Ironman Florida 2012

I have selected Ironman Florida as my 2012 IM event. Registration for IMFL sold out this week in 16 minutes (record time). Ironman Florida is one of the most well known races on the Ironman circuit having been around for over 10 years.

Swim:
The two-loop swim takes place in the Gulf of Mexico with a short beach run in between laps. The chop can be strong and tinted goggles are recommended to block out the rising sun. Water temperatures should hover near 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bike:
The single-lap bike course is flat and fast. The highest point on the course is only 161 feet above sea level, and the wind tends to be light. Expect a fast bike split, and be prepared to stay in your aerobars.

Run:
This is one of the flattest runs on the Ironman circuit. Spectators fill the roads on the two-loop course, which parallels the shoreline through local neighborhoods to the turnaround in St. Andrews State Park. The sun sets early this time of year, so you may want to toss a long-sleeve shirt into your special needs bag.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to convince any of my friends to join me this year so I will be going down to Florida solo. I do look forward to this race and plan to prepare much stronger this year in hopes of achieving a faster PR (Goal: sub 13 hr).

Stay tuned . . .

2011 Ironman Texas Race Report

I'm happy to communicate the successful completion of another Ironman. After last year's great experience in St. George, I was eager to try out another Iromman. This time, I chose IM Texas (another inaugural IM event) for it's flat course, Saturday timing, and proximity to Dallas where my co-Ironman friend (Rich Goode) lives. The event was held on Saturday, May 21st at The Woodlands, TX (just north of Houston). Overall, it was a great experience with a few bumps along the way. As with many epic events like an Ironman, it is more about the journey (training) than the actual destination itself (event). And while my training wasn't at the level I wanted it to be (see prior blog), I still managed to "eek out" a PR and not kill myself in the process (although it was close). The key headlines for this year's race are as follows:
1) Poor preparation
2) Easier Course
3) Tougher Conditions (heat/humidity)
4) Flat tires
5) Dehydration

Pre-Race Preparations
Similar to last year, we had to arrive two days before the event to register and pick up our bags, gear, etc. I flew into Dallas and drove down with my friend, Rich Goode. Ate dinner and went to a movie (Fast Five). We met up with our friend from Salt Lake City, Stan Hansen, on Friday and spent most of the day getting our bags together. There are five bags that need to be prepared for any Ironman: 1) Bike Gear Bag (Transition 1), 2) Run Gear Bag (Transition 2), 3) Bike Special Needs Bag (set out mid way thru Bike), 4) Run Special Needs Bag (set out mid way thru Run), and 5) Morning Clothes Bag. In each of these bags you need to ensure you not only have the right gear (shoes, helmet, gloves, etc) but also misc items such as sunblock, towel, additional energy food, and so forth. I also had to pick up my road bike on Friday. Most IM triathletes (especially those doing this year's course) have a Time Trial (TT)/Tri bike. I would definitely recommend this for those considering IM Texas next year as the course is very flat, windy at times. TT bikes definitely had the advantage. My wife and two oldest kids (Emilie and Jonathan) flew down on Friday and we joined up for dinner that evening. Ended up getting to bed around 9:00 PM.

Race Day Morning
Woke up at 4:30 AM and got ready. Bagel with peanut butter and banana for breakfast. Headed over to event (20 min drive. Final check on bikes. Walked over to swim start (15 min walk). Cloud cover morning. 75-80 degrees. Very humid. T-minus one hour until official start at 7:00 AM.

Swim (2.4 miles)

Water temperatures were between 76.1 and 83.8 degrees which meant triathletes could wear wetsuits if they wanted but would not be eligible for awards/Kona slots if they did. It appeared that apx. half the participants chose to wear wetsuits. This included me. As with all Ironman swims, the professional athletes start at 6:45 AM and then the rest of the pack (apx. 2,000) started at 7:00. The swim course (Lake Woodlands) was very tight which meant a lot of bumping/kicking with other swimmers. The difference with this swim was that it never let up (usually spaces out after the first 100 meters or so). It was a tight pack swim the entire course. The end got particularly tight as we were funneled down a canal towards T1. Unlike last year's swim, I felt very comfortable this year. While still very slow, I was able to cut 7 minutes off my swim time (Time - 1:24:44).

T1 (Swim to Bike) - (Time - 8:45)

Bike (112 Miles)

The bike leg started off great. The course was so much easier than St. George's course. It was actually quite scenic as we biked through farm country and even part of the Sam Houston National forest. At mile 15, I noticed my rear tire was going flat (apx 50 psi vs 120). I pulled over and inspected it, even got assistance from the official Ironman Bike Support crew who pulled out a small nail and pumped up the tire. It appeared to hold the air, so instead of changing the tire, I opted to continue riding. After another 15 miles or so, I noticed the tire pressure was once again low. For the next 3 - 4 aid stations (every 15 miles), I would stop and take 2 - 3 minutes to fill up my tire. In retrospect, I should have simply changed my tire at mile 15. Even with these stops and riding on a lower than recommended tire pressure, I felt good with my 1st half (56 miles in 3:00:00 /18.7 mph pace). I started to get excited about crushing my IMSG time. However, my tire was completely flat and I made the decision to finally change it. Unfortunately, I am not a fast tire-changer having only changed maybe 4 or 5 tires in my life. I rode to mile 57 (Bike Special Needs Bag Stop) on a flat tire and then took 15 - 20 minutes changing my tire. My CO2 cartridge didn't completely fill up my tire so I had to stop again at the next Aid Station and use their pump. After that stop, I had no further bike issues. However, I did use up plenty of nervous energy with all these stops and changes. The 2nd half of the bike was much slower with the final 2o miles or so being painful. I was so glad to be off that bike and start the run. Again, despite all these issues, I was still able to cut off 38 minutes from my St. George bike time (7:23:00). Frustrating, as I feel I could have biked closer to 6:15:00 without all these problems. Shows how much easier this bike course is versus St. George. (Time - 6:45:12).

T2 (Bike to Run) - (Time: 8:06)

Run (26.2 miles)

The run was a three-loop course in and around The Woodlands. While it was nice to run along the waterfront and through the town center, I'm not a big fan of a three loop course. Makes for a long painful run. It was about 3 PM when I started my run and the temperature had shot upwards to over 90 degrees with 80% - 90% humidity. The cloud cover was now gone and the heat was almost unbearable. My goal was to run the first 5 miles without walking. I had to stop, however, at each aid station and load up on water and ice. I would drench myself and then put ice cubes in my shirt, under my hat and then hold in my hands as long as they lasted just to keep my body temperature down. I saw multiple runners on the side of the road getting medical care. They would wrap these runners in silver insultation blankets filled with ice and give them IVs. I thought I was taking in plenty of fluids; however, I definitely felt the effects of dehydration. In last year's race, I urinated (TMI?) 6 or 7 times during the race. In IMTX, I didn't go once! Around mile 12, I became sick to my stomach and vomited several times. I ran/walked the next 12 miles, getting sick anytime I exerted too much energy for sustained periods of time. I couldn't stomach any foods or liquids. With only a couple miles left, I realized I could still possibly make a sub-14 hour time so I tried to pick up my pace. Unfortunately, I could only do so much. I did turn it on the final half mile, sprinting most of the way. I got to the final chute where thousands of people are lined up cheering for you only to double over with dry heaves. This was a completely different experience from IMSG where the final 100 yards were complete exhiliration. Here, I could only think of making it across the finish line so that I could throw up. My run time ended up being 37 minutes slower than last year. (Time - 5:34:56)

FINAL RESULTS (Time - 14:01:43) - 1,291 out of 2,160

Post-Race

I told Camille right after the race that this was my last Ironman. Not sure why anyone would subject themselves to this kind of punishment, especially if you've already completed the goal. I couldn't stomach any food for 3 - 4 hours afterward. Camille bought me a Jamba Juice, but I ended up giving it away to my kids. Stan, Rich and I returned to our friend's house and took a hot tub. I was able to get more and more liquid in me. Finally, around midnight, I had my appetite back so we headed out to a local burger shop that was still open. Slept well that night and felt pretty good on Sunday as we headed back to Dallas.

Post Race with Emilie and Jonathan (still holding my throw-up bag)

Post Race with Rich Goode and Stan Hansen

Conclusion

I have already gone from "no way am I doing another Ironman" to "maybe I'll do another one next year if my friends want to join me." This has evolved even further to "can't wait until next year." I think I'm going to return to The Woodlands and take another crack at this course which I feel got the best of me. I honestly feel I could get a sub-13 hour time if I had a bike leg with no mechanical issues and a better run thru proper training and hydration. I want to thank again my family for all their support over the past several months and for allowing me to continue to pursue my crazy goals. Stay tuned for more fun . . . .

2011 IM Preparation . . . Not good!

The week of the Ironman Texas has arrived. I leave on Wednesday, flying down to Dallas and then Rich Goode and I will be driving over to Houston on Thursday. I'm excited to have Camille, Emilie and Jonathan join me this year. They will be coming down on Friday.

The question that everyone is asking me now is . . . Are you ready? The short answer is "NO!" I have only myself to blame. I certainly had the time to train and prepare, but just didn't put in the number of workouts and hours that I probably should have. I'm placing a big bet on the fact that this Ironman course is not suppose to be as difficult as IM St. George. The major challenge with IM Texas (and the big X factor) is going to be the heat. Right now, it is predicted to be 90 degrees with scattered thunderstorms. I'm sure the heat and humidity are going to play a major part on my race, particularly since I've been training in cool New England weather.

As for the numbers, here are my results for the past 20 weeks of training compared to last year (2010 full year averages used) . . .

Total Workouts: 67 (3.5 avg per week) vs. 5.5 last year
Total Hours: 116 (5:49 avg per week) vs. 7:09 last year
Total Swim Miles: 30 (1.5 avg per week) vs. 2.6 last year
Total Bike Miles: 994 (49.7 avg per week) vs. 57.3 last year
Total Run Miles: 297 (14.8 avg per week) vs. 16.0 last year
Total Brick Workouts: 19 (1 avg per week) vs. 1 last year
Total Lbs. Lost: 10 (185 to 175) vs. 38 last year (210 to 172)

Now I certainly had a better foundation this year to begin my training, but you can see what a pathetic effort I put forth this year. I do plan on completing the race, but not sure about my time. Originally, I was hoping for a PR on what is expected to be an easier course. I was hoping to shave 10 minutes off the swim (Target 1:20:00), 25 minutes off the bike (Target 7:00:00), and 10 minutes off the run (Target 4:45:00), resulting in an overall time of around 13:30:00 (includes transition times). Again, given my lackluster preparation, I'm hoping now just to finish this thing. Stay tuned for my post race report in a week . . .

Boston Marathon

Ever since I began running, I've wanted to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. And after living here 5 years, my interest has only increased. At my current age (40), this would require me to run a qualifying marathon in 3:20. And next year, this will get even more difficult as they make the times even more stringent (3:15:00). My fastest marathon was a 3:38 in St. George. I've thought that if I train hard enough, I could take off 18 minutes. Well, it's hard to train for triathlons, especially Ironman triathlons, and improve you marathon time (for me at least) due to the competing priorities (swim vs. bike vs. run) for your time. I really don't put in enough run time, including speed work, to improve my time. So, I'm not sure if I will ever qualify. However, this didn't stop me from running anyway. I was able to get a number through a friend of mine who has contacts within John Hancock (primary sponsor of the Boston Marathon). Last week, he informed me that he was able to get me a number. I paid the $300 entry fee and was assigned Bib# 26791 (out of apx. 27000 runners). This placed me way in the back (Last wave (Wave 3) and last corral (#9).

We had a perfect weather day yesterday. Temperature was around 60 degrees with a slight tailwind. Camille took me directly to Hopkinton and the start of the race. I had to walk 1/2 mile to the start/athlete's village due to road closures, but that was okay (although, it took Camille two hours to get home). I got there around 8:45 AM - two hours before my start. At 10:30, I made my way over to the starting line and ran into Nate Van Duzer from my church. He and I ended up running most of the race together. Wave 3 started at 10:40; although, I didn't cross the starting line until around 10:50. The first several miles were slow due to the mass of humanity. Things began to thin out slightly; although, it was crowded the entire 26.2 miles - very similar to NYC marathon. The crowds were fantastic. We spent much of the race running along the side of the street giving the little kids "high fives." The Wellesley College section (all women's college) was interesting as most of them were holding up signs labeled "kiss me" or "let's make out" or "I won't tell your wife" or "females only" and so forth. For the record, I just kept running.

Around mile 17, I started feeling some aches and pains in my kness and quads. This caused me to slow down considerably. The last 5 miles were a bear; however, the crowds were so huge, loud and motivating, it kept me going. The finish was amazing with hundreds of thousands of people lining Bolyston Ave down to the finish line. I ended with a 3:56:21 (9 min/mile pace) which was slower than I would have liked, but respectable. Overall, this was a great event. Very well supported, great food, give-a-aways, great crowds. Definitely worth the $ and effort. Everyone should try and run Boston at least once in their lifetime. The race was won by Geoffrey Mutai from Kenya with a course record of 2:03:02 (amazingly fast).

Although I missed my family on the course (they were waiting for me in Wellesley), they did give me a warm welcome when I got home.

This was also a great training run for my Ironman which takes place in less than 5 weeks. Now, I need to rest a bit and then get back at it.

Showdown at Sundown Half Ironman

I just returned from Las Vegas where I participated in the Showdown at Sundown Half Ironman along with my friends Stan Hansen, Rich Goode and Greg Hoole. We were joined by Matt Perkins and stayed at Rich Cornia's home in Summerlin for a fun Boys' weekend. The weather was actually unseasonably cool and windy, not ideal for a triathlon. In fact, the race organizers actually ended up canceling the swim portion due to water temperatures (52 degrees at Lake Mead) and high winds (20 - 25 mph). A group of us (~15) decided to swim anyway prior to the Bike/Run. I opted to swim along the coastline in case I got into any trouble. Not only was the water freezing, but the white caps made it difficult to breath. I think the race organizers made a good decision to cancel as there certainly would have been swimmers in trouble. I ended up swimming for just under 40 minutes. We then had a longer than usual T1 (apx. 15 minutes) before the start of the race. For official race time tracking, I used a swim time of 44:24 and a T1 of 6:36, which is consistent with last year's Pumpkinman race which was held at the same location. I actually added in 1 additional minute to my time. The bike portion of the race was a bear. Again, same difficult course as Pumpkinman, but with significant winds. I did okay for the first 30 miles or so, but then fell apart. My time was slightly better than Pumpkinman (3:59 vs. 4:06), but not much. And I was completely spent by the time I got to the run. The run course was different and better than Pumpkinman; although, slightly more difficult as the first two miles were down hill meaning the last two we all uphill (out and back course). At mile 5, mile quads began to seize up. I took some salt tabs and walked a bit and they eventually did okay. In the end, I finished the run in 2:03:44, which is 30 seconds slower than my run at Pumpkinman. Overall, my official time was 6:03:12; however, if you add in the swim/T1, my time was 6:54:12 making this my fastest (although still very slow) Half Ironman. I felt very sick post-race, even throwing up several times. I need to figure out the nutrition side of things better, particularly as I head into the Full Ironman down in Houston. The temperatures/humidity are going to be a challenge. Nevertheless, I'm glad I was able to participate in this race as a good tune-up and gauge for where I'm at in my training. I think we all agreed that we are done with these shoe-string Triathlon operations and will opt to pay more and go with an Ironman sponsored race in the future. The support is better, the experience is better. In Showdown at Sundown, they only had one water exchange (mile 25). Their t-shirts are terrible, never to be worn. And they gave out a beer glass as a momento instead of a medal. So as a race, I give it a major thumbs down, but as a training day, I was happy to have done it. Now onto IM Texas - 8 weeks and counting!