A Few Things That Helped Me This Season

Above is a photo of me following my finish in Kona. I was hurtin…big time.It sure felt good though. 2007 was a breakthrough season for me. It was my 3rd year back in the sport and I really felt I was racing and not just surviving through these events. Every year I try to change up the training and add new things and new stimulus. Last year I added a few things which I think helped me perform well. Here are a few of them…..

1. Newton Shoes: The first time I saw Newton shoes was in St. Croix in May. Tulsa, OK isn’t exactly the center of the triathlon universe, so I was a little behind the curve. I heard some good things about them from other athletes so I bought a pair just to find out if the claims were true. At first they felt weird but as I got used to them they began to feel really good, better than any running shoe I have ever worn. I have a high arched rigid foot so a soft flexible shoe works best for me. Newton’s fit the bill perfectly. I felt that I was pushing off more efficiently and my feet were tracking better. I feel that they improve running economy, in other words they lower the energy demand of running. (See my blog entry Buffalo Springs 70.3) For me, they are doing what they are designed to do. Of course with self study n =1, it’s hard to justify it. But there are hundreds of other athletes claiming the same thing. They improved my average run mile splits by 10 to 15 seconds. This is huge! I consistently ran the fastest run splits in my age group at races this year.

2. Power Cranks: I got started using power cranks last winter. It was a bit painful at first and I rode a lot slower on them but once I adapted I felt that they improved my pedal stroke and my pedaling efficiency. I used less energy since I had developed a group of muscles, the hip flexors and adductors, which are often neglected. Like Newton’s, I feel they improved my economy. I used them exclusively from November to February. I used my TT bike with an SRM after that. I noticed when I used the power crank pedaling method for cycling that I could get my wattages to tick up another 20 to 30 with just that little extra push across the top of the pedal stroke. I also think that they helped me develop the hip flexors which contributed to better runs this year too.

3. Vasa Trainer: When the health club where I usually swim closed to remodel the pool for the entire summer, I had to return to my old haunts at the downtown Tulsa YMCA. In the mid 90’s I used to swim here with my buddy Dave Sexton. He and I used to tear each other up in the pool and then we would move over to the Vasa trainer and verbally abuse each other as we took turns on the Vasa after the pool workout. I really felt that it helped me back then. Not the abuse,.... the Vasa. When I returned to the pool some 10 years later the Vasa was still there on the deck albeit rusty but it was still functional. After my workouts of 4000 yards or so of swimming, I would move it over to the Vasa where I was able to work myself up to 20 minutes 3 x/ week just 3 weeks before Kona. When I got off this device my arms were throbbing. I don’t lift weights but I feel this device really provided me with some good functional strength to swim top times in my age group this season. I also used a drag suit in the pool all summer.

4. Yoga: I read some good things about Yoga so I got started doing it religiously last November. I didn’t have time to go to a class so I would just pop in a DVD and work along with Rodney Yee for an half and hour or an hour or so 2 or 3 times per week after the kids got to bed. I feel this really helped me with recovery and injury prevention. I now have the flexibility I had as a teenager.

5. Simulation workouts: Having been to Hawaii in 2006, I got a good feel for what the terrain and conditions were like. I constructed bike and run simulation courses. The summer weather here in Oklahoma is often more harsh than it is in Kona so that parameter was covered. On the bike, I had a course that would take me out highway 48 to Rt 66 toward Bristow, OK were I had some long grades and headwinds. My run course had a flat hot and humid Alii drive and a hill which was more severe than Palani at 10 miles. I also added some hills at around 16 miles into the run which were also run at hot and humid conditions. I did the run the day after a long ride (sometimes up to 150 miles) so the fatigue was in my legs. I ran it at a pace which was much faster than my Ironman. I wore the same clothing and used the same nutrition I planned to use in Kona and really got it down to perfection. When I started Kona in 2006 I was intimidated by the course, this year I wasn’t. The Kona course was much easier than what I had done in training.

6. Training Camps: I did two training camps with my wife, Dana, in Tucson, AZ last winter at the cycling house. It wasn’t exactly a romantic getaway. Dana referred to it as a cycling commune. The weather in Tulsa was icy and cold. Normally, in January and February we are unable to get out on our bikes but this year we were able to put in some of our biggest training weeks of the season and take on Mount Lemmon several times. The base fitness we gained from these camps was very helpful as we both had very good early season races in St. Croix in May and throughout the rest of the year.

7. Hammer Nutrition Products: I have used Hammer nutrition meal replacement drinks on long training rides and Ironman races since I got back into triathlon a few years ago. The Cycling house had a full complement of all the supplements to try for free and I got started using those this year too. With my erratic eating habits due to my work schedule along with heavy training I felt they really helped me keep on top of my nutritional needs and I didn’t get sick all season. I also took Hammer Whey before bedtime and I felt the additional protein load and glutamine helped with recovery after really hard workouts.

A few things that I am going to do next year in addition to those above in 2008 are Epic Camp New Zealand in January. This is the camp of all camps. I have always wanted to do this and see this part of the world. When I first saw this I thought these guys were crazy. The camp is shorter this year so I was able to swing it. I hope I can survive. Stay tuned. Another reason for posting the photo above; )

This year I am getting away from Ironman and do shorter races and move to faster and more intense training. I was getting into a rut with all the long distance stuff. I feel this will help me down the road if I ever decide to race Ironman in the future. It also gives me more time to be with the family and take care of what is important while still being able to do what I love.

Clearwater: The 70.3 World Championship

The last race of the season for the Chance family was the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida. We brought the kids this time and made a little mini vacation out of it. Clearwater has beautiful sugary like beaches which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. We stayed at the Hilton which was very close to the race site and made it very easy. Other Tulsa area triathletes who qualified for the race and made the trip were Toby Smith, Steve Groden, and Sean Stevens. Sean brought his wife Whitney and her family. We hung out with the Tulsa crew at the beach and pool and had a few meals out. Sean and Whitney had a room adjoining ours which was nice.

The folks at WTC put on a very well organized race. Everything was top notch right down to the finest detail. I didn’t feel like doing this race but did it anyway just to experience it. Dana, on the other hand, was ready to rock it.

We arrived on Wednesday to enjoy the sun and the sand. Unfortunately, a cool front arrived with us and the weather was cold and very windy. The kids complained about the fine sand blowing into their eyes. We had to wear sweat shirts. The water was rough with some pretty stiff current. We tried to make the best of it and enjoyed the venue despite the unseasonable inclement weather.

I came to watch Dana race here last year and there appeared to be a lot more foreigners here competing this year than last. I also noticed that last year they couldn’t give the slots away and this year folks were grabbing them up at the 70.3 races I attended. I feel this race is going to be more competitive as the years pass.

We checked in at a large expo center with ample parking and a large triathlon expo there. It was actually a better set up than Hawaii. The check in procedure was similar. It was very personal and well organized.

Bike and bag check in the day prior to the event was the same as Kona but didn’t have the photographers and all the hype that Kona has. You still got your own personal volunteer that walked you through the transition area and answered all your questions though. The transition area was carpeted and very well marked.

Race morning had the helicopters with the hype and the excitement. Each wave was put into its own separate corral with a volunteer holding a sign indicating the wave. As one wave went off we were moved eventually to the next corral. Again, very well organized and well done. With the helicopters flying overhead and the announcer’s voice calling up the waves, even I was starting to get pretty hyped.

All hype aside, I chose this race to be “C” training race and just came here to have a good time and enjoy the day and preview the course. I might key on this race in the sometime in the future, but today I wanted to experiment and do a few things that I normally wouldn’t do. One was to blast the swim from the start and drop anyone who tried to hang on. I wanted to see how it would effect me on down the line. I usually keep pretty conservative and try to hold something back.

The start is a running one from the beach. You have to be pretty quick off the gun to get to the water first. I found a spot in the front row and dug my rear foot into the sand for a track like start. The starter counted down the minutes and seconds. I looked at my heart rate and it was 90. I was ready. The cannon sounded and I sprung out into the lead. Someone shoved me forward and I lost my balance and cart wheeled my arms and stumbled forward to keep myself upright just barely missing a face plant and becoming trampled by 200 other athletes in my age group.

Miraculously, I was able to stay upright and hit the water first and dolphined out as far as I could then sprinted away. I looked back under my arm and I had already gapped the next guy and put my head down and nailed it. I never felt a foot tap or drafter. They let me go. Alright!!! I was wearing my new Xterra Vector pro wetsuit. I usually hate full wetsuits because I feel restricted in the shoulders, but with the Xterra, I forgot I was even wearing a full suit. I noticed most of the others were wearing the Blue Seventy. I think I had an advantage. I didn’t have clean water for long before I started running into the 45 + age group women.

This slowed me down a bit as I had to navigate thru the red capped mine field. I couldn’t see a thing after I made the turn and headed back to shore. The sun was coming up and my prescription smoke goggles didn’t help at all with the sun’s glare that was blinding me when I tried to sight. I just looked to my right and saw the buoys and to my left and saw kayaks and just maintained the midline. Before long the pier came into view and then I was at the beach. I ran out as fast as I could. The wetsuit strippers did a great job and I was through the transition pretty fast.

I made it to my bike and was off in the lead. I hadn’t been on my bike since Kona. I was pretty busy with work and moving and never got around to unpacking it. So it just stayed in the box until I got here to Clearwater. I knew it would be just a matter of time before someone would catch me. It wasn’t long before number 719 came flying by as I started to crest the bridge off the island. A few other folks in my age group came by now and then but I was riding pretty much on my own until mile 40. At that point I was gobbled up by the packs and just rode along. There was one lane blocked off and there was no avoiding the draft. I was stuck.

At about 50 miles into the ride a marshal rode up to me and flashed me and the Italian guy beside me the red card for drafting. I couldn’t argue, I was indeed drafting. I talked to a race official about this same scenario on my plane ride home from Canada this summer. Big pack, unavoidable, what do you do? He said “sometimes we just pick a sacrificial lamb“. I guess we were both lambs. He didn’t show it to anyone else in the pack just us. If he did the penalty tents would have been overwhelmed.

Anyway, I was kind of glad that I got the card. At that point in the race, I was in the top 10 in the age group and I was thinking seriously about making a run for it when I got in just to see where it would take me. Instead I just took it easy. The race was over for me, I wouldn’t have to put myself into any discomfort. I wanted to recover fast from this race. I was completely shelled after the Kona run, and there was no need to do it again here.

I saw a lot of carnage on the road. One guy in a bloody heap at the side of the road and another was run over by a drafting marshal. I think it was the same guy that showed me the card. I heard police and ambulance sirens.

I read in the paper the next day that 9 people were taken to the hospital for “non-life treating injuries”. This course is pretty dangerous. There just needs to be some hills to break up the packs. 56 miles of flat terrain is pretty unfair to the superb cyclist.

When I got to T2, I went straight to the penalty tent and started my 4 min stopwatch. This was the first time this had happened to me so it was an experience. I should have brought a water bottle, because there were no refreshments for us. I laughed and joked with all the other unfortunate sacrificial lambs. Four minutes is a long time when you are waiting in T2 while the race passes you by.

The run was pretty fun. I usually don’t use Gatorade and Power Gels on the course, this time I tried it just to see if I had any ill effects. It went well with no stomach issues. I did the run at training run pace and cheered on other folks I knew and those that were around me. It was nice and low key with no pain. I pushed the last mile to a 6 minute pace and helped a guy from Switzerland finish strong.

I waited at the finish for all of the TAT members and congratulated them. Everybody broke 5 hrs! Toby Smith went 4:29, Dana went 4:47 and was 17th in her age group, and got a PR for the distance. Sean Stevens went 4:40 and got his PR by 27 minutes! Steve Groden went 4:36. It was a PR for him too. I was really proud of the whole Tulsa crew, they all did great.

The only option I see to make this race safer and more draft free is to close down the roads entirely and give the whole road (two lanes)to the athletes. One lane with all these cyclists is bound to get congested and clogged up. There was nowhere to go, and it’s dangerous to juke around in a pack of triathletes. It would be also ideal to take this World Championship to harder and more challenging course for all three disciplines. The non wetsuit swim, hilly and windy bike, and challenging run of St Croix 70.3 would be a great course, but the difficulty getting there, diminished number of hotels, and nasty rough roads rule it out.

Matt Carnal: "Anything is Possible"

Not long ago I began working with an athlete, Matt Carnal. Matt came to me about a year ago with aspirations to do Ironman. No not just any Ironman. The Ironman…You know the one in Hawaii… The World Championships. Matt had yet to even do a triathlon, but this was something he really wanted to do. His background is college baseball and he ran a little in high school. I kindly let him know that it was very competitive to get to the event and that some people work their tails off for many years and still never get to the big show. I wasn’t really coaching people then but my wife was. He wanted some advice from us because 50% of the 2006 Oklahoma Hawaii Ironman qualifiers were living under our roof. We must have been doing something right. He ended up working with another coach but we saw one another now and then and when I saw him at a few races I offered encouragement.

Matt learned pretty quickly that there are some pretty fast dudes out there, especially in his age group, the M25-29. His first triathlon was Oceanside 70.3, and then he went to Honu 70.3 and had a better race. He had some mechanical problems on the bike at Buffalo Springs and didn’t finish, but in 2007 he got his feet wet in the sport and he got a good feel for “what it takes” to succeed and reach his ultimate goal. He contacted me again this summer and I agreed to help him. Since then we have been working toward his big goal…one step at a time.

The first step in Matt’s progression is to run a sub 3:00 marathon at Route 66 in Tulsa on November 18th. This wasn’t my idea, it was Matt’s. He has never run a marathon before but this is what he wanted to do. Sub 3 his first time out. He’s right though. To make the Kona cut in his age group he will have to have sub 3 hr open marathon speed. I gave him workouts that a sub 3 hr marathoner should be able to do and he did them. I gave him tune up races with goal times as benchmarks to see if it was a realistic goal and he even surprised me.

He got faster with each race and as the distance went up Matt was able to sustain the pace. On Oct 6th he did the Zoo Run 10K in 39:47. On Oct 27th he the did the Tulsa Run, his first 15K, in 56:51, On Nov 4th he did the Jenks half in 1:23:53. Based on his last long run pace he did on Oct 14th, and his progression in times in these last few races, he should be able to crack the 3 hour barrier if he paces himself smartly and I’m sure he will ;) These great results will steamroll into better ones and build greater confidence for further achievement down the line.

What I’ve noticed most about Matt recently is that he is focused. He has the right mental attitude and tunnel vision required to meet his goal. He is eating a proper diet, no junk. He is getting the rest he needs. He knows what he needs to do and goes out and does it. This mental attitude is often overlooked but is the most important component of achieving an Ironman goal. There are so many opportunities for letdown in a race this long. Having the right mental attitude is more than 50% in achieving success.

I will be updating Matt’s progress in his quest for Kona but for now, Ironman Kentucky this summer will have to suffice. In Ironman the slogan says "Anything is Possible". Maybe he will be in the waters of Kialua bay this October. At this pace, he very well might.

So if you are on out on the course at the Rt. 66 Marathon in Tulsa on November the 18th, give Matt a cheer.

This Is What I Call A Big Sports Story

On page 20 B (back page) of the Tulsa World on November 4th was a small article in the corner entitled “Distance Runner Dies at 28” on the front page was a huge spread taking up half the paper “NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup” On the Channel 2 news on Saturday night it was all football and no mention about this tragic event.

On November 3rd 5.5 miles into the US Olympic Marathon Trials, Ryan Shay, one of Americas top distance runners collapsed. Bystanders and Emergency personnel quickly came to his aid and instituted CPR. He was taken to Lennox Hill Hospital in NY where he was pronounced dead. He had trained and was a personal friend of the eventual winner Ryan Hall.

To me, this is big news. I suppose with Internet, I can direct my own news interests but come on, NASCAR trumping tragedy at the Olympic Trials? What a story…. and it gets a little blurb on the last page of our local paper.

Well, I guess my taste in big news is different from the typical Oklahoman. Thank goodness for the internet. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Ryan Shay. What a way to go though, doing something you love and immersed in the race of your life.
New York Post Article

Hawaii Ironman 2007 “Shooting for the Pie in the Sky” A Race Report (Long)

As I sat in the audience at the awards dinner at the Hawaii Ironman last year, I started thinking about my goals for 2007. I just had to get back here to Hawaii. I would be racing in a new age group, the Male 45-49, and I knew that I could go faster.

I like to set my goals in a tiered manner. I set some I know I can achieve, then I put some way up there. I call those my “pie in the sky goals”. My first goal was to qualify for the Hawaii Ironman, and I did that at St. Croix in May. My “pie in the sky” goal was to make the top 5 in my age group and the podium at the Hawaii Ironman; the elite’s elite. I almost did it and I ended up 8th. I didn’t let anyone know about my “pie in the sky” but I think some got the idea when they saw how hard I was training.

Last year I came into the Ironman with a goal of not to melting down and to finish strong. It was my second Ironman and I wasn’t sure if the first one was a fluke. It wasn’t, and I just missed going under 10 hours. This time I was ready to take some risks and push the envelope a little. Historically, 9:54 was the average finishing time for the last podium finisher in my age group over the past 7 years. It was doable.

After it was all said and done, I finished 240th overall and 8th in the M45-49 age group(3rd American) with a time of 9:53:06. I met the average time, but the last podium slot went down to 9:45.

TOTAL SWIM 2.4 mi. (55:41) 1:27/100m 93rd Overall, 2nd in the age group
FIRST BIKE SEGMENT 5 mi. (1:14:43) 18.91 mph
SECOND BIKE SEGMENT 28 mi. (2:20:21) 21.03 mph
THIRD BIKE SEGMENT 59 mi. (3:54:57) 19.66 mph
FOURTH BIKE SEGMENT 88 mi. (5:16:51) 21.25 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT 112 mi. (6:28:49) 20.01 mph
TOTAL BIKE 112 mi. (5:29:58) 20.37 mph 411th /15th age group

FIRST RUN SEGMENT 5.2 mi. (7:10:05) 7:18/mile
SECOND RUN SEGMENT 17.6 mi. (8:46:11) 7:45/mile
RUN FINISH 26.2 mi. (9:53:06) 7:46/mile TOTAL RUN 26.2 mi. (3:20:59) 7:40/mile 250th /8th fastest run split in the age group

TRANSITION TIME T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 3:10 T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 3:18

My average heart rate for the bike was 140 b/min and for the whole race the average was 144.

On Saturday morning I was up at 3:30 am for my prerace meal which included 3 scoops of Hammer perpetueum, 2 scoops of Heed, 2 gels, and a banana and peanut butter. Dana drove me down to the start area at 4:45. We kissed and said our good byes. I was walking toward the King K hotel when I discovered that I had forgotten my nutrition bottles in the refrigerator. Luckily I had my cell phone with me and I called Dana to bring them back to me. What an idiot. It was like forgetting to bring my bike.

I got numbered, set my gear up and my bike, then sat along the railing watching the orange sunlight begin to brighten behind Mount Hualalai. I called my mother at home and talked to my kids. Then I stuffed all my clothes in the prerace bag turned it in. I pulled on my Xterra Velocity speed suit, got the cap and goggles, and headed to the swim start.

I got down in the water pretty early and watched the Navy seals parachute into Kailua bay. That was quite a spectacle.

The pros got off at 6:45 then I eased my way out to the swim start line. The water felt good. My stroke felt good. I picked a spot right in the middle between the Ford sign and the pier. I held my ground in the front and watched the divers with cameras swim beneath me. I made a few “hang loose” hand gestures for the cameras to ease the tension. Guys on surf boards patrolled the starting line and paddling back and forth. “Come on guys stay back…Stay back” Mike Reilly was counting down the minutes. I looked out and saw the multitudes gathering behind me and the figures lining the sea wall. The helicopter was buzzing overhead. This was the Ironman World Championships and my moment was about begin. Then with out warning..”BOOM” we were off. I sprinted off pretty hard for the first 500 yards or so, I’m sure it was faster than 6:00, just to clear the crowds and get into a good group and catch some fast feet.

When we got to the turnaround boat, I could still see the leaders and they were pretty close. On the way in I just sat back and enjoyed a good draft. It felt so easy that at times I was one arm stroking just so I wouldn’t run into the guy in front. On the way in, I saw that our group was gapped. It would take too much effort for too little reward to bridge, so I just sat back and enjoyed the wonderful view of the ocean floor and stroked it in. I still had a long day ahead of me.

When I hit the pier I looked at my watch. 54 minutes…“Wow, it didn’t feel that fast“. My goal was to get my transitions done in 3 minutes or less and I was pretty close with a 3:10.

I got started on the bike and immediately I heard a clicking noise. It sounded like the kind you get when you put a playing card in your spokes. I looked all around to see where it was coming from and couldn’t locate it. Damn, that’s all I needed, a mechanical problem on the bike before I started. I also noticed that my wattage meter and speedometer wasn’t functioning either. All I had was my heart rate. Why does this always happen to me in a race?

I took it easy to the turnaround up Kuakini then picked it up a bit once I came to the downhill section into town and out to the Queen K. I was being passed like I was standing still. It didn’t seem like there was a lot of resistance to my wheels but the way people were passing me I’m sure there was. Madame Pale had thrown a curve ball at me. I just dealt with it. I found it to be annoying and maddening that I couldn’t find the source of the clicking and the noise became a constant reminder that burdened me through the entire ride.

The wind started to pick up out on the Queen K and reached a crescendo on the climb to Hawi. Laurent Jalabert, former Tour de France star, passed me here. I marveled at how easily he motored past me into this horrendous wind.

The turnaround and back down the Queen K was kind of scary. First we had a tailwind then it quickly changed to crosswind gusts. I could see cyclists being blown sideways up the road. I was unable to grab a water bottle at the aid station there for fear that a gust might blow me over while I had only one hand on the bar.

On the return trip on the Queen K, I felt the winds and the heat. Last year we had a tailwind and rain. This year the true Hawaii Ironman course reared its ugly head. I could see salt deposits forming on my shorts as well as those around me.

Dave Scott once said “Most people lose their concentration after about five hours. They give up. It’s not physical, it’s mental. When you come to Kona, it’s like racing on the moon.” I could feel this happening. I was frustrated with the bike, the wind, the heat and I just wanted it to be over. This is a section which I wanted to work but I totally lost concentration and, instead I fixated on my misfortunes. I finished the bike in 5:29. I was hoping for a 5:15-5:20.

T2 was a welcome site. I hit it fast and got through in 3:18 which included a Porto potty break. Once out on the run I felt at ease. This was a portion of the race which was totally under my control and I was still pretty mad about the bike issue. I was originally going to take it easy on the out and back section of Alii Drive but I decided to just go for it. If I ran well, I could still break 10 hours. I was willing to take the risk of blowing up somewhere down the road. I watched my heart rate hit L3 to L4 levels but I felt good and aerobic and just ignored it.

I began passing people off the bat. I came upon Michael Kruger, an athlete from Germany, whom I met on the awards stand at Ironman Florida in 2005. He had run a 3:00 marathon at IM Germany. He remembered me and said that he was shooting to run 3:15 here. I was cool with that so I mentioned that we should work together. Another German was running with us and some other German guy that wasn’t in the race was running along the other side of the road pacing them. They were all speaking to each other in German. This race has such an international flare to it. Oh yeah, it's the World Championship.

I saw Dana outside our condo. She had recruited an Aussie cheering section and it was pretty loud. I got a good rush from that. Glynn Turquand from Xterra wetsuits ran along beside me and told me that I looked great and that I was second out of the water in the age group. Geoff Cleveland was first and he had a Xterra Velocity on too. Mark VanAkkeren who also had an Xterra speed suit had the fastest overall swim and was leading the amateur division overall. Needless to say, Glenn was pretty happy with us.

I ran with the Germans until the 9 mile mark and then they were gone. They were off the back and I continued to motor at 7:10 to 7:15 pace up to Palani hill. At home I had made a Ironman simulation course which included a hill 10 miles into it. My course hill had a steep 20% grade and was just about as long as Palani. Running up the real Palani was a lot easier. Dave LaTourette, my coach, was on the hill and told me that I was in 8th. He also gave me the condition of the athletes ahead of me. “Two look like they are cracking, Go!!!”.

I met up with Macca, the race leader, on the Queen K just as he was getting to the 25 mile mark. I yelled at him. I really wanted him to win this year.

Last year my pace seemed to fall off on the section going up to the energy lab. This year, I trained my body with my simulation runs to pick the pace up here. I began picking off blown up pros and age groupers on this section. I was feeling good and things were going well. One guy from my age group passed me, Dave Boyes, and he ended up running 3:05 for the fastest run split in the age group. I couldn’t touch his pace. He was really moving.

Every day at this time the cloud cover usually rolls in from the mountains and sometimes it rains. Today that didn’t happen. It was sunny and hot…. just how I like it.

Once I got to the energy lab, I could see the competitors coming out and I looked for those with my age group numbers. I needed to pick off more because this is the part of the race when most meltdowns occur. I made it up to the Queen K and continued up the road to Palani. The energy lab didn't seem so bad. I passed Rutger Beke there.

I came upon a familiar figure at 23 miles who appeared to be struggling. It was Ken Glah. This guy was pro last year who historically has finished top 10 overall in this race and I was about to pass him. Wow. I suppose I was salvaging my race or Kenny, uncharacteristically, was having a bad one. Dave had ridden down there to provide me some encouragement for my final push. He gave Kenny some as well. Kenny asked for the race time and Dave said 9:36. We were going to break ten hours.

I could feel my calves starting to tense up and I could tell I was on the verge of cramping. I continued to push pretty hard to get to the 25 mile mark at the top of Palani. After I got there I would be golden.

Once I hit the down hill I just let gravity do the rest. Dana, Dave, Amy were all there yelling for me. Dave yelled “pick off as many people as you can” and then I just started running as hard as I could. It must have looked like I was being chased by a bear. I was suffering pretty badly here.
Before I knew it the finish line was coming up on me. Instead of jogging in and savoring the moment, I pushed it like it was a 5K. I saw 9:52 on the finishing clock and I ran up the ramp crossed the line and as I walked down the ramp my legs buckled to the point that I almost fell. Lynne Smith was there to catch me and help me to the medical tent. It was good to see her. I looked at my watch and I couldn’t believe that I finished in that time. My run must have been 3:20. I guess Madame Pele had rewarded me for my perseverance on the bike.

Dana, Dave, and my friends Michael and Claudia Yatsko were there to hang out with me at the finish line as I drank chicken broth and ate potato chips to kick my sodium levels up. My right leg went into tetany and I had to have a volunteer hold it in stretch. Ouch. My legs were incredibly sore. I had really left it all out there.

It was a good day. I had almost reached the “pie in the sky”. I can’t complain with being 8th in my age group in the world, especially when I work a full time job, have three small kids at home, and a wife that does Ironmans too.

Now it’s time to go eat some real pie…and I’ll take some ice cream with that too ; )

Ironman Hawaii:Day 7 and 8 pre race

Yesterday was a day of rest for me. We had breakfast with Dave LaTourette and some representatives from Alcis and Fuel Belt at the Royal Kona Hotel. We got some schwag from those guys. There is so much give away stuff here. Next time I don’t think I am going to pack any T-Shirts. I have picked up five cool free ones here.

Later in the day, I packed up my transition bags and got my bike ready then kicked back and watched a movie. Scott Ostrem and an old buddy Tim Streb gave me a call. It was good to hear from them.

Glenn Turquand from Xterra wetsuits had a party at his house on Alii and we spent 3 hours there enjoying the company. I will be racing in the Xterra Velocity .02 this year. It is the fastest legal speed suit on the planet. It has a Yamamoto rubber coating and the drag coefficient is less than the Blue Seventy.

When I first swam in the suit two weeks ago, I swam a 5:45 500 at a 6:20 effort. I called Glenn right away and told him” You are going to sell a lot of these suits”. Everybody has speed suits this year. After Normann had his breakthrough swim last year speed suit technology has taken off. It used to be illegal to have anything below the knee. This year I believe they are allowing the pros to have their suits extend below the knee.

After the Party we had dinner at Jameson’s with Mark Van Akkeren and his parents and Brandon Del Campo and his mother. Both those guys are going to have good races. Look for Mark to be in the amateur lead after the swim and possibly the bike.


This morning Dana went out on a ride to Waikoloa with Kevin Purcell and Dave LaTourette, while I went to the Kona Aquatic center for a short 20 min workout with Mitch Gold, Denny Meeker, Brandon, and Mark. Following the swim we took a short 20 min ride out on the Queen K. Boy, I felt really good with the race wheels on. I was hitting monster wattage very easily. I had to hold myself back. After the ride, it was a quick 15 min easy run followed by some strides on the grass.

That was it…. my last workout before the Ironman. I checked in my bike and bags at 1:30 and then went back to relax and prepare my body for what it is about to go through. At about 4:30 I realized that I had forgotten to put my run gels in my bag. I had to drive back to the transition and they let me put them in. Whew…

I am ready. I feel so good and rested right now. It’s hard to believe two days from now I will be so sore I’ll hardly be able to walk.

Thanks for tuning in. If you would like to follow my progress online you can go to www.ironmanlive.com and click on track an athlete. I am number 658. If you would like to program the cell phone to give you splits and text alerts on an athlete you can go to www.IronmanWireless.com.

I will post a race report later with all the details of the race no matter how it turns out.

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