It's a small world!

No this post is not about that evil ride at Disney, although that did make for a really funny thread on BeginnerTriathlete.com a few year back. Check it out if you dare but don't blame me if that tune is stuck in your head. http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=48893&start=1

No this post comes from a little encounter I had the other day at A.C. Moore. My wife sent me out on a mission to pick up some craft supplies. So I head out wearing my Steelman Triathlon sweat shirt, find the supplies and go to check out. The elderly lady at the counter sees my sweat shirt and asks, "Oh a triathlon, is that the one in Hawaii?"

Long ago I realized that no matter how obsessed I am with the sport of Triathlon, I shouldn't expect anyone else to know much about my sport other than "that triathlon in Hawaii they show on TV." But I really like being able to say, "Why yes I have done that race in Hawaii." Having won a lottery spot in 2007, I was able to make one of my dreams come true. So that race is very special to me, and it is great way to start a conversation share my passion the wonderful world of triathlon.

So back to A.C. Moore, I replied,"No this race was up in Quakertown, but I have done the race in Kona." Turns out she used to live in Kona back in the early 1980's and had a house overlooking the ocean. The store wasn't busy so we talked for about 15 min about Kona, how much the city has grown, how the race moved to the island and went it was moved to the island they could watch the swim from there backyard and the run from their front porch. I told hear about the "new high school" (used to be only the school was the one on the upper part of Palini), and the new shopping centers (Lowes, Walmart, Boarders, etc). It was really nice to share perspectives about a place were both had very fond memories of.

On the ride home, I also remembered, back in 2007 after we checked in for the race and were wandering around the shops at the King K hotel, we shopped in an artists studio and one of the artists recently moved from Collegeville, PA (the next town down 422 from where I live) to Kona. I remember having a similar conversation with her and we brought a personalized piece of art by her (Triathlon themed).

So you never know who you will meet out there.

Finally a plan for 2011

It has been a fairly busy couple of weeks and I keep having good intentions about blogging but just missed the mark when it came to sitting down and typing something.

Somewhere between the unannounced trip up to Susquehanna for their scram and subsequent startup (and missing two snow days if I had stayed in the Regional Office),bringing having my "free cat" diagnosed with a floating knee/hip and having to go into othropedic surgey ($2800 and not covered by my insurance since it is considered a congenital defect), pumping out End of Cycle Packages, and Inspection Reports, and shovelling 10,000 pounds of snow off my driveway, I finally came up with my evil plans for my triathlon season.

May 15 Revolution 3 Knoxville - Half Rev Knoxville, TN
May 22 Escape from Fort Delaware- Olympic Tri. Deleware City, DE
June 4 Revolution 3 Quazzy - Olympic Rev, Middlebury, CT
June 5 Revolution 3 Quazzy - Half Rev, Middlebury, CT (The Revolution)
June 12 Eagleman - Half Ironman Cambridge, MD
August 7 Brigantine Island Tri - Sprint, Brigantine, NJ
August 28 Ironman Canada. Full Ironaman Penticon, BC, Canada
September 11 Revolution 3 Cedar Point Half Rev or volunteer audible, Cedar Point, OH
October 8 Revolution 3 South Carolina Olympic Rev Anderson, SC
October 9 Revolution 3 South Carolina Half Rev Anderson, SC (Double Revolution)

I would like to qualify for the USAT Half Maxs at Knoxville or Eagleman but other than that this year will be all about endurance and perseverence and of course enjoying the ride. I'll be putting my First Endurance products to another test continuing with my Ultragen and EFS regiment and trying out Prerace and Optigen HP to see how they will help me on this quest. Triathlon is an adventure, it is a sport where we push our limitations right off the page. Hopefully 2011 will be one of those years.

Product review-UltraGen the real deal.

Last winter I conducted an experiment to see if I could prove if UltraGen would make a difference for me, a middle aged MOP AGer. I started using UltraGen last winter. I have tried two flavors (Fruit Punch and Orange Creamsicle) and the flavor grew on me (I prefer Orange Creamsicle), they also have Cappuccino. I drank a water bottle of UltraGen within 30 min after my last workout of the day. I did a 90 day test to see if would help and the results jumped of the page.

Prior to starting I took some baseline data for comparison:

Vitals Age 40 Weight 171

1) 40 K time trial on my CompuTrainer: 1:04:14, 24.84 miles, ave 260 watt,s and ave BPM 170 Max BPM 191
2) 90 min HR ride on CompuTrainer: 1:30:00 30.30 miles, ave 160 watts, HR 115-124 max ave 118 BPM
3) 5K : Ran my post 15 year layoff PR 21:12 just prior to the test (11/28/09). No HR data (didn't bring my watch).

While I haven't done a 5K since Nov, I have seen noticable improvement on the other two.

1)40 K time trial on my CompuTrainer 1:00:36, 24.84 miles, ave 280 watts, and ave BPM 159 Max 172 (Better yet I ran 7.7 miles about 2 hours prior to this ride)

2)90 min maintaining 120 BPM or lower went 30.82 miles Ave watts 170, Ave BPM 119

I have also clearly noticed how much fresher my legs have felt the day after a hard workout. I have had 3 of my highest volume months ever on the bike 601 miles, 532 miles, and 668 miles and my legs feel great, no aches or pains and I feel stronger.

I certainly proved to myself that UltraGen has made a huge difference for me. I had done the chocolate milk and Whey Protein thing before but UltraGen made a noticeable difference within a few days and has worked great for me. It passed the feel test and the numbers seem to back it up as well.

Note: Later that year I also hit my Iron Distance PR by close to 15 minutes at age 40.

I would recommend this product to everyone

Why?

A new year and I have been seeing a theme out there. Why. Why do we chose to be triathletes? Why do we put 10-14 hour weeks in even though it isn't very realistic that we will ever find our way to the podium (OK I'm talking for me is this case). In a 2nd place is the first looser world, why do triathletes seem to have a different take on things?

There isn't a great reason. I am a typical performance driven person in almost every other aspect of my life. If my boss has something negitive to say about my performance I burn inside and make sure I find a way to fix the problem and crank that performance back up. I played college Basketball, Volleyball, and WaterPolo at Cal Maritime and ran Track and Cross Country at a high level in High School. But taking 15 years effectively off, I had to accept I wasn't going to be competeing for the win anymore.

But I found that working hard had its own rewards. Rising to meet the challenge gave me a sense of pride that was in many ways even greater than what I experienced earlier in life when i was vying for a win. But after 15 years and 100 pounds, everything was a challenge. So I started with a goal to lost 25 pound in 90 days-Done, then another 10 in 60 days-Done. Then it was to Run a 5 mile race-Done. Next a friend of mine challenged me to tri the Carpenteria Triathlon. That first race was an eye opener, I swam just fine, but found bicycling on rolling hills killed me (2nd slowest bike leg and I had to walk) and it carried over to the run 29 min 5k. But the goal was to finish and I had to work my tail off to do it (and so many folks who seemed to know what I was going through and encouraged me to stick with it). The feeling of pride and accomplishment was amazing. That became my why. The goal changed My first Marathon, my first Olympic, my first HIM, and my first Ironman. Then it was Kona (I won the lottery), then it was an International Ironman, then it was a pair of Hilly HIMs on back to back weekends, then it was do back to back races (Oly and HIM at Quazzy-the Revolution) and to complete the entire REV 3 Series. For each of those crazy goals the why was the same, recapture that feeling.


The Why is a very important reason I find my way to the finish line. Occassionally the Why had nothing to do with a finish line. At Boston, in 2008 it was about coming full circle. In 1982, my 6th grade math teacher convinced me to try running and later brought us out to watch the race and cheer him on on Heartbreak Hill (just below the firehouse). In 2008, when I reached that spot and was on the other side of the tape being cheered on by a bunch of kids.. it was amazing! That feeling, the feeling at mile marker 25 of my first Ironman (OMG, I'm about to finish something I though was impossible), the electric feeling of hope and tension floating in the water just before the gun and the out of body experience of trotting down Alli Dr at Kona (my feet never touch the ground that last 1/2 mile). Moments like those last a lifelime and you never know when the next one will come.

So remember, no matter where you go, there you are! Stay in the moment, keep you eyes open and enjoy the ride. Amazing happens, whether we are there to experience it or to witness it the reward is the same.

A blast from the past

I was logging my workout on Beginner Triathlete.com and came across my Podcast interview from Nov 2009, when I was selected at the Begineer Triathlte of the Month.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1850

Reflections

At the end of each season, I always seem to get that empty feeling and feel rudderless and drifting with the current until that focus finally returns. At times this like these, I find it helps to reflect back on where I came from and what I have accomplished. Once upon a time I was part of an amazing high school cross country team in Vacaville, CA. In 1986 we won the last ever Northern California Championships and in 1987 we came in to the first ever California State Meet ranked 5th. Competing for myself and my teammates was incredibly rewarding.

After high school, I joined the US Navy and entered the submarine force and naval nuclear power program. That provided me an opportunity to learn alot about myself, and the lessons I learned from running helped me focus and perform well enough to earn an NROTC scholarship, get a wonderful education at California Maritime, got to play Intercollegiate Water Polo, Basketball, and Volleyball, while earning a dual engineering degree. Again the most rewarding part was being part of a team. After college, 6 years as a submarine officer took its toll on my waistline and then shore duty and sympathy weight gain left me morethan a little out of shape. After getting out of the navy, things didn't improve and one morning I found myself starring at a face in the mirror with 4 chins and tipping the scales at 230 pounds over 100 pounds heavier than my high school racing weight.

About that time a friend of mine at work, was organizing a weight loss challenge. I joined in, changed my eating habits, and started working out again. That turned the tide and soon that same friend challenged me to join him in doing the Carpenteria Triathlon that fall. Well I took the bait, and I haven't looked back since. I lost over 60 pounds and have kept it off, and embraced the challenge of becoming a triathlete. After a 14 year hiatus, I had a lot of work to do. I went from 9.8 mph on the bike in my first tri (having to get off and walk a hill as well) to averaging over 24 mph in a 40 Time Trial; I relearned how to swim and went from surviving the that first 1/4 mile OWS swim to being a top 1/3 swimmer in most races I enter and being able to swim an Iron Distance swim as a warm up; I regained some of my youthful form on the run going from 10 min miles in a stand alone 5k to 7 min miles on the run leg for an Olympic distance race. I went from sprints, to Olympic, to HIM, to Full Iron distance tris over a 4 year stretch, each step a struggle but reach achievement more rewarding than the last. This year I completed my 5th iron distance event at Cedar Point (and set a PR at age 40), completed my 9th marathon, completed my 12th HIM, and my 50th multi sport event.

Being able to say that you completed something that at one time you truly believed was impossible is such a powerful feeling. Completing the journey for another year is fulfilling but leaves me yearning for more. A new journey lies ahead, a mountain pass in western Canada is calling my name challenging me to face my fears and test my resolve on a 140.6 mile journey of self discovery.

So now when I look in the mirror instead of seeing the Pilsberry Dough boy, I see someone who has the guts to dare to reach for the dream, the resolve to work through the tough times, and the passion to see the journey to its end. Once you followed that rainbow to its pot of gold, (the finish line) and you become an Ironman, Eagleman, Tiberman, Devilman, Diamondman, Steelman, Black Bear, a Revolutionary, a marathon finisher, a triathlete, or whatever, you will know the journey was worth every drop of sweat, every sleepless night, and ever single mile.

Pain is temporary, pride lasts forever!

Cedar Point Race Report

The Revolution 3 Cedar Point Full Rev. took place on September 12 and it was a fun filled day. The official race report is can be found at http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=226825. But there is so much more to the story

My last week prior to the race, work decided to make thing interesting and I had a few crisis es to deal with. It took all focus off thinking about the race. In fact I really seemed almost more excited about the fact I had gotten into Ironman Canada for next year. But I had to push off my departure for Cedar Point by a day and my plan to pack and get my car tuned and get a haircut were replaced with an extra day at work waiting for people to review my report. I didn't even know if I would have had to come back on Friday until late Thursday night. Fortunately that part actually worked out and I only had to take care of the car Friday morning before hitting the road around noon. Got to Cedar Point at about 8:30 pm but I discovered Panera Bread has awesome black cherry smoothies to go with that great bread. Followed a car with a very nice bike on the roof since I sort of knew they were headed my way. Finally got there and missed all the pre race get together with Team Trakkers in the park but I just checked in with Tammy and went to bed.


The next morning I went out my backdoor to the beach and the swim practice. And the Team Trakkers, Tri Slide demo. Met Carol on the beach and soon saw the rest of my green clad teammates. SO I got to sneak up on people and spray them down with Tri Slide then get some pictures and do a practice swim. If I didn't feel good about the race at this point that swim just freaked me out. I never thought a lake could be so rough and the 5-6 foot swells beat me up on the ways out, didn't let me swim parallel and stay on line and pushed me way off line in the way in. From there I headed to the Trakkers tent and got a 1 on 1 session with Robert form First Endurance for about a half hour before he had to head to the airport. From there I gave away stuff, and hung out till around 1:30. Then I packed up my transition bags and then wheeled my bike to the beach and carried it to the Transition and then listened to the athletes meeting and ate a Turkey sandwich and pizza sticks and went back to the hotel, turned on the TV and feel asleep.

In the morning I made up my 4 bottles of EFS and 1 bottle of UltraGen and mixed one more for breakfast along with some chomps. Didn't pick up some bagels the night before. Filled my EFS liquid shot bottles and headed over to transition. Got weighed and body marked, put my stuff on my bike and then got my tires pumped up and then it was 5:30 and I went to the changing tent and got changes and just sat in the dark and reflected a bit. I zoned out and still wasn't in a racing mindset. At 6:30 I visited the porta potties and then headed up the beach to the swim start. Now my stomach just didn't feel good. I sat down on the beach and dropped off my dry clothes bag. Then shifted the start back a few minutes for the pros to start at 7:00and the pro women at 7:03 and then it was time to shuffle towards the shoreline.

I absolutely love the feeling in those last few minutes. You can feel the tension in the air as everyone was lost in their thoughts. My thoughts were still, "what am I doing here today?" Not the most positive thing. But then the horn went and we trotted to the water and started wadding and wadding about 200 yards out. But that spread things out and then I was swimming nice and smooth and bam I felt great. Then swim was pretty uneventful I swam straight and the lake was about 75% calmer and I just got into a nice smooth rhythm. Half way we were up and wadding to shore and then running down the beach for leg number two. That messed with me for a while but I got back into control. The lake got a bit rougher that loop but it wasn't too bad. Stayed smooth and warm and got thru the swim well.

Swim 1:22:16.

Transition was slow and uneventful till I got out to my bike the dropped my glasses and got my butt kicked putting on my arm warmers (one inside out), and then got going.

Bike Leg:

The bike started off smooth as I trailed one of my Trakkers teammates as I got a drink of EFS and got into rhythm and shifted up to the big ring and started riding. I tried to make sure I kept in a few gear lighter and didn't push too hard, but I was cruising along and then caught Jamie as the guy in front of us nearly ran into the cone. Was going good until we got off the causeway and hit a bump and my aerobar and headset both rotated. I pulled the aerobar back up as best I could but I really should have stopped and fixed it right there since I could already tell it was uncomfortable. I did good for about 40-50 miles and then my back started hurting. My legs were fine but it was not comfortable in aero. Plus the wind was starting to pick up. Bjorn Anderson Powered past me at around 45 miles and he was flying. I was drinking my EFS every 5 miles or so and taking a liquid shot every 10 and doing well keeping up with my nutrition. Stopped at special needs at about mile 50 and got my new bottles and liquid shot flasks and stretched my back and then got going again. Did not have any other props catch up to me so Bjorn was way ahead as when turn for the second loop. The second loop was just a real pain in the back and then the wind picked up to just make things worse. With the wind and back pain I started to fuel less frequently as my mind was distracted by the pain. That started a bit of a downward spiral as I was slowing due to my back and not fueling due to the wind and back and by the time i made it back to the causeway I was really ready to get off that bike. My butt, my hands, my neck, other parts I care not to mentions joined my back in screaming out in discomfort. That causeway just ket going and going and the road was rough. Both of my teammates passed my back in the last 2 miles but at least that distracted me from the pain for a bit. Finally we reached the end and turned into the parking lot and finally the dismount line. Woo Hoo. Started out averaging 20 mph ended up about 16.75 mph and average about 18 mph overall. Still my second best ironman ride but I felt rotten. Mainly because i only had 1 flask of EFS and a bottle and a 1/4 of EFS over the second half. The best nutritional in the world doesn't do much good sitting on my bike frame. And to think Robert even talked to me about this the day before.
Bike 6:14:12

T2 was long and slow over 10 min, but I put on some sunscreen and gooped up my feet, drank a full bottle of UltraGen and then headed to the Porta Potty. Right there I had a wardrobe malfunction as my zipper picked right there to break. So I got to run the marathon with an open top showing my chest, but no sunscreen. Started off and shuffled onto the marathon course.

Run
The run started off very rough as I shuffled along and just vowed to shuffle to the first aid station. Saw the leader and second place pro just before reaching the aid station which was cool. Started off taking water, and grapes and tried Cera Sport. Hate to pan something but that stuff was flat out nasty and I didn't have any EFS. Shuffled to the next aid station and got a banana and grapes. Saw a guy go down and stayed there to make sure he was ok and got some help, looked heat related. They called the ambulance and dumped water on him and when he seemed in good hands I moved along. Turns out one of the folks helping him was the minister who gave the invocation this morning. He put his race aside to stick with this guy and and help him to the end walking most of the second loop, which was very cool to here the next morning. For me, i said a little prayer and had that moment. I was hot and dehydrated and not feeling good but I asked myself the question "DO you have what it takes to see this thing to the end?" Yes I do I said to no one as I shuffled away to the next aid station. I settled in to water, cola and grapes each aid station walking until I got all the grapes down, and then off. But about mile 5 my legs started to come to me and my shuffle finally evolved to a stride. I was feeling better and the crowd was great as a couple people told me they saw me on the bike and it felt good. Same with the silver wigged group. I hit a bathroom break at mile 7 which was a good sign and I came out and start to actual run. From mile 9.3 to mile 16 I actually ran my best segment dropping from a 12 min mile to a 10:26 average. I kept it up and actually started feeling good and interacting with the crowd, talking to the other athletes who needed a boost, and most of all thanking the aid station folks. Kept my routine but was running good. I made it around to the end of the first loop and it was tough to see that 26 mile sign and have to turn the other direction. Skipped special needs (only had a sweat top and bag of chomps). Caught up to Jamie right as we left the park. He looked rough and I shouted some encouragement but had to keep moving. The second loop was actually fun, I kept walking the aid stations and stopped for a second pit stop at mile 20, but I was running pretty well from aid station to aid station. The crowd stayed great and the police support at each intersection was also great. As I reached mile 21 and had the miles down to 1 hand, I started to think "when is sunset 7:15 or 8:15? Could I actually get a PR out of this? The sun was still up so maybe. My legs started getting heavier but I was feeling so incredibly positive and pushed along. The sun set about mile 24 but I got to see an awesome sunset going across the road to Cedar Point. Had the aid station worker tell get me the grapes without having to ask and cheer me on, I felt good. Just got a quick drink on the last aid station but seeing that 25 mile sign was a beautiful sight. I passed a guy coming into the parking lot and he cheered me one which was cool, I was cruising along and passed 2 other people. Of course at the same time seeing the folks heading out for lap #2 was a bit sad. Must have been tough seeing the looks of joy and excitement on the faces of the athletes finishing up and knowing you still had a ways to go. I hope they all finished and go the chance to feel my joy. Coming into the park and thru the rides to the carpet and the video screens and boom there was my picture on the big screen. I had the chute to myself so i pumped my hands and waved my arms and got called in by Whit. Felt great. Saw 13:05:59 on the clock 2 min short of my PR but later found out that was from the pro start and my official time was 12:53:29 a 10:30 PR.
Run 4:59:31

Overall 12:53:29

Didn't expect much but kept with it worked through the hard time and had a great experience for the marathon and got a PR despite not getting my best time for any of the disciplines or T1 and T2 for that matter. Very Satisfying. Great race and a great time.