VanderTri.com

Drove straight through on Wednesday from Seattle to St. Helena in around 12 hours.  Stayed at the vineyard, winery and home of some family friends in St. Helena which is about 40 minutes away from T2 and an hour from T1.  It was a special treat to get to stay there and the place is fantastic and quiet.  It was searing hot all week leading up to the race with temps in Windor (T2) in the mid 90's and in Napa Valley the temps were in the 100's.  Swam in the Russian River at the race site on Thursday and decided I wouldn't swim with a wetsuit but opt for a swim skin given the really warm water (75 degrees). 

Pre-race: Started off badly after arriving at race start I took my glasses off to take off my sweatshirt to get body marked and set them on my handlebars.  Well I forgot them (by the way it was still dark) and by the time I noticed they were missing and going back and tracing my steps no sign of them and no one turned them in to lost and found (whoever has my Oakley Jawbones, karma will make it right).  My girlfriend was good enough to run back to the car and get a backup pair which saved me.  I set up T1 and by that time it was time to get in my skin on and get wet.

I made the turn into the wind onto a straight country farm road at mile 30 of the bike leg on Saturday, wiped the rain from my glasses, and hoped that I would see brighter skies ahead and all I saw was a lightening bolt streak down from the blackness and then the rain came down harder.  I was already riding through an inch of standing water when a lower section of road had a torrent 4 inces deep racing across it.  This was the state of things at Ironman Boise 70.3 for 60 miles of the race.  You gotta love the Ironman PR machine...."athletes were treated to light rain for part of the day", obviously none of them were out on the course.  In short it was the toughest race I've ever done but a very satisfying result.

I decided to race Boise as a test of my early season long distance fitness.  My swim has been great of late and my running has been the best it's been in years.  My bike is getting better but since I didn't start really riding seriously until April I was a little unsure of my bike fitness.  First I should say that I was really suprised with Boise.  It's a nice little friendly town and it's really friendly for bikers with miles of bike lanes and bike paths and it's relatively flat.  I stayed right downtown at the cool Hotel 43 which was great as it was just a block from the finish and registration area and I thought it was a good price.

Now to the race.  Boise's new claim to fame is an afternoon start time.  The first wave started at 2pm which takes a little getting used to but it's sweet not having to get up at the crack of dawn.  I had checked my bike in to T1 the night before and rode the bus to the start about 30 minutes out of town at Luck Peak Reservoir.  It was an easy trip, I got my bike prepped and then headed down to the swim start staging area.  I was in wave 12 (yep wave 12 and 2nd wave of my age group).  The pro's went off at 2pm and at the time the water had just a slight ripple on the surface.  However by the time my wave (next to last) started the weather had turned and the water was starting to get rough with some wind chip and a few small whitecaps.

Our group was staged in the water and finally we were off. I got off to a quick start and found some feet right away.  There were two guys off the front of the group then three of us working together to the first turn buoy.  At the turn we were swimming directly into the wind and chop and we were already swimming through the slower swimmers in the waves that started ahead of us which was a challenge.  I kept my pace and locked on with one other guy in my wave and we had started to catch one of the guys that went off the front.  The end of the swim was rough I was literally swimming over slower swimmers (sorry folks, it is a race after all).  Out of the water we had to run about 200 meters up a steep hill to the timing mat.  I hit the mat in 33:22.  That may not sound great for a 1.2 mile swim but it was 7th fastest in my age group, 50th fastest of all age groupers and 86th overall so I was really happy with that effort.  I had a good transition which was a long run in the biking shoes and had a quick flying mount of the bike.

I had driven the bike course the day before and didn't think it would be that tough.  I was seriously wrong.  It was a tough course with three good climbs, a lot of false flats and a lot of exposed spots that were directly into the wind.  All that wind was being created by 4 different thunderstorms that were raging in the Treasure Valley (over the course).  I hit the first of the rain at mile 10 of the bike and it varied from moderately hard to freakin' pounding rain from that point to the finish line.  At times it sounded like rocks hitting my helmet it was so loud.  I witnessed a couple of bike crashes and saw the aftermath of a few more.  It was also tough working my way through the slower riders but at least there was always another target on the horizon.  Just after mile 40 there is a long downhill where I was hitting 45 mph and literally couldn't see a thing it was raining so hard.  I passed my friend Kyle at about mile 46 and he wasn't doing well, complaining of having trouble seeing, later I'd find he called it a day at T2 and went to the ER with hypothermia and he wasn't alone.  My hamstrings started to cramp a little, in the final mile but I still managed to finish strong with a running dismount.  I ended up riding 2:32:09 (just over 22 mph avg) which was 8th fastest in my age group, 53rd fastest among all age groupers and 87th fastest overall.

T2 was solid but I took a few extra minutes to dry my feet before putting on my socks and shoes (not sure why in the end) and got out and easily into my run pace.  The run course is a dead flat and fast two lap course.  I was happily running along dodging puddles and at about 1.5 miles in my thigh began to cramp.  This is not a new experience and I know I need to take a minute to rub out the cramp and I'll be back into stride.  I lost a little over a minute to the cramp but once I was back running I was right back into my cadence which was mid 6:50 mile pace, my plan was to hold this pace through 8 miles then start to push.  Things were great, and the only tough part was weaving through the slower runners on the narrow path.  I had dropped off to near 7 minute mile pace in mile 6 and 7. At mile 8 I did a little assessment and decided to put the hammer down.  The next mile as 6:37, then 6:39, 6:36 and then I fell off a little in the last two miles but they were still sub 7's.  I finished up the run in 1:30:48 the 6th fastest in my age group, 36th fastest age grouper run and 66th fastest overall.

Overall I finished up in 7th place in my age group, 35th fastest age grouper and 65th overall in 4:40:52.  It was a big personal best time for me and I was very happy to put together a solid race, it was a nice even effort across all three disciplines.  I was defintely nearing a hypothermic state as I got back to my hotel as I was shaking badly.  20 minutes in a hot shower got me back to my old self.  There were lots of ambulances shuttling people to the hospital with hypothermia and lots of onsite treatment.  It was a tough day ou

It was only later that I'd find out how close the race was with Craig Alexander running down Chris Lieto in the final 800 meters before passing him with just 15 meters to go to win by 2 seconds.  It's the 2nd time in two weeks Alexander has come from behind to beat Lieto.  Alexander was quoted later saying it was the toughest Half Ironman races he's ever raced.

I'm pleased with where I am in training and my fitness and am looking forward to my next race at Vineman 70.3 in mid July and am well positioned heading into IMC at the end of August.

I got my 2009 Triathlon Season off to a fast start with the Issquah Sprint Triathlon.  I always like to jump in a sprint race a couple weeks before my first big race of the season in this case that will be Boise 70.3 in two weeks. 

I had registered to race in the elite wave given my previous performances in sprint races lately and was suprised and then ticked that there would be no elite wave due to the race now being sanctioned by the USAT and some new applicable rules, more on this later but basically given this course it doesn't make for a fair race for the overall placing.

I arrived about 6am at the race site after parking a mile away to see a line of cars trying to get into the park.  I found my rack and quickly set up my transition area.  It's pretty simple, shoes, number belt, sunglasses, and helmet.  I spent some time chatting with some others I knew and helped a couple newbies and nervous racers with transitions suggestions and getting tires pumped appropriately.  It was kind of funny there were a number of booms from exploding tires from over zealous tire inflators.

35 minutes before the start of my wave we had to be out of the transition zone and down for the mandatory meeting.  I then watched several of the first waves go off.  5 minutes before my wave I got out in the water for a little warmup swim.  I was feeling good and super fast in my new ZOOT Zeneith suit. I positioned myself in the first row and in the middle of the start line.  At the horn I got out fast. There were three of us off the front quickly and I found the feet of the fastest guy and locked on, we were by ourselves after the first turn.  I rode his feet all the way and came out of the water 1 second back in 5:11 for the 1/4 mile swim (although there were 2 in our AG in the final results that showed they were faster, I suspect they started in an earlier wave, because they sure as heck weren't in ours).  It was 37th fastest swim split overall.

Moving into 1st in AG into T1 passing slower swimmers in earlier waves.

Heading out of T1 onto the bike

Finishing Strong with 100 yds to go.

Finding my running legs after a few years off is an evolution not a revolution.  Growing up as a runner I have a particular view in my mind of what fast is and this somethimes works against me. 

My idea of fast is the vision I have in my mind when I was in high school and college and running at an elite level.  Training runs day after day at sub 6 minute mile pace and racing 10k's at 5 min pace and 10 milers in the low 5's.

So as I refocused on running in my early 30's I got a wake up call which I really never did get over at that time. Now in my 40's I going through a similar experience but this time it's different as I'm treating it as a process.  I actually believe I can run fast again, no not 20 years old fast because lets face it I haven't kept the machine well oiled over all these years and well I'm older but I do believe I can be very competitve for my age and can get back closer to the speeds I was running in my early 20's than I did in my early 30's.

This weekend I took my stab at my annual early season half marathon test.  Just to see where I'm at.  I've done a half each year for the past couple of years a couple weeks before my first tri of the season and this year I was back at Capital City Half Marathon.  Just a quick plug for this race.  It's a great race.  I've done the Marathon twice and the half twice it's a well organized moderate sized race which always draws some fast runners and I haven't had a really bad weather day yet.  It's highly recommended. 

Two years ago I did this race and finished in 1:27:51, last year I did the Kirkland Half Marathon and finished in 1:25:10 so this year the goal was to run 1:23-1:24 in keeping with the process and journey.  My run training has been great I've been getting in a good diet of long aerobic runs as well as some moderate distance hard tempo (think 1/2 marathon race pace) and this year I'm back on the track with short speed work sessions (miles, 800m, 400m, 200m intervals) above all I've been healthy and injury free so I've been consistent in my training. 

The race conditions were absolutely perfect sunny, no wind, and 50 degrees and warming for the 7:45am start.  The start was very orderly in fact there wasn't any jostling to be up front which is unusual.  At the gun we headed off and I just fell into a very easy feeling pace.  My goal is always to just run like I'm jogging at the beginning of a half and that usually means I'm only going out a little faster than I should.  Mile 1 split was a 6:12 which was a little faster than I had hoped but it felt effortless.  I backed off a little and fell into a group for the next few miles.  I could count my place at mile 3 I was in 20th but was already about 2 min off the leaders. 

I continued to roll along until a little hill at mile 5 where I picked up a couple of places.  I started to pick the pace up after mile 5 which was a little earlier than I planned but I felt great and the pace was still comfortable.  I sucked down my Blueberry Pomogrante GU Roctane at 7 miles for that little boost in the second half this stuff rocks. 

At mile 8 I focused on a significant pace pickup and picked out a couple of guys about 5 places ahead of me that I was going to try an catch by the finish they were about 300 yards ahead of me.  The next mile was 5:53 with a slight downhill section then that was immediately followed by a 3/4 of a mile long hill and I cruised up the hill to finish the next mile in 6:29 during which I passed 3 of the guys I was trying to catch.  The next couple miles were rolling and I just tried to close on the guy ahead of me.  With a mile and half to go we made the final turn towards the finish and I started to push after the runner ahead of me.  I caught and passed him with just under a mile to go.  I backed off just a bit after passing him and he caught me again and pulled even but I could tell he was on the edge. As we came to another bend in the road I knew that would be 800 meters and I knew you could see the finish arch from there.  As soon as I saw the arch I started my final kick and pulled away from the guy.  I held the kick all the way to the finish and finished up the last 1.1 miles at sub 5:50 pace.

I was very happy with my race.  Negative split in the second half by almost 2 minutes, no real blow up miles, a great race strategy and a final time of 1:22:46.  I ended up 10th overall and 2nd in my age group.  The only downside was some blisters.  I was racing in some new racing flats which may be a little too big but they are comfortable overall and I'll say they I would recommend them, great cushioning, support and a nice snug racing flat fit.  The new KSwiss K Ona.  I think they run about 1 shoe size smaller than Asics (I wear 9.5 in Asics but probably need an 8.5 in the KSwiss but I was running in size 9's). 

This race gives me a good boost of confidence going into the little Issaquah Sprint Tri in two weeks and Ironman 70.3 Boise in 4 weeks.  I'm hoping to post a really solid even performance in Boise.  S

 

Ok I got talked into racing in this little 5K in Kirkland just a little over an hour before the start of the race by my friend Kristen.  I was going to go do one of my favorite trail runs on Tiger Mountain but this was shorter and would be over quicker than the drive to the Tiger Mountain trailhead.

It was cool, wet and windy which of course made it feel pretty cold.  It's a small race and I though well maybe I could take a shot at the win. 

The gun went off and I was chasing a couple of 14 year olds....hhhmmm....well maybe I'm not going to win this thing.

I eased into the race and was sitting about 20th through the first mile then started picking off the overly zealous speedsters.  I was however about 45 seconds behind the leaders already.  I continued to cruise at a solid pace and worked to catch a group in the final mile but couldn't quite catch them (or I really wasn't that motivated).

What I've really come to realize is that when you train for the ironman and in particular the marathon in the ironman you don't get a lot of "fast" speedwork.  What this means is that ant pretty much at any distance shorter than a half marathon I've pretty got much one speed which is right around 6:10 mile pace. 

I finished up the race in 19:05 in 7th place and in 2nd place in my age group.  It's always nice to see us older guys holding our own.  5 of the top 7 where 39 or older.  It was also cool to see that the guy who finished second and won my age group is an old rival Stormy Shouman (now goes by Storm). 

Storm was a phenomenal miler and 2 miler in high school, I never did manage to beat him then and some things never change.  However I bet if I wanted to I could find that speed again.  We'll see. 

Now it's time to debate if I'm going to race the Seattle Half and if you didn't see it you can checkout my Kona race report here.

There’s something about your first race.   Technically the Grand Columbian Half Iron two years ago wasn’t my first triathlon I had done a sprint a few weeks before but I don’t count that because it was a comedy of errors.  So I’ve returned to the race every year since.  The race is in the tiny community of Grand Coulee, Washington home to largest concrete dam in North America, 3rd largest producer of electricity in the world, and home to a bitchin’ weekly laser light show which is projected on the face of the dam.  Other things about the area, there is no McDonalds or Starbucks, the roads are mostly chip seal (rough roads), it’s hot and it can be seriously windy. 

The last couple of weeks have been higher volume with lots of high intensity and like the Hawaii 70.3 race there was no taper to this race.  In fact just a couple days earlier I had run a 1:28 half marathon in training.   My legs were feeling pretty cooked coming into this race, despite this I was very hopeful of a good performance here and was really hoping for a top 10 performance.  Glancing through the race program at the list of names two below me Tom Evans, what the….!!!!!!  Ok, what the heck is Tom racing here,  give the little guy a chance (Tom won IMCDA earlier this year).  There’s no pro division at this race and to add insult to injury Tom races in my age group.  As it turns out there were a whole bunch of great athletes here I just didn’t recognize all of the names which I think is a reflection of the challenge of the race, it’s a great prep race for IM AZ, FL and Hawaii for NW athletes as it’s the last local half of the season.

The race start for the Half is later (9:30) which is great.  You don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to start fueling and getting down to the race start.  This will probably change next year as this was the last year for the Iron distance race.  I got up managed and got about 600 calories in then I shuttled my car to the finish and rode my cross bike back up to my motel about 3 miles away it was a great little spin to warm the muscles.  I got my race gear packed into my sling bag and hopped on my bike and rode over to the race start.  I got my bike racked yep, right next to Tom’s bike and got body marked an dropped off my transition bags (two different transitions).  I got into my wetsuit and got into the water for a little warm up.  

The swim course is great it’s a counter clockwise triangle course.  The race director has developed a reputation for making the swim course to long.  This year he fixed that by adding a guide line for the entire course.  So basically he has a rope that goes from buoy to buoy about 6 feet below the surface which marks the course to ensure the correct distance and to attach the sighting buoys to.  This is awesome it’s like swimming in the pool just swim right along the rope and you’re on the right course.   Swim race plan with my coach swim hard,  I had actually taken this a step further, race the swim, this has been a foreign concept to me as mostly it’s just been about getting around the course with no concern for what others are doing.  My swimming has been great lately and I have a whole new confidence in my swim ability and fitness after some great swim workouts of late so time to race.


I managed to find Tom Evans and positioned myself right behind Tom Evans, time to get off to a fast start.  The gun fired and we were off, I took a quick look at about 20 yards and well staying on Tom’s feet probably only lasted 10 yards because he was already 15 yards ahead of me, oh well, one can dream (and swim more laps).  I felt like I was only about in the first half of the field as we moved towards the first turn buoy and was swimming in a core group of about 8 swimmers.  As we turned I locked onto some feet right in front of me and one guy just off to my right and kept my eyes on the guideline.  I was really in a rhythm and felt like I was just gliding along effortlessly in the draft.  Things continued after the second turn.  My rhythm was great as I sighted the final buoy making the finish of the swim about 200 yards I picked up my stroke rate a notch and quickly pulled away from the two guys I had been swimming with.  As I came out of the water I checked my watch.  27:30!!!!  It makes me giddy just thinking about it.  It’s amazing how fast you can run up a hill to transition after a good swim.   Things were off to a great start and I was in 26th in the swim and had an quick uneventful transition to the bike.

Now this bike course is brutal aside from the rough roads there is an estimated 4600-5000 feet of ascending including the Almira grade which you hit at mile 1.5 and climbs 2.2 miles with 1200 feet of altitude gain (up to 23% grade in sections).  This is followed by miles of seemingly endless rolling hills and finally a 10 miles climb (with a few short descents mixed into the climb.  Finally you get a chance to fly back down to Grand Coulee and across the Grand Coulee Dam (only time anyone is allowed to cross the dam).  

The game plan for the bike was to build as the bike went on.  I’ll be straight up honest.  The Almira grade is my worst nightmare and I’ve learned that the bike race doesn’t start until the top of the climb.  A few riders passed me on the climb and I knew I’d likely be seeing them again on the backside of the ride.  The grade actually went much better than ever before, I think last year I actually was happy to riding up at 4 mph at points, this year I don’t think I ever dropped below 8 mph.  At the top I begun to kick it into gear and get my legs spinning.  I was already on my hydration and nutrition.  At just past 6 miles my contact lens rolled up into my eye.  Oh man…it’s going to be a long day.  I know from experience that the only thing I could do would be to have mirror to get it back correctly so I could see, so the rest of the race would be raced half blind.  

I started catching some of the guys that passed me on the climb.  By mile 20 I was starting to get into my rhythm.  I flew through the town of Almira and started the long grinding climb.  The wind was buffeting the riders on and off for miles on the climb but not like two years ago,  I traded places with a few riders back and forth until the end of the climb.  Finally I made my way back to Hwy 155 to start the screaming descent back to Grand Coulee.  I love descending, I love to go fast.  I was holding between 45-50 mph for the 8 mile descent trying to clear a path through the Olympic distance riders.  

I was checking my watch but didn’t think I was having a particularly good ride but as I hit the end of the dam and had about a mile to go to transition I checked and was going to finish near 2:40 which is a pretty solid effort on this course.  I finished up the ride in 2:41:06 (20.9 mph average) with the 23rd fastest bike split and 13 minutes faster than my split two years ago (when I had the 20th fastest bike split, a testament to this race drawing much faster racers).  
 
Off the bike I didn’t know how the run would go.   I felt pretty good but it was hot and my legs were cooked from the last few weeks of training.  The run is down below the dam in the canyon and is run on a gravel road/trail and it’s stifling hot and the aid stations are not frequent every 1.5 to 2 miles apart.  The game plan with my coach was to pin the run.  Go hard.  I quickly got into my shoes and out on the run and pulled the pin and was off.  We were mixed in with the Olympic distance athletes so it was difficult to tell where you were overall.  The first mile went by in 6:35 but I could tell I didn’t have much umph left in my legs so I just made sure I kept my arm cadence high and turnover high.  Mile two went buy in 7:10.  I kept a mid 7 minute mile pace through 8 miles and then the grenade which had pulled the pin on exploded , now my legs were long gone by that point so I would have made it home averaging around 7:30/mile but the intestinal cramps would bring me to a dead stop and I did my best to walk them out but usually within a minute of running again they would return.    This was the first time I’m had gotten cramps and I’ll have to figure out what may have caused them but I guess if you race enough eventually it’ll happen.  The heat was stifling almost suffocating.  I managed to jog up the hill to the finish and came across the line in 4:56:55 in 22nd place overall and 3rd in my age group (40-44 as they were using USAT rules so I was aged up due to my birthday happening this calendar year).  I was actually 5th but was awarded 3rd only because 2 of the top 3 were awarded overall place finishing places.

Overall I was pretty happy with the race despite the poor run (1:44:42).  A few more weeks of training till Kona and I’m hoping I have a much better run experience in the lava fields or it’s going to be a long day on the run.  I saw Tom after the race and chatted for a moment and asked him why he was racing at this little race and his response, “It’s a great race, tough but great”.  I asked if he was racing Kona and said “nope I need a break from Kona, I’m racing Florida”.  I wished him all the best.  By the way he finished 2nd at this race behind a fellow Penticton triathlete.  All in all, a good tough, honest day. 

Bringing home the hardware.....well totem.

Now I don't have much belief in my sprint abilities, lets be honest I'm a go long type of guy so I wasn't exepcting much at today's 2008 Escape From The Rock sprint triathlon (Mercer Island, WA).  Really I just wanted to start to get me in a racing frame of mind heading into Kona in 5 weeks (gulp....5 weeks). 

The day was supposed to be sunny with temps in the mid to upper 70's, perfect conditions.  Morning broke cool, cloudy and breezy.  The transitions and starting waves are pretty casual affairs.  Get there and find yourself a spot on any rack you choose.  I was awake early so I just headed over to the race site and get set up and found myself on the first rack by the T1 bike exit. 

Due to the schedule I didn't do any pre-swim as they were doing athlete instructions and wanted everyone out of the water 15 minutes before the start and I didn't want to get chilled and lets face it 10 minutes of swimming wasn't going to really get me warmed up.  The start is a self seed in waves and I went off in the first wave not that I'm the fastest swimmer (although I think I was actually pretty fast) I didn't want to be spending the day negotiating my way around slower riders. 

So with the deep water start for the 1/2 mile swim heading directly into the wind and chop it was a bumpy start.  I quickly tried to find my rhythm and found some feet to follow unfortunately they weren't the straightest of swimmers so I was a few yards wide at the first turn (triangle course).  After the first turn I settled in my rhythm and was swimming with a group of about 5 or 6.  The second turn was perfect I swam right under the buoy around the anchor line, I sighted the beach and kicked it in pulling away from my small group.  Out of the water there was a long 300 yard run to the transition and I picked off a few more in the transition run. 

My transition was perfect.  Off with the suit, number belt on, glasses on, helmet on and off for a 100 yard run to the bike mount line.  I had a great running mount to the bike and even managed to slide one foot right into my shoe.

The bike course immediately climbed and had several sharp technical turns as we exited the park and residental area and headed for the I-90 express lanes (yes we had them all to ourselves).  I hit the on-ramp and hit the gas trying to get my bike up to speed as quickly as possible.  Looked down and saw 32 mph, mission accomplished.  Now I tend to be a guy who needs a little warm-up time.  In an IM that might be 45 minutes to an hour, no such luck here it was hammer the entire way.  There are several tunnels on the ride and I have to say everyone in front of me knew I was coming with the big thumping coming from my disc wheel echoing in the tunnels.  I started to make up ground pretty quickly and was about 3 minutes back of the leader at the first turn and I estimate I was sitting in about 20th place at the start of the bike.  As we came across the floating bridge I could see a small group of 6 ahead of me on the western highrise (part of the bridge that connects the floating part with land) and I powered up the highrise at 22 mph and into another tunnel.  I could now see the leaders they were holding their lead but just as hit the second turnaround I had moved into 6th place.  Back through the tunnel and onto the bridge deck this time into the gusting wind.  The disc was getting blown around and couldn't wait to get off the bridge.  About mid span I moved into 4th.  I finished off the ride with a perfect running dismount.

T2 was good as well racked the bike, off with the helmet, slipped the shoes on and I was off and running.  Almost immediately I was passed by another athlete who had been right behind me coming off the bike.  The run immediately climbed uphill for the first 1/4 mile and I tried to find my "fast" running legs.  Here's the thing again I do Ironman races not sprints so my "fast" legs are all relative.  Despite this I was moving along pretty good opening the first mile with a 6:10.  I passed one other runner who was actually part of a relay team so I was still holding 4th place overall.  I started to loosen up at about 1.5 miles and then really strided out to the finish but held my position of 4th overall finishing in 58:21.  Not sure what my splits were but it doesn't really matter.

Overall I was really happy with the 4th place finish and 2nd in my Age Group especially given that there were close to 700 in the race.  Interestingly the top 4 guys were all between 39 - 43 years old a little strange given the number of younger athletes in the race I would have expected some young fast guns but the old guys prevailed.  The body feels good after the race and I'm looking forward to racing longer next weekend at the Grand Columbian Half Iron.

My coach though it would be a good idea to get in a short race and open things up a bit and see what the old engine has got.  Really....a 10K....I haven't run one of those in years.  I agreed and signed up for this "flat and fast" 10K. 

Now I was thinking like 38:00 minutes would be a good target but no....coach prescribed 36:30....really....mid 5:50 pace we'll see.

As I rolled into the car this morning to drive up to Snoqualmie it was cool and cloudy....wow...perfect weather.  As I headed east up into the foothills the rain started falling on the windshield.  As I arrived at the race site the rain was steady and the temps were in the mid 50's. 

Normal routine stretching, and 20 minutes of running and on with the race number and glasses and to the start line. 

This is a small local race but there were some seriously fast dudes at the start line.  a half dozen of the fastest Club NW guys, a handful of Team Oregon XO speedsters and Uli Steidl (Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier).  The 5K/10K races started together so it was tough to know who was running which race. 

I started out fairly comfortably.  Moment of truth, mile 1 split 5:53.  OK coach...I'm off at your race pace, that was the highlight of the race.  Things started to slow from there...mile 2 was a 6:00.  At roughly 2.5 miles the 5K and 10K splits and the 10K guys hung a left.  OK the reality things weren't so bad as everyone running near me hung a right, the bad news was I was in no mans land.  I was at the front...well off the front of the second group in the 10K but the lead group was, well..., way ahead. 

At 3.5 miles I saw the lead group coming back from the out and back section and they were moving.  By my count I was in 10th place.  

As I made the turn onto the final straight, I started to feel warmed up, unfortuantely I was warmed up for a marathon not a 10K.  As we headed down to the finish a couple of "young" road racers who had been bird dogging me sprinted past.   I hit the line in 38:20 by my watch... sweet... right near my target time...sorry coach.  I think I finished 12th or so. 

I miss the days of being able to cruise through a 10K in 31 minutes and I'm not sure I'll every get back to those days but look forward to getting back my speed in the years to come.  As next year will be only a single Ironman year and I'm hoping to focus on shorter races and run cross country in the fall I hope that I can find my speedy race legs again (at the age of 40 no less).  

Next up Escape from the Gorge Olympic Tri in early September between now and then lots of Kona training.

I didn’t sleep much on Saturday night, if at all.  The rain was falling and the fan was rattling in my room but it was the only thing that would keep my sinus from acting up.  I got up just before the alarm at 3:45 am.  Turned on the coffee pot and took a hot shower.  I listened to the whirr of the blender in the next room.   I managed to choke down a little food and two cups of coffee before doing a final check of all of my gear bags.  My brother and I arrived at the race site just about 5am and it was already getting crowded with people prepping their bikes and getting body marked.

Just after the start of the Professionals at 6:25 I suited up and headed over to the beach.  Lots of people were pre-swimming.  I opted not to as the water was only 59 degrees and I’d be standing on the beach for at least 10 minutes before the cannon.  There were lots of folks shaking from getting cold after their pre-swim.  Finally as the last pro came around the buoy at the end of their first lap the cannon sounded and we were off.

I had positioned myself on the outside after frankly getting pummeled last year trying to swim right up the buoy line and it was a beautiful thing.  I swam all the way to the first turn buoy approximately 850 meters out in the lake in nearly clean water (meaning I wasn’t bumping, hitting or getting hit by others).  After the first turn things got a little rough as there was some congestion and we were looking directly into the sun which made spotting the 2nd turn buoy difficult.  The water was a little rougher during the second lap and if felt like I was breathing gas fumes.  There were so many boats and jet skis around because they were worried about the cold water they didn’t think that all of that stuff goes directly into the water.  The rest of the swim was uneventful and I just focused on keeping good form, body rotation and keeping my weak kick in cadence with my stroke and spotting the next buoy.  I was very pleased when I saw 1:05 on the clock as I exited the water.  10 minutes faster than last year things were off to a good start.

I was quick but deliberate through transition and took a few more minutes to get my arm warmers on and have sunscreen applied.  I ran to my bike carrying my shoes grabbed my bike and was off to the bike mount area where I slipped my shoes on and then headed out onto the course.  

Almost immediately I had to start with my bike mantra, “easy the first lap”.  At about 1.5 miles I reached back for my water bottle which contained my main bike nutrition for the day (Carbo Pro 1200) and it wasn’t there.  It had somehow gotten ejected from the bottle cage between the start and this point of the ride.  Now I had to stay calm and assess.  The body needs fuel and that was most of it until mile 63 and bike special needs where I had my back-up bottle.  I had 4 GU Roctane’s in my gel flask for back-up but that wasn’t going to be enough.  My coach had reinforced the day before that shit will happen and just don’t panic, assess the situation and move on, because the only thing you can control is you.

I kept to my manta, continued to keep things in control, hydrated and managed my fuel intake as best I could.  The bike course is a beast especially once you get out to Hayden Lake as I dropped along the lake I could feel the wind pushing me around with the disc wheel.  The wind was whipping whitecaps up on the lake and howling through the trees.  It was going to be a long day in the wind on the north part of the course.  I stayed in control on the climbs working the low gears and trying to keep my cadence high and then pushing over the top of the climbs and quickly into the bigger gears to get the bike up to speed for the flats and descents.  I was making up serious ground and gobbling up other riders.  Just like that it seemed and I was back in Coeur d’Alene and headed along the lake again.  I was really glad to hit special needs and I grabbed my bottle and made sure it was firmly planted in my bottle cage and then downed my Red Bull (not so good as a warm drink).  Coming back through town I was starting to push and had the bike rolling at nearly 30 mph and the crowds were in a frenzy.  I never saw The Cowbells (that’s my family and friends who came out to root me on) while I was on the bike, I was just too focused.  As I came to Hayden I found myself rather alone no one ahead of me and really no one behind me which is very surreal in a race like this with so many competitors, it’s also a very spectator free part of the course so you really have to dig to keep pushing.  I rounded a bend in the road at 25 mph and there was a deer crossing sign, all of the sudden a big white tail deer springs across the road right in front of the sign I thought that was pretty funny, like does the deer know how to read and know that’s where it’s supposed to cross the road…..hold on you’re racing get your head in the game.  

I had closed to within about 50 yards of two other riders but then couldn’t close the gap in the hills so I was stuck there for about 8 miles until we turned back at Old Orchard Road then I passed them and we traded leads back and forth for a few miles until we hit Rimrock road where I hit the gas knowing there was a false uphill that you can fly over and within two minutes I was free of those riders.  The wind was really hard in the second lap coming back down Government Way towards the lake and T2 and I was catching many riders who were still on their first lap and some of the pro women and even one of the pro men.  Into the T2 transition and a beautiful running dismount, check the watch holy cow….6:30 I was still had plenty of time to dip under 10 hours if I could run 3:30 and I if I’m on I think I can run 3:15…this can’t go any better.  

Now I had tried to pee when I was on the bike and damn I had to go but my body just wouldn’t do it so once again I had to hit the porta-potty just like last year I was about a minute faster this year.  All right 10 minutes faster in the swim, 10 minutes faster on the bike (5:17 with a 21.2 mph average) and 1 minute faster in the T2 pee.

I was quickly into my run gear, out of the tent and out on the course.  I was not loose but I knew enough to just keep on moving at about a mile into the run my thigh cramped and I was on the ground trying to stretch it out.  This has happened before so I know just don’t panic it’ll loosen up and you’ll get back into your stride, after a minute or so I was running again.  I missed the first mile marker so at mile 2 I checked my split 14:55.  Right on 3:15 marathon pace, even with the stop to deal with the cramp.  The next few miles I was feeling good just continuing to focus on my form, nutrition and hydration.  7:01, 7:06, 7:10, 7:01…..this was going great but it was surprisingly humid and I didn’t know how the lack of nutrition early on the bike was going to play into the mix in the latter miles of the marathon.  

At just before 8 miles I was headed back to town and Michael Lovato (on his second lap) was coming towards me and about 10 yards behind him was Victor Z.  Michael glanced back and then his shoulders just dropped and he went from running to walking in one step.  His wife Amanda was on her bike near him yelling for him to keep running.  I felt so bad for him, I knew that feeling. His body was fighting him and Victor (finished 2nd) had caught him.  I wondered if he’d keep going, he did, he gutted it out and finished 3rd overall, I was very happy for him and it makes you realize just because someone is a “pro” an Ironman race can be a great equalizer.  This is part of why Ironman races are so special, it’s pushing your body way beyond their limits and hoping that everything holds together physically and mentally.  

I felt pretty good coming back to town and was still on pace for around a 3:10 marathon through 12 miles.  At mile 13 I had to slow through the aid station to get some cola as I couldn’t stomach my gels anymore.  I knew I was in for a battle the rest of the way.  I had slowed to around 7:15-7:30 mile pace which was still great but not so great when you’re walking for a minute each mile through the aid stations.  In the end I would be the right decisions if I hadn’t I would have been walking even more (this was my goal this year, if I had to walk, walk less than last year).  

At mile 19 I was starting to do the math, I can still go 9:55, at mile 20 I can still go 9:57 at mile 21 I can still go sub 10 hours.  At mile 22 I’m either going to be 9:59 or 10:01.  At mile 23….it was just let’s get this thing done, you’re almost home.   I was just past mile 25 and was running as fast as my body would allow I was on the verge of complete cramping in my quads and calves.  Another runner went by me, NO….another 39 year old it’s going to be so close to qualifying I’ve got to go with him, I tried with every fiber in my body to go faster but there was just a little response but things could be worse I passed a few others who probably felt like they were going in reverse.  

The final 400 yards down Sherman Avenue to the finish chute is a mix of pure agony and extreme jubilation.  Agony as my body was on fumes and I had to run, walk or crawl another 400 yards, jubilation because I had done it I had finished and finished strong.  As I crossed the line I looked up 10:06:05…..wow 39 minutes faster than last year.  I was so glad to be done.

I still didn’t know if I had qualified, of course my mom asked where we were going to be staying in Kona…..huh…I don’t even know if I’m going.  Then someone got the report that I was 51st overall and 10th in my age group.  It was going to be so close to good enough to qualify.  I wanted to stay at the finish but just needed to spend some time with my support crew and then I didn’t have the energy to head back to downtown after going to the hotel.  

The next morning I hobbled to the Kona registration (with the biggest coffee I could find), found the list and the line was drawn under 11th place in my age group…..I had done it I had gone fast enough to qualify for Kona.  

Last year was about experiencing an Ironman, this year about racing an Ironman. Kona…..I haven’t decided what that will be about but I imagine I’ll be fired up to race to the edge of what my body will allow on that day.  

There are way too many people to individually thank for their support and good vibes and thoughts on race day but here are a few.

Mom, Marsh, and Geoff – For all of your support and understanding this year and for coming out to the race and ringing those cowbells.

Larry, Robin, Nancy, and Jim – For ringing those cowbells on race day having all of you watching me on the course really made a difference.

Shawn Skene  - For all those prescribed laps in the pool, long bike rides in the rain and cold, hard negative split runs and your experienced counsel.

Peter Reid and Sam McGlone – For being so open and willing to answer my questions about your experiences in this sport, little tricks, and tips on training and racing.  Yes, I was listening…..I used all of it this year in training and in the race.

Julie Johnson – For keeping  my body in one piece (well as best we could).

Aidan and Charley – To help me keep things in perspective and know that there are more important things in life, and motivate me to keep training.

Everyone who donated to Charley’s Fund – Because of you there will be a cure for DMD.


To all my friends and family – For your outpouring of support, good vibes and congratulations.


Zoot Sports and GU – For the great race clothes and sustained energy for the long haul.

Anyone want to go to Kona in October?   I’ll bring the cowbells!!!!