Ironman Canada Race Report

Ironman Canada
2011-08-28
Penticton, British Columbia
Canada
Ironman North America
94F / 34C
Sunny

Triathlon - Full Ironman
Total Time = 14h 14m 19s
Overall Rank = 1848/2880
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 322/497




Pre-race routine:

Ironman racing teaches you alot about yourself. It is about the journey as much as the final destination. You never quite know what is going to happen between the day you sign up 364 days in advance and hopefully when you reach the finish line. For me Ironman Canada was one of those races that has always a special meaning. Ironman Canada is the oldest and longest running Iron Distance Event in North America. This was the 29th year and it is one of those races the other athletes will tell you you have to experience. This was where the Hoyts showed the world they could finish an Ironman Triathlon. This is where Sister Madonna Budder showed us age is only a number lining up at age 81. This race is a perfect mix of nature and history. Penticton is on one of the cleanest and most scenic lakes (not to mention large). The bike takes you on an amazing tour of the Britsh Columbia country side and up two mountain passes and it by far the most scenic race I've ever done, and the run lets you explore the southern lake and be cheered on by some of the greatest Ironfans you will ever meet.

I actually was shocked last year as spot for Ironman Canada went on line as it frequently sells out before getting on-line, but I wasted no time and signed up in the first minute. That started a fun filled year of training, a few injuries, sicknesses, unplanned work trips, etc, which left me feeling under prepared for the swim and run (Due to Plantar Faciatis on my left foot which limited my running most of the year and I still haven kicked it. No real excuse for the swim other than didn't do enough), but felt good about the bike averaging over 500 miles per month since my foot problems weren't an issue on the bike. We made a 10 day vacation flying to Vancouver for 6 days and doing a ton of siteseeing (Stanley Park, Chinatown, Grouse Mountain, Capillo suspension bridge, Downtown, and Grandville Island) then drove to Kalowna for the last 4 days, driving to Penticton on the other side of the lake (about an hour's drive daily). Race morning got up at 3:20, ate a couple kewis and had a bottle of Ultragen and Tammy dropped me off at the race site at about 5:00am. Got my bottles staged and special needs bags taken care of, then got my tires pumped up and then got changed. Was about 6:30am so I got in the water and got a bit of a swimm in before the pro lined up. Water was great.


Event warmup:

After my warm up 5 min swim, I ran into a cute an very nervious Japanese lady who said the water was cold, but I was really a case of nerves so I gave her some positive words. They lined up the pros and ran through the field, announcing Jacqui Gordan my Team Trakkers Teammmate, who had to withdraw due to injuries from a bike accident. Sad she wasn't here but it did sent some positive vibes. Then they sang "O Canada." That was really cool since there we are waist deep in water and about 1000 people are sing along, never see that is the USA. It was a very cool thing I will alway remember. Then the pros were off and 2880 age groups lined up. A nervious 15 min and there I was left and middle of the largest starting field in Ironman history about to get underway. Another round of "O Canada!" for the age groupers and then it was time to go. Up went the flags and we were off!



Swim


Comments:

For the biggest starting field in Ironman history, the pack was pretty well behaved, at least in my part of the lake. We started walking up to the line then got going and was very surprised how little beating and banging there was in the first 400 meters. Don't get me wrong there were people everywhere but we stayed off each other pretty well and didn't try and swim over each other and it worked well. The swim leg out to the first turn went very well. Lots of feet to follow and caps to navigate off of. So I just got into a nice smooth rhythem and cruised along. Navigated right along the bouy line. There was a bouy every 100 meters which was good. At the first turn buoy I was on the inside and there was a major traffic jam as everyone converged. But again most everyone stayed cool and went with it and no major contact. The short leg went well also, but the second turn was ever worse then the first it was so stacked up. Had a bit of a cramp there which sucked. Finally got swimming again and since this leg was into the sun, I did my best to follow feet since I was blinded by the glare. Had some issues swimming straight due to that sun, and got banged around a bit more since I was crossing peolpe's paths. But when I had a good set of feet I went well. Still stayed on course and soon found myself back at the beach looking at the rocks and standing up. Good swim!


What would you do differently?:

Not much. Maybe some tinted gogles would have worked better but still a really good swim, and I felt good



T1


Comments:

Normal ironman T1. Hit the wetsuit strippers, got my bag and headed into a very warm changing tent. Found my glasses fogged up, got changed smoothly, had some problems with my bike jersey zipper, gooped up with sunscreen and then trotted to the porta potty before heading out the long walk with my bike.


What would you do differently?:

Go faster.



Bike


Comments:

The bike started out OK. With 2880 on the course it got pretty crowded out on the trip up Main street as we got into a good groove. Riding along the back lake was cool then we turned left and up Mclean Creek hill which was a tough little grind made a lot tough by all the people slogging up it spread out across the road. After that was a nice praved downhill with a few good technical turns. Right at the bottom there was a accident and gear spread along the road, which I was very fortunate to miss. The leg down to Osoyoos was smooth and fun. Got into a nice rhythm and made sure to hold back and save energy for the climbs. Passed through a few towns which came out in force to cheer us on. Started drinking every 10K and taking a shot of EFS each aid station. At about 35 miles, my race turned for the worst as I was taking my EFS and then all the sudden I was gagging and throwing it back up. Tried some liquid EFS and same result. This was a really bad sign. The day was getting hotter and I could keep anything but water down and there were 65 miles of climbing left.
Soon we hit Ritcher and started grinding up the bottom slopes. Ritcher has several tiers to the climb so you get a break every so often, and you don't quite realize how much you climbed until you look down the the valley below. 1140 feet of climbing. But the fans turn out in force and it was a party on the side of the road and it felt very Tour De France like. Coming up to the summitt they have an MC and they were cheering you on like mad. The MC on top hollered congratulation you just conquored Ritcher Pass which felt awesome and then you were absolutely flying down the other side on a crazy decent. I don't have a bike computer on the Kestrel but we were flying. Then came the tough part of the course. The seven sister are a series of rollers between Ritcher and the out and back. Very hot and exposed road and it never let you get back into your rhythm. At this point, I was very close to dropping out. Still could take in anything but water (even tried the nasty poweraid- stuff which didn't work.) My mouth was dry, my nutrion was shot, my stomach hated me, my back was really starting to hurt and I could stay aero, and there was a serious headwind. When the going gets tough, you find out alot about yourself. I knew one thing i had to do was slow down, reduce my sweat rate, and try and hang in their till my stomach would accept anything. I had to deal with the sight of so many folks cruising past me but if I was going to make it I had to swallow my pride and let them go. I grinded through the sisters, was able to take and hold down some fruit and water at the next aid station and I got through the worst of it. After what seemed like forever we hit the out and back and there was one last evil little hill which I didn't gear down early enough for and had to stand and grind as I stalled out.

The out and back is tough and again very hot. There was a mini out and back leg and two people flopped over in front of me at the turnaround forcing me to go off roading to avoid running over them. (They were fine, just embarassed.) FInally you reach the end of the out and back and hit special needs. I stopped and unclipped and traded out my bottles, and again tried some EFS with no luck. So now it was back into the wind and what the heck I can't get my left shoe to clip in. Spent the next 5 miles cursing at my shoe and doing everything to get it to clip in to no avail. So the last 35-40 miles were with my left foot sliding on top of the pedals which made the climbs so much fun. As if this wasn't bad enough, then the real messed up part happened. Aid stations 8, 9, and 10 were out of bottled water. The only fluid I could keep down and they didn't have any. They had a hose at 8 and 10 and a line of people. SO climbing back out of the out and back at the hottest part of the day, into a head wind, and starting up to Yellow lake, with no water or nutrition. I was in my own personal hell. I was able to take a bit of EFS and thank god for the lady in Aid station 9 who had a water bottle of Ice which got my to and over Yellow Lake. The Yellow lake climb is very gradual until it turns up for 2- kilometer or so stretches. Again the fans were out and very encouraging and entertaining on the climbs. Felt like a rock star again. Once over the top the headwind and rotten road made it rough even on the downhills. There was another short climb and then finally aid station 11 with some ice cold water. Yeah!!. After that was a major down hill with twists and turn where we were flying and then back to Penticton airport into town and eventually back to Main Street for the last 3-4 miles. Saw the runners going the other way. Felt great to be back and even better to finally get of that bike.

I survived the bike, which did put a smile on my face. Just about everything that could have gone wrong did. But I fought my way though it. That was very rewarding even then.


What would you do differently?:

Address nutrion issues, back issues. DOn't know it the EFS went bad sitting in the transition bags or in my gear bag, but that it something I never want to experience again. Never had issues with EFS before but the temps in the mid 90s apparently spoilled the liquid shot. The expo didn't have anything other than powerade, where is PBN when you need them!!!



T2


Comments:

Got off the bike and the volunteer took my bike and I slowly walked to get my bag and headed to the tent. I had one great volunteer help me in the tent, I just wanted to sit a drink some water for a bit and he encouraged me, then helped get my stuff out goop up with Trislide untied my shoes and the hosed me down with sunscreen. I really appricated his help and encouagement. Probably would have just sat there for 20 minutes without his help. Visited the porta pottty, pulled on my Trakkers hat and off to the run.


What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I was not in a good place coming in, so just getting out of transition was an accomplishment at that point.



Run


Comments:

I walked to the start and then took fruit and water at the aid station and started shuffling off. You start with a loop from Winnioeg to Westover, to lakeshore and do and out and back. The first half of that loop I walked alot but i started trotting before the end of Westover and I kept in up the rest of the way other than walking the aid stations and getting every bit of nutrition I could. They had the aid stations very close together in town which was perfect for me. The fruit (oraganges, watermellon and grapes) and cola revived me. By about mile 2 I was actually floating along pretty well. As you got out of town you passed a park with a tent full of rowdy fans who were awesome. Got a few comments about my green racing kit with matching hat (Very positive comments) which made my smile.
Getting out to the shores of the lake it seemed like almost everyone was walking, so I was actually passing people doing my 11 min miles. Met alot of cool people along the way, who would tag along with me. Met a cancer survivor, a few native indian Pentecton residents, and a 75 year old guy would was leapfrogging my with a walk run. Very few people were running the hills but I was afraid to stop. I could let myself walk through the aid stations, because there was a purpose to get as much water, ice, cola, and fruit down, then get going. At Eagleman I found once I stopped without a purpose it was a lost cause, so I kept trotting and actually didn't feel too bad. Hit the turnaround and got my special need bag with a nice Kiwi fruit. The hills were tough on the way back, but I slogged along. At mile 15 I took a pit stop at the porta potty. The last 7-8 miles my legs started to get very heavy and my pace slowed. At this point the sun was going down and it was cooling off and more folks were running, especially as we came back into town. The trip dowm Main street was awesome with folks lining the street and encouraging you along. Finally we hit, Westover and you could hear the finish line. At the end of Westover, I saw Tammy, Adrian, and Matthew who were a bit worried since i was about an hour behind my normal pace, but happy to see me none the less. That pumped my up as we got a few pictures. The last out and back on Lakeshore just seemed to take forever (mile 25 marker is as you turn on to Lakeshore)but the street was jam packed. When I finally hit the turn around (which is about 4 blocks further than on the outbound loop) I was feeling great. I started listen to the announcer (Mike Riley was at IM KY) but they were giving alot of information. I passed two more people on that last 1000 m stretch and wanted to stretch out so each of us had the finish chute to ourselves. They announced me "Andrew Rosebrook of Royersford, PA. Andrew is a 6 time Ironman finisher having completed IM FL, Kona, IM AZ, and IM UK." (No love for Rev3 Cedar Point but this was a WTC race)." With that i hit the finish line with a smile on my face.


What would you do differently?:

Getting to the end of the race on a tough day is what it's all about. Defeating that little voice inside your head, even when what that little voice is telling you makes all the sense in the world, is an amazing feeling. That was make i felt the first time I crossed the line at IM FL and the feeling was even stronger at IM Canada. Couldn't have done much different on this run as i paid for the mistakes on the bike but I still managed to pick up nearly 300 spots even with a 5:19, my second slowest IM marathon.



Post race


Warm down:

My catcher grabbed me, and got my medal, got some water, pulled my chip, got my to my picture, and got my finsher shirt and hat. Saw Tammy and the boys and gave then the finishers stuff. Then she led me to the massage tent. Very nice lady from Wilkes Barre, PA. Small world. Got a massage, had a bit of cheese pizza, got my gear out of transition, got changed to some warm dry clothes, then brought my bike and gear bag to Tri-Bike transport. Stuffed the contents of the bags into my gear bag and dropped them off. Then a long walk to the car and back home to Kalowna. Really wanted a McDonald's chocolate shake, but the shake machine was oos at West Kalowna. Long shower/bath and of to bed sore as hell. A good zipper hickey and two rub mark from my tri shorts, and a small sunburn at the elastic on the legs and on the aclies tendons of both legs and back on my hands.



What limited your ability to perform faster:

Unable to take in or keep down nutrition on the bike. Plus a few mechanical issues. Can't ever fully recover from something like that but I am proud how well I coped.



Event comments:

Absolutely great fans and greater volunteers, and the course was absolutely amazing. My catcher and T2 assitant were great.!

Organizationally there were some issues however. Running out of water on three aid station on the bike was pretty unacepatble (especially since there were 800 or so more behind me) and I did notice that the volunteers were filling up water jugs from the lake on the run at several aid stations on the lake. Don't think that was supposed to happen.

There were a ton of ambulences on course for bike wrecks and heat related issues on the run, and those folks were outstanding as well. It was a rough day and I hear there were over 500 DNFs. Not that the Race director can control the weather.

Medal wasn't as cool as some of the IM Canada onces I've seen from previous years, and not along of swag for $650.

All that said the race really was spectacle and a very cool event to have been a part of. The course is breathtaking in many ways, the lakes are beautiful and clean, and the support from the community and voluneers was second to none. Very happy I did this race,

For everyone who ever had a dream.....

Whenever I need a pick me up, when the long weeks of training become a grind, when life gets in the way, I like to look back at one of the best moments of my life. In 2007, one of my lifelong dreams came true when I crossed the finish line at Kona. October 13, 2007 at 8:43 pm HST, I did something I never believed was possible but yet I always kept that crazy dream alive. I wish every triathlete could experience what Kona is like, so I tried my best to let the readers of my race report get a small slice. THe full report can be found here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=93818



The two parts I did best were the preamble and the finish. Reading these two parts still puts a chill down my spine. Enjoy!

The Dream:

For everyone who ever had a dream.....

When I was a kid I had all sorts of crazy dreams, scoring the winning basket at the Final Four, hitting a ball over the Green Monster, Throwing a touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl. However reality came along and made sure those dreams would remain just that. But I was part of a most fortunate generation that got to watch this sport of triathlon come into being and grow. I remember watching Julie Moss in 1982 on ABC Wide World of Sports and asking myself why would and how could someone push themselves to the point their body was shuting down just to reach a line on Alii Drive. At that point a dream was born, I watched Dave Scott (who lived a few towns down the freeway from where I went to High School) and found a hero. I watched Dave and Mark Allen battle, met a guy named Mike Pigg, but then my dream went on hold for 14 years as I "grew up" joined the Navy, started a family, got out of the Navy. But every year in December, I would watch the NBC Kona Special and the dream would be rekindled. New heros emerged Chris S., Sara Reinhart, Jon Blaze and I started down the path of chasing that dream again. In Nov 2006, I became an Ironman at Ironman Florida, and I thought that was as close to the dream as I'd ever come. But fate has a funny way of helping you out and on April 15, 2007 I saw my name on the list of Kona lottery winners. Dreams can come true!

The finish:


Now you are headed down Palani to mile 25 thru the last Aid station. Now you know you made it. The crowds which have been gone the last 15 miles are back in force and the closer you get to Alii Drive the bigger they get. Everyone is cheering you, you turn down and then one last turn onto Alii drive. Its magical. Suddenly you are flying down Alii, the positive vibe from the crowd and most importantly your fellow atheletes has you walking on air. These people understand and appricate what you have gone thru the last 13 hours. They don't care if you are a lottery winner and didn't qualify, they know whats going thru your head at this moment. Pure unadulterate joy. Your dream is 300 yards away. You enter the shoot and start going from side to side giving high 5s. And there is Mike Riley. Then you hear it "Andrew Rosebrook from Royersford PA....You are an Ironman!!!"




Follow the dream and never wake up! The journey will always be worth the price! Plus you may get to see something like this first hand.

An interesting two weeks (or how to stick with in on flood duty)

While I love triathlons, I am by no means a professional, which means my real job does have a way of making my training much more difficult. But where there's a will, there's a way. I just completed an eleven day trek on the road, but it was a lot harder that a simple 11 days to stay on track. First off, I mistimed ordering my UltraGen and Optigen HP, so I had no UltraGen and ranout of Optigen during the trip.

Part I of my journey was up in Wilkes Barre, PA. I was covering for the residents at the plant up there. Got up to the plant and it was already steamy hot. Susquehanna is a very cool place for me since I have access to a locker room and showers and more importantly, I are three measured "trails" inside the fence which is very nice since going through the security train when you are sweating like a pig. So for the first day I did 3 outside loops, but the heat was pretty tough. After work I found a nice bike in the health center and rode a tough hour. The second day was similar, but then after my workout, I got a call from the plant and had to go watch a test. That really messed with my sleeping schedule. Day 3 was a grind but I still had a great bike that night. Finally day 4, I knocked out a longer run and took the night off from cycling in order to get some sleep.



Part II started out with a 6:00am flight to Omaha, NE from the Scranton Airport, which meant getting up and departing the hotel at 4:00am. Got a little sleep on the flights arriving in Omaha around noon. From there I headed to Fort Calhoun, NE and that plant. Most people around the counrty may have forgot that the Missouri River has been having severe flooding since June. At the plant it was about 7 feet above flood stage. This made the plant basicaly into several island in the middle of the river. The NRC has had 24/7 onsite coverage since June 6th at the plant and I was going to be the swing shift guy for a week. I did manage to time my visit to coinside with an Excessive heat warning. Each day I got to walk down the flood barriers inside and outside the plant. In 100-108 degree heat and humidity the heat index was upwards of 115 most days. And when the sun went down the bugs came out in force. Plus it was still in the 90s. So I worked from 4:00pm to midnight each night at the plant, and got back to my hotel about 12:45am. The bad part was nothing was open after work so no food.


But on the good side thr Marriot Omaha had a 24 hour Health Center with some really nice equipment. So each night/morning I would go down a ride for an hour at 1:00am (something I never do), and then when I got up in the morning I would go down and run on the treadmill (since it really was too hot to run). Throw in the 2-3 hours rovering on site in full work clothes at the hottest point of the day, and it was a heck of a workout. The last night I decided to do a run at 1:00am since in theory I would do my cycling class when I got back. I also got another great break when I found a Whole Foods grocery store on the way to the plant, so I got Lunch and Dinner at Whole Foods and i certainly ate better that most weeks I spent on the road.

Just to finish things off, I got back to the airport in Scraton after a 5:55am flight out of Omaha find my car and first my remote won't work, then I find out it wasn't the remote, the car battery was dead as a dornail. Called AAA and got a jump, drove 3.5 hours back to the office and boom the car was dead again. Got another jump and got home and brought it to the shop. Wouldn't even turn over again once I got there, so no cycling class.

What a week!

Letting go of my old gear!

Funny how you can get sentamental about selling some old gear. Yes thats why, I found another use for my mighty Specialized Allez Elite. My very first road bike which took me though my first Olympic, HIM, and 4 Ironmans was the only bike at Kona without aerobars (someone said she was mentioned in the Triathlon magazine gear rundown that year). So even though I finally upgraded to a Carbon Fiber TT bike (My Kestrel Talon Tri SL), I found a permenant spot on the computrainer for the Specialized rather than sell her. I love my Kestrel and it has helped me take 15 min of my HIM Bike PR, but my old faithful steed and I have been though alot together.

My first wetsuit; however, found a new home this week. I bought a Blue Seventy Sleeveless wetsuit after my first two HIMS. It always kicked my butt getting it off but it clearly made me faster and accompanied me thru 10 HIMs and 4 Ironmans (Kona was non wetsuit), but this year I upgraded to a TYR Hurricane Cat 5 full suit. But my old wetsuit helped one of the lady's in my office get over some apprehension and complete her first triathlon in June (a wetsuit is a great security blanket to a newbie swimmer so I let her borrow my wetsuit) and on Friday I sold it too her. I am glad my old wetsuit will help another triathlete get into our great sport.

This weekend I also retired my AVIA Rhythms which got me through a hectic half season, with 3 HIMs and an Olympic and 3 races in 8 days. When I retire a pair of shoes I them toss my emergency shoes and religate the retired shoes to that status. So I had to throw out a very well worn pair of Shoes which have my fastest Ironman to their name. Good memories attached to a nasty, stinky, worn out pair of shoes.


But don't even ask about buying my old bike!!!! A bike with a Kona sticker and a total of 4 ironman stickers is priceless!

Marketing to Triathletes.

When I went and got my MBA one of my favorite class was Marketing Management. For most people in the world, you market product by making them cute, catchy, or send the message that this product makes your life easier. This stategy applies to most things including athletic events. How many marathons advertise as being flat and fast or as an ideal Boston Qualifier? Easy, fast, get more for less.

But triathletes are another breed entirely. We seem to respond to the polar opposite strategy. Pain, suffering, pushing the envelope...yeah bring it on!!!

Think about it. What is the image that defines triathlon to most of us. Julie Moss at Kona in 1982 pushing herself way beyond limits most people could even comprehend and even though her body was shutting down, she summounded the strenth to literally crawl across the finish line.



As a 12 year old, I remember watching that moment on ABC Wide World of Sports, not having a clue what a triathlon was but utterly transfixed. To this day I vividly remember two thoughts going through my mind. 1) How could someone push themselves beyond the point where they couldn't even stand and still keep going? That race must be something special. And 2) I wonder if I could ever do that? That was the birth of a dream. 25 years later, I was able to answer that question. Finding out it you have what it takes to push yourself beyond anything you ever thought possible. It was hard as hell, it hurt like heck, but it was one of the most glorious experiences of my life and I would have traded a second of it. Ironically, I finally met Julie Moss at Eagleman this year, and I found myself absolutely speechless.



But that challenge to test ourselfs in the exterme appeals to triathletes more than most groups. I remember listening to a Podcast interview with Heather Golnick who helped design the Rev3 Quazzy HIM course. Here is an triathlete being asked to make a course other triathlete would be excited to race. What did she come up with, only the hardest bike and run course you could make in Conn. When asked about it, she said triathletes love a challenge. And she has proven to be spot on. Rev 3 Quazzy attracts the best and deepest pro field of any race outside Kona, and was completely sold out this in its 3rd year. Why we love a challenge.



Need another example? Look at what happened this year at Rev3 Portland. The Rev3 folks devised an absolutely vicious bike leg and the tri boards were buzzing. But when one of the towns pulled out and forced REV 3 to go thru historic efforts to save the race and get an acceptable venue for the race at the last minute, the buzz on slowtwitch and other boards was full of pissed off triathletes who were REVED up to meet the challenge (and the bar) that Rev 3 had set at Knoxville, Quazzy, and Cedar Point. A flat and fast bike leg just left folks steaming. Why we love a challenge.



Just look at Savageman. The race was voted as the hardest 70.3 race in the world by triathlon magazine. That would scare most folks away, a triathlon uses it as a marketing tool and draws a full capacity 1100 athlete field. We are crazy, and you have to market to the madness!

I'm not crazy!! Really! I have a Recovery Pump!

Well I haved updated my blog in way too long, but I did have a little bit of a busy stretch. Over the last five weeks I did three HIMs (Rev 3 Knoxville, Rev 3 Quazzy, and Eagleman) and one Olympic (Rev 3 Quazzy), with the last three races (Rev 3 Quazzy Oly, Rev 3 Quazzy HIM, and Eagleman) in a period of 8 days.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=256800
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=255841
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=255829
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=253127


Why would I put myself through such a schedule? Good question. I've never been fast, but triathlon offers many a challenge even for us who may never stand on the podium. Triathlon can challenge you to go faster, further, or longer than you ever dared to try before. When you set your sights high, reaching your goal is that much more rewarding. Back in 2003, I got chewed up and spit out by the course at the Lake Arrowhead Triathlon, but I dug down deep and fought my way to the finish. That was such a great feeling and boom I was hooked. The Sprint grew to an Olympic in 2004 at the Lancaster YMCA Tri, the Olymic grew to a Half Ironman at the New Jersey Devilman in 2005, and finally the Half Ironman went to a full in 2006 at Ironman Florida. Each time I entered the great unknown and went further and longer than ever before, it was such an electric feeling. Finding out you are capable of more than you ever thought possible when the journey began is such a powerful feeling.


For a few years, I couldn't think of an appropriate challenge to up the ante, but in 2009 one sort of found me. I signed up for the Black Bear HIM which I still consider the hardest course I have ever riden, but then I got accepted to be on Team Trakkers and had to do the inagurial REV 3 Quazzy HIM, a very hilly and tough HIM the next weekend. So boom 2 back to back Hilly HIMs-the thrill was back again. The next year I did the Revolution- Rev3 Quazzy Olympic on Saturday and the Rev 3 Quazzy on Sunday. I felt more beat up than I did after any Ironman after that weekend.

So this year, I wanted to one up those last two challenges, so I combined them. A repeat of the Revolution at Rev3 Quazzy folowed up by another HIM (Unfortunately, they dropped the HIM at Black Bear) but this year I had a secret weapon. One of Team Trakkers new sponsors for 2011 was Recovery Pump. Recovery Pump is sort of like a giant blod presuure sleeve and a pump which compresses your legs from foot to quads up then deflats and repeats. In the process in helps to flush out the lactic acid and other wear products out of the muscles and works like a massage. An hour a day after a tough workout really helped to put the snap back in my legs. Recovery Pump and my UltraGen are just an unbetable combination. So this year I put it to the test. I brought my Recovery pump with me to Rev 3 Knoxville and followed the advice of the folks at the Recovery Lounge at the expo and spent 2 hours in my Recovery Pump after a long hilly HIM and sipped on my Ultragen. The next morning, i had a 10 hour drive back home and my legs felt great. Normally, a long ride home after a tough race is cramp city, but that day my legs felt great. An hour a day for the next two days and my legs felt great and my speed was back.

So I was ready for the real test Rev 3 Quazzy! Did the Olympic on Saturday and didn't hold back going 3:32 seconds faster than last year with a really good run. After the race I hit the Hotel and got 2 hours in recovery pump before dinner. The next morning my legs felt great and on a tough course I went 15:35 faster than last year in a year where I was in rotten run shape due to Plantar Facitis. That night I was in the Recvovery Pump for another 2 hours, watching TV and eating dinner. Again my legs felt good for the drive home the next morning. Again I used the Recovery Pump an hour a day and by Wednesday I had to reel myself back in since I had another HIM that weekend. The last challenge was Eagleman. I hit the Recovery lounge at the Eagleman Expo and pumped up for 45 min or so. Again my legs felt so great. 3rd HIMin 5 weeks and 3 race in 8 days and I ripped of my HIM Bike PR by 11:53 sec and 13:44 sec faster than my last race on this course. My legs felt great, unfortunately my stomach revolted and crushed my run, but my legs had another good run in them. My Recovery Pump passed its test with flying colors. A race like that with that much fatigue in my legs and I ripped off a PR! That felt great and took the sting out of my run. Recovery Pump works and helped complete another crazy challenge! Enjoy the Ride!

Decisions, decisions

Here we go again. I started out the year with a very ambitious plan for my racing schedule this year. But work has picked up and I developed a nasty case of Plantar Faciatsis in my left foot. Both of which have significantly impacted my training, particularly my running. So now I'm a few week away from my first triathlon of the year, Revolution 3 Knoxville on May 15, 2011. One of my goals for the year is to qualify for the USAT HalfMax National Championships which would require a HIM PR. Ideally, I would like to knock that goal out right out the gate in Knoxville which would allow me to engage in some measured insanity (Rev 3 Quazzy Olympic, HIM, and Eagleman 7 days later) in order to put my Recovery Pump to the ultimate test. But if I don't fulfill goal #1, my best and really only legit shot would be Eagleman. But right now I am having some doubts due to my limited running the last month and a half. So I have a decision go for the Oly at Rev 3 Knoxville and Rev 3 Quazzy to be ready for a max effort at Eagleman or stick with the original plan, going with the HIM at Rev 3 Knoxville and putting faith in the extra bike training I have gotten in since my heel issues and go for it. It's a tough decision and will affect my entire season.


Any advice? Thanks in advance!