes me happy.  When people show interest in improving and ask for advice, that makes me happy and I'll try my best to help.  Watching others attempt the same transformation makes me lifts my heart too.  Its easy to say that triathlon makes me happy.

My life has come together to support this as well.  An incredible girlfriend who isn't a triathlete, but shares the value of fitness (she rescued me when my I broke a spoke this weekend in the middle of nowhere, now that's love).  My loving family and friends who understand me and have obsessions the same way I do.  A great job and employer that allows the flexibility to accomplish my work, and train as needed.  Coaches that take the time to understand me and know my motivations (M2 and runcoach).  It takes time and effort to find the people and place in the world that allows you to be your real self.  Finding a way to repay these relationships is a priority, but difficult for a time crunched young professional.

Kona for me is about finishing what I started 6 years ago.  It wasn't my goal then, but it became it as I realized the potential left from a reformed ability.  I was given a second chance at my athletic youth (some call it being a man-child) and it will not go wasted this time.  Paying back my work relationship is easy, I get to be Iron Kitty!  Giving some free advertising along the way.  My friends, family and girlfriend are a bit tricky.  Lost time can never come back, but making the sacrifices when you can, goes a long way to letting them know you care.  I'm in arrears on that front, but hopefully that is what the holidays are all about.

Stepping into the water at Dig-Me beach, I know what I'm racing for and what got me there.  Thankful isn't enough to say for the love and support given to me over the past few years, so lets just say I'm honored to be able to race on the greatest venue for everyone who has been there to help me out along the way.

Wish me luck and I'll be thinking of everyone over these last two weeks.  Can't wait for round 2 of the Miller family reunion in Kona!

 

Ironman Texas - Race Report

OK, first off, Texas is HOT!

Leading up to my A event for the first half of the year, I didn't have any really disappointing results from previous race, but nothing spectacular either as I had hoped.  Oceanside was fun with an awesome run, but not a complete race.  Wildflower was windy and I didn't prepare properly with my eating ahead of time.  Not the things to give the confidence I could smash my first Ironman this year and make my Kona goal.

Arriving in Houston on Wednesday, it wasn't so bad.  80 degrees and sunny bearable so it started getting me excited for the weekend until I looked and saw over 90, humid, UV index of 10+ and the end of the world scheduled for Saturday.  Time to hunker down, hydrated, and take in as much salt as I could.

A few short runs and swims along the way, and the Ironman Welcome Banquet was actually a lot of fun.  I sat with a bunch of people from www.iamtri.com that started a group for IM Texas.  We all had good thoughts for each other, helping out with advice and encouragement over the past year and it was fun to put a face to a name of a lot of them.

Friday they let us in the water at Lake Woodlands.  It is technically private property, so swimming is illegal outside of organized activities.  The water was cool which was good and bad.  It put thoughts that the temperature might actually drop to make it a wetsuit legal swim.  Ironman rules are if the water temp is 76.1 - 84 degrees you have a choice to wear a wetsuit or not.  If you wear a wetsuit, you are not put in for Kona slots or awards, so I was going without, but if it dropped from the 77 degrees during the practice swim, I would jump at the chance to wear it.  I have a TYR Torque Speed Suit as plan A though.

Heading in to the practice swim

Out of the water, bike check and then one last mission to find salt.  Amazingly this was a more difficult task than imagined.  Figuring this was a very important piece for every one's day tomorrow, the Expo should be well stocked.  Backfire, as there is none there.  Sports store, none.  Finally GNC?  Nope, but they were friendly enough to point me in the direction of a pure running store Luke's Locker the finally had some, but not much left as I was probably not the only one in this predicament.  Time for dinner with the family and bed.  Thanks Karen for such a great pre-race meal!

Race morning and I wake from an actual good night's sleep at 3:30.  Standard bagel with peanut butter and honey, and I added a yogurt with granola along with 2 cups of coffee and we are out the door.  Probably a little too quick as I discover once I get to my bike at transition.  Forgot the salt on my bathroom counter.  CRAP!  #1 wrong thing of the day (there's always 3 do be ready to deal with them).  Call Dad and we don't know how he'll get them to me, but we'll figure something out.

You have to walk a mile from transition to the swim start at the lake.  Very quite and relaxing through the tall trees and glow in the distance from the swim start.

The crowd was growing quickly and the volunteers number marking were hilarious all dressed up for the morning to loosen the mood. This was a good touch as everyone needed a smile at this point.

Time to relax and do my "business" and get int he right state of mind for and Ironman Swim.  I think I was in complete denial of what was coming at me.  I tried to put in more pool time, but I just hate the pool!  Aquatic Park or open water just goes by much faster than laps.  My stroke felt strong, but man, the wetsuit is my security blanket.

Calm before....

Carnage begins

The gun went off and things were going well!  The first 100 meters went alright, and only some wash making it difficult, but the course is not straight, and you have to stay to the outside of the buoys on this course.  Hitting the first area where things start "snaking" along the shore and the water got crowded.  People with wetsuits swimming faster, and no wetsuits slower, meant for more traffic going the same speed.  I end up breast stroking twice as I paniced for a few seconds and decide my best track is wide to the outside to stay out of the mix.  Mantra in the water ended up being "Calm is smooth, smooth is fast".  Feeling better I get my stroke back, but can feel I'm not on top of the water and dragging.  STUPID POOL!  Heading down the canal for the race was a sight though.  Very sweet aspect of the race where people are nearly on top of you screaming GO GO GO!

Swim time - 1:15:56 - 531st Overall - 82nd AG

Out of the water and really not happy.  Looking at the time 1:15 and change, not good for my hopes in the race.  Smoothly get through transition and onto my bike, I have crazy things running through my head like smashing my legs to get back into it.  Calming down, I cruise out the first 8 miles to the first turn, keeping watts down, but absolutely flying by people!?  I know I was deep in the pack, but how far back was I that I was passing people like they were standing still?  That worried me even more, but I had to stick to the plan of trying to keep my effort between 250-280 watts, and try not to spike my effort too often.

Taking on the rollers north of The Woodlands and into Sam Houston National Forest was just an amazing course.  Technical enough to keep people from latching on and drafting, but staying fast the entire time and able to stay in the big chain ring.  The temperature was still in the 70's with cloud cover so this was my chance to move up with a light tail wind and smooth roads.  Hitting the midway point at 2:14 I know I'm on, but the return back to The Woodlands would not be as easy.  Racing the rising temperatures and increasing headwinds the weather people predicted was my only worry now.  Got to my Special Needs bags, grabbed my half frozen bottles of Perpetuum and Powerade (special trick I'll divulge later) and I'm cruising down the road.  About a quarter mile after the aid station a HUGE rattlesnake is in the road!  Nearly jumped off my bike, but it appeared dead.

The Marshalls were out all over the course and picking off draft packs on the return making me happy.  I was forced to ride the whole bike course solo due to my poor swim, and I found comfort they were doing their job.  Winds were picking up the entire return route, but I could still hold effort all the way making up spots up until the last few miles.  The effort did take its toll on my as with a few miles left my right leg started to cramp.  I immediately went for more salt tablets and force fed as much Perform as I could before getting to T2.  Arriving at T2, I missed the dismount by a few yards and was force to back up a few feet to satisfy the judge there.  I'm glad he said something or I would have just kept going.  Into the changing tent, found a chair and the volunteers went to work on me, they rock!

Bike Time - 4:50:01 - 6th Overall - 3rd AG, Avg 249 Watts for 3.0 watts/kg

Off the bike - 61st Overall - 7th AG

Read here for my nutrition plan

Off with the shoes and sock, attempt to pull a leg up to get my shoe on and SEARING pain as my right groin seizes up.  I try to calm down as I figured this was coming after the same thing happened in a Port-a-Pottie in Switzerland.  I get the volunteer to force my shoe on because the only thing that will get the cramps to stop is to stand up and start jogging.  They get me standing and I'm off and everything releases.  Legs feel great and after a short respite my stride gets comfortable and I'm cruising a 7:00 mile pace!  All the sudden my parents and friends appear on the bike path next to me cheering the heads off, such a great feeling, but I proceed to yell at them because they made a big deal about "Pacers" in the Pre-Race Briefing, lol.  Coming around to where we were staying Lewis is there cheering me on and gets me going.  For some reason everyone is telling me to "Pace myself"?  Not realizing the brutality the heat was raging on me I charged on, passing a few more in my Age Group.

The second lap was where the wheels started to fall off, but luckily for everyone.  My Dad could see it on the second lap and he had saw I was 7th AG off the bike and Lewis knew people were seriously dropping pace on the run as the day went on.  Now was the time to pace myself and not blow up.  Every aid station I tried to fire down a water, Perform, Coke, and ice down the shorts, possibly the best feeling of the day.  Lewis kept yelling to get as much ice as I could at every station so that was my mission.  

Final lap, and its pure misery.  Over 90 degrees, sun straight down on most of the course, aches and abrasions all over burning.  I saw one AG'er pass me, but I know there were more I passed, so trying not to panic as I feel the effects of the heat come on more and more.  The last few miles were getting serious as I felt a chill.  The only thing that means is I had limited time before full shut-down from going too far into dehydration.  Stomach starts to cramp with a mile left so breathing became difficult.  Gasping for air and a chick passes me and I can't do anything about it!  NOOOO, I GOT CHICKED!  Approaching Market Street you can hear Mike Reilly going nuts and it draws you in.  You try to push harder and the pain starts to go away for a second.  Unfortunately a new pain starts and its my hamstring yelling at me and my stride turns into a gimp for the final 50 yards.  Hopping through the final stretch I cross the line and luckily the finish volunteers were on their game and catch me before I hit the ground.  Knowing I put my best effort in was worth a trip to the Med Tent and the wheel chair ride was a riot  with people congratulating me the whole way.  

Run Time - 3:39:02 - 9th AG 

Final Place - 49th Overall - 5th AG - Pro's included (20th Overall Amateur)

A few Powerbar Performs later, some Air Conditioning and I'm all fixed up and discharged.  My Dad was searching for me all over and found me wandering out of the Med Tent.  He had the pleasure of telling me I finished 5th Age Group and that I had guaranteed my spot for KONA!  A big High-5 and hug and it was time to celebrate.  My parents and friends had reservations at a restaurant right at the finish line.  Enjoying copious food and beer, I was ready for a bed with the sweet satisfaction of overcoming my obstacles of the day and matching my Dad for a Kona slot.  

Proud Mom in the background

Thanks to everyone over the past few years that helped me stay motivated and kept me in touch with real life at the same time.  All too often triathlon and Kona can become too much of an obsession for people, but my friends and family were always there to make sure I had my head on straight.  And for my coaches M2 and Focus N Fly, thank you sooo much for getting me here.  Your next job is to make sure I don't embarrass myself in Kona.  Now I just need a swim coach.

Next up, getting Dan'o into the big dance at Ironman Canada!

Ticket to Kona!

Ironman California 70.3 - Race Report

It was a great weekend down in SoCal.  Broke a few un-official and official rules.  Got to see the parents, the girlfriend and old friends from Scottsdale and Pittsburgh.  Couldn't ask for much more.  Oceanside was my first Tri this year, so my excitement was beyond control.  With some good results in training, and Kaiser Half, I felt good about the race.  The final few weeks didn't go exactly to plan, but I'm happy I took advantage of what my personal life had going, and I wouldn't have changed it.

Friday was a fun day.  Got out for my Dad's mini-tri warmup we always do before the race.  Unfortunately he's injured from the marathon of races last year, but almost all fixed up.  Swam just off the pier watching the surfers catch a few nice waves.  Talked to a few Canadians on their way out who looked frozen, which scared me a little.  Dove in expecting the worst and it was perfect!  Got out and could feel my hands and feet, so no problem for race day.


Next up a little ride to try out the Zipp Disc and 808 my Dad let me borrow for the weekend.  The disc sounds so cool, but weird until you get used to it.  Smooth 7 miles with some accelerations and back to the hotel.

Short 2.5 mile run up and down the strand to cap off a great morning and then to the hotel to put the feet up and chill.  Feeling good, dinner and to bed by 9:30 for the earliest I've been able to sleep before a race ever.

As usual, early to transition and took this creepy picture with my camera.  Looks like we might be marching our way into the light!  Its a long way down into the Marina, but once down there, got my spot all set up and then of course time to do some "business". 


Wetsuit on, everything set and off to the starting corral.  I was amazed at the number of people running through the crowd, either hook sliding into their start, or completely late altogether.  Settling in with my start group (#2 of 3 for M30-34) I find some talkers in the bunch of over anxious nervous types. 


I said I was breaking rules, well there are a few new pieces of equipment I'm using and it almost bit me in the ass.  #1 saved me, my Garmin 310XT.  Using it with the MultiSport function to get all my splits, I was most worried about using it correctly, or having it display the right stuff.  Figuring the GPS would be nearly worthless in the water, but on the bike and run, having all the data after would be fun.  Yes, I'm a geek.

Seeing my family and Whitney put a needed smile on my face.  Milling down through my start group, nerves start up and when the group ahead gets their horn, we have 3 minutes until our start. 


People racing to the start buoy, I try to keep cool and surprisingly nobody is really nudging up to the front once there.  I miss what is said over the PA, but see people reaching for their watches so I figure its the start about to go off, and I'm right.  Firing off the line, I decided early to stay out of the packs for my first race swim.  Last year I had a few mini panics after getting throttled, and the swim is definitely not what I've been able to put much time into so far this year.  Cruising along, I see a red blob when sighting.  Its a little soon for the first turn buoy so I take a longer sight, its a feaking red jet ski with a dude wearing a huge red jacket.  Note to race organizers, no red jetski or red jackets on the race course!  Luckily it didn't take me too far off course, but once we got to the real turn buoy it was a little hairy.  #1 two guys I got to draft for a while completely missed it and out of necessity, and a little kindness, I had to bulldoze them in the right direction.  Not sure they took it this way, but that's what I'm going with.  #2 there was some serious chop making it into the breakwater and my turn buoy mishap caused a good deal of people to catch up, compounding the rough water.  Fighting off a slight anxiety moment, I get back into the groove and make some good progress back to transition.  Surprisingly my GPS kept decent track through the swim.  Pretty happy with a 32:25 for my first Half this year! (50th out of 305)

LONG transition run and out on the bike!  I've heard so much good and bad (flat and fast to massive bike walking hills) about this course, so charging out on the course was really fun.  Out on the course, the first 20 miles went FAST.  I didn't realize it, and I'm glad, but we had quite a serious tailwind helping out.  My computer wasn't working with the 808 on the front, so I was purely going off my Garmin's heart rate for pacing.  Every once and a while I'd switch it to speed and time, and couldn't believe it when I saw we were cruising along at 27 mph at times!  Finished with the flats, we hit the first big hill with a nasty headwind to boot.  This was the hill people sometimes have to walk up if they drop a chain or just die, and believe it or not I saw someone walking up.  That would just be demoralizing and everyone was grinding away in their easiest gear.  Not sure what the incline is there, but its steep!  A few more hills, and tank crossings (wish I had my camera, and back to Oceanside.  The downhills were somewhat of a disappointment since they had a radar gun and a referee monitoring for speeding.  REALLY!  I guess some people just get a little over anxious and can get hurt.  The one official rule I broke was at the bottom of a downhill, with a full head of steam and screaming at the top of my lungs "ON THE LEFT", two guys couldn't hear me to get out of the way so I had to pass on the right.  There was no way I was losing the momentum to two dudes chatting it up side by side and I went screaming by.  Luckily no referee's were around, but I do not recommend doing it again.  I guess I was lucky again when I dropped a water bottle using the new X-Lab wing I put on for this race, so that's two official rules broken.  Felt bad about that one.  It can get dangerous for whoever is behind.

Finished up with a 2:36 bike (18th out of 305).  Respectable, but needs some improvement.  All in all with the headwind and the work I've put in this year I'm happy, but for those who said its on par with Wildlfower's bike course, I'm sorry, no comparison.



2200 feet elevation gain

 
Jumping off my bike, legs wobbled a bit.  After racking, changing, and getting as much Powerade down as I could I flew out on the run course.  Wobbling over with, my legs felt great!  Thanks Focus and Fly and M2, the treadmill and track workouts did the trick.  This became very apparent when someone crept up on me in the first mile from the wave that started 3 minutes after me.  Harold was a cool dude and we chatted for two miles.  He's actually doing IM Texas as well!  This got me worried because he was holding the 6:15 pace I was doing.  After the second aid station on the run, he was nowhere to be found.  My parents, friends and Whitney were all over the course cheering and keeping me going.  Saw a lot of the San Fran tri crowd during the race and we all cheered for each other.  Coming around the first lap and realizing I was golden to break 1:30 run split, my thoughts went to going for broke and seeing what sort of pain I could withstand.  I wanted an even split or better and the only thing running through my head was "Put yourself in a hurt locker" and it was on.  Every time I looked down at my watch and saw 7:00 pace it was time to push again and again.  Two miles left and time for a final push.  In Kaiser, I didn't have anything left at that point, but for this race there was plenty.  Seeing my Dad at about a half mile to go always gets me going and a mad kick developed in my legs and no turning back.  Crossing the line, nearly collapsing, and I got my 1:26 Half Marathon with a near even split! (6th out of 305)

This was a great day out and it helped me learn what to work on for Wildflower and IM Texas.  I was hoping for a better day, but I'll take 13th against a pretty good field.  Thanks everyone for your good thoughts and wishes.  Now its time to get serious on the bike, but maybe a few beers with some friends first.

Nearly fell asleep into my Boddington's