Tuesday, May 01, 2007
I am so vain, I probably thought this video was about me
With apologies to Carly Simon,,I finally got to see and hear me finish at Arizona. You can go to the following web site http://www.ironman.com/events/ironman/arizona?show=tracker&y=2007 and type in my bib number 1894, then scroll down to "Watch me Finish". So,, I did it and I got to actually hear what was said and see me finish. For next time,, I am slowing my ass down after I cross the finish line. In the video,, I come across the finish line,, zipping in and out of the frame. I also know where the camera is and I will make sure I am looking at it as I slowly make my way across. Amazing how vain I am,,,, and you know what,,, I am okay with that for now.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
One Week to go
In one week, I will be heading to Arizona for the IM. A good 15 months of training. I am more than ready to go. I feel really well. My body is in great shape,, batter shape than it has ever been. I am weighing around 175 pounds, all my events are good. I can do all of them well and for a long time. I will have a good race. I am treating it like a long training day.
Today is April 4th and it brings back a memory of when I worked out at the plant. I worked shift work. Four days on and four days off. We had four shifts that cycled through the weeks providing 24 hour coverage 7 days a week. At the plant there were also a lot of day shift workers. The day shift people were working in clerical, administrative , maintenance and jobs like that. At the plant, we had one floating holiday that everyone voted on. Usually every one voted for the day after Christmas or some other holiday that would give a four day weekend. It was pretty much a given that the floating day would be to the benefit of the day workers since the shift workers had to work their own scheduled. Well, one year, all the shift workers petitioned management to allow the shift workers to use the floating holiday whenever an individual wanted. So basically, the shift worker would end up with an extra day of vacation. Management turned down our request for the change. No discussion, just keep it the way it was. The shift workers took matters into their own hands. We all organized the voting so that we all voted for April 4th , which happened to fall on a Wednesday. What this meant was that if we had enough votes, everyone would have to take a Wednesday off for the floating holiday. Not next to a holiday,, not next to a weekend,, but one day,,in the middle of the week. As it turned out, we had enough votes and we won our day off,, the 4th of April. The day workers were upset. The Plant Manager was a day worker,, the Director of HR, a day worker,, so as you can see, this impacted many people. The very next year,, they changed the rules on the floating holiday... Every year when 4/4 comes by,, I think back to that event.
Today is April 4th and it brings back a memory of when I worked out at the plant. I worked shift work. Four days on and four days off. We had four shifts that cycled through the weeks providing 24 hour coverage 7 days a week. At the plant there were also a lot of day shift workers. The day shift people were working in clerical, administrative , maintenance and jobs like that. At the plant, we had one floating holiday that everyone voted on. Usually every one voted for the day after Christmas or some other holiday that would give a four day weekend. It was pretty much a given that the floating day would be to the benefit of the day workers since the shift workers had to work their own scheduled. Well, one year, all the shift workers petitioned management to allow the shift workers to use the floating holiday whenever an individual wanted. So basically, the shift worker would end up with an extra day of vacation. Management turned down our request for the change. No discussion, just keep it the way it was. The shift workers took matters into their own hands. We all organized the voting so that we all voted for April 4th , which happened to fall on a Wednesday. What this meant was that if we had enough votes, everyone would have to take a Wednesday off for the floating holiday. Not next to a holiday,, not next to a weekend,, but one day,,in the middle of the week. As it turned out, we had enough votes and we won our day off,, the 4th of April. The day workers were upset. The Plant Manager was a day worker,, the Director of HR, a day worker,, so as you can see, this impacted many people. The very next year,, they changed the rules on the floating holiday... Every year when 4/4 comes by,, I think back to that event.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Week 8 - Sept 18th through 24th
Great week for training. I was out of town for Monday through Wednesday but I was able to get some good workouts in. The Marriott in Salt Lake City had a great health club. The equipment actually worked. Maybe it is a Mormon thing? I ran on the treadmill everyday. Running was fun. I really really enjoyed it. The ART work is paying off. It no longer feels like I am fighting against some kind of muscle resistance. Feels great. I am starting to look forward to running again. The bike ride this week was 38 miles. Not very far but it was very windy. The weather is turning and it was a nice cool ride. We averaged about 17.6 MPH throughout. I stayed up with the lead group.. Not sure if they were going slow or if I was actually going fast. I prefer to think I was riding fast.
The week was good...
No travel this upcoming week so it I should have a good chance to train with a stepped up intensity and frequency. One thing that I need to focus in on is nutrition. I have not been very good about a few things. Number one, prior to the weekend rides and run, I have not been eating a good breakfast meal to start the day off. Not a big deal this past weekend because the distances were short. In the upcoming weeks and when I start IM training, I really need to make it a habit of eating better in the morning. In addition, I have to start being more diligent about electrolytes, Magnesium and Calcium. I cramped up after the ride this week and it was a short ride. I cannot imagine how badly the cramps would have been for a longer ride. As always, live and learn...
Monday, September 04, 2006
Week 5 - 8/28 through 9/3
This was a rest week. We only had to put in 8 hours of training. The idea was to use the week as a recovery from the previous week. I started the week off with a massage. I definitely want to be more regular with the use of massage and some adjustments this time around. It was a great way to start the week. On a side note, I have to say that one of the reasons that I enjoy this sport so much is because of the number of people who I come across who have set some really lofty goals. My massage therapist is getting ready to go to Colorado for a 50 KM trail run. This is huge. I think that it is incredible that we are seeing really average people , plan and do something spectacular. Yeah for them.
The week was a good one for training. Even though it was supposed to gave been a rest week,, it was a good training week.
I got my first good open water swim in this week. On Saturday morning, I swam for 1600 meters before going on the weekly bike ride. Speaking of goals,, I ran into Bruce K and he introduced me to some of his friends. Bruce is doing the swim form Alcatraz and his friend is swimming for 7 miles. Like I said,, great goals for people to work towards.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Back at it,, training that is
I am back in the training saddle again. It has been two weeks of training but I am just now getting around to starting the BLOG back up. The first two weeks have been hard. Hard from a "getting back into it" standpoint and also from a work / life balance standpoint. The first week of training I felt like I had never ever done a triathlon. I felt like I forgot how to swim. The month of being off took it's toll. The body (I am guessing) gets into a mode of getting used to the level of training. Once I cut back,, the body (at least mine) decided that it liked not running and biking. It did enjoy eating and relaxing, which I did. So, as I started getting back into the swing of training, I found that I was having a tough time ,, mentally and physically of getting into "endurance athlete" mode. I gained about 7 pounds in the short time that I took off. The one thing I did not do was cut back on my eating. I still ate like I was very active.
Work has been a bitch. Not hard work but travel related work. I have been on the road a lot and was not able to really get in some quality training time. Already in the first two weeks I fell short of my training hours by about 6 hours. Probably not a big deal but mentally it beats the heck out me because I am not getting in the hours and I am concerned about my dedication to the program. It is all temporary. I will be back at it and going strong very soon.
BLOGGING has also been a non-existent thing. I am finally getting over that hump. All in all,, I have no fear that I will get it all together and be back stronger and better than ever.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Always learning
It has been 5 days since the IM CDA and I have to be honest about how I am feeling. On Sunday, I was cool with everything that transpired. My gut was still feeling bad and I could still feel the uneasiness in the muscles of my body. There was evidence that stopping was the right thing to do. To walk off was better than being carried off the course. On Monday and Tuesday as I started feeling better, I started questioning my decision. I wondered if I stopped to soon. Then as I rode the plane back to Austin, I started feeing sorry for myself. On the ride into town from the airport, I kicked off a really great pity party. Part of the problem is that I am not normally one that feels sorry for myself so I was not sure how to deal with it.
Like directed from someone, I got two phone calls from my teammates. First a call from Felicia who reminded me that there is a lot to celebrate in what we have done. We trained for many months, we suffered through a lot and still we made it to the starting line. We had fun getting there. We had some great teammates along the way. Why forget all about those good things and have them overshadowed by things that were out of our control. She made sense but I had not completely bought into it. Then, almost 15 minutes later and no more than 5 minutes after getting home, Catfish called me. He too had some great words of advice for me. Between the two of them, I started coming around to realize that it really is about the journey, not the destination. I found that my friends and family were so supportive of me. They were in awe of my endeavor, regardless of the outcome. I received so many emails and phone calls from people. All of them were so inspired by me. I had no idea. Many many people have really surprised me, some that I have never met. This has all been so incredible.
Bottom line,, how can I be one bit unhappy or regretful of the race outcome when in actuality the real outcome was getting to know that I have a wonderful group of friends, teammates, and family. Also, I cannot ignore that I did a great 2.4 mile swim and I biked 112 miles. I love what I did, what I am doing and looking forward to what I will do next.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Ironman CDA
Here is a recap of IM CDA...
On Thursday, I was all set for packing. I had a schedule of doing some work around the house in the morning, then have lunch with Ro, Kelly and Brody (wife, daughter and grandson). Then go to the bike store and pick up a few last minute items, then head home and pack everything. That would give me time to relax Thursday night, get a good nights sleep and head to the airport in the morning.
The only thing that went as planned was lunch and the bike store. On the way home,, I had to make an emergency stop. Let me just be blunt, I had to make an emergency stop for a bathroom. I was not feeling well. Nothing serious,,just you know,, I needed a bathroom. Enough said. When I got home I concentrated on getting things packed. I got all my stuff and laid it out on the garage floor. I had my swim area, my bike area and my run area. I went through the whole triathlon and made sure I had shoes, socks, foods, water bottles, jersey's, shorts, tubes, CO2 cylinders,, yada, yada. While I was getting things organized, my stomach was getting more and more uncomfortable. I got all the gear packed and loaded. Now all I had to do was get my clothes packed and I would be ready to go. Unfortunately,, my gastro-intestinal was having "issues". It seems that I picked up a case of food poisoning. No need for details here. Needless to say I spent the night doing other things than packing.
Friday morning, I was still feeling pretty bad. I woke up around 4:30 AM to finish packing my clothes and then headed to the airport. I spent the majority of my time on the planes, sleeping and drinking lot's of water and Gatorade. I knew I lost a lot of fluids and electrolytes so my main goal was to get back in "nutrition shape" .
Arriving in CDA, I went straight to the IM event to get registered and pick up my bike. As soon as I got there, I realized that this was a huge event. Everywhere you looked there was activity. It was incredible. It took about a couple hours to work my way around the area and get everything taken care of. My stomach was feeling better. I was continuing to take in water and eat some Clif bars, bagels and bananas throughout the day. Friday night the Austin T3 athletes had dinner together along with the family members and friends that came along for the ride. It was good to see everyone there together.
Saturday morning we went into CDA and did a short workout. We swam for about 10 minutes, rode for about 20 and then ran for 10. The water was crystal clear and 63 degrees. It was so cold that it took your breath away. It took several minutes to get used to it and feel comfortable. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the big day. CDA is a beautiful place. We spent time driving the course and taking a look at the city. It is probably one of the more beautiful places that I have visited. The people are very friendly and the city basically turns itself over to the IM event for the week. I plan on getting back there someday to really spend some leisure time there. Another interesting thing about the are is that the sun comes up at around 4:15 AM and it gets dark after 9:00 PM.
Okay, let's get down to the big day. Sunday, June 25th ,, race day...
The Swim,, let me say that I know what a salmon feels like as they head upstream to spawn. When the cannon went off to start the day, 2000 athletes all dove, into the water and started swimming. We were all crammed in together, all swimming in one direction. I got my feet massaged, my butt punched, and my thighs grabbed. It can all be very frightening but I went to my happy place. The swim was awesome. I got over the issue of close proximity and just swam. I caught some good drafts and there moments of just plain fun interspersed with some of the aforementioned massages and grabbing. One interesting thing about the swim was that as I got closer to the end of the swim, you could see the bottom of the lake at about 10-12 feet in depth. As I was swimming I kept an eye on the bottom so I could see when it got shallow enough to stand up. As I followed through with a stroke, I looked down and spotted a body laying on the bottom. My immediate reaction was to scream like a little girl but thought better of that since I was supposed to be an "Ironman". I lost a bit of my rhythm when I saw this body. As soon as I got my head back around to look back down, I realized it was a scuba diver. I did not know it but for safety reasons, they station divers at various spots around the course. They keep an eye on the swimmers and try to help anyone who might get in trouble. I wonder how many people got into trouble because they almost drowned while screaming like a little girl? My final time for the swim was 1 hour and 15 minutes. Exactly what I predicted it would be.. that was awesome.
Transition 1 went well. The volunteers were wonderful. They took care of everything so I could concentrate on the task at hand. Heading out on the bike we rode out of the city and then back into it before heading out to the foothills. and the majority of the bike route which was west of CDA into Washington state and then back. We had two loops of this route. The first half went great. I was at about 16 mph on average. Things were going good. I was drinking lot's of water and staying on top of the nutrition and electrolytes. As we headed back into CDA I was starting to get stomach cramps. I did not think it would be anything serious. On the ride back through CDA in the city, I was going around a corner and I started to lose my front wheel on the turn. I had a flat. It took just a few minutes to change the tire. I was back on the road pretty fast. After I got back to riding, the cramps started getting worse. As we headed back out of town, the temperatures were getting above 90. The hills, for some reason, got steeper and longer?? Most of the last 30 miles was pretty tough. I was having to stop at each aid station due to " gastro-intestinal" issues,, again, no need for details. There were aid stations every 10 miles. I visited each one. They were all nice, well staffed and had plenty of supplies. Unfortunately, I was not there to evaluate and write a travel guide to IM aid stations. It took me about an hour longer to do the second half of the ride. I was behind in my plan. I was beginning to worry because the marathon is when the IM actually starts. My final time was 7 hours and 37 minutes. One hour longer than I expected. I was down 2 mph per hour than what I wanted to do..
Transition 2 had some false starts. More "GI issues", no details. I started on the run and couldn't. With each step, my stomach would hurt. So, I walked. I walked a close to 2 hours and 30 minutes to cover between 8 and 9 miles. Things kept degrading. I could not eat anything, I was drinking as much as I could. My mouth was constantly dry and my skin was cold. Then my legs started feeling like lead and I just could not walk in a human like manner. So,, I made a decision,, I quit.
It was a difficult decision I have made in a long time. It is one that I know was right, I know that my health is more important than an IM,, but,, it is still tough to accept. I think my meltdown was due to the food poisoning, the heat and the stress of an IM. I do not think that my gut really recovered from the food poisoning and then throwing that into a competition was too much for me.
I am concentrating on everything that has transpired over the past 6 months and try to focus on the wonderful teammates that I have, the great support that everyone has shown and the real excitement that comes with participating in an Ironman Triathlon. It was truly a great experience.
