Thanksgiving Day Triathlon

Goodyear, Arizona

Pre-Race Strategy
This is the one reverse triathlon we did last year. Tri Family Racing does a good job with this race and it is great to have the oppurtunity to do a triatlon on Thanksgiving. I had some of my fastest times ever in last year’s event. I wanted to analyze why and figure a race strategy for this year. Upon reflection, this is a good race for me. Since the triathlon is reverse, several factors come into play. The reason behind the reversal is because of the weather. The mornings have become cold this time of year and the race director reverses the order so as not to have wet athletes hitting the bike in the cold morning air. This got me thinking about why I did so well last year. The lighter guys can’t warm up on the bike. The run already has me plenty warm, so when I hit the bike I am warm and stay warm. Even if the lighter guys are able to get warm in a 2 mile run, they can’t stay that way in the wind of the bike. This is my advantage in this race. Now the run is by far my weakest discipline. This race gives me an advantage on the run. The lighter guys start cold and pretty much stay that way resulting in slower run times. Also, psychologically they are probably running more conservatively because they still have two disciplines to go after they complete the run, unlike a normal triathlon where they just have to run to the finish line. These two factor combined makes for slower run times. That coupled with the fact there is a mass start on the run and I am able to keep an eye on my competitors and hopefully stay with them gives me an advantage. My strategy is to keep my rivals in sight and push the run. Then when I hit the bike I will not let any of them get away. I do not have to save anything for after the bike. I can burn my legs to ash, because all I have to do is run 100 yards or so to the pool. Once I am in the pool I know that I can make up time as long as they are not too far out of reach. I will have very few people to dodge and pass, and every one that I do is putting me higher in the rankings.

So the plan was keep them in sight on the run, keep them tight in the bike and swim past them in the pool.

Last year I ran near 7 minute miles followed by 20.13 mph on the bike. I probably can’t do much better on the run, but I think I can improve on the bike, and I have done about 30 seconds better on the swim in past races. Transitions are faster on a reverse triathlon. You are pulling things off as opposed to putting them on. For example socks. Last year’s race remains my fastest sprint to date.

Reality
My plan fell apart right away. The runner’s took off and I couldn’t stay anywhere near them. I just am incapable of currently running like that. I pushed my run to my threshold and jumped on the bike hell bent on making up time. Here is a bit of analysis:

I finished the run in 109th place. I ended up 24th over-all. So from the time I hit the bike until the finish, I passed 78 competitors. What does all this tell me? I am seriously handicapped by my run. When you look at my run it sticks out. I ended up with my best time ever: 0:54:57. But it was only fast enough for 5th place. My run is crippling me. I have got to run faster. To do that, I have got to lose weight. You just can’t run fast enough carrying 240 pounds.

Ironman Arizona Volunteering

Tempe, Arizona

We had signed up last year to volunteer but I ended up getting the flu the night before. My son Christian was very disappointed and wanted to make sure we spent plenty of time at the race this year. So my son and my wife and I all signed up this year for two different assignments. One of the biggest challenges was finding a babysitter for our 3 year old Vayden that could watch her until 1:00 a.m. The weather was great and there was no wind. What a perfect day for racing. I told Lori I thought someone might break the 8 hour mark today.
Lori, Christian and I arrived at run aid station #6 about 6:30 p.m. The athletes were about to hit 12 hours straight when we encountered them. We got to see all kinds of situations. The three of us found an unfulfilled niche amongst the many volunteers handing out potato chips in little cups to athletes. We did that for about 2 hours. During the time we spent at Aid Station #6 two people stood out. One was named Eric. Eric had a huge visible spasm in one of his legs. He was obviously in intense pain as he hobbled forward. We were all worried about him. He had a blank stare and looked as if he might pass out at any minute. Another athlete that made an impression was this elderly woman with only one leg. She seemed to be struggling a bit but was in good spirits. Mike Reilly would tell us her story later at the finish line.
We arrived at the finish line with 3 hours to go until mid night. The finish line is the place to be. They had drinks, pizza, sandwiches and In & out burgers for the volunteers. Initially we were in charge of medals. We saw our friend Eric who had looked so questionable at run Aid station #6. He had made it! Also During this time a guy by the name of Dave, who I would later find out was from Delaware, collapsed a few feet from me. Another volunteer and I tended to him. He was very out of it for a few moments. He had this blank stare and I was afraid he died for a second or two. Eventually we asked him his name and he told us ‘Dave’. The other guy asked him if he knew where he was. For the first time his blank stare vanished into a smile and he happily answered “The finish line”. Dave may not have been able to answer what state, country, or even planet he was on, but he smiled when he said “the finish line.” It had obviously taken everything in him to make it to the finish, and he had done it. I told him that he had left it all out on that course and he should be proud. I was proud of him. I had never met Dave before, and as I was holding his sweaty body on the cold asphalt, I couldn’t help but love him. It is hard to explain, but this complete stranger had made me proud to be part of the human race. That was a moment I will remember.
After about an hour of various jobs the team captain asked me if I would take on a new job. It ended up being the best job ever. For the last two hours I was assigned to sit in a chair literally a foot in front of the finish line and take down bib numbers in the order they crossed the line. This gave me the best seat in the house. I got to see every expression and emotion as they crossed the line. I got to high five them and had Mike Reilly dancing around in front of me. For the last hour the pros came down and I met and congratulated Eneko Llanos who won the race in 07:59:38. I was right about the 8 hour mark. Llanos is only the second man in history to break 8 hours on American soil. The first happened just three weeks ago in Florida. I also congratulated Lindsey Corbin who placed 2nd in the women’s. I like her because she is from Montana and always wears a cowboy hat across the finish line. I was amazed watching the pros dance and have fun. They did not seem sore or tired at all.
During the two hours I spent there on the line I got to see many things. Among the highlights was a 74 year old man finishing 140.6 miles. I also watched as Mike Reilly told everyone the story of the elderly woman in her 60’s who he had pronounced an ironman years earlier at Kona who was later hit by a car while training and lost her leg. After recovering from losing her leg she had attempted several times to complete and Ironman but had been unable to successfully finish. Tonight with all of Tempe on their feet cheering, she crossed the finish line. It was neat to later learn that she qualified for Kona. Another moving moment was when close to midnight tow athletes came around the corner basically carrying and elderly gentleman who could no longer move forward without assistance. These athletes put their own finish in jeopardy to make sure the elderly gentlemen made it across the finish line by midnight. Then as midnight approached all of Tempe was again on their feet for 56 year old Patricia Tilotson from Delaware. Mike Reilly was running behind her pushing her on with all of tempe on their feet screaming. She crossed the line in what has to be the closest finish ever. I looked up her time. Her time was 17:00:00. That was an incredible moment for all of us. She looked like she was hurting bad, hunched over and giving it everything she had left. That was an amazing moment to witness. We got home and at about 2:00 a.m. my wife and I looked at each other and we were still wired and not tired at all. If you ever get a chance to volunteer, or even cheer in the stands in those hours that approach mid-night, do it! You will never forget it.

Gilbert Day 5K

Gilbert, Arizona

My friend Mark called me the day before this race and asked me if I was doing the 5k at Freemont Park on Friday night. I said, “what, there is a local race I don’t know about? Sign me up. I ended up running it in 00:22:55, which is an all time best for me. Apparently it was a good course for me. They gave out fun shirts and it was definately family friendly. I always run better at night for some reason, so it was nice to do a Friday night race.

Shun the Sun 10K

Mesa, Arizona

I wanted to do this race because it was a 10k that ran along the canal and it was close by on a Saturday. I thought it would make a good Saturday morning workout. How could I resist? Of course what was supposed to be a workout turned into close to a personal best. The weather was perfect for me and I started out running really well and then decided if I could keep that pace I would break into the 40’s. A 49:59 would have been just fine to me. I ran a heart breaking 50:00. This was a good fast course. The finish is in the stadium that the Chicago Cubs use for spring training. There are plenty of earlier morning bathrooms. They had an Expo that puts most races to shame. They also gave out these great comfortable shirts too. One of the best shirts I have received all year. I stumbled upon this race just a few days before it took place and registered on site. Good cause, good parking and good post race food. This race needs to advertise a bit more my circles. It was a little gem I found this year by accident. This is a good race that I am going to put on my calendar for next year. I did the 10K, but they have a half marathon distance also.

Blue Water Triathlon

Parker, Arizona

My son and I both love this race, as much for the trip as the race itself. This year I did the long course while my son Christian did the short. Christian took the 14 and under age group with 1st place. I ended up in 4th in my age group which was ironic given that my number was 4. I improved my swim by about 30 seconds from last year even though I felt as if I was having a bad swim. I improved my bike by almost 6 minutes and a full mile an hour average. The rough roads on the California side of this race make speed difficult for me at times in this race. Half the bike course is in California and the other half is in Arizona, so you get to race in two states. Surprisingly my run was only a minute and a half faster than last year. I say that because I thought I ran faster this time. My over-all time was 9 minutes faster than last year. I wasn’t super happy with my results, but at least I am improving. Mountian Man Events puts on a good race. It is nice to roll out of bed and walk a hundred yards to the transition area. This was fun trip because my wife Lori and my daughter Vayden came with this year. Vayden loved the pool and going down the big slide. Where else can Vayden do that? Lori won some money at the casino and I got to eat all-you-can-eat prime rib at the buffet two nights in a row. And one night was free!

Tri Family Halloween Triathlon

Mesa, Arizona
I did this race 5 minutes faster than last year. Unfortunately for me the field was a lot faster this year. There are some great athletes out there. Tri Family Racing did a good job as always. My thanks to Tri Family Racing, the City of Mesa and Iron Gear Sports for this fall racing opportunity.

IRONMAN 70.3 Austin

Austin, TexasI awoke at 3:30, stretched and headed over to the race. I parked with ease and dropped off my run bag at T2 and boarded a bus to T1 and the lake. It was a stress free morning. I felt pretty good despite being sick. My lungs weren’t congested, I just felt a bit tired. I am never yawing pre-race.SwimMy swim heat did not leave until 8:40 a.m. The first pro wave left at 7:30. Somehow despite all the time I had, I ended up misjudging time and had to run over to the swim corral pulling my suit on as I went. I am never one of those people. If there wasn’t an age 40-44 A-L heat before my heat, I might have missed my start. It may have worked out for me, because when I started my heart rate was already up and I had a good swim. It was a well marked triangle. Although there were 2700 people doing this race I encountered very little congestion in the swim. The water temperature was nice for a wetsuit swim and the visibility wasn’t bad. Since my wave did not leave until 8:40 a.m., the sun was up and hitting the water at an angle making for good visibility. I ended up with my fastest time ever for the swim.BikeI worked hard to achieve a 20 mph average. I did not feel hot on the bike and did not feel the need to grab more than one bottle of water at the aid stations. In retrospect, my elevated effort, and the dry windy conditions may have significantly dehydrated me without my noticing.
The challenges of this course for me were two. Although there were some short hills, there was nothing major which I was happy for. The challenges came in other forms. The first challenge was the condition of the roads. Approximately half the course was on what I would consider rough roads. This obviously affects speed. When we would transition from rough to smooth road I would see as much as a 3 mph difference without changing effort output. Texas apparently is in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history and the roads are shrinking and cracking. The condition of the road made for tense riding. I discussed this with other athletes afterwards and was not alone its effects. My shoulders are still sore as I write this. I also encountered significant back ache which made riding in the aero position painful. The rough road would come back to haunt me in the run as well as other athletes that I spoke with after the race was over.
The second challenge was wind. Mostly cross wind. This slows everyone, but my weight actually keeps my on the road and from being blown around. I just envisioned myself cutting through the wind and did not let it bother me. I was determined to get my 20 mph average despite the wind. The wind was only a factor for about the last hour of the race. I turned in my fastest 56 miles ever. In fact I beat my best previous performance by 23 minutes! My goal for this race was to break the 6 hour mark and I was on my way to smashing that. When I completed the bike I calculated in my head that if I could run a 2 hour half marathon, I would come in at about 5 hours and 30 minutes. I had just run a 1:50 half marathon in Long beach two weeks ago and I have been running faster off the bike lately than just running fresh. I felt confident that I was on my way to a 5:30! Fate had other plans however.RunThis was the most grueling punishing run for me ever! I transitioned fast and could not wait to get out on the run course and get my 5:30. I felt great. I ran out of transition full of confidence and optimism. This is the best I have felt by far in a 70.3 going into the run. I was even smiling at the volunteers. I cruised the first mile effortlessly. All my bricks were paying off. My legs know they have to run after getting off the bike now. I was shocked when I looked down at my watch. I felt like I had taken the first mile pretty easy and I ran it in 8:30. I was feeling great. I was running the same pace as Long beach without even trying. I was definitely going to smash 6 hours and on my way to a sub 5:30.

With in a minute things changed. The course headed uphill and I felt the vastus medialis above my left knee threatening to cramp. It began to feel like someone had stabbed me in the leg. That is the muscle just above the knee on the inside of the leg. It alarmed me. I have never felt anything there before. As I pushed up the hill I gave into fear. If the muscle seized I didn’t know how to stretch it. I started to walk to see if I could relax it and get it under control. After a minute or so I started to run again. As I hit the first aid station and drank a cup of cold water I realized I was very thirsty. I drank another cup. I couldn’t stop and drank a third. After the aid station the course headed down hill. The combination of downhill running and the sloshing water in my stomach caused a severe side cramp. I couldn’t breathe and once again gave in and walked. This time I gave into pain. I was troubled. I was walking again and I hadn’t even reached mile 2. I looked at my watch and decided I could make up the time and get on track for 9 minute miles which would put the13.1 miles under 2 hours. My thoughts were that there was no need to panic. I just needed to deal with these cramping issues and get back to business. Things got worse not better.
The course was tough a tough one for me. It was mostly up or down. There were few flat steps. The hills weren’t super steep, but enough to make you work on the way up and cause shock damage on the way down. And speaking of flat steps, the running surface was often a bit rough also. I am a pansy when it comes to running and like my running surface flat and even. That is probably due to my weight. Landing 230 pounds on even surfaces can make the ankles tire.
Once you walk, it is far too easy to walk again. I wasn’t alone however. I have never seen so many people walking in a triathlon. It seemed as if 70% of the field was walking. This contributed to the “it’s ok to walk” voice in my head even more. I would run and then walk when I hit a hill.
To make things worse I was also overheating. I had gotten behind on my hydration and now I couldn’t make it up. They ran out of sponges on my second loop. It was a 3 loop course. I was drinking too much and suffering side cramps, especially running down hill. I would stop drinking for a while to eliminate the side cramps, but then the leg cramps would start again. I had to choose my poison. It was so hot that I couldn’t drink my Infinit. I finished 1 out of 4 bottles. I neglected my gels because of my internal heat. I could not stomach them in the condition I was in. I stuffed ice everywhere I could but couldn’t stop the heat. Unlike Hawaii where I was able to control it, here in Texas I had allowed myself to get dehydrated and there was no coming back from that once I hit the run. I learned that I have got to stay on top of that. Dehydration is not curable for me once the run begins given my sweat rate. I must have walked 11 times. It was brutal and for the first time in a triathlon I wanted to quit. Many other people were suffering and I spoke to some of them as I walked or ran next to them. Here is my analysis of what happened to me. The bike taxed my muscles in a way I had not trained for. The static tension due to the rough roads for nearly 3 hours put a strain on muscles that I was not accustomed to. Lots of athletes suffered back issues because of this. While personally, my back did suffer on the bike, it did not bother me once I hit the run like so many other athletes I encountered. I do think that this static stress contributed to my leg cramping. This coupled with the fact that I allowed myself to dehydrate worked as a double punch setting my muscles up for cramping issues. Then on top of that, psychologically I let the group mentality influence my decision making process. Since so many others were walking I convinced myself that it was ok and I was just adopting a strategy to finish. My run ended up being 2:30:46. That is 40 minutes longer than the last half marathon I did. My time total time was 6:02:36. Almost 20 minutes faster than my previous 70.3 record. I could have easily made up that 2:36 and finished under 6 hours. I gave in. I let pain and fear rule the day for me and I came away from this race upset with myself. I am upset that I wasn’t smarter. I am upset that I wasn’t stronger. I should not have given in.

Things I learned from this race:
1) I need to stay on top of hydration and nutrition regardless of how I feel.
2) Don’t start walking.
3) I need to run and bike hills in my training.
4) Don’t neglect heat tolerance training.
5) And last but not least: