Mountain Man Triathlon

Flagstaff, Arizona

I had a surprisingly difficult swim. The water was muddy from recent rains. Visibility could be measured inches, and not many. I Started next to a former Olympic swimmer. I decided to try to stay with him. That was a mistake. Within about 300 yards I was gasping for breath and my muscles were cramping for lack of oxygen. I forgot I was swimming at 7,000 feet. That is 6,000 more than I am used to. I actually had to breast stroke for a few seconds for the first time ever in a triathlon to catch my breath. I have never had to do that before. This is not the first time I have swum at high altitude. I couldn’t seem to recover after that. I was almost done with the swim by the time I started feeling ok. This course is just beautiful. I had a good bike ride and my run was ok. I felt the elevation a bit again on the run. I don’t know what my deal was with that today. Christian won his division and was jazzed to get a trophy.

Kau Family Fun Fest 5K

Naalehu, Hawaii

This was the inaugural race. This was a unique 5K. I have never seen anything like it. The race went for about 200 yards before it headed up a road that was once used to access the sugar cane fields. This road was very steep. The grade never let up. Not for a yard. We ran straight up and then turned around to run straight down. I have never run a hill like that, let alone in the Hawaiian heat. This 5k race goes down as the hardest ever. EVER! I doubt you will ever find a more difficult 5k. The hill was so steep, that when I go to the turn around, I told Christian I was going to walk down. Not because I didn’t have any run let in me, but because I was afraid of injury. I am still amazed that both Christian and I made it up that hill without stopping. I repeat: I have never run a hill like that. I think the only reason we kept going is because we all believed that it would soon flatten out. It never did. I will call upon this race in the future for confidence. I doubt I will ever encounter a hill like that again. All other hills will be cake when I mentally compare them. Also of special note is the fact that this race while a bit remote is the most southern race in the United States. You can’t go any closer to the equator and still be in the United States than this race.

IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii

Kohala Coast, Hawaii

What a race. This was my favorite race so far. The Fairmont Orchid is beautiful and luxurious. What a beautiful place. Everything for the race is on site. Check in, the expo, the race meetings, the bike shop, the gear bag drop off, free shuttles, T2, and the finish. I warmed up in a big living room all by myself outside our hotel room. I hopped aboard a waiting shuttle to Hapuna Beach and T1.
Swim Gorgeous, perfect water temperature and my best 1.2 mile time ever. We swim suspended 70 feet above the corral reefs below with perfect visibility. When you look down it is like flying. I went back and swam this bay two more times before we left Hawaii. I took Christian out there and he was amazed. It is hard to imagine a better swim.
Bike Biking the fabled Queen Kaahumanu highway was everything it was cracked up to be. It rolls more than I had imagined and you have to shift a lot. It is hot and I grabbed water at every aid station. That water is your life. Without it I would not have been able to finish. The water was always cold and I used every drop of it. I have never taken in so much water on the bike. We encountered a head wind climbing into hawi which became a tailwind once you hit the turn around. I was flying down from Hawi.
Run I had long feared this run. I had feared the heat far more than the course itself. If you think the bike is hot, just wait until you get off the bike and hit those humid grass golf course fields and baking lava rocks. The heat did not disappoint. It hits you like a wall once you are off the bike. I was so afraid of dropping on this course that I followed a meticulous nutrition and hydration plan. I started the run with 4 empty fuel belt bottles. I lost one in transition when I bent over, so I had to make it work with 3. Each bottle had 2 scoops of Infinit powder. I learned at Oceanside that I can’t drink it warm after drinking it warm for 3 hours on the bike, so my plan was to fill the bottles with cold water and ice at aid stations as needed. This would also reduce my weight as I ran. The plan worked. I had no problem drinking the Infinint solution as long as it was cold. I also left transition with a pack of Cliff 3X sodium shot bloks in my hand and my fuel belt pouch stuffed full of them. I ate a blok at ever mile, usually just before the aid station. They had aid stations just about every mile. Those aid stations saved my life. They always had cold water, and plenty of ice and sponges. I was using ice and sponges like a mad man. One lady even laughed at me when I grabbed 4 sponges. I would put a sponge in front and in back at my neck line. I would squeeze a third over my head. The fourth I would carry for awhile and squeeze water on my limbs whenever I felt even the slightest breeze. I would drink several cups of water and throw at least one cup of ice in my suit. I actually liked the run. It had a lot of variety and I just made it my goal to make it to the next aid station and before long I was done. It was my slowest half marathon to date, but I ran the entire thing while others walked and many even quit. The local woman who won the race threw up from the heat. After the race was over and Lori was talking about the bridge, the finish line and how it was set up and decorated I realized that I was more over heated than I may have realized as I did not remember any of the things she was talking about. Somehow I had run by all that stuff and not even seen it. .

Tempe International Triathlon

Tempe, Arizona
The race got off to a late start which was ok with me because I wanted it hot by the time I hit the run. I want to some heat to deal with before I have to race in Hawaii in three weeks. I have to tell you, that I felt good for this race from start to finish. It was a good confidence builder for Hawaii. I have developed a working system of warm up, stretching, recovery and pre and post race nutrition that seems to be working. I finished this race in 02:38:39, which is pretty good for me given that this was just a race sandwiched into my training without any rest or pushing. Christian is doing well also. He took first place in his age category. He did the sprint and felt so good afterwards that he ran the second 5k of my 10 k with me just for the heck of it.

Splash + Dash

Tempe, Arizona

It was fun to do an aquathlon on a Thursday evening. I wanted to see how well I could swim. I had the fastest slpit in my age group.

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OC Half Marathon

New Port Beach, California
Although they advertise this marathon as a fast flat race, it was the least flat of the 6 half marathons I have done. California’s definition and Arizona’s definition of flat seems to be two different things. I was feeling good and took off at a pretty good pace. I wanted to beat my best time given what I anticipated from the course. This race has s a net elevation loss and I figured I could run it fast. I put the official elevation chart below. It is not accurate. I remember so many little hills, both up and down.

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I wouldn't call this one is more either:

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The race takes off uphill for about the first mile. I ran it fast full of tapered strength and excitement. Then at about a mile you hit this steady significant decline that goes for the next 2 miles. With my legs pumped up from a mile of incline, I decided I wanted make some good time on that downhill. I was pacing at way under my goal of 9 minute miles and feeling good. At about 2 miles and half way down the hill my left calf seized with a cramp. I tried to run through it and switched to heel striking to see if I could release it. I finally had to stop and use the curb to stretch it. I got it to release enough to continue in pain. The cramp troubled me for the next 2 miles or so and cost me the time I had gained in the first few miles and I would feel the cramp threatening on hills whether up or down for the rest of the race. I managed to keep a 9 minute average and finish at a 01:57:57. It was the most interesting and beautiful course of all the half marathons I have run. There was lots of crowd support too. I had opted not to carry water, so I was disappointed when the course had very few water stations. Other than that, I thought it was a well run race and would recommend it.

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Night Run for Julee

Scottsdale, Arizona
Today held 2 firsts for us in the racing world. Today, my son Christian and I did a double header. We did a race in the morning and a race in the evening. The other first is that this is the first time we have raced at night. That is something I didn’t think through when I brought my thumps. I wore them anyway and was able to see ok. I gotta have my music. This race had a great course with fantastic food. They had pizza, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches etc. Most importantly this race went to benefit Julee Patterson who is a Scottsdale Police Officer who was diagnosed with breast cancer. All the sponsors did a great job and it was great to see all the support for Julee. Several of the valley's mascots were there in support. Big Red, Sparky, and Hairy were all there. Hairy is quite the character.

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