Where should I begin with this commentary on Clearwater? I guess I will just start from the days leading up to the race as they played a key role in what went down.
JZ and I had gone to Clermont the week before to escape the weather in Boulder and get some training in at sea level. We had a nice apartment right by the pool and got in some fantastic riding. I really love Clermont! Anyway, about mid week we started to take notice of the tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. It seemed like there was going to be a very high probability that the race was going to be affected.
Sure enough, when we got to Clearwater the weather was cold and really windy with scattered showers. The ocean was extremely rough. Knowing these races have had serious problems with the swim portion when the weather is bad, I figured it was going to be cancelled. WTC had a contingency plan and the day before announced that the swim would be moved to the bay. They announced that the swim for the age group waves was going to go off Time Trial style with one athlete being sent off one at a time in the original printed wave start.
Upon first impression, this seemed like a potential solution to many of the drafting issues the race has had in the past 3 years. This was not the case, however. They loaded the entire field in the water way faster than planned; in fact everyone was in the water in half the allotted time from the printed schedule. The organizers were concerned about opening the unforeseen closed roads. Instead of a nice spread between waves, chaos ensued on the bike course with even more packs than normally seen. The maximum occupancy of the course was exceeded! Athletes need to stop blaming each other for drafting, as this was inevitable, but instead need to find a solution for the future.
The Pro Field was also robbed of a fair race. The Pro men and women went off in two waves as a mass start. The women went off at 6:45 and then the men went off around 6:53. I have tried to come up with logical explanations for this decision. As an aficionado of conspiracy theories, I have come up with the following explanation. Since Clearwater 70.3 already has a reputation for SUPER fast times, they wanted to set it up so that a female Pro could break 4 hours. JZ came very close last year so the possibility was clearly there. With the Pro men going 8 min behind the women it was known that they would pass the Pro women on the bike after about 50 min of riding. The strength of the riders in the women’s field made it impossible for the men to go by without them getting an inadvertent free ride. The top women ended up in the mix with the boys and got off the bike with them. Had the men gone off first they would have never seen the women and then both fields would have had a better chance of riding legal on the flat, fast, narrow course. This also added issues to the safety of the course. When the men and women merged it created more riders in a smaller amount of space.
This race doesn't deserve the title "World Championship" and dialogue needs to occur on how to make this event worthy of such a name. The venue in Clearwater is beautiful and the swim and run courses are top-notch, but the bike course has been mismanaged. A viable solution to the bike course situation has not yet been addressed, but that does not mean there isn’t one. Alternatively, a new venue could easily be chosen out of the other multitude of 70.3 events on the calendar.
In addition to the other issues mentioned, Joanna had a horrible crash at mile 49. Clearly Ironman has implemented the "Tara Norton" policies and procedures when it comes to this. What exactly is the “Tara Norton Policies and Procedures”? Well, Tara was hit in 2008 by a volunteer on the bike while in 4th place at mile 80 at the Hawaii Ironman. Medical sent her home, WTC didn't give a shit and she ended up having 11 broken bones and was NEVER taken to the hospital by the race. They even reneged on giving her a medical spot the following year. Joanna never heard from anyone at WTC or the Clearwater staff after the crash. When you have a top athlete that you know very well, who has been in the sport for years, and who in fact won your “World Championship” race the year prior, that crashes because of a volunteer on the bike course, it raises a red flag when nobody from the race contacted her.
Just because we all sign a waiver, does that waiver allow a race to not try and make changes to some of the faulty areas? I really think something needs to be done regarding aid stations on the bike. While I love the fact that volunteers get out there and give us their time and spirit, they are not safe. It’s a bad situation for not only the athlete but also the volunteer. I know the one Tara hit was really hurt and could have been killed. The kid that took JZ down probably feels horrible for what happened. Something needs to change. I have plenty of ideas on how they can do this and will share them in a later blog.
In closing I would like to say that I was very excited to earn a 30-34 age group title. I know there were a lot of people, including myself, who were disappointed with how the race transpired. As athletes, let’s stop blaming each other and channel our negative energy towards finding positive solutions for the Clearwater 70.3 World Championships.
Cheers,
bdc
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Update
So I think I forgot that I actually have a blog. Figured I would write a quick update on things since it has been a good while. It's funny because I think I stopped writing about anything after the 5430 1/2 as the body just fell apart and I wasn't sure if I would even continue doing triathlon. It was a really hard time because the "injury" in the left leg was so bad that I had issues walking and it was topped by a good two years of issues with my left foot. I think there was a part of me that was just "over it".
This sport can be really challenging when you are dealing with injury. The biggest part has got to be what goes on in your head. I remember reading an article where Brett Sutton was interviewed in and he said one of the main things that makes top athletes different from those just below, is how they mentally handle injury. The fact remains that if you train hard and push the envelope, things are going to arise. My biggest challenge has been remaining positive during injured times. It didn't start that way for me, but developed when an injury turned chronic and just kept leading to other problems. This last issue that came up started to raise a lot of questions in what the hell I was doing with my life.
If you are to make a jump from where I am in the sport you MUST be injury free for a long period of time and train consistently. Without that, I will just float right around where I am. I think most people would love to be where I am when it comes to racing but I want more out of it. The challenge, for me, is gone when you stop progressing.
I had a nice sit down a while back with JZ, who has been the most wonderful coach, training partner and friend, and we went over everything that was going on. I think a big part of me wanted to give up on finding a solution as it had just gone on way too long. I would make progress and then BAM something would fall off and start hurting. JZ is not one to back down from a challenge and she pushed me pretty hard to see some new people and look into the idea that a lot of the left leg issues could be nerve related.
So with all that I went to a new resource that has been getting a big buzz from many people here in town. He is one of the team docs for the Garmin Chipottle cycling team. I met with him for a good hour and gave him the laundry list. He looked at me after the long narration and in a somewhat "cocky" way was like "so is that the only problem"? I wasn't impressed with that because I felt that he was more concerned with letting me know that he is the shit and can fix me like it is no big deal. Not fully understanding that over the last 2 1/2 years I have had these issues. But I was desperate and agreed to come back and let him try and work some magic on me.
In my second visit with him he got right to work finding a million imbalances in my legs. Then he did a few things and before I knew it, things were feeling "different". I wasn't sold that it would have any long term effect but had nothing to loose. He gave me some notes to relay to Joe, our strength guy, and work it into the gym routine. He also had me go to Colorado Multi Sport and have Ignats do another bike fit/check. I did all this and kept seeing him and before I knew it things felt better than they ever have. I was SHOCKED! Even that crazy heal pain that I would get in the AM that WAS NOT Plantar Fasc even went away. That pain seemed like it was going to be life long.
Long story short, I got back on track and have been able to run without pain. I have also noticed that my legs feel "equal" when riding and the left calf is almost caught up to my right in size. I don't know exactly what he has done for me but I am extremely thankful that it worked. And as JZ likes to say, "Who cares how it works as long as it does"! I agree.
So next on the list is Ironman 70.3 Resurrection (I mean Longhorn) and then I am going to Ironman 70.3 Redemption ( I mean Clearwater) JZ and I have renamed the races as we both went through the ringer mid season. I am looking forward to racing again! I will make sure to post a report after I get back from Austin. I have a few specific goals for these next two races so hopefully I will achieve them.
Cheers,
bdc
This sport can be really challenging when you are dealing with injury. The biggest part has got to be what goes on in your head. I remember reading an article where Brett Sutton was interviewed in and he said one of the main things that makes top athletes different from those just below, is how they mentally handle injury. The fact remains that if you train hard and push the envelope, things are going to arise. My biggest challenge has been remaining positive during injured times. It didn't start that way for me, but developed when an injury turned chronic and just kept leading to other problems. This last issue that came up started to raise a lot of questions in what the hell I was doing with my life.
If you are to make a jump from where I am in the sport you MUST be injury free for a long period of time and train consistently. Without that, I will just float right around where I am. I think most people would love to be where I am when it comes to racing but I want more out of it. The challenge, for me, is gone when you stop progressing.
I had a nice sit down a while back with JZ, who has been the most wonderful coach, training partner and friend, and we went over everything that was going on. I think a big part of me wanted to give up on finding a solution as it had just gone on way too long. I would make progress and then BAM something would fall off and start hurting. JZ is not one to back down from a challenge and she pushed me pretty hard to see some new people and look into the idea that a lot of the left leg issues could be nerve related.
So with all that I went to a new resource that has been getting a big buzz from many people here in town. He is one of the team docs for the Garmin Chipottle cycling team. I met with him for a good hour and gave him the laundry list. He looked at me after the long narration and in a somewhat "cocky" way was like "so is that the only problem"? I wasn't impressed with that because I felt that he was more concerned with letting me know that he is the shit and can fix me like it is no big deal. Not fully understanding that over the last 2 1/2 years I have had these issues. But I was desperate and agreed to come back and let him try and work some magic on me.
In my second visit with him he got right to work finding a million imbalances in my legs. Then he did a few things and before I knew it, things were feeling "different". I wasn't sold that it would have any long term effect but had nothing to loose. He gave me some notes to relay to Joe, our strength guy, and work it into the gym routine. He also had me go to Colorado Multi Sport and have Ignats do another bike fit/check. I did all this and kept seeing him and before I knew it things felt better than they ever have. I was SHOCKED! Even that crazy heal pain that I would get in the AM that WAS NOT Plantar Fasc even went away. That pain seemed like it was going to be life long.
Long story short, I got back on track and have been able to run without pain. I have also noticed that my legs feel "equal" when riding and the left calf is almost caught up to my right in size. I don't know exactly what he has done for me but I am extremely thankful that it worked. And as JZ likes to say, "Who cares how it works as long as it does"! I agree.
So next on the list is Ironman 70.3 Resurrection (I mean Longhorn) and then I am going to Ironman 70.3 Redemption ( I mean Clearwater) JZ and I have renamed the races as we both went through the ringer mid season. I am looking forward to racing again! I will make sure to post a report after I get back from Austin. I have a few specific goals for these next two races so hopefully I will achieve them.
Cheers,
bdc
Friday, August 14, 2009
5430 1/2 Ironman Race Report
Well I survived the dreaded fear that everyone around here seems to have about racing in Boulder. I never really understood the big deal. I mean, it's not like people don't just go online and stalk you when you race somewhere else! I actually enjoyed racing here and felt 5430 (The soon to be 70.3) was one of my favorite 1/2's to date.
The race was actually very eventful for me. I had more things come up than I would in an Full Ironman. I suppose that is a good thing considering I felt like I raced well. Handling adversity always leaves me feeling good.
The fact that the race was just down the street from me threw me for a loop in the amount of time I would need before hand. I left with enough time to get ready but didn't realize that T1 would close at 6:30 on the DOT! I almost wasn't allowed to set up and then forgot to put my running shoes in. I had to use the force to convince them to let me back in! It almost didn't work...
After that rush I got the "call". You know, "the call"....I had to poop. And in a big way. Well 90% of the porta loo's were in T1 making them useless. The 4 or so that were available had a line around the parking lot. That was not going to fly. I found some TP (it was like a sign from god) and took matters into my own hands. Literally. Circling around like a dog looking for a spot to crap, I found one and then once done my hand fell into it. I know this is getting way too gross for the average reader but hey- Shit happens. I fell into it because as I was in mid poop a lady walked up on me. If you can't laugh at stuff like this you really need to check your outlook on life. Just my opinion....
Anyway, at this point I am now rushing to get my skin on ( I opted out of wearing a wetsuit as the water was just too hot) and head to the water. Don't worry, I got my hand cleaned ;-) Cicely was there and was no help as she was still laughing at the fact that I had gotten shit all over my hand.
Once down to the water I got in and did a flash warm up. I like to get the heart rate nice and high before I start and didn't have that much time to do it. Then I realized I forgot my pre swim Gel and also noticed that I seemed to have a "round two" of crap wanting out. SHIT!
I have never gone to the start of any race, any distance with the feeling of needing to take a crap. I have heard of this happening and knew, at this point that there was nothing I could do. I was going to have to hold er in.
I had lined up next to Shane hoping that I would be able to use his feet. He has been swimming well and I figured it made sense. So I just looked at him and said "Go out hard. I want your feet." Why try and be slick about it??? I saw Drew Scott across the way and he seemed like he picked a better position to the far right but it was too late for us to change. We were dead center like a bunch of idiots.
When the gun went off I blasted and Shane did not go out hard enough. I was scrambling to try and figure out who was in front, but again, was having issues seeing. I was boxed in pretty bad but was remaining calm about it until I went to sight and got whacked in the back of the head pretty hard. It caused my ears to start ringing and then of course I panicked. Fuck!!! I have had issue with panicking in the water before so it wasn't anything new, but combine it with the altitude and the fact that I only had my skin on, I was being swamped and felt like I couldn't breathe. This is probably the worst way to start a race and I knew that I needed to recover from it or I was going to have problems. I had to slow down and try and find some open water. It took way longer than I wanted to get calmed down. Eventually I was able to find a rhythm and not be so freaked out. Although, I knew my swim was going to be a shit time even though I was back on some feet.
The whole rest of the way was spent climbing over AG swim wreckage. I was actually in a good mood about it because I felt accomplished that I survived the panic. It was the worst one I have had in the water and getting through it made me feel stronger. I wanted to quit at first.
Exiting the water I was just glad to be done with it. I was in shock that Shane was out just behind me. I was in even more shock to find out later that Drew got our 90 seconds ahead of me. I swim circles around Drew in the pool and Shane has been swimming circles around me. We were all mixed up!
In transition Shane and I had all our friends there heckling us. It was pretty funny as we were both trying to get out first and having issues with our stuff. I exited first but Shane came up on me and passed me pretty quickly on the bike.
Shane has been ridding very well so I thought I would use him as a gage. If I can keep him in sight and have my numbers not too high on the meter I think I will be fine. I passed him a few times on the downhill sections as I had more gears than he did, but for the most part he was off the front. We chatted quickly a few times during a pass just to see if we both felt okay. I made sure to keep twice the legal distance between us as much as I could. The fact is that we are both very similar in ride ability and started together. We were going to be near each other for the whole ride and I did not want to get pegged with a penalty. I could have rode in front but I think Shane gets a bit "antsy" in the back LOL.
The whole ride felt really easy except for the fact that I still had that major poop in me. I wasn't able to take much in on the bike. I got about 200 calories total but didn't have a choice. I guess I could have stopped but I wasn't willing to do it. I figured I would just have to when I got on the run.
Once I rolled up to T2, Shane was about 45 seconds up and I ran passed him right away. He dropped some encouraging words telling me to go smoke the run but I was a bit unsure as I had this poop issue to figure out.
I was running at a good clip and things felt okay in the stomach so I thought I would just wait until it felt different. I was a bit dizzy in the head from lack of calories so I went right to the coke plan. I think I felt that if I went to the bathroom or took in anything major, that I was going to have problems. The coke seemed to help the dizzy head right away.
As I ran along I saw a guy running up the road that looked to be moving at a decent clip and thought I would try to catch him. As it turns out, it was David Thompson, who was in 4th overall. Catching up to him made me feel that I was probably running well. It is hard to tell with that run course because the gravel is so loose that you feel like you are going nowhere.
When we got to the back side of the course, I was running a bit faster so he tucked in to avoid some of the wind that was out there but as we came closer to the finish he picked it up. I had another loop to do so I tucked in behind him. He is much taller than I am and makes for an excellent draft! It's funny that I was running with him as the same thing happened on my first loop at Lifetime.
Starting the second loop, I wasn't sure how I felt but I just decided to keep plugging away, and if I crapped out at some point I would just have to accept that. I did roll up on Keri Wvlad who was on her first loop. She is a quick runner and went with me for a bit of the back side. I told her to tuck in but she fell off the pace after a min or two.
I finished in 4:11:35 ( I had said 4:10 but when looking at results I didn't follow the line across properly LOL! I guess I do need to get these glasses!) and was very happy with the effort. I ran straight across the line to the bathroom and FINALLY dropped the kids off at that pool. OMG what a relief that was haha! I can't believe I did that race with that much in me and taking in only 400 calories. Who knew???
Confidence is up a bit more and I think I have gained some fitness from the event. I was only 4 min down from the top AG'er who with no surprise was Tim Hola. I love having that guy out there. He is an excellent marker for top Age Group racers. I won't lie, I want to take him down once this year! All in good sport of course!
I have 2 Olympic distance races coming up. Not sure how they will go but I have to remember that this whole season is just about prepping the bod to be able to handle the Ironman run load. I really feel like I am getting there and am excited to put an Ironman on the calender. It may come sooner than we predicted....
Good job to everyone that raced and thanks for all the support from those spectating. It was a really fun and challenging day!
The race was actually very eventful for me. I had more things come up than I would in an Full Ironman. I suppose that is a good thing considering I felt like I raced well. Handling adversity always leaves me feeling good.
The fact that the race was just down the street from me threw me for a loop in the amount of time I would need before hand. I left with enough time to get ready but didn't realize that T1 would close at 6:30 on the DOT! I almost wasn't allowed to set up and then forgot to put my running shoes in. I had to use the force to convince them to let me back in! It almost didn't work...
After that rush I got the "call". You know, "the call"....I had to poop. And in a big way. Well 90% of the porta loo's were in T1 making them useless. The 4 or so that were available had a line around the parking lot. That was not going to fly. I found some TP (it was like a sign from god) and took matters into my own hands. Literally. Circling around like a dog looking for a spot to crap, I found one and then once done my hand fell into it. I know this is getting way too gross for the average reader but hey- Shit happens. I fell into it because as I was in mid poop a lady walked up on me. If you can't laugh at stuff like this you really need to check your outlook on life. Just my opinion....
Anyway, at this point I am now rushing to get my skin on ( I opted out of wearing a wetsuit as the water was just too hot) and head to the water. Don't worry, I got my hand cleaned ;-) Cicely was there and was no help as she was still laughing at the fact that I had gotten shit all over my hand.
Once down to the water I got in and did a flash warm up. I like to get the heart rate nice and high before I start and didn't have that much time to do it. Then I realized I forgot my pre swim Gel and also noticed that I seemed to have a "round two" of crap wanting out. SHIT!
I have never gone to the start of any race, any distance with the feeling of needing to take a crap. I have heard of this happening and knew, at this point that there was nothing I could do. I was going to have to hold er in.
I had lined up next to Shane hoping that I would be able to use his feet. He has been swimming well and I figured it made sense. So I just looked at him and said "Go out hard. I want your feet." Why try and be slick about it??? I saw Drew Scott across the way and he seemed like he picked a better position to the far right but it was too late for us to change. We were dead center like a bunch of idiots.
When the gun went off I blasted and Shane did not go out hard enough. I was scrambling to try and figure out who was in front, but again, was having issues seeing. I was boxed in pretty bad but was remaining calm about it until I went to sight and got whacked in the back of the head pretty hard. It caused my ears to start ringing and then of course I panicked. Fuck!!! I have had issue with panicking in the water before so it wasn't anything new, but combine it with the altitude and the fact that I only had my skin on, I was being swamped and felt like I couldn't breathe. This is probably the worst way to start a race and I knew that I needed to recover from it or I was going to have problems. I had to slow down and try and find some open water. It took way longer than I wanted to get calmed down. Eventually I was able to find a rhythm and not be so freaked out. Although, I knew my swim was going to be a shit time even though I was back on some feet.
The whole rest of the way was spent climbing over AG swim wreckage. I was actually in a good mood about it because I felt accomplished that I survived the panic. It was the worst one I have had in the water and getting through it made me feel stronger. I wanted to quit at first.
Exiting the water I was just glad to be done with it. I was in shock that Shane was out just behind me. I was in even more shock to find out later that Drew got our 90 seconds ahead of me. I swim circles around Drew in the pool and Shane has been swimming circles around me. We were all mixed up!
In transition Shane and I had all our friends there heckling us. It was pretty funny as we were both trying to get out first and having issues with our stuff. I exited first but Shane came up on me and passed me pretty quickly on the bike.
Shane has been ridding very well so I thought I would use him as a gage. If I can keep him in sight and have my numbers not too high on the meter I think I will be fine. I passed him a few times on the downhill sections as I had more gears than he did, but for the most part he was off the front. We chatted quickly a few times during a pass just to see if we both felt okay. I made sure to keep twice the legal distance between us as much as I could. The fact is that we are both very similar in ride ability and started together. We were going to be near each other for the whole ride and I did not want to get pegged with a penalty. I could have rode in front but I think Shane gets a bit "antsy" in the back LOL.
The whole ride felt really easy except for the fact that I still had that major poop in me. I wasn't able to take much in on the bike. I got about 200 calories total but didn't have a choice. I guess I could have stopped but I wasn't willing to do it. I figured I would just have to when I got on the run.
Once I rolled up to T2, Shane was about 45 seconds up and I ran passed him right away. He dropped some encouraging words telling me to go smoke the run but I was a bit unsure as I had this poop issue to figure out.
I was running at a good clip and things felt okay in the stomach so I thought I would just wait until it felt different. I was a bit dizzy in the head from lack of calories so I went right to the coke plan. I think I felt that if I went to the bathroom or took in anything major, that I was going to have problems. The coke seemed to help the dizzy head right away.
As I ran along I saw a guy running up the road that looked to be moving at a decent clip and thought I would try to catch him. As it turns out, it was David Thompson, who was in 4th overall. Catching up to him made me feel that I was probably running well. It is hard to tell with that run course because the gravel is so loose that you feel like you are going nowhere.
When we got to the back side of the course, I was running a bit faster so he tucked in to avoid some of the wind that was out there but as we came closer to the finish he picked it up. I had another loop to do so I tucked in behind him. He is much taller than I am and makes for an excellent draft! It's funny that I was running with him as the same thing happened on my first loop at Lifetime.
Starting the second loop, I wasn't sure how I felt but I just decided to keep plugging away, and if I crapped out at some point I would just have to accept that. I did roll up on Keri Wvlad who was on her first loop. She is a quick runner and went with me for a bit of the back side. I told her to tuck in but she fell off the pace after a min or two.
I finished in 4:11:35 ( I had said 4:10 but when looking at results I didn't follow the line across properly LOL! I guess I do need to get these glasses!) and was very happy with the effort. I ran straight across the line to the bathroom and FINALLY dropped the kids off at that pool. OMG what a relief that was haha! I can't believe I did that race with that much in me and taking in only 400 calories. Who knew???
Confidence is up a bit more and I think I have gained some fitness from the event. I was only 4 min down from the top AG'er who with no surprise was Tim Hola. I love having that guy out there. He is an excellent marker for top Age Group racers. I won't lie, I want to take him down once this year! All in good sport of course!
I have 2 Olympic distance races coming up. Not sure how they will go but I have to remember that this whole season is just about prepping the bod to be able to handle the Ironman run load. I really feel like I am getting there and am excited to put an Ironman on the calender. It may come sooner than we predicted....
Good job to everyone that raced and thanks for all the support from those spectating. It was a really fun and challenging day!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Vineman 70.3 Race Report
Well I am back in Boulder after a successful trip to California. The weekend involved my second 1/2 Ironman of the season as well as my Dad's and friend Brett's first 1/2 Iron race. I also found out after the race the my friend Roberta raced her first 1/2 too. I was so honored when she told me that it was I who inspired her to do this a few years back when she watched me race my first triathlon in LA. Go Robbie!
So the week before the race was not the greatest. I wasn't in the best head space. In fact, Thursday before the race, JZ, Billy and I went out to do some intervals on the bike and I couldn't even do them. Billy was doing 2x20 getting ready for Ironman Lake Placid (which he will probably kick ass in this weekend) and JZ was doing 2x10 in prep for Vineman. All I had to do was 4x5min. I got SO dropped by both of them. JZ and I had to have a quick chat about weather or not doing this race was going to be a good idea. The issue was that I was not having consistently strong workouts and just raced like crap the weekend before. The whole thing was stressing me out and I honestly didn't know what the right answer was.
I believe that if you are going to race you need to be ready to give it. Granted, you won't always be able to, but you should have the ability to put your best effort out there on the course. I didn't know if I was going to be able to do that. My fear was that I was going to get out there and have nothing from the gun and then have to "get through it". I'm not a big fan of dropping out. Haven't ever done it and really don't ever want to. I am not in the league of folks that can go to a race and make $5,000.00 dollars so I also don't qualify myself as someone who can drop out so I don't "waste the effort" and go make money the next weekend.
Anyway, I had to figure out what was in my control and start making decisions based on those items. The ability to make a decision is very underrated. You can't have athlete ADD. You need to sit down, evaluate and make your decision. So that is what I did. I decided that while things haven't been going as well as I wanted since I got the infection, I did still have fitness in me and would go into the race relaxed and try to pace it a bit slower so that I can hopefully have a strong complete day. I think I also had to come to terms with the idea that my best effort right now may not place me as I high as I like but it doesn't translate as a bad race. I want to race Clearwater this year and in order to do that I need to do a 70.3 and get a slot. Not a hard task as there are plenty of them and they roll down like a fat kid on a grass hill. But none the less I would have to do the race and finish.
Saturday before the race, JZ and I went to the river to swim 20 min, then bike 1/2 the course and run 30 min. Quite the opposite of what I did the day before Lifetime which was nothing. When we got into the water I was surprised that I could hang on her feet. Granted, she wasn't swimming super hard, but JZ doesn't really have a "slow" speed. So that made me feel good. Then we got on the bike and things felt "crisp". The run also seemed fine. I really needed that boost. Just to know that I didn't feel like dog pooh on Saturday made me excited to race.
Race morning I woke up with a freaking kink in my neck. Honestly I had to laugh. I was pretty much of the mind set "Big fucking deal. I'll just breathe to the other side or something." It was the lamest thing that could be happening but I will say that it is almost the following Saturday as I write this and I still have a bit of kink so it wasn't some "pre race" fake injury thing.
When I got to the water I opted to not use my wetsuit. The water was too hot and I would overheat for sure so I used the Speed Suit instead. My wave started at 7:10. 40 min behind the pro wave. We would have a ton of people to climb over on the way back. While I was floating in the water waiting for the gun I was really just trying to relax and cut myself some slack. No pressure, just see what happens. Oh and remember now you are breathing on the left side!
When the gun went off I hit it hard and scoped out the fastest guys in the wave and got on their feet. it turns out there were only 3 of us. We had a 3 way line going with me on the back. It was fast enough to drop our wave but those two guys were not fast enough for the kind of feet I wanted. It was so relaxed and enjoyable but I had no desire to go around and try and swim harder. The energy to do that would be wasted.
When we hit the turn it was so shallow and crowded that we had to stand up. The guy in second started to walk slow while the guy in first took off. I had to give him a slight push and said "Yo! Get on yellow caps feet!" He picked it up and we were back face down. They were pretty good at navigating all the Tri Wreckage. There were a lot of slow swimmers from the prior wave. It was a mess.
Once out of the water I was very happy with how it went and got on the bike and started rolling. I finally got my SRM to work again and had it for the race. JZ told me not to look at the numbers as we don't totally know what they should be but after a while I just tried to keep it around 275 and 315 for the climbs.
Around 8 miles into the bike I was getting ready to pass a women from an early wave and at that moment it looked like she was going to pull over for something. She went in the middle of the road and started to stop. I was passing on the left and was like "What are you doing!! Don't stop there!" I went around her on the right as I was going pretty fast and as soon as I turned the corner a big "OH FUCK!" came out of my mouth. I slammed on my brakes as a decent sized Oak Tree had fallen into the road. It was blocking the entire course and as I got off my bike I realized that a rider was under the tree and two others were also down on the ground. The one rider was actually hit by the tree. The back end of his bike was smashed and he was in bad shape. The other two looked like they ran into it after it feel. This was a bad situation.
There was one spectator there already and I wasn't sure what to do. There was nothing I could do for the injured riders and to be honest I thought that the race was going to be canceled or majorly delayed. I knew that all the people in my age were already up the road. There were two waves in front of mine and the one I was in was the last and I was in second place. I had to think fast because I didn't want to be out of the race. I looked at the tree and noticed that I could crawl under it. So I did that and then dragged my bike under and just said "I will tell the very next person that I see what has happened and send help". The one women there was tending to the hurt riders so that was the most effective thing I could do for them.
Off I went as I tried to get back into my groove. Kinda hard after what I just saw! The rest of the ride was uneventful. I never got passed and was solo except for the slower riders on the right. The whole ride felt great. Complete opposite of last weekend. I think part of that was that I raised my saddle height. My quads were not loading up at all. The mistake I made on the ride was that I didn't get enough fluid in. AND I had on a camel pack on. 100% my fault. I had a minor stomach cramp so that may have been the reason I wasn't taking in the fluids.
When I got off the bike my SRM had me at 2:18 for the ride. "Damn! Where did that come from???" It felt so easy. However, the lack of hydrating left my legs a bit flat. I was behind the 8 ball and thought I could make it up on the run. I peed as I ran through transition and it was a short stream of yellow jello. Not a good sign but doesn't mean that it is game over. The legs were a bit heavy and maybe I rode too hard? But I settled into my pace and tried to get fluid in. It was blazing hot out and the run turned into a shuffle for me. I still had an okay run time of 1:25. I thought it was going to be a 1:32 but it wasn't that bad.
There was a bit of comedy on the run. I'm sure JZ doesn't think it is funny but she did bring it up today so I figure it is fair game to write about. People that know us understand we are a harsh crowd. I made jokes about her IM AZ dnf about an hour after it happened. To her face! Anyway, I dropped my salt when I was on the bike and didn't have any. About 4 miles into the run I see JZ in the distance on the ground. It was disappointing to see this happen again but I kinda knew something was up as I had not seen here on the way back yet. The funny part is that I didn't say "are you okay?" or make any reference to what happened. All I did was yell a bit before I was going to pass her. "Joanna! I need your salt!" If you could only see the look I got. Dropping your salt pills on the bike: $12 dollars. Asking JZ when she is on the ground dropping out of a race for hers: PRICELESS!
So the run didn't go well but I gutted it out and was happy with the overall race. Plus, when you take the tree into account I don't get chicked! A goal this year was to not have slower times than any pro women. I think the tree covers that! And I don't plan to do any races with Chrissie in it! hah!
I also think that even though I was only 6th overall armature, that I made a mistake giving back the pro card. While I am not as fast as the top pro guys, when you are in the AG waves you aren't even in a race. None of the guys that beat me were in my wave. If you look at the pro guys times, the swim and bike are all the same for so many of them. And not THAT much faster than what I did. Granted they ran me into the ground but I know in the end, I am actually a runner.
It's not that I think drafting is going on, but they are able to sit legal and see the competitors. It makes a difference. It's too bad that they don't have more races with elite AG waves to allow a race for fast AGer's that want to make the jump. But I made the decision to stay AG this year and I have make the most of it.
I look forward to my next race here in Boulder (5430 1/2 Ironman). It will be my first race at altitude. Should be fun!
I will post my Dad's race report up here in a few days. Very proud that he has been so committed to this since the initial motivation in Hawaii. Amazing to me that he got it done on such a hot day!
good times,
bdc
So the week before the race was not the greatest. I wasn't in the best head space. In fact, Thursday before the race, JZ, Billy and I went out to do some intervals on the bike and I couldn't even do them. Billy was doing 2x20 getting ready for Ironman Lake Placid (which he will probably kick ass in this weekend) and JZ was doing 2x10 in prep for Vineman. All I had to do was 4x5min. I got SO dropped by both of them. JZ and I had to have a quick chat about weather or not doing this race was going to be a good idea. The issue was that I was not having consistently strong workouts and just raced like crap the weekend before. The whole thing was stressing me out and I honestly didn't know what the right answer was.
I believe that if you are going to race you need to be ready to give it. Granted, you won't always be able to, but you should have the ability to put your best effort out there on the course. I didn't know if I was going to be able to do that. My fear was that I was going to get out there and have nothing from the gun and then have to "get through it". I'm not a big fan of dropping out. Haven't ever done it and really don't ever want to. I am not in the league of folks that can go to a race and make $5,000.00 dollars so I also don't qualify myself as someone who can drop out so I don't "waste the effort" and go make money the next weekend.
Anyway, I had to figure out what was in my control and start making decisions based on those items. The ability to make a decision is very underrated. You can't have athlete ADD. You need to sit down, evaluate and make your decision. So that is what I did. I decided that while things haven't been going as well as I wanted since I got the infection, I did still have fitness in me and would go into the race relaxed and try to pace it a bit slower so that I can hopefully have a strong complete day. I think I also had to come to terms with the idea that my best effort right now may not place me as I high as I like but it doesn't translate as a bad race. I want to race Clearwater this year and in order to do that I need to do a 70.3 and get a slot. Not a hard task as there are plenty of them and they roll down like a fat kid on a grass hill. But none the less I would have to do the race and finish.
Saturday before the race, JZ and I went to the river to swim 20 min, then bike 1/2 the course and run 30 min. Quite the opposite of what I did the day before Lifetime which was nothing. When we got into the water I was surprised that I could hang on her feet. Granted, she wasn't swimming super hard, but JZ doesn't really have a "slow" speed. So that made me feel good. Then we got on the bike and things felt "crisp". The run also seemed fine. I really needed that boost. Just to know that I didn't feel like dog pooh on Saturday made me excited to race.
Race morning I woke up with a freaking kink in my neck. Honestly I had to laugh. I was pretty much of the mind set "Big fucking deal. I'll just breathe to the other side or something." It was the lamest thing that could be happening but I will say that it is almost the following Saturday as I write this and I still have a bit of kink so it wasn't some "pre race" fake injury thing.
When I got to the water I opted to not use my wetsuit. The water was too hot and I would overheat for sure so I used the Speed Suit instead. My wave started at 7:10. 40 min behind the pro wave. We would have a ton of people to climb over on the way back. While I was floating in the water waiting for the gun I was really just trying to relax and cut myself some slack. No pressure, just see what happens. Oh and remember now you are breathing on the left side!
When the gun went off I hit it hard and scoped out the fastest guys in the wave and got on their feet. it turns out there were only 3 of us. We had a 3 way line going with me on the back. It was fast enough to drop our wave but those two guys were not fast enough for the kind of feet I wanted. It was so relaxed and enjoyable but I had no desire to go around and try and swim harder. The energy to do that would be wasted.
When we hit the turn it was so shallow and crowded that we had to stand up. The guy in second started to walk slow while the guy in first took off. I had to give him a slight push and said "Yo! Get on yellow caps feet!" He picked it up and we were back face down. They were pretty good at navigating all the Tri Wreckage. There were a lot of slow swimmers from the prior wave. It was a mess.
Once out of the water I was very happy with how it went and got on the bike and started rolling. I finally got my SRM to work again and had it for the race. JZ told me not to look at the numbers as we don't totally know what they should be but after a while I just tried to keep it around 275 and 315 for the climbs.
Around 8 miles into the bike I was getting ready to pass a women from an early wave and at that moment it looked like she was going to pull over for something. She went in the middle of the road and started to stop. I was passing on the left and was like "What are you doing!! Don't stop there!" I went around her on the right as I was going pretty fast and as soon as I turned the corner a big "OH FUCK!" came out of my mouth. I slammed on my brakes as a decent sized Oak Tree had fallen into the road. It was blocking the entire course and as I got off my bike I realized that a rider was under the tree and two others were also down on the ground. The one rider was actually hit by the tree. The back end of his bike was smashed and he was in bad shape. The other two looked like they ran into it after it feel. This was a bad situation.
There was one spectator there already and I wasn't sure what to do. There was nothing I could do for the injured riders and to be honest I thought that the race was going to be canceled or majorly delayed. I knew that all the people in my age were already up the road. There were two waves in front of mine and the one I was in was the last and I was in second place. I had to think fast because I didn't want to be out of the race. I looked at the tree and noticed that I could crawl under it. So I did that and then dragged my bike under and just said "I will tell the very next person that I see what has happened and send help". The one women there was tending to the hurt riders so that was the most effective thing I could do for them.
Off I went as I tried to get back into my groove. Kinda hard after what I just saw! The rest of the ride was uneventful. I never got passed and was solo except for the slower riders on the right. The whole ride felt great. Complete opposite of last weekend. I think part of that was that I raised my saddle height. My quads were not loading up at all. The mistake I made on the ride was that I didn't get enough fluid in. AND I had on a camel pack on. 100% my fault. I had a minor stomach cramp so that may have been the reason I wasn't taking in the fluids.
When I got off the bike my SRM had me at 2:18 for the ride. "Damn! Where did that come from???" It felt so easy. However, the lack of hydrating left my legs a bit flat. I was behind the 8 ball and thought I could make it up on the run. I peed as I ran through transition and it was a short stream of yellow jello. Not a good sign but doesn't mean that it is game over. The legs were a bit heavy and maybe I rode too hard? But I settled into my pace and tried to get fluid in. It was blazing hot out and the run turned into a shuffle for me. I still had an okay run time of 1:25. I thought it was going to be a 1:32 but it wasn't that bad.
There was a bit of comedy on the run. I'm sure JZ doesn't think it is funny but she did bring it up today so I figure it is fair game to write about. People that know us understand we are a harsh crowd. I made jokes about her IM AZ dnf about an hour after it happened. To her face! Anyway, I dropped my salt when I was on the bike and didn't have any. About 4 miles into the run I see JZ in the distance on the ground. It was disappointing to see this happen again but I kinda knew something was up as I had not seen here on the way back yet. The funny part is that I didn't say "are you okay?" or make any reference to what happened. All I did was yell a bit before I was going to pass her. "Joanna! I need your salt!" If you could only see the look I got. Dropping your salt pills on the bike: $12 dollars. Asking JZ when she is on the ground dropping out of a race for hers: PRICELESS!
So the run didn't go well but I gutted it out and was happy with the overall race. Plus, when you take the tree into account I don't get chicked! A goal this year was to not have slower times than any pro women. I think the tree covers that! And I don't plan to do any races with Chrissie in it! hah!
I also think that even though I was only 6th overall armature, that I made a mistake giving back the pro card. While I am not as fast as the top pro guys, when you are in the AG waves you aren't even in a race. None of the guys that beat me were in my wave. If you look at the pro guys times, the swim and bike are all the same for so many of them. And not THAT much faster than what I did. Granted they ran me into the ground but I know in the end, I am actually a runner.
It's not that I think drafting is going on, but they are able to sit legal and see the competitors. It makes a difference. It's too bad that they don't have more races with elite AG waves to allow a race for fast AGer's that want to make the jump. But I made the decision to stay AG this year and I have make the most of it.
I look forward to my next race here in Boulder (5430 1/2 Ironman). It will be my first race at altitude. Should be fun!
I will post my Dad's race report up here in a few days. Very proud that he has been so committed to this since the initial motivation in Hawaii. Amazing to me that he got it done on such a hot day!
good times,
bdc
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Lifetime Report/Pre Vineman
Well I am not totally sure what to say about Lifetime. I want to view the race in a way that is accurate and addresses some of the things that went wrong without it sounding like a list of excuses. It was by far my worst race in about 3 years and I am not going to say that it wasn't disappointing.
I think all my races in triathlon have been pretty good for the most part. Even races that didn't go as well as I wanted still had a decent result. Lifetime was the first race where everything from start to finish was off. Looking back I think there were a few things stacked against me that I probably could have prevented. And of course, as in all races, there were some things out of my control.
With that said, the first thing that I thought about after the race was "Did I push it too soon after the infection"? During the race I had NO top end and felt crummy from the gun to the line. No matter what I did I couldn't get the legs or engine going. It is hard to say if the infection played a role because there were so many other things that could have attributed to the poor race. Not to mention, I had some decent workouts the two weeks prior. I do know that I haven't felt "the same" since the infection and am not sure if that is physical or mental. Hard to explain how the experience of the infection has left me feeling in a general sense.
So infection aside, here is how the trip and race to Lifetime played out. For starters, it was the fastest trip I have ever been on for a race. My buddy Jim who raced as well went with me and we decided to make it a fast drop in trip. We left Friday, raced Saturday and then packed it up for a flight right after the race. I think that was a bit of a problem for me as I didn't really do anything Friday. JZ felt that I was too tapered and that is what left me feeling flat. I am not a fan of the big taper. I did an Epic Camp and then 2 days later did the swim and bike of an Ironman as a relay and felt fine. I swam a PR and rode in close proximity to the pro field. I think your body needs to be moving a decent amount up to the race. Mine was the opposite prior to Lifetime.
Mentally, I was feeling insecure. I hadn't raced since WF, which went well, but that was so long ago. Also, this was my first Olympic race in about 2 years and while the distance is no big deal, the pace can be. And it was a qualifier for Dallas and I really wanted to get a top 3 slot. I had a great race last time I did it and I think there was a part of me that just felt it wasn't in me right now. What came first? The belief or the reality? Maybe I psyched myself out?
The swim was going to be wetsuit legal and I stand firm in protesting that. The pros didn't get to wear them and I think if you are going to have an Elite AG wave you should apply the same rules. The water was WAY too hot. I understand wetsuits make it less risky for the majority of the racers but we don't constitute the majority. Why didn't I just not wear it then? Well if everyone else is and I am not, while I won't be hot, I swim a lot slower without one. A bit of a Catch 22.
When the gun went off I ran in and felt the bottom of my foot get cut on something. After what I just went through I had a hard time not thinking about that. I could feel the cut and was like "I'm in a disgusting swap like lake". Then I started to overheat and this is going to sound crazy but we were swimming right into the sun and you couldn't see anything and that seemed to make me feel claustrophobic. Not to mention the wave start was quite large. I was not enjoying myself, trying to stay calm while I continued to heat up thinking that if I can just relax to the first turn the sun will be out of my face and I might feel better being able to see. Unfortunately, the dialogue had started and I couldn't turn the "commentary" off for the rest of the race....shit, I couldn't even turn it off after the race!
Once I made the first turn, I was having shallow breathing and did not feel like I was in a race. Of course, wanting to do well, I knew I was going to have to have all three portions go very good. It was a fast field and the swim I was having was not going to cut it. I tried to let it go and assume it wasn't going as bad as I thought but it just dragged on and on and on....
When I finally got to the end Patrick Baldwin got out with me and that gave me a slight sign of hope. He is a fast guy and we have had similar swim times in the past. He just said "Get going. We can't let these Midwest boys get too far ahead." I was so hot I had a hard time running up to transition.
I wasted no time and once on the bike realized that I had some sand in my shoe. I could only feel it because of the cut. No joke, I was so paranoid of this cut I almost stopped. I got the infection from my shoe and was not looking to make the sequel. None the less I kept going and thought I would just keep Patrick in sight for a while and then try and turn it on.
Patrick started to pull away and I couldn't respond. My legs felt like shit and my inner quads just burned. Turns out I had my saddle height a bit low. Something that should not have happened in the first place. Every two min or so I would try to rev it up but it just didn't happen. As well, god somebody call the Whammbulance, I wasn't dealing well with the road surface and the sunlight and shadows was really making it hard for me to see. I am in denial about my eyes. I need contacts and just keep putting it off....
I had one bit of hope on the ride which was that the pro men passed me going the other direction in the exact same spot they did last time I raced here. Maybe the other guys were riding too hard??? I know that I can run so I was starting to think that I might have a shot when I get off the bike. If in fact this train wreck of a ride ever ends.
When I got to T2 I knew the shot at a top 3 was over by the number of bikes on the rack. No matter how fast I was able to run that day it was out of the picture but I still blasted out of T2 to try.
Right as I exited, Crowie and David Thompson were coming by on the second loop from their race. I was able to hop in behind David for most of the first lap but every step just felt like crap. It was pretty windy but David made a decent block for a while. I couldn't believe that I was going to have to work this hard for another 5K loop.
The second loop felt the same effort wise but was slower. I got passed by people that just shouldn't be running by me. My run time was 36 something. Ouch. Don't get me wrong, I know that is quick for some but it is not even close to what I want to be doing.
When I finished it was kinda funny because as soon as I stopped I was fine. I didn't even really feel like I did anything. I was just like "that sucked". At this point I am done debating what went wrong and just deciding that I had a crap day and hopefully I will still gain some fitness from it for Vineman 70.3 this weekend.
On a positive note about Lifetime, my buddy Jim Moriarty, that I can take credit for coaching, had a BRILLIANT day! He had a 15 min PR and was second in has age. 2:48 overall time. He is one fast 62 year old! Seriously, you should see this guy run on the track. Talent.
We both packed it up extremely fast and hit the airport for our return to Smurf Village. I shall be packing up once again this Friday to go give it another shot at the 1/2 Ironman distance.
Cheers,
bdc
I think all my races in triathlon have been pretty good for the most part. Even races that didn't go as well as I wanted still had a decent result. Lifetime was the first race where everything from start to finish was off. Looking back I think there were a few things stacked against me that I probably could have prevented. And of course, as in all races, there were some things out of my control.
With that said, the first thing that I thought about after the race was "Did I push it too soon after the infection"? During the race I had NO top end and felt crummy from the gun to the line. No matter what I did I couldn't get the legs or engine going. It is hard to say if the infection played a role because there were so many other things that could have attributed to the poor race. Not to mention, I had some decent workouts the two weeks prior. I do know that I haven't felt "the same" since the infection and am not sure if that is physical or mental. Hard to explain how the experience of the infection has left me feeling in a general sense.
So infection aside, here is how the trip and race to Lifetime played out. For starters, it was the fastest trip I have ever been on for a race. My buddy Jim who raced as well went with me and we decided to make it a fast drop in trip. We left Friday, raced Saturday and then packed it up for a flight right after the race. I think that was a bit of a problem for me as I didn't really do anything Friday. JZ felt that I was too tapered and that is what left me feeling flat. I am not a fan of the big taper. I did an Epic Camp and then 2 days later did the swim and bike of an Ironman as a relay and felt fine. I swam a PR and rode in close proximity to the pro field. I think your body needs to be moving a decent amount up to the race. Mine was the opposite prior to Lifetime.
Mentally, I was feeling insecure. I hadn't raced since WF, which went well, but that was so long ago. Also, this was my first Olympic race in about 2 years and while the distance is no big deal, the pace can be. And it was a qualifier for Dallas and I really wanted to get a top 3 slot. I had a great race last time I did it and I think there was a part of me that just felt it wasn't in me right now. What came first? The belief or the reality? Maybe I psyched myself out?
The swim was going to be wetsuit legal and I stand firm in protesting that. The pros didn't get to wear them and I think if you are going to have an Elite AG wave you should apply the same rules. The water was WAY too hot. I understand wetsuits make it less risky for the majority of the racers but we don't constitute the majority. Why didn't I just not wear it then? Well if everyone else is and I am not, while I won't be hot, I swim a lot slower without one. A bit of a Catch 22.
When the gun went off I ran in and felt the bottom of my foot get cut on something. After what I just went through I had a hard time not thinking about that. I could feel the cut and was like "I'm in a disgusting swap like lake". Then I started to overheat and this is going to sound crazy but we were swimming right into the sun and you couldn't see anything and that seemed to make me feel claustrophobic. Not to mention the wave start was quite large. I was not enjoying myself, trying to stay calm while I continued to heat up thinking that if I can just relax to the first turn the sun will be out of my face and I might feel better being able to see. Unfortunately, the dialogue had started and I couldn't turn the "commentary" off for the rest of the race....shit, I couldn't even turn it off after the race!
Once I made the first turn, I was having shallow breathing and did not feel like I was in a race. Of course, wanting to do well, I knew I was going to have to have all three portions go very good. It was a fast field and the swim I was having was not going to cut it. I tried to let it go and assume it wasn't going as bad as I thought but it just dragged on and on and on....
When I finally got to the end Patrick Baldwin got out with me and that gave me a slight sign of hope. He is a fast guy and we have had similar swim times in the past. He just said "Get going. We can't let these Midwest boys get too far ahead." I was so hot I had a hard time running up to transition.
I wasted no time and once on the bike realized that I had some sand in my shoe. I could only feel it because of the cut. No joke, I was so paranoid of this cut I almost stopped. I got the infection from my shoe and was not looking to make the sequel. None the less I kept going and thought I would just keep Patrick in sight for a while and then try and turn it on.
Patrick started to pull away and I couldn't respond. My legs felt like shit and my inner quads just burned. Turns out I had my saddle height a bit low. Something that should not have happened in the first place. Every two min or so I would try to rev it up but it just didn't happen. As well, god somebody call the Whammbulance, I wasn't dealing well with the road surface and the sunlight and shadows was really making it hard for me to see. I am in denial about my eyes. I need contacts and just keep putting it off....
I had one bit of hope on the ride which was that the pro men passed me going the other direction in the exact same spot they did last time I raced here. Maybe the other guys were riding too hard??? I know that I can run so I was starting to think that I might have a shot when I get off the bike. If in fact this train wreck of a ride ever ends.
When I got to T2 I knew the shot at a top 3 was over by the number of bikes on the rack. No matter how fast I was able to run that day it was out of the picture but I still blasted out of T2 to try.
Right as I exited, Crowie and David Thompson were coming by on the second loop from their race. I was able to hop in behind David for most of the first lap but every step just felt like crap. It was pretty windy but David made a decent block for a while. I couldn't believe that I was going to have to work this hard for another 5K loop.
The second loop felt the same effort wise but was slower. I got passed by people that just shouldn't be running by me. My run time was 36 something. Ouch. Don't get me wrong, I know that is quick for some but it is not even close to what I want to be doing.
When I finished it was kinda funny because as soon as I stopped I was fine. I didn't even really feel like I did anything. I was just like "that sucked". At this point I am done debating what went wrong and just deciding that I had a crap day and hopefully I will still gain some fitness from it for Vineman 70.3 this weekend.
On a positive note about Lifetime, my buddy Jim Moriarty, that I can take credit for coaching, had a BRILLIANT day! He had a 15 min PR and was second in has age. 2:48 overall time. He is one fast 62 year old! Seriously, you should see this guy run on the track. Talent.
We both packed it up extremely fast and hit the airport for our return to Smurf Village. I shall be packing up once again this Friday to go give it another shot at the 1/2 Ironman distance.
Cheers,
bdc
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Back To The Races
Well I am feeling a million times better than the last time I blogged. It seems I have moved passed the whole Staph infection crap. The last week I have really been trying to get things back up to speed and find some confidence for the next two weekends. I leave this Friday for Lifetime Fitness and then next Friday for Vineman 70.3
The race this weekend will be my first Olympic distance in a long while. I think the last one I did was actually Lifetime. Back then it was the Elite Champ race that you had to qualify for in one of the other races in the series. I qualified at the LA Triathlon by getting 4th. When I got to the Champ Race I was pretty sure that I was going to get my ass handed to me but ended up getting second. So a quick lesson in "don't discount yourself until it's over".
This year the race is a qualifier as they moved the Champ Race to Dallas on the same weekend as the Hawaii Ironman. I am hoping to make top 4 this weekend so I can go to Dallas as I am not doing Hawaii. If you qualify they pay your way and hook you up. It was a really fun experience last time. If I don't make top 4 I will have one more shot when I race the Chicago Triathlon in Aug.
The funny part about this trip is that I am leaving on Friday Am, racing Saturday AM and flying back to Boulder Saturday at 2:30. That will officially be a "Travel PR" for me. Luckily I will be traveling with my buddy Jim who is also doing the race. He rolls in style so I think this should be a smooth trip!
Once back I just need to keep things moving until the next weekend as I leave that Friday to go race Vineman 70.3. I had to back out of Racine because I missed Buff Springs due to the infection and need a race that has 70.3 slots. Hopefully it will go well. I mean I have done the 1/2 once and the full twice so I can't say I don't know the course. Knowing a course is such an advantage in my mind.
I think it was all meant to be as my dad is racing the 1/2 and now I can be there for it. As well, my friend Brett will be doing his first 1/2 there too. Not to mention JZ is racing to defend her title. Seems like this is the race I am supposed to be at.
That is the update. Hopefully I will have good news to report back this weekend.
cheers,
bdc
The race this weekend will be my first Olympic distance in a long while. I think the last one I did was actually Lifetime. Back then it was the Elite Champ race that you had to qualify for in one of the other races in the series. I qualified at the LA Triathlon by getting 4th. When I got to the Champ Race I was pretty sure that I was going to get my ass handed to me but ended up getting second. So a quick lesson in "don't discount yourself until it's over".
This year the race is a qualifier as they moved the Champ Race to Dallas on the same weekend as the Hawaii Ironman. I am hoping to make top 4 this weekend so I can go to Dallas as I am not doing Hawaii. If you qualify they pay your way and hook you up. It was a really fun experience last time. If I don't make top 4 I will have one more shot when I race the Chicago Triathlon in Aug.
The funny part about this trip is that I am leaving on Friday Am, racing Saturday AM and flying back to Boulder Saturday at 2:30. That will officially be a "Travel PR" for me. Luckily I will be traveling with my buddy Jim who is also doing the race. He rolls in style so I think this should be a smooth trip!
Once back I just need to keep things moving until the next weekend as I leave that Friday to go race Vineman 70.3. I had to back out of Racine because I missed Buff Springs due to the infection and need a race that has 70.3 slots. Hopefully it will go well. I mean I have done the 1/2 once and the full twice so I can't say I don't know the course. Knowing a course is such an advantage in my mind.
I think it was all meant to be as my dad is racing the 1/2 and now I can be there for it. As well, my friend Brett will be doing his first 1/2 there too. Not to mention JZ is racing to defend her title. Seems like this is the race I am supposed to be at.
That is the update. Hopefully I will have good news to report back this weekend.
cheers,
bdc
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Curve ball.
Well there were actually 7 days on the ALC ride and I only wrote about 6 of them. Deal with it. If you want to know what Day 7 is like you should sign up and do the ride. Maybe, just maybe, you will get to experience a full police escort on PCH through Malibu with 5 other fast riders. Awesome!
My time in LA after the ride was pretty fun and I let loose a bit with some old friends. However, I think my immune was down as it seemed like I was always on the verge of getting something. I thought for sure that alcohol kills all that stuff....
I never really came down with anything and once I got back to Boulder I went back to Tri Dork and gave up the fun juice and got back to training. I had to start putting my head on about Buffalo Springs 70.3. After loading up on a big week of riding I figured I would be in great shape for it if I played my cards right in the next few weeks.
I had a nice recovery week and felt back on top of my game. SBR was all going very well and JZ and I decided to go hit Magnolia for a nice long run. My foot had been behaving and I was going to actually try and hit 1:45-2 hours. It had always been our plan to get me back up to longer runs if the foot did not act up.
JZ and I started out together and then I kinda ran off. I was feeling good and I don't seem to notice the high altitude up there that much. In fact, I think I would do quite well in a race that high. Anyway, I was moving along and had noticed that I had a slight blister on my heel. Nothing major but I could feel it. When I hit my turn around point I decided I would re tie my shoe to see if I could maybe make it not hurt at all.
Five steps later and I was not able to walk. Something happened after I stopped and the blister just went bananas on me. DAMN! JZ had gone on as she was running further and now I was up at Mags stranded about 7 miles from my car. The road up there is not heavily trafficed so getting a ride might be hard. I did try to run on it but that was not in the cards. I had my shoe off and the blister was massive.
I was so pissed that I was missing this run. It was my best to date and now I am trying to hitch hike. Several cars went by me like I was some kinda of mountain man rapist. Not even an "are you okay"? Finally some guy picked me up and it turns out that we had met on the track a week ago. He was coached by a friend of mine and I met him at a session on the track. Small world.
Once back at the car I waited for JZ to return. My foot was actually throbbing but I had nothing safe to pop it with so I just had to wait till I got home. Being a "picker" that was the first think I did when I got to the house. Needle to flame. Lance!
I was impressed with how much blood came out. It seemed like it was going to be okay now but I wasn't sure how it would fair on the long ride the next day. None the less, my buddy Billy Edward's was getting married and I had to cram it into a dress shoe and get to his wedding.
Seemed okay until I woke up the next day. It was extremely sensitive. So what do I do? Cram it in my bike shoe and ride to Estes Park of course! It was going to be a fun ride as we had a good group going. Denny and Matt were going to join and Belinda and Justin Granger were in town and I had not seen them in long while. Also, Marlyin McDonald was joining us and of course training wife JZ. I really didn't want to miss the ride with this fun group. So I grunted it out but every pedal stroke it just got worse.
The pace was a bit slow for a good while and I decided, in all my pain, that I would just get her done. I went off the front and started on my own pace. I was riding great minus that fact that my foot felt like it was going to explode. When I hit Glen Haven I was wondering where the hell Denny and Matt were. I wasn't riding that hard and I figured they would catch back up. Eventually they did and the three of us hit the Devils Gulch climb which is pretty damn steep. Nothing new to us, but a hard effort for the fittest rider.
Once at the top I almost passed out with pain. The foot was done. I must have used up all the endorphins on the climb. I couldn't even put the foot on the ground. I tried to ride into Estes with my feet on top of my shoes but even that hurt too much. Finally I had to stop. Eventually JZ and Marlin came up on me. I had a minor moment and then they helped me hitch a ride into Estes. From there my good buddy Jim Morriarty was on his way to come get me. He started with us but was only doing 2 hours so he was already home. A friend that will drive out to pick you up in Estes Park because you are too fucking dumb to not know when you shouldn't start a ride is A GOOD FRIEND!
Jim took me right to Urgent Care where they had to cut out the heel and inform me that it was loaded with Staph. Lab results would later confirm all this but they went right ahead and gave me two shots in the ass and some orals to start taking. The blister really looked bad now and it would appear that I was going to be out of everything for a good week. I was NOT happy.
The next day I went back to urgent care to get it re wrapped and checked out again. It seemed a bit better but I was feeling "off". I had a massage that day with Kim so I went up there but the massage was horrible. Not because of Kim, but because something was not right with me. My skin was hurting lightly all over. Long story short, I was having severe chills and fever within hours.
Cicely was at my house and had dinner with me but I made her come back when all this started. My fever was getting really high and I could not move. My legs had this ache in them that I had never felt before. I figured I had the flu but was curious about the feeling in my leg.
I made it through the night but around 5 AM all Hell broke loose and I started vomiting. I knew then that something was really wrong so we went to the ER and sure enough they were telling me that I had an infection that had now gotten into the rest of me. It was not pleasant and they said I was gong to have to be admitted to the hospital for a few days. Fun.
They took good care of me and the funny thing was that my first nurse had just had dinner with Belinda and Justin that night. Small world again! Not to mention that I had her as a nurse when I did actually have a severe case of the flu last January. When a gay guy gets sick like this twice in 6 months you go into a bit of a panic. Nobody likes to talk about it but I made those people give me an HIV test STAT and I wanted results ASAP. I was starting to go a bit mental at this point. My fever was so high and the drugs they were giving me was making any rational thought go out the window.
Once they admitted me I started to feel like things were getting under control. I had some test results back now and we were getting closer to an explanation. The big guns, HIV, Swine Flu etc were ruled out. However, they thought I might have West Nile because of some exposure to bites and I had all three of the major signs. That test takes longer to get back so we had to wait on it.
I thought I was feeling better. JZ, Carole and Cicely had all come by for extended periods of time to basically watch me sleep. When I was awake I thought I felt better but as soon as the PM rolled around things took a really bad turn. My fever went way up again and all the pain in my legs was back in full force. I was developing a migraine type headache and was starting to get a bit scared.
The night nurse started me on a Morphine, Vicodin, Fentinol cocktail. I am not a fan of these drugs at all but within a few more hours I was begging for them. It all sounds so dramatic but the pain I was getting in my legs was now traveling up my my body, into my arms and eventually was in my head. My eyes would move on their own when I would close them so sleeping was out of the question. All I could do is sit there and take it. My nurse had to come in and put me on ice and started mopping me down as the fever just would not break. 106 for 6 hours is pretty much the worst thing I have ever experienced.
3:30 AM rolls around and I had had the Morphine pumped in every hour since about 11PM. That is a lot of drugs for someone like me who doesn't even like Advil. Lucklily something magical happened. I exploded! Literally for 10 min I went into a sweat that was out of control. The bed looked like buckets had been poured on it. And just like that I felt 90% better. I took advantage of it and got up for a few, took a shower and tried to have some food. The window of freedom lasted about 2 hours and then it all came back. I spent the rest of the day with a mild form of the pain I had in the night. It was pretty bad but nothing like what I went through that night. Then later I dumped water again and the fever never came back. The leg pain was still there and all I did was sweat for the next day, but I was definitely out of the woods.
So two nights in the hospital and then another two days of bed rest at home. I was feeling better but totally out of it. Depressed and tired. The infection felt like it ruined everything. I was doing the best I could not to go to the "dark place". JZ is really good at those kinds of talks so she was on "dark place" watch LOL. The nurse did tell me that I would have some withdrawl from the narcotics I had. And that was the truth. I threw out the bottle of Vicondin they gave me to take home. I know myself well enough....
As I started to come back over the next few days I was eager to try and do something but at the same time my motivation was pretty much gone. Makes no sense I know. I had a 70.3 race lined up less than 11 days away and knew that wasn't going to happen now. It felt like my season was over. Everything hurt.
Getting a curve ball happens. The people that can still hit one have excellent control over how they react to it. I know that I have some weakness in that department so I decided that this would be the perfect time to work on that side of life. Curve balls come in all forms. Ask anyone screwed right now by the economic climate. I know that if I am to achieve any of my goals in life I am going to have to be stronger in this department.
Did I bitch about it? Sure. But that helps me. I like to express it and then try and let it go. Did I feel like it was over when I tried to go for a ride and had to sleep 5 hours after? Sure did. But after each "episode" I just let it go. I think it is good that I have all these feelings but I needed to make sure that they are kept in check and that I am the one in control. It can be hard to do when you are a crazy OCD triathlete.
As of now, each day is better and better and I think I will be fine. Did I have to get out of the pool this AM after 1K because my body hurt? Yes. Did I bark at Carole? Yes. Did I let it go and then have a great ride and run? Yes! Not so bad after all.
I think it all comes down to stress. I have Lifetime Fitness on the 11th and then Vineman 70.3 on the 19th. I want these to go well and now that I had a major curve ball it is uncertain how they will go. Really all that means is that the expectation needs to be lifted and just take it one day at a time and see what happens. There is less chance to do well when you think you have been screwed.
So we will see what happens in a week. I think I will get stronger and stronger and be in top form by my races. Then I can write about how all us crazy triathletes need more rest LOL! That is what I am banking on!
To sum up a long story- Don't pop your blisters. And if you do and end up in the hospital with an infection; don't come crying to me! haha.
Cheers,
bdc
My time in LA after the ride was pretty fun and I let loose a bit with some old friends. However, I think my immune was down as it seemed like I was always on the verge of getting something. I thought for sure that alcohol kills all that stuff....
I never really came down with anything and once I got back to Boulder I went back to Tri Dork and gave up the fun juice and got back to training. I had to start putting my head on about Buffalo Springs 70.3. After loading up on a big week of riding I figured I would be in great shape for it if I played my cards right in the next few weeks.
I had a nice recovery week and felt back on top of my game. SBR was all going very well and JZ and I decided to go hit Magnolia for a nice long run. My foot had been behaving and I was going to actually try and hit 1:45-2 hours. It had always been our plan to get me back up to longer runs if the foot did not act up.
JZ and I started out together and then I kinda ran off. I was feeling good and I don't seem to notice the high altitude up there that much. In fact, I think I would do quite well in a race that high. Anyway, I was moving along and had noticed that I had a slight blister on my heel. Nothing major but I could feel it. When I hit my turn around point I decided I would re tie my shoe to see if I could maybe make it not hurt at all.
Five steps later and I was not able to walk. Something happened after I stopped and the blister just went bananas on me. DAMN! JZ had gone on as she was running further and now I was up at Mags stranded about 7 miles from my car. The road up there is not heavily trafficed so getting a ride might be hard. I did try to run on it but that was not in the cards. I had my shoe off and the blister was massive.
I was so pissed that I was missing this run. It was my best to date and now I am trying to hitch hike. Several cars went by me like I was some kinda of mountain man rapist. Not even an "are you okay"? Finally some guy picked me up and it turns out that we had met on the track a week ago. He was coached by a friend of mine and I met him at a session on the track. Small world.
Once back at the car I waited for JZ to return. My foot was actually throbbing but I had nothing safe to pop it with so I just had to wait till I got home. Being a "picker" that was the first think I did when I got to the house. Needle to flame. Lance!
I was impressed with how much blood came out. It seemed like it was going to be okay now but I wasn't sure how it would fair on the long ride the next day. None the less, my buddy Billy Edward's was getting married and I had to cram it into a dress shoe and get to his wedding.
Seemed okay until I woke up the next day. It was extremely sensitive. So what do I do? Cram it in my bike shoe and ride to Estes Park of course! It was going to be a fun ride as we had a good group going. Denny and Matt were going to join and Belinda and Justin Granger were in town and I had not seen them in long while. Also, Marlyin McDonald was joining us and of course training wife JZ. I really didn't want to miss the ride with this fun group. So I grunted it out but every pedal stroke it just got worse.
The pace was a bit slow for a good while and I decided, in all my pain, that I would just get her done. I went off the front and started on my own pace. I was riding great minus that fact that my foot felt like it was going to explode. When I hit Glen Haven I was wondering where the hell Denny and Matt were. I wasn't riding that hard and I figured they would catch back up. Eventually they did and the three of us hit the Devils Gulch climb which is pretty damn steep. Nothing new to us, but a hard effort for the fittest rider.
Once at the top I almost passed out with pain. The foot was done. I must have used up all the endorphins on the climb. I couldn't even put the foot on the ground. I tried to ride into Estes with my feet on top of my shoes but even that hurt too much. Finally I had to stop. Eventually JZ and Marlin came up on me. I had a minor moment and then they helped me hitch a ride into Estes. From there my good buddy Jim Morriarty was on his way to come get me. He started with us but was only doing 2 hours so he was already home. A friend that will drive out to pick you up in Estes Park because you are too fucking dumb to not know when you shouldn't start a ride is A GOOD FRIEND!
Jim took me right to Urgent Care where they had to cut out the heel and inform me that it was loaded with Staph. Lab results would later confirm all this but they went right ahead and gave me two shots in the ass and some orals to start taking. The blister really looked bad now and it would appear that I was going to be out of everything for a good week. I was NOT happy.
The next day I went back to urgent care to get it re wrapped and checked out again. It seemed a bit better but I was feeling "off". I had a massage that day with Kim so I went up there but the massage was horrible. Not because of Kim, but because something was not right with me. My skin was hurting lightly all over. Long story short, I was having severe chills and fever within hours.
Cicely was at my house and had dinner with me but I made her come back when all this started. My fever was getting really high and I could not move. My legs had this ache in them that I had never felt before. I figured I had the flu but was curious about the feeling in my leg.
I made it through the night but around 5 AM all Hell broke loose and I started vomiting. I knew then that something was really wrong so we went to the ER and sure enough they were telling me that I had an infection that had now gotten into the rest of me. It was not pleasant and they said I was gong to have to be admitted to the hospital for a few days. Fun.
They took good care of me and the funny thing was that my first nurse had just had dinner with Belinda and Justin that night. Small world again! Not to mention that I had her as a nurse when I did actually have a severe case of the flu last January. When a gay guy gets sick like this twice in 6 months you go into a bit of a panic. Nobody likes to talk about it but I made those people give me an HIV test STAT and I wanted results ASAP. I was starting to go a bit mental at this point. My fever was so high and the drugs they were giving me was making any rational thought go out the window.
Once they admitted me I started to feel like things were getting under control. I had some test results back now and we were getting closer to an explanation. The big guns, HIV, Swine Flu etc were ruled out. However, they thought I might have West Nile because of some exposure to bites and I had all three of the major signs. That test takes longer to get back so we had to wait on it.
I thought I was feeling better. JZ, Carole and Cicely had all come by for extended periods of time to basically watch me sleep. When I was awake I thought I felt better but as soon as the PM rolled around things took a really bad turn. My fever went way up again and all the pain in my legs was back in full force. I was developing a migraine type headache and was starting to get a bit scared.
The night nurse started me on a Morphine, Vicodin, Fentinol cocktail. I am not a fan of these drugs at all but within a few more hours I was begging for them. It all sounds so dramatic but the pain I was getting in my legs was now traveling up my my body, into my arms and eventually was in my head. My eyes would move on their own when I would close them so sleeping was out of the question. All I could do is sit there and take it. My nurse had to come in and put me on ice and started mopping me down as the fever just would not break. 106 for 6 hours is pretty much the worst thing I have ever experienced.
3:30 AM rolls around and I had had the Morphine pumped in every hour since about 11PM. That is a lot of drugs for someone like me who doesn't even like Advil. Lucklily something magical happened. I exploded! Literally for 10 min I went into a sweat that was out of control. The bed looked like buckets had been poured on it. And just like that I felt 90% better. I took advantage of it and got up for a few, took a shower and tried to have some food. The window of freedom lasted about 2 hours and then it all came back. I spent the rest of the day with a mild form of the pain I had in the night. It was pretty bad but nothing like what I went through that night. Then later I dumped water again and the fever never came back. The leg pain was still there and all I did was sweat for the next day, but I was definitely out of the woods.
So two nights in the hospital and then another two days of bed rest at home. I was feeling better but totally out of it. Depressed and tired. The infection felt like it ruined everything. I was doing the best I could not to go to the "dark place". JZ is really good at those kinds of talks so she was on "dark place" watch LOL. The nurse did tell me that I would have some withdrawl from the narcotics I had. And that was the truth. I threw out the bottle of Vicondin they gave me to take home. I know myself well enough....
As I started to come back over the next few days I was eager to try and do something but at the same time my motivation was pretty much gone. Makes no sense I know. I had a 70.3 race lined up less than 11 days away and knew that wasn't going to happen now. It felt like my season was over. Everything hurt.
Getting a curve ball happens. The people that can still hit one have excellent control over how they react to it. I know that I have some weakness in that department so I decided that this would be the perfect time to work on that side of life. Curve balls come in all forms. Ask anyone screwed right now by the economic climate. I know that if I am to achieve any of my goals in life I am going to have to be stronger in this department.
Did I bitch about it? Sure. But that helps me. I like to express it and then try and let it go. Did I feel like it was over when I tried to go for a ride and had to sleep 5 hours after? Sure did. But after each "episode" I just let it go. I think it is good that I have all these feelings but I needed to make sure that they are kept in check and that I am the one in control. It can be hard to do when you are a crazy OCD triathlete.
As of now, each day is better and better and I think I will be fine. Did I have to get out of the pool this AM after 1K because my body hurt? Yes. Did I bark at Carole? Yes. Did I let it go and then have a great ride and run? Yes! Not so bad after all.
I think it all comes down to stress. I have Lifetime Fitness on the 11th and then Vineman 70.3 on the 19th. I want these to go well and now that I had a major curve ball it is uncertain how they will go. Really all that means is that the expectation needs to be lifted and just take it one day at a time and see what happens. There is less chance to do well when you think you have been screwed.
So we will see what happens in a week. I think I will get stronger and stronger and be in top form by my races. Then I can write about how all us crazy triathletes need more rest LOL! That is what I am banking on!
To sum up a long story- Don't pop your blisters. And if you do and end up in the hospital with an infection; don't come crying to me! haha.
Cheers,
bdc
Friday, June 5, 2009
ALC Day 4,5,6
Hello Hello from the road. Well actually right now I am in a hotel room of another rider. It is day 6 and I am not on my bike which is turning out to be a VERY good thing. I had started to feel a bit of a cold coming and last night while trying to sleep in the tent, it began to rain. The rain did not wake me up because I wasn't able to sleep in the first place as there were some extremely vocal frogs. They kept it up ALL NIGHT!. My super sonic NASA ear plugs couldn't even stop it. As well, Cicely and I had to set up the tent on a bit of a slant and I kept rolling into her. Long story short, is was a rough night in the tent and I woke up at 5am feeling pretty congested. Did I mention the tent wasn't water proof LOL! Wet pillow, wet feet, wet suitcase.
Luckily for me I have a friend on the ride that is working for a few other riders. He is helping them with all there stuff and they are in a hotel. One call and the Land Rover was on the way to pick my wet ass up. I was a bit bummed that I didn't feel up for riding because in all honesty the weather was not my issue. It was that I felt sick. However, Cicely just called me from camp (she is working bike parking) and told me that CHP has shut down the ride for the day because the rain in the mountains is so bad that they do not want riders descending. Obviously for riders at my level, the rain would not be an issue, but they have to make decisions based on the slower, less experienced riders. Boy am I happy that I am not stuck out there! That would not help my situation.
The last two days have been pretty good. We had a nice long day starting out of Paso Robles that took us up a pretty sweet climb they like to call the "Evil Twins". The Dope Peddlers and I had gone to coffee first and about two miles into the ride I realize I left my Camel Pack at Starbucks. That had a good majority of my calories in it. Mike waited with me as I tried to get a hold of someone at camp that could get it and take it to the next camp. By the time I found someone we were now way back and would have to pass a gazillion people. We did the majority of the passing on the climb which let me see how the other riders handled it. Lets just say I now understand why ALC gave the name "Evil Twins" to the two hills. There was some suffering going on and I am sure that having me fly by them wasn't exactly "encouraging".
I dropped Mike on the climb and ended up riding solo for most of the ride. I had waited at a rest stop after the descent but he ended up breaking his seat post and had to deal with all that. The ride was a bit uneventful. I was too far back to catch up to my crew so I just enjoyed the foggy day.
The next day was a shorter day and we made sure that we rolled out first so we could just get er done. 67 miles of some of the best riding So Cal has to offer. We went through Solvang which is very nice town. We didn't stop because we all had our sights set on South Side Coffee shop in Lompoc. We got there in just over 3 hours and then proceeded to sit there for about 4 hours LOL. It was nice and sunny and we all just soaked up the day. I could feel that cold coming though. I think it is allergies but no matter what, I definitely do not need to ride 85 miles in the rain today.
Xavier has gone out to rescue the other guys. I am going to take advantage of the hotel room and clean up. We will drive to Ventura in a bit and depending on the weather and how I feel I shall either be back in a tent or I may get a room. If I start to feel really crappy I am going to pull from the ride and have someone come get me and take me to LA. I am racing Buff Springs 70.3 at the end of the month and want to be sharp for it. Getting sick won't do me any good. Other than that I feel awesome. The riding is making me stronger and my feet are holding up. Like I said before....GAME ON!
You can still donate to the cause at: www.tofighthiv.org/goto/bdc
Cheers!
bdc
Luckily for me I have a friend on the ride that is working for a few other riders. He is helping them with all there stuff and they are in a hotel. One call and the Land Rover was on the way to pick my wet ass up. I was a bit bummed that I didn't feel up for riding because in all honesty the weather was not my issue. It was that I felt sick. However, Cicely just called me from camp (she is working bike parking) and told me that CHP has shut down the ride for the day because the rain in the mountains is so bad that they do not want riders descending. Obviously for riders at my level, the rain would not be an issue, but they have to make decisions based on the slower, less experienced riders. Boy am I happy that I am not stuck out there! That would not help my situation.
The last two days have been pretty good. We had a nice long day starting out of Paso Robles that took us up a pretty sweet climb they like to call the "Evil Twins". The Dope Peddlers and I had gone to coffee first and about two miles into the ride I realize I left my Camel Pack at Starbucks. That had a good majority of my calories in it. Mike waited with me as I tried to get a hold of someone at camp that could get it and take it to the next camp. By the time I found someone we were now way back and would have to pass a gazillion people. We did the majority of the passing on the climb which let me see how the other riders handled it. Lets just say I now understand why ALC gave the name "Evil Twins" to the two hills. There was some suffering going on and I am sure that having me fly by them wasn't exactly "encouraging".
I dropped Mike on the climb and ended up riding solo for most of the ride. I had waited at a rest stop after the descent but he ended up breaking his seat post and had to deal with all that. The ride was a bit uneventful. I was too far back to catch up to my crew so I just enjoyed the foggy day.
The next day was a shorter day and we made sure that we rolled out first so we could just get er done. 67 miles of some of the best riding So Cal has to offer. We went through Solvang which is very nice town. We didn't stop because we all had our sights set on South Side Coffee shop in Lompoc. We got there in just over 3 hours and then proceeded to sit there for about 4 hours LOL. It was nice and sunny and we all just soaked up the day. I could feel that cold coming though. I think it is allergies but no matter what, I definitely do not need to ride 85 miles in the rain today.
Xavier has gone out to rescue the other guys. I am going to take advantage of the hotel room and clean up. We will drive to Ventura in a bit and depending on the weather and how I feel I shall either be back in a tent or I may get a room. If I start to feel really crappy I am going to pull from the ride and have someone come get me and take me to LA. I am racing Buff Springs 70.3 at the end of the month and want to be sharp for it. Getting sick won't do me any good. Other than that I feel awesome. The riding is making me stronger and my feet are holding up. Like I said before....GAME ON!
You can still donate to the cause at: www.tofighthiv.org/goto/bdc
Cheers!
bdc
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
ALC Day 1,2,3.
DAY ONE:
I was way behind the eight ball in terms of sleep most likely due to travel and excitement to get this ride going. Cicely and I had been in San Francisco the two days prior and all I really wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately that did not happen as there was much to do with checking in, seeing friends and taking care of all the last minute things that come with a training trip like this. Still, the alarm went off at the ripe hour of 4am. The thing with rides like this is that you have to start really early so the riders that who take all day have all day. Being fast, you still have to start first or you spend too much of the day saying "on your left".
Opening ceremonies takes place now at the Cow Palace. Much better way to start the ride since it cuts out any riding through the actual city. The ceremony is always a bit touching especially when they bring in the rider-less bike. The bike represents all of the people that are not as fortunate to ride because of HIV/AIDS. The bike is presented by all of the riders that are currently HIV positive. They each carry ALC flags that have been signed by people in honor of those they have lost. I signed one in honor of Doug Blasedale who was my first spinning instructor before I ever rode and my buddy Derek who passed this last month. He was 38.
Once the ceremony is over we all file out like sheep to where the bikes are parked. I got stuck behind a huge crowd and was going to have to ride out almost last. I wasn't bothered by that but I knew that it meant I would be passing people for a good part of the AM. That can be a bit annoying. More on that later.
The ride out was pretty cold and overcast as it always is in SF. The scenery is fantastic after about an hour into it. Then you end up on the PCH which is also a very nice view. I was cranking away and prepared to not have to stop at any aide station. I had made it past the majority of people and wasn't sure if there was anyone else ahead of me. Soon enough I saw some dude up the road appearing to be stopped. As I got closer it turned out to be Ben Armstrong who I met the first time I did the ride. He rides like his last name.
I was glad to see him and helped him fix the flat. He told me that there were some other fast guys up the road. I have to admit, I thought "they can't be that fast" since I was the last one out and I was pretty sure that they knew better and got out first. I had been told by some other friends that these guys called "Dope Peddlers" do the ride and that they are fast and kinda dicks. I didn't make any judgments about them as I don't know them. But I do know that in rides like ALC, the fast guys are always thought of as dicks. I was happy they were there because I knew that once we all find each other it will be GAME ON!
Ben and I rode together for a while. I had to test his fitness and see if he had progressed since I saw him last. Well, lets be honest, I had to show him how much I had progressed since he saw me last. I let him take a pull and he made it a good one. Just not good enough. I took my turn and had to drop him. The ride was on the Big Kahuna course at this point so I knew how far we had to go etc. It wasn't far.
Back in camp it turns out that we were the first ones in. We never passed the Dope Peddlers so they must have pulled into an aid station and we didn't see them. When they did arrive they were a bit shocked to see that there were two bikes parked. The butt sniffing was about to begin and you can guarantee that tomorrow the tape measures would be pulled out. We all sat on the grass and had some lunch getting to know each other as best we could. I had my bias of them from my friends but so far they didn't seem like dicks to me. They are just straight and fast.
Camp life was going to be fine for the week. I made friends with my gear truck so that they would put my luggage in last so I wouldn't have to wait. Cicely would be working bike parking so it looked like I was going to be setting up shop every day. That was fine with me as I didn't have anything better to do. I would, however, have to take camp down in the AM because she was going to be out super early to work. That was a bit of a bummer but I would deal.
DAY 2:
I got up early so that I would be ready to get out first. Ben was waiting at bike parking for me. We were going to ride together as it was a big day. 107 miles of rolling hills and wind. Normal you get some nice tail winds on this route but the forecast was opposite and we did end up with some nasty head and cross winds. There would be a lot of casualties today.
Ben wasn't feeling so hot and I ended up dragging his ass around all day. He goes out too hard. I tried to tell him that so that he would be of some use late in the day but I couldn't make contact with his brain. JZ would have a field day with him!
We blew all the aid stations and just pounded out the ride. It was probably the hardest I have ridden that far in training in a good while. Our ride time was 4:35 min. On a course like that with the wind that we had, I would have to say we were working. We still had not connected with the Dope Peddlers. At this point it was a bit like "Race For Your Life Charlie Brown". If you haven't seen that a portion of your childhood was robbed. Anyway, one in camp we did all get together and had a proper chat on the grass. We had to wait for our gear for over 2 hours as we beat the whole "city".
We decided that the next day we would all ride together. It was a shorter day (66) and I think we could all use the group. I knew there would be no break. These environments are not new to me.
I got my 9 mile run in a bit later and then proceeded to pass out by 8pm. Maybe earplugs and a tent are the key to my sleeping problems? It's probably just being down from altitude. I always sleep better low.
DAY 3:
I decided to get up really early because I wanted the help from Cicely to get the camp taken down. I was ready to ride by 5:45 but we can't head out until 6:30. Ben and I met up with Dope Peddlers and we were all ready to take the 66 miles as a group. The ride would include "Quad Buster", a hill that apparently busts quads. I have done it before. It's no big deal. Then we would end up on the back side of the Wildflower course. Kinda funny that day one and two I would be on sections of races that I have done.
Anyway, like I said before, the ride was not very tame. Quad Buster became a KOM and the rest of the ride was pretty rowdy. It was a fast pace but when you have a line going it is manageable. I like riding like that and don't get to do it that often. We all had a great ride and bonded a bit. I think tomorrows ride of 95 miles will be easier as we now have a clear group. We have to go over the "Evil Twins" which in my mind are a bigger deal than Quad Buster.
I am off to go swim now and then have some dinner with the rents. We are in Paso Robles so I get to score some more parent points! Dad was going to ride tomorrow but ended up with too much to do at work.
More to report later. Limited Internet from the road.
Cheers,
bdc
I was way behind the eight ball in terms of sleep most likely due to travel and excitement to get this ride going. Cicely and I had been in San Francisco the two days prior and all I really wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately that did not happen as there was much to do with checking in, seeing friends and taking care of all the last minute things that come with a training trip like this. Still, the alarm went off at the ripe hour of 4am. The thing with rides like this is that you have to start really early so the riders that who take all day have all day. Being fast, you still have to start first or you spend too much of the day saying "on your left".
Opening ceremonies takes place now at the Cow Palace. Much better way to start the ride since it cuts out any riding through the actual city. The ceremony is always a bit touching especially when they bring in the rider-less bike. The bike represents all of the people that are not as fortunate to ride because of HIV/AIDS. The bike is presented by all of the riders that are currently HIV positive. They each carry ALC flags that have been signed by people in honor of those they have lost. I signed one in honor of Doug Blasedale who was my first spinning instructor before I ever rode and my buddy Derek who passed this last month. He was 38.
Once the ceremony is over we all file out like sheep to where the bikes are parked. I got stuck behind a huge crowd and was going to have to ride out almost last. I wasn't bothered by that but I knew that it meant I would be passing people for a good part of the AM. That can be a bit annoying. More on that later.
The ride out was pretty cold and overcast as it always is in SF. The scenery is fantastic after about an hour into it. Then you end up on the PCH which is also a very nice view. I was cranking away and prepared to not have to stop at any aide station. I had made it past the majority of people and wasn't sure if there was anyone else ahead of me. Soon enough I saw some dude up the road appearing to be stopped. As I got closer it turned out to be Ben Armstrong who I met the first time I did the ride. He rides like his last name.
I was glad to see him and helped him fix the flat. He told me that there were some other fast guys up the road. I have to admit, I thought "they can't be that fast" since I was the last one out and I was pretty sure that they knew better and got out first. I had been told by some other friends that these guys called "Dope Peddlers" do the ride and that they are fast and kinda dicks. I didn't make any judgments about them as I don't know them. But I do know that in rides like ALC, the fast guys are always thought of as dicks. I was happy they were there because I knew that once we all find each other it will be GAME ON!
Ben and I rode together for a while. I had to test his fitness and see if he had progressed since I saw him last. Well, lets be honest, I had to show him how much I had progressed since he saw me last. I let him take a pull and he made it a good one. Just not good enough. I took my turn and had to drop him. The ride was on the Big Kahuna course at this point so I knew how far we had to go etc. It wasn't far.
Back in camp it turns out that we were the first ones in. We never passed the Dope Peddlers so they must have pulled into an aid station and we didn't see them. When they did arrive they were a bit shocked to see that there were two bikes parked. The butt sniffing was about to begin and you can guarantee that tomorrow the tape measures would be pulled out. We all sat on the grass and had some lunch getting to know each other as best we could. I had my bias of them from my friends but so far they didn't seem like dicks to me. They are just straight and fast.
Camp life was going to be fine for the week. I made friends with my gear truck so that they would put my luggage in last so I wouldn't have to wait. Cicely would be working bike parking so it looked like I was going to be setting up shop every day. That was fine with me as I didn't have anything better to do. I would, however, have to take camp down in the AM because she was going to be out super early to work. That was a bit of a bummer but I would deal.
DAY 2:
I got up early so that I would be ready to get out first. Ben was waiting at bike parking for me. We were going to ride together as it was a big day. 107 miles of rolling hills and wind. Normal you get some nice tail winds on this route but the forecast was opposite and we did end up with some nasty head and cross winds. There would be a lot of casualties today.
Ben wasn't feeling so hot and I ended up dragging his ass around all day. He goes out too hard. I tried to tell him that so that he would be of some use late in the day but I couldn't make contact with his brain. JZ would have a field day with him!
We blew all the aid stations and just pounded out the ride. It was probably the hardest I have ridden that far in training in a good while. Our ride time was 4:35 min. On a course like that with the wind that we had, I would have to say we were working. We still had not connected with the Dope Peddlers. At this point it was a bit like "Race For Your Life Charlie Brown". If you haven't seen that a portion of your childhood was robbed. Anyway, one in camp we did all get together and had a proper chat on the grass. We had to wait for our gear for over 2 hours as we beat the whole "city".
We decided that the next day we would all ride together. It was a shorter day (66) and I think we could all use the group. I knew there would be no break. These environments are not new to me.
I got my 9 mile run in a bit later and then proceeded to pass out by 8pm. Maybe earplugs and a tent are the key to my sleeping problems? It's probably just being down from altitude. I always sleep better low.
DAY 3:
I decided to get up really early because I wanted the help from Cicely to get the camp taken down. I was ready to ride by 5:45 but we can't head out until 6:30. Ben and I met up with Dope Peddlers and we were all ready to take the 66 miles as a group. The ride would include "Quad Buster", a hill that apparently busts quads. I have done it before. It's no big deal. Then we would end up on the back side of the Wildflower course. Kinda funny that day one and two I would be on sections of races that I have done.
Anyway, like I said before, the ride was not very tame. Quad Buster became a KOM and the rest of the ride was pretty rowdy. It was a fast pace but when you have a line going it is manageable. I like riding like that and don't get to do it that often. We all had a great ride and bonded a bit. I think tomorrows ride of 95 miles will be easier as we now have a clear group. We have to go over the "Evil Twins" which in my mind are a bigger deal than Quad Buster.
I am off to go swim now and then have some dinner with the rents. We are in Paso Robles so I get to score some more parent points! Dad was going to ride tomorrow but ended up with too much to do at work.
More to report later. Limited Internet from the road.
Cheers,
bdc
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Aids Life Cycle: DAY ZERO
Well I got to San Francisco with no real issues. In fact I didn't even get charged for my bike at DIA. That is special! And now I am all checked in for the 7 day journey that will take me from San Francisco to Los Angeles. While the feat of the ride is not really that big of a deal for me, the charity attached to it IS! Over the past year, a majority of the HIV/AIDS funding in California has gone away. Events like the Aids Life Cycle are becoming more important as the years go by.
I would have to say that the "training" environment that I am now placed in is a bit different than what I am used to. I guess you could say that it is like a cross between an Ironman, circuit party and a local bike path. It's funny how you learn more and more about your comfort zone when you do things outside of the usual routine.
While I am gay, my usual routine does not involve being around this many gay people at one time. And while I lived in LA for most of my life and I have been out since I was 19, this many gays at one time is overwhelming to me. What is even more interesting, to me, is that I am not 100% comfortable around all the straight people that I train and hang with on a regular basis. I guess you could say that I am having an awakening to the fact that I am not sure where I am 100% comfortable. Growing up gay can kinda do that to you. Once you come out, it is like you are supposed to just join the whole "gay community". Or it least that is how it can feel. A little hard to explain but my issue has always been that I never thought my sexuality had to be the top thing that "defined" me. That can be a hard thing to not let happen because the reality is that it IS a huge thing that defines you. Being straight is a huge definer too. Most just take it for granted.
Anyway, Blah blah blah lets stop the Dr, Phil show before I start analyzing every part of my life on a blog and get back to the ride.
I have seen so many of my friends from LA and am excited to sleep in a tent for seven days. Okay, that was a lie. I am willing to sleep in a tent for 7 days. I am pretty willing to do a lot of things in fact. Hopefully we won't get any rain. Tent + Rain + Training all day = Credit Card + Hotel.
Better get off to bed. Have to wake up SUPER early as the ride starts at the butt crack of dawn. There are going to be some people out there all day every day and we have to start according to the slowest rider. I am going to try and find out who those people are and set up their tents if possible. See what a nice guy I can be if I want to be!
You can still donate: www.tofighthiv.org/goto/bdc
More later from ALC 8!
bdc
I would have to say that the "training" environment that I am now placed in is a bit different than what I am used to. I guess you could say that it is like a cross between an Ironman, circuit party and a local bike path. It's funny how you learn more and more about your comfort zone when you do things outside of the usual routine.
While I am gay, my usual routine does not involve being around this many gay people at one time. And while I lived in LA for most of my life and I have been out since I was 19, this many gays at one time is overwhelming to me. What is even more interesting, to me, is that I am not 100% comfortable around all the straight people that I train and hang with on a regular basis. I guess you could say that I am having an awakening to the fact that I am not sure where I am 100% comfortable. Growing up gay can kinda do that to you. Once you come out, it is like you are supposed to just join the whole "gay community". Or it least that is how it can feel. A little hard to explain but my issue has always been that I never thought my sexuality had to be the top thing that "defined" me. That can be a hard thing to not let happen because the reality is that it IS a huge thing that defines you. Being straight is a huge definer too. Most just take it for granted.
Anyway, Blah blah blah lets stop the Dr, Phil show before I start analyzing every part of my life on a blog and get back to the ride.
I have seen so many of my friends from LA and am excited to sleep in a tent for seven days. Okay, that was a lie. I am willing to sleep in a tent for 7 days. I am pretty willing to do a lot of things in fact. Hopefully we won't get any rain. Tent + Rain + Training all day = Credit Card + Hotel.
Better get off to bed. Have to wake up SUPER early as the ride starts at the butt crack of dawn. There are going to be some people out there all day every day and we have to start according to the slowest rider. I am going to try and find out who those people are and set up their tents if possible. See what a nice guy I can be if I want to be!
You can still donate: www.tofighthiv.org/goto/bdc
More later from ALC 8!
bdc
Monday, May 25, 2009
Bolder Boulder 10K Race Report
I decided after Wildflower that I wanted to run the Bolder Boulder 10K for fun. It is one of the biggest 10K's in the country and there are NO spectators. Why? Because EEERRRRRREEEEEYBODY in town runs it. I mean everyone! I haven't run an open 10K in years, and since my foot has been behaving I thought "why not"?
About 2 min after saying that in front of my friend Jim, I had an e-mail in my in box saying that I was registered for the race. My run time at WF got me in the "A Wave" so I wouldn't have to start behind the masses. That was a plus for sure. If you saw how many people there are you would understand.
JZ let me do the race as long as I used it as part of my long run and didn't take off my usual Saturday workout. I must say, Saturday was a pretty huge day. JZ served up a nice 3.8K swim that included a 2K TT. Then we hit the bike and popped off a nice 105 miles. The last hour I felt like crap but was still riding strong. When we got back to the home base I SOOOOO did not want to run. My desire to run was about as low as it gets and I was praying for a thunderstorm. One came but we still ran.
Sometimes you surprise yourself. After a few steps everything felt excellent. We were on our way to the track to do an 800 workout. I have started doing a second track workout off the bike on Saturdays in addition to my Wednesday track session that comes before the second long ride of the week. Saturdays workout is a bit slower than wed. So anyway, we get up there and I start out on the 800's. We ended up doing 4 of them starting at 2:55 and ending in 2:38. Felt great. I should add that as part of the "keep my feet in order" plan, I do 1/2 of the track stuff in the reverse direction.
All in all Saturday was a great day. Where am I going with this? Oh- Probably telling you this as a built in excuse about Bolder Boulder. I mean, it wouldn't be a true race report if you didn't list at least 10 reasons on why you could have gone faster!
I ran 4 miles to the race (excuse) and then when we got lined up for our wave they held us in the coral for about 15 min (excuse) and the first mile is down hill which I don't really care for (excuse). We are up to 4 excuses so far!
I ran into my buddy Sven, who actually ran at UCLA right before I did, and we had a quick chat about what we wanted to do for the 10K. He was thinking 5:30 pace so I thought I would just stick with him. Of course I went out faster than that (excuse). First mile was 5:15. And then the course started to go up. First time racing at altitude (excuse) and it was more of a climb than I thought (excuse). Man I am good at this excuse thing! I actually settled into a pace that wasn't too bad and finished with a 5:40 average. Here is the kicker- I won my age LOL! They do age by exact year so apparently all the 32 year olds slept in today.
I was happy with the effort. I recovered from the race the second I stopped running which was a good sign. I didn't really stop for too long actually. I just ran home. I was a bit cold and had nothing to change into. Plus JZ told me to run home.
Once home I met up with JZ, Carole, Monica and a few others for a swim. The swim went great and helped flush out any lactic acid left in them. Not a bad training day!
Now I am off to drink some beers at a BBQ. I have a few days left in Boulder before I head off to Cali for the California Aids Life Cycle. I will write a blog on that adventure in a few days and also plan to keep a daily blog while on the ride.
Cheers,
bdc
About 2 min after saying that in front of my friend Jim, I had an e-mail in my in box saying that I was registered for the race. My run time at WF got me in the "A Wave" so I wouldn't have to start behind the masses. That was a plus for sure. If you saw how many people there are you would understand.
JZ let me do the race as long as I used it as part of my long run and didn't take off my usual Saturday workout. I must say, Saturday was a pretty huge day. JZ served up a nice 3.8K swim that included a 2K TT. Then we hit the bike and popped off a nice 105 miles. The last hour I felt like crap but was still riding strong. When we got back to the home base I SOOOOO did not want to run. My desire to run was about as low as it gets and I was praying for a thunderstorm. One came but we still ran.
Sometimes you surprise yourself. After a few steps everything felt excellent. We were on our way to the track to do an 800 workout. I have started doing a second track workout off the bike on Saturdays in addition to my Wednesday track session that comes before the second long ride of the week. Saturdays workout is a bit slower than wed. So anyway, we get up there and I start out on the 800's. We ended up doing 4 of them starting at 2:55 and ending in 2:38. Felt great. I should add that as part of the "keep my feet in order" plan, I do 1/2 of the track stuff in the reverse direction.
All in all Saturday was a great day. Where am I going with this? Oh- Probably telling you this as a built in excuse about Bolder Boulder. I mean, it wouldn't be a true race report if you didn't list at least 10 reasons on why you could have gone faster!
I ran 4 miles to the race (excuse) and then when we got lined up for our wave they held us in the coral for about 15 min (excuse) and the first mile is down hill which I don't really care for (excuse). We are up to 4 excuses so far!
I ran into my buddy Sven, who actually ran at UCLA right before I did, and we had a quick chat about what we wanted to do for the 10K. He was thinking 5:30 pace so I thought I would just stick with him. Of course I went out faster than that (excuse). First mile was 5:15. And then the course started to go up. First time racing at altitude (excuse) and it was more of a climb than I thought (excuse). Man I am good at this excuse thing! I actually settled into a pace that wasn't too bad and finished with a 5:40 average. Here is the kicker- I won my age LOL! They do age by exact year so apparently all the 32 year olds slept in today.
I was happy with the effort. I recovered from the race the second I stopped running which was a good sign. I didn't really stop for too long actually. I just ran home. I was a bit cold and had nothing to change into. Plus JZ told me to run home.
Once home I met up with JZ, Carole, Monica and a few others for a swim. The swim went great and helped flush out any lactic acid left in them. Not a bad training day!
Now I am off to drink some beers at a BBQ. I have a few days left in Boulder before I head off to Cali for the California Aids Life Cycle. I will write a blog on that adventure in a few days and also plan to keep a daily blog while on the ride.
Cheers,
bdc
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wildflower Race Report
Wildflower is a race I always seem to want to do. It's a unique race atmosphere and kinda early in the season (for me) so I enjoy the fitness check. And let's just say Wildflower will NOT lie to you about how fit or unfit you are. It's BRUTAL. I actually got to write the chapter on "Wildflower" in "50 Greatest Triathlons". The book should be out soon. I hope I did the race justice.
Anyway, this was my third time doing the race. It was the first time I went into the race not injured. What a better way to race. Not injured. Go figure. I had a decent amount of prep for it and was very happy with my end result which was 2nd in 30-34, 5th AG overall and beating over 50% of the Pro Field. Not to mention I had a shocker of a run. 1:21.03 was the time. I really wasn't expecting to be able to go that fast on this course. I would have to say, given the training I have in my now, it is a pretty good sign.
The day before the race I was feeling a bit of the pressure. I think most of it was coming from the fact that my last race was Hawaii and last year I only did 2 other races, one of which didn't go well internally. The result was fine but the way it felt was another story. As well, my swim in Hawaii, while being a non wetsuit PR, had a major anxiety attack attached to it. I was obsessing about the swim at WF. In a way I guess I was just out of practice when it comes to racing and I felt like I didn't know what to do.
That feeling became even stronger about 30 seconds before the start of my wave. I was standing next to Patrick Baldwin (Not that Bachelor). I have gotten to know him over the last 2 years racing as he and I seem to always be right around the same time give or take. We both are not a big fan of the swim start so we jockeyed for the far left of the front line. I said something lame to him in a nervous chatter like "So what do we do"? It was such a strange feeling I was having. I had NO IDEA what I was supposed to do. Luckily triathlon is not rocket science and when the gun went off instincts took over and I swam like a mofo to that first buoy.
When I made the turn I was in a great position. Things were calm thus far and I had a pair of feet with a green cap. Unfortunately, those feet went out a bit too hard and I had to go around them. I felt so smooth in the water early on which is not normal for me. I usually take a while to find a rhythm. Maybe all those hard swims JZ has been making us do on Saturdays is paying off!?
It was crazy how many people from the wave before us we had to swim over. And not in the second 1/2. I was climbing over people by the second buoy. So the rest of the swim was my best attempt to be polite to yellow caps. It wasn't easy but I tried. As the swim progressed I would look up to see if I could find any green ones that I might be able to get on but I never saw any. Of course, part of me thought I might have been dropped by my wave. But then I thought "Hmmmm? Maybe I am swimming in the front of my wave?" Turns out I was. I got out third which was a first. I was stoked. I saw a 26 on the clock and that was good enough for me. It was probably the most effortless swim I have ever done. Maybe it was that new Orca 3:8 suit. I must say it was quite slick!
Out of the water I had a minor issue. I got to my bike and I was extremely dizzy. I bent down to get my stuff and was like "WHOA! I better sit down." SO I did and that helped but for the first few miles on the bike I had this strange vertigo feeling. Never had that before but I figured it came from the swim. I wasn't planing on riding very hard for the first 30 min so I just cruised along till it went away.
As I cruised, I was passed by Jonathan Toker (Salt Stick) and then by Patrick. I wasn't sure if I should let those two guys go but I did. They rode away from me pretty quickly and by the turn to the back side of the course they were both gone. I didn't have my power meter on the bike nor did I have a running time going. I was 100% numberless for this one and I wasn't sure how I was riding. I could clearly have a conversation with anyone. I wasn't working hard but my left quad felt a bit spent. Just the left one. So I rode using that as my gage.
Once I got to the "hill" some dude in my AG caught up to me and I decided that I needed to at least keep this guy in my scope. I rode the hill like I might in a training ride and then tried to keep the other guy in view the rest of the ride.
Somehow at about mile 48 I caught back up to JT and when I go by I ask him how far up Patrick was? He said that Patrick was just up the road. This lit a fire in me. I will admit that for most of the ride I thought I was out of the game. Apparently I was back in. I rode so easy that I should be able to run off this bike okay and hunt these guys down.
My transition to the run was quick and as I started the run I felt like I was just shuffling along. I was moving well but my stride was so tiny. I usually have a pretty long stride that actually makes me look like I am running slow. I just kept up with it and before I knew it I had Patrick in site and passed him at mile 3 and then saw the other guy. I passed him in the next 2 min. At that point I thought I was in front for my AG. That is what people were telling me.
I never really opened it up on the run. The progression to being injury free has been long and I wasn't about to screw that up. The Wildflower run would be hard enough on my feet as it is. From the running days, we would get green lighted in races. If you have a green light from coach you can open it up and run hard. Without it, you better do what he told you to do or you were gonna be in big trouble. I did not have a green light for this race. I was just supposed to run smooth. And that was all I was doing.
It felt great. I was actually present and aware of people watching. I had some interaction with the aid stations and my friends watching. It wasn't until about a mile and half to go that I spot my friend Matt Dixon watching and he tells me that there is one more guy in front of me. "DAMN! I thought I had this in the bag". There wasn't enough road left to try and get him. So I just kept trucking along at my pace. I really wanted to win my AG. I really wanted to be top AG of the day but that didn't happen and I was okay with it.
The race was a perfect start. The feet fell better than I expected afterwords. I don't have a race until Buffalo Springs 70.3 in late June so there is plenty of time to recover and move forward. Hopefully, I will be able to ride that new sweet Orbea Ordu I am on a tad faster :-)
The weekend was a blast and I look forward to next year!
Cheers,
bdc
Anyway, this was my third time doing the race. It was the first time I went into the race not injured. What a better way to race. Not injured. Go figure. I had a decent amount of prep for it and was very happy with my end result which was 2nd in 30-34, 5th AG overall and beating over 50% of the Pro Field. Not to mention I had a shocker of a run. 1:21.03 was the time. I really wasn't expecting to be able to go that fast on this course. I would have to say, given the training I have in my now, it is a pretty good sign.
The day before the race I was feeling a bit of the pressure. I think most of it was coming from the fact that my last race was Hawaii and last year I only did 2 other races, one of which didn't go well internally. The result was fine but the way it felt was another story. As well, my swim in Hawaii, while being a non wetsuit PR, had a major anxiety attack attached to it. I was obsessing about the swim at WF. In a way I guess I was just out of practice when it comes to racing and I felt like I didn't know what to do.
That feeling became even stronger about 30 seconds before the start of my wave. I was standing next to Patrick Baldwin (Not that Bachelor). I have gotten to know him over the last 2 years racing as he and I seem to always be right around the same time give or take. We both are not a big fan of the swim start so we jockeyed for the far left of the front line. I said something lame to him in a nervous chatter like "So what do we do"? It was such a strange feeling I was having. I had NO IDEA what I was supposed to do. Luckily triathlon is not rocket science and when the gun went off instincts took over and I swam like a mofo to that first buoy.
When I made the turn I was in a great position. Things were calm thus far and I had a pair of feet with a green cap. Unfortunately, those feet went out a bit too hard and I had to go around them. I felt so smooth in the water early on which is not normal for me. I usually take a while to find a rhythm. Maybe all those hard swims JZ has been making us do on Saturdays is paying off!?
It was crazy how many people from the wave before us we had to swim over. And not in the second 1/2. I was climbing over people by the second buoy. So the rest of the swim was my best attempt to be polite to yellow caps. It wasn't easy but I tried. As the swim progressed I would look up to see if I could find any green ones that I might be able to get on but I never saw any. Of course, part of me thought I might have been dropped by my wave. But then I thought "Hmmmm? Maybe I am swimming in the front of my wave?" Turns out I was. I got out third which was a first. I was stoked. I saw a 26 on the clock and that was good enough for me. It was probably the most effortless swim I have ever done. Maybe it was that new Orca 3:8 suit. I must say it was quite slick!
Out of the water I had a minor issue. I got to my bike and I was extremely dizzy. I bent down to get my stuff and was like "WHOA! I better sit down." SO I did and that helped but for the first few miles on the bike I had this strange vertigo feeling. Never had that before but I figured it came from the swim. I wasn't planing on riding very hard for the first 30 min so I just cruised along till it went away.
As I cruised, I was passed by Jonathan Toker (Salt Stick) and then by Patrick. I wasn't sure if I should let those two guys go but I did. They rode away from me pretty quickly and by the turn to the back side of the course they were both gone. I didn't have my power meter on the bike nor did I have a running time going. I was 100% numberless for this one and I wasn't sure how I was riding. I could clearly have a conversation with anyone. I wasn't working hard but my left quad felt a bit spent. Just the left one. So I rode using that as my gage.
Once I got to the "hill" some dude in my AG caught up to me and I decided that I needed to at least keep this guy in my scope. I rode the hill like I might in a training ride and then tried to keep the other guy in view the rest of the ride.
Somehow at about mile 48 I caught back up to JT and when I go by I ask him how far up Patrick was? He said that Patrick was just up the road. This lit a fire in me. I will admit that for most of the ride I thought I was out of the game. Apparently I was back in. I rode so easy that I should be able to run off this bike okay and hunt these guys down.
My transition to the run was quick and as I started the run I felt like I was just shuffling along. I was moving well but my stride was so tiny. I usually have a pretty long stride that actually makes me look like I am running slow. I just kept up with it and before I knew it I had Patrick in site and passed him at mile 3 and then saw the other guy. I passed him in the next 2 min. At that point I thought I was in front for my AG. That is what people were telling me.
I never really opened it up on the run. The progression to being injury free has been long and I wasn't about to screw that up. The Wildflower run would be hard enough on my feet as it is. From the running days, we would get green lighted in races. If you have a green light from coach you can open it up and run hard. Without it, you better do what he told you to do or you were gonna be in big trouble. I did not have a green light for this race. I was just supposed to run smooth. And that was all I was doing.
It felt great. I was actually present and aware of people watching. I had some interaction with the aid stations and my friends watching. It wasn't until about a mile and half to go that I spot my friend Matt Dixon watching and he tells me that there is one more guy in front of me. "DAMN! I thought I had this in the bag". There wasn't enough road left to try and get him. So I just kept trucking along at my pace. I really wanted to win my AG. I really wanted to be top AG of the day but that didn't happen and I was okay with it.
The race was a perfect start. The feet fell better than I expected afterwords. I don't have a race until Buffalo Springs 70.3 in late June so there is plenty of time to recover and move forward. Hopefully, I will be able to ride that new sweet Orbea Ordu I am on a tad faster :-)
The weekend was a blast and I look forward to next year!
Cheers,
bdc
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Wildflower: With The Senior Disscount.
I thought I would post my Dad's race report from his first olympic distance triathlon at Wildflower. I will get around to writing about my race at the 1/2 Ironman this week.
************************************************************************************
Did you ever agree to something, then utter to yourself, “now what am I going to do”? What if what you agreed to do was so far out of your comfort zone you knew you were entering the twilight zone !
Dateline: Kona. October 19th 2008. I am at the Ironman Awards banquet to celebrate the superb race that Brandon completed the previous day. There was a kinetic static in the chatter about having spectated all those racers, particularly those who were finishing in the 16th hour of the race. So Brandon, my son, says that he has always thought that in the past, with all the running and biking I did, that I could have done an Ironman if I could swim. It is important to know that if I ended up in "hell", it would be an endless deep pool. I avoided ANY immersion into water unless I have on life vests. Brandon persists in importuning me that I still could do this. "This" being a triathlon event. He announces he can coach me! This is where my brain entered the twilight zone. I think, "I live in the backyard of Wildflower, it’s eight months away, I have a tri bike, I can start running again, and, I can try, not tri, swimming". Oh, and there is one more impeding issue. I have to loose a lot of weight and deal with the fact that I now have a fake knee that I didn't rehab properly so the amount it bends is not "the best". So, being a reality TV lover (Survivor), I just created my own reality show, "Triathlon Extreme Makeover"! With that, those two words spilled from my lips in front of everyone, “I’m in”!
The next day I am anticipating that no one will remember my uttererances due to the amount of beer consumed and I can slip out of this one. I’m off to play golf early and get a ride to the course and play 18 solo. Plenty of time to think this through and come up with a graceful exit. I call Mary Jo to come pick me up. She will be there in a half hour. Then it hits me. I’m not backing down. Instead, I start running back rather than waiting for her and think she will catch me in 10 minutes. Thirty-five minutes later I get picked up. Now back to the condo to get ready to go to black sand beach with Brandon and the group. Hey what the heck, I’ll run some more on the way to the beach. Two runs today! Clearly, I have that strange gene that most of the people in the sport posses.
The group decides to go out to the water and swim out past the waves and just hang out. I put on a jog belt and snorkel mask and venture to the edge. I have to get past the surf to reach the group. This is huge, not the surf, but the fact that I am thinking of doing this. I get out there and actually get to see a turtle when I put my head in the water- Maybe the turtle was there to tell me "Hey, water ain't so bad". Brandon decides this would be a good time to evaluate my swimming technique, even though he is not totally sure I should be out there in the first place, or lack thereof. I flail for twenty yards and gasp. What am I going to do about the other 1,480 yards? I demo a little backstroke and Brandon declares, “You can swim”. I made it back to the beach and managed not to panic. There were about 6 of us out there so I had plenty of "life guards" with me. I must say, floating out in the ocean was a fantastic experience and I can't believe it has taken over 60 years to feel that.
Later, back at the condo I go to the pool knowing there is safety. I swim some and now know there is a long way to go.
The Coach: Moving forward Brandon will now supply the training wisdom, workouts, evaluations, and motivational encouragement. I have to supply the effort. Back at Oak Shores (houses on the Wildflower course) we have a small pool and it’s still open for another two weeks. I can start the swim training here. I can’t swim one full-length non-stop, but I am determined that I can improve and get better.
Brandon visits for a few days a month later. I’m on the weight loss plan and getting through the small workouts. We try a small ride in the neighborhood and I have trouble riding the bike a mile on the small inclines. And when I say small I mean small. The hills on the WF course are like mountains compared to these flea bites. There’s work to be done. I join a health club that has a 50-meter pool. At my first pool swim I cannot swim a length and have to deal with the “deep end”.
By the time the Christmas holidays are here, I have made significant progress with all three events. I am now swimming as much as a 3K, biking up to 48 miles, and have run up to 10 miles. An additional note is that while I am running on a titanium knee, all three sports have helped make it feel better. Brandon continues to evaluate my progress based on my reporting back after workouts and establishing benchmarks. It wasn’t just, “how was that workout, and for tomorrow do this”. He asked questions a coach needs to have answers for so that training is meaningful and on target. I knew the workouts he assembled were to reach the incremental improvements and not just to be able to say I did X. By January 2009 weight loss was good and still dropping.
Four months to go until Wildflower and toeing the line at the open water’s edge. I knew that if I listened to the coach I could complete the Olympic distance. There was still a matter of that open water swim, which I had not experienced to this point. I knew the pool and my ability in the pool. But how was that going to transfer to the open water? By the end of the month I was ready to test the event distance and see what level of fitness I’ve reached. This is where I strayed from the prescribed workouts. I went to the club and swam a 1500. Transitioned as quickly as I could and jumped on the stationary bike for 24 miles. I walked off the bike and stepped on the treadmill for a 10K. After finishing I thought, this is not too bad. However this was a controlled environment and not the real thing. Nonetheless, I was pleased to know that I could cover the distance. Now I had to keep loosing weight, and get stronger for each event. Weekends allowed for some rides with runs right off the bike. I was now doing well over the race distance with rides on the Wildflower long course that included "hell" hill. I saw the light.
At the beginning of March I knew there had to be some actual "on course" testing. So I entered the Cal Poly Sprint Tri for April 4th at Lake Lopez. Heck this is only a 750-yard swim, 12-mile bike, and a 5K run. I expect this distance will give me the confidence that I can complete a Triathlon. I still have to keep training, loosing, and listening to my coach but the sprint would help work out some of the newbie bugs. A note to keep in mind is that I’m working 50-hour weeks so a lot of training is happening after 6 PM. Work, train, sleep and do it everyday.
A week before the Lopez event I purchase my first wetsuit. I decide sleeveless is good for me. After all, I’m usually warm and I can handle some chill. My first wetsuit swim in the pool is taxing due to different body position, different breathing, not to mention this compression on my chest. So I completed a couple of 1500 pool swims for acclamation. Plus it helped on how to get the wetsuit off.
Dateline: April 4th. Here I am at Lake Lopez at 6:15 am for my first Tri tryout. Mary Jo (my wife and Brandon's mother) is there to watch me get settled in transition but she has to attend a course and won’t be able to stay. Now I am solo. No coach other than in my head. Check list done. Set up is done. It’s a chilly day and the announcer informs us that the water temp is 57 degrees. I know there is not going to be any in water warm up, so I run for 30 minutes to generate some thermal energy. Transition closes and now I have nowhere to go but to waters edge and wait for my wave.
I observe the first swimmers and reconnoiter the course buoys for my 750. They don’t seem that far out and before I know it, it is time to go. I walk in and feel the chilly water and don’t even dip my arms. I decide that if I did, I might not take the plunge. Better to just hit it and take it rather than anticipate. At the water level that first buoy now seems further away than I thought. I have to keep it in sight but at the same time keep forward motion. Looking up is an issue with breathing. I know that my arm turnover is quick, thinking I’ll get out faster. I stray a little right of the buoy but make it for the first left turn. The next buoy is not as far since it will be the left turn and head for exit. I stray too far to the right and have to come back on line, but still at high arm turnover. I know this is more effort than I need, but I need to stay on top of the water. I’m out in open water, my hell. More course correction but still adding too much additional distance, but finally I’m at the timing matt. Numbness is in my hands and feet. I find my sandals and slog up the path to bike transition.
I’m biking now and know that "Fear Factor" is over. I just need to re-energize and I do after 5 miles. The first hill right at the start was tough and the re-entry hill gets your attention but I know they are nothing in comparison to WF's monsters. I’m back inside the park and ready for run transition. I’m running now and just have to get through a 5K. It’s tougher than expected because there is no fast leg turnover. It’s a maintenance run. Same pace at start, same pace at finish. Now there’s a word I can deal with, "finish"!
I am pleased that I made it and that my coach would be pleased with my first time out. Hey, I’m thrilled I didn’t drown and become a Tri statistic. I’m further pleased when I learn that I took 3rd in my age. This might be the time to consider, that having completed a triathlon event, maybe one was enough. It was on the “bucket list”. No, I need to know, can I do Wildflower Olympic? More training, coaching, and weight loss. That next day I rode the Wildflower bike course and knew once again, “I’m in”.
The approaching race day: After more longer pool swims, longer rides, and longer runs, I envision that the race will go well. Brandon is now assigning workouts that will increase with intensity and have the next week at lower intensity. As race day gets closer I know this is going to be a much different experience. I’ve got people there. Brandon’s there and his coaching will tell the tape. Brandon arrives eight days before the race. He needs to see first hand, is Dad ready for this? This is where it get’s interesting.
We are going down to the lake for some practice. Naciamento, the other lake near WF, is nowhere near as cold as Lopez. A course point is set. I dive in and start the fast arm turnover again. This causes anxiety and the need to rest after 100 yards. What about the other 1400? This is where Brandon’s coaching plays a major role. He knows that I have to slow down, relax, find a comfort zone in the water, and get some technique for sighting those buoys. First day was tense. Head thoughts about, “how did I do Lopez”? Breathing was compressed. Maybe Lopez was a one time only event. But, if anyone knows me, and Brandon does, I’m not throwing in the towel. He has me go back to the pool and swim a 1500 with the wetsuit and swim as slow as possible and find that relaxed stroke zone. I complete this swim in 37:16 and thought I was slow. The reality is I was relaxed. The other reality was that I was in the pool.
We go back to the lake for another practice swim the next day. Same course points as before. Re-arranged my mental perspective. Stay relaxed. Improvement is apparent. Swam longer with less stress and far better breathing. Thursday, one more lake swim before race day. Again marked improvement, most notably with relaxation and breathing. I can and will do this! After all, I’ve got an Ironman Coach.
Race day at Wildflower: Here’s the report on the weight loss and part of the extreme triathlon makeover. I’m down 52 lbs.! Goal was 50. I know that this weight loss will play a role on this course. I’m in the 10 am wave. A later start that I am pleased about. No rushing, keep calm, have time to warm up, and soak in the atmosphere of the second largest triathlon event in the USA. I’m here and “I’m in”. Brandon is there after a great previous day giving it his all on the Long Course, and designates himself as the "go to" guy. Keep me in race mentality and not be overwhelmed with race day stress. Which I should note, we had something come up. I left my Tristar race top at the house. HOW DID I DO THAT? Luckily, MR. Go To, got on the horn and called up his friend Jen Martinez who was still up at the house. She was just leaving but grabbed it for me and Brandon found her to get it with 20 min to go.
Swim: Start left and wide to avoid the churn. I stay wide enough that at 60 yards I hit beach but no problem. Brandon’s there and asks, “OK?”, I let him know o’yeah.
I stayed relaxed in the open water even after getting my goggles knocked off twice. My buoy sighting was far more efficient and my breathing was level. No fast arm turnover. At the last right turn buoy I knew that I was heading for exit. I could see the houseboat dock as a marker. A small bend to the left, and I’m done. I swam out in 38! Brandon had my crocks there and I slipped them on and ran to transition. Triathlon I can do. Running 400 yards barefoot up a ramp. I'm 61. I get to wear Crocks!
Bike: It was a fairly uneventfulin transition. No numb feet. Less time spent in it. Of course, this time, I was racing in Tri Star uniform and felt a sense of strength, like I really earned it. I left transition feeling strong for the uphill bike out. The ride was familiar. I’d done almost all my training rides on that road. It made it easier to know where I was and what was coming. I finished the bike knowing that I was going to have an Olympic Tri under my belt. I hit transition and got out of there as quick as I could. Especially, after stepping on my drink carton, and squishing chocolate, all over the place including my run hat. Ironically, I didn't need it. Brandon told me that but I guess some things you just have to experience to know it.
Run: A 10K to go. My legs are not "rubberized" and I feel solid about this run. I know that there are some nasty hills so there won’t be any fast leg turnover. Get into a zone and stay there. The long hill was taxing but I passed others that were walking. As I have in so many past running races, I ran one mile at a time. I knew of course that at 5 miles downhill would take over. Half way down the hill I could hear the crowd cheering. I was a Gladiator about to enter the arena. Brandon had done his job as my coach.
Who knew that seven months before I would be at this time and place about to finish what is considered to be the toughest Olympic distance triathlon? Now I’m in the fencing, the arch is 125 yards away, I can at least pick up the pace for my finishing photo. It was at that moment of 3 hours and 43 minutes that I knew, “I’m in”.
And when I say "I'm in" I really mean it. Brandon pulled some strings and got me into Vineman 70.3 and I also signed up to race the Chicago Triathlon. He is still on board to coach me and I will need it. Chicago was my first Marathon years ago and I am so pleased that after a long hiatus from any athletic activity, I am back to it! I have completed 29 marathons in my younger years and Brandon seems to have this crazy idea that I might just do one more. He also seems to think that I am going to swim and bike before I start it.....we shall see.
Dan Del Campo
Triathlete
************************************************************************************
Did you ever agree to something, then utter to yourself, “now what am I going to do”? What if what you agreed to do was so far out of your comfort zone you knew you were entering the twilight zone !
Dateline: Kona. October 19th 2008. I am at the Ironman Awards banquet to celebrate the superb race that Brandon completed the previous day. There was a kinetic static in the chatter about having spectated all those racers, particularly those who were finishing in the 16th hour of the race. So Brandon, my son, says that he has always thought that in the past, with all the running and biking I did, that I could have done an Ironman if I could swim. It is important to know that if I ended up in "hell", it would be an endless deep pool. I avoided ANY immersion into water unless I have on life vests. Brandon persists in importuning me that I still could do this. "This" being a triathlon event. He announces he can coach me! This is where my brain entered the twilight zone. I think, "I live in the backyard of Wildflower, it’s eight months away, I have a tri bike, I can start running again, and, I can try, not tri, swimming". Oh, and there is one more impeding issue. I have to loose a lot of weight and deal with the fact that I now have a fake knee that I didn't rehab properly so the amount it bends is not "the best". So, being a reality TV lover (Survivor), I just created my own reality show, "Triathlon Extreme Makeover"! With that, those two words spilled from my lips in front of everyone, “I’m in”!
The next day I am anticipating that no one will remember my uttererances due to the amount of beer consumed and I can slip out of this one. I’m off to play golf early and get a ride to the course and play 18 solo. Plenty of time to think this through and come up with a graceful exit. I call Mary Jo to come pick me up. She will be there in a half hour. Then it hits me. I’m not backing down. Instead, I start running back rather than waiting for her and think she will catch me in 10 minutes. Thirty-five minutes later I get picked up. Now back to the condo to get ready to go to black sand beach with Brandon and the group. Hey what the heck, I’ll run some more on the way to the beach. Two runs today! Clearly, I have that strange gene that most of the people in the sport posses.
The group decides to go out to the water and swim out past the waves and just hang out. I put on a jog belt and snorkel mask and venture to the edge. I have to get past the surf to reach the group. This is huge, not the surf, but the fact that I am thinking of doing this. I get out there and actually get to see a turtle when I put my head in the water- Maybe the turtle was there to tell me "Hey, water ain't so bad". Brandon decides this would be a good time to evaluate my swimming technique, even though he is not totally sure I should be out there in the first place, or lack thereof. I flail for twenty yards and gasp. What am I going to do about the other 1,480 yards? I demo a little backstroke and Brandon declares, “You can swim”. I made it back to the beach and managed not to panic. There were about 6 of us out there so I had plenty of "life guards" with me. I must say, floating out in the ocean was a fantastic experience and I can't believe it has taken over 60 years to feel that.
Later, back at the condo I go to the pool knowing there is safety. I swim some and now know there is a long way to go.
The Coach: Moving forward Brandon will now supply the training wisdom, workouts, evaluations, and motivational encouragement. I have to supply the effort. Back at Oak Shores (houses on the Wildflower course) we have a small pool and it’s still open for another two weeks. I can start the swim training here. I can’t swim one full-length non-stop, but I am determined that I can improve and get better.
Brandon visits for a few days a month later. I’m on the weight loss plan and getting through the small workouts. We try a small ride in the neighborhood and I have trouble riding the bike a mile on the small inclines. And when I say small I mean small. The hills on the WF course are like mountains compared to these flea bites. There’s work to be done. I join a health club that has a 50-meter pool. At my first pool swim I cannot swim a length and have to deal with the “deep end”.
By the time the Christmas holidays are here, I have made significant progress with all three events. I am now swimming as much as a 3K, biking up to 48 miles, and have run up to 10 miles. An additional note is that while I am running on a titanium knee, all three sports have helped make it feel better. Brandon continues to evaluate my progress based on my reporting back after workouts and establishing benchmarks. It wasn’t just, “how was that workout, and for tomorrow do this”. He asked questions a coach needs to have answers for so that training is meaningful and on target. I knew the workouts he assembled were to reach the incremental improvements and not just to be able to say I did X. By January 2009 weight loss was good and still dropping.
Four months to go until Wildflower and toeing the line at the open water’s edge. I knew that if I listened to the coach I could complete the Olympic distance. There was still a matter of that open water swim, which I had not experienced to this point. I knew the pool and my ability in the pool. But how was that going to transfer to the open water? By the end of the month I was ready to test the event distance and see what level of fitness I’ve reached. This is where I strayed from the prescribed workouts. I went to the club and swam a 1500. Transitioned as quickly as I could and jumped on the stationary bike for 24 miles. I walked off the bike and stepped on the treadmill for a 10K. After finishing I thought, this is not too bad. However this was a controlled environment and not the real thing. Nonetheless, I was pleased to know that I could cover the distance. Now I had to keep loosing weight, and get stronger for each event. Weekends allowed for some rides with runs right off the bike. I was now doing well over the race distance with rides on the Wildflower long course that included "hell" hill. I saw the light.
At the beginning of March I knew there had to be some actual "on course" testing. So I entered the Cal Poly Sprint Tri for April 4th at Lake Lopez. Heck this is only a 750-yard swim, 12-mile bike, and a 5K run. I expect this distance will give me the confidence that I can complete a Triathlon. I still have to keep training, loosing, and listening to my coach but the sprint would help work out some of the newbie bugs. A note to keep in mind is that I’m working 50-hour weeks so a lot of training is happening after 6 PM. Work, train, sleep and do it everyday.
A week before the Lopez event I purchase my first wetsuit. I decide sleeveless is good for me. After all, I’m usually warm and I can handle some chill. My first wetsuit swim in the pool is taxing due to different body position, different breathing, not to mention this compression on my chest. So I completed a couple of 1500 pool swims for acclamation. Plus it helped on how to get the wetsuit off.
Dateline: April 4th. Here I am at Lake Lopez at 6:15 am for my first Tri tryout. Mary Jo (my wife and Brandon's mother) is there to watch me get settled in transition but she has to attend a course and won’t be able to stay. Now I am solo. No coach other than in my head. Check list done. Set up is done. It’s a chilly day and the announcer informs us that the water temp is 57 degrees. I know there is not going to be any in water warm up, so I run for 30 minutes to generate some thermal energy. Transition closes and now I have nowhere to go but to waters edge and wait for my wave.
I observe the first swimmers and reconnoiter the course buoys for my 750. They don’t seem that far out and before I know it, it is time to go. I walk in and feel the chilly water and don’t even dip my arms. I decide that if I did, I might not take the plunge. Better to just hit it and take it rather than anticipate. At the water level that first buoy now seems further away than I thought. I have to keep it in sight but at the same time keep forward motion. Looking up is an issue with breathing. I know that my arm turnover is quick, thinking I’ll get out faster. I stray a little right of the buoy but make it for the first left turn. The next buoy is not as far since it will be the left turn and head for exit. I stray too far to the right and have to come back on line, but still at high arm turnover. I know this is more effort than I need, but I need to stay on top of the water. I’m out in open water, my hell. More course correction but still adding too much additional distance, but finally I’m at the timing matt. Numbness is in my hands and feet. I find my sandals and slog up the path to bike transition.
I’m biking now and know that "Fear Factor" is over. I just need to re-energize and I do after 5 miles. The first hill right at the start was tough and the re-entry hill gets your attention but I know they are nothing in comparison to WF's monsters. I’m back inside the park and ready for run transition. I’m running now and just have to get through a 5K. It’s tougher than expected because there is no fast leg turnover. It’s a maintenance run. Same pace at start, same pace at finish. Now there’s a word I can deal with, "finish"!
I am pleased that I made it and that my coach would be pleased with my first time out. Hey, I’m thrilled I didn’t drown and become a Tri statistic. I’m further pleased when I learn that I took 3rd in my age. This might be the time to consider, that having completed a triathlon event, maybe one was enough. It was on the “bucket list”. No, I need to know, can I do Wildflower Olympic? More training, coaching, and weight loss. That next day I rode the Wildflower bike course and knew once again, “I’m in”.
The approaching race day: After more longer pool swims, longer rides, and longer runs, I envision that the race will go well. Brandon is now assigning workouts that will increase with intensity and have the next week at lower intensity. As race day gets closer I know this is going to be a much different experience. I’ve got people there. Brandon’s there and his coaching will tell the tape. Brandon arrives eight days before the race. He needs to see first hand, is Dad ready for this? This is where it get’s interesting.
We are going down to the lake for some practice. Naciamento, the other lake near WF, is nowhere near as cold as Lopez. A course point is set. I dive in and start the fast arm turnover again. This causes anxiety and the need to rest after 100 yards. What about the other 1400? This is where Brandon’s coaching plays a major role. He knows that I have to slow down, relax, find a comfort zone in the water, and get some technique for sighting those buoys. First day was tense. Head thoughts about, “how did I do Lopez”? Breathing was compressed. Maybe Lopez was a one time only event. But, if anyone knows me, and Brandon does, I’m not throwing in the towel. He has me go back to the pool and swim a 1500 with the wetsuit and swim as slow as possible and find that relaxed stroke zone. I complete this swim in 37:16 and thought I was slow. The reality is I was relaxed. The other reality was that I was in the pool.
We go back to the lake for another practice swim the next day. Same course points as before. Re-arranged my mental perspective. Stay relaxed. Improvement is apparent. Swam longer with less stress and far better breathing. Thursday, one more lake swim before race day. Again marked improvement, most notably with relaxation and breathing. I can and will do this! After all, I’ve got an Ironman Coach.
Race day at Wildflower: Here’s the report on the weight loss and part of the extreme triathlon makeover. I’m down 52 lbs.! Goal was 50. I know that this weight loss will play a role on this course. I’m in the 10 am wave. A later start that I am pleased about. No rushing, keep calm, have time to warm up, and soak in the atmosphere of the second largest triathlon event in the USA. I’m here and “I’m in”. Brandon is there after a great previous day giving it his all on the Long Course, and designates himself as the "go to" guy. Keep me in race mentality and not be overwhelmed with race day stress. Which I should note, we had something come up. I left my Tristar race top at the house. HOW DID I DO THAT? Luckily, MR. Go To, got on the horn and called up his friend Jen Martinez who was still up at the house. She was just leaving but grabbed it for me and Brandon found her to get it with 20 min to go.
Swim: Start left and wide to avoid the churn. I stay wide enough that at 60 yards I hit beach but no problem. Brandon’s there and asks, “OK?”, I let him know o’yeah.
I stayed relaxed in the open water even after getting my goggles knocked off twice. My buoy sighting was far more efficient and my breathing was level. No fast arm turnover. At the last right turn buoy I knew that I was heading for exit. I could see the houseboat dock as a marker. A small bend to the left, and I’m done. I swam out in 38! Brandon had my crocks there and I slipped them on and ran to transition. Triathlon I can do. Running 400 yards barefoot up a ramp. I'm 61. I get to wear Crocks!
Bike: It was a fairly uneventfulin transition. No numb feet. Less time spent in it. Of course, this time, I was racing in Tri Star uniform and felt a sense of strength, like I really earned it. I left transition feeling strong for the uphill bike out. The ride was familiar. I’d done almost all my training rides on that road. It made it easier to know where I was and what was coming. I finished the bike knowing that I was going to have an Olympic Tri under my belt. I hit transition and got out of there as quick as I could. Especially, after stepping on my drink carton, and squishing chocolate, all over the place including my run hat. Ironically, I didn't need it. Brandon told me that but I guess some things you just have to experience to know it.
Run: A 10K to go. My legs are not "rubberized" and I feel solid about this run. I know that there are some nasty hills so there won’t be any fast leg turnover. Get into a zone and stay there. The long hill was taxing but I passed others that were walking. As I have in so many past running races, I ran one mile at a time. I knew of course that at 5 miles downhill would take over. Half way down the hill I could hear the crowd cheering. I was a Gladiator about to enter the arena. Brandon had done his job as my coach.
Who knew that seven months before I would be at this time and place about to finish what is considered to be the toughest Olympic distance triathlon? Now I’m in the fencing, the arch is 125 yards away, I can at least pick up the pace for my finishing photo. It was at that moment of 3 hours and 43 minutes that I knew, “I’m in”.
And when I say "I'm in" I really mean it. Brandon pulled some strings and got me into Vineman 70.3 and I also signed up to race the Chicago Triathlon. He is still on board to coach me and I will need it. Chicago was my first Marathon years ago and I am so pleased that after a long hiatus from any athletic activity, I am back to it! I have completed 29 marathons in my younger years and Brandon seems to have this crazy idea that I might just do one more. He also seems to think that I am going to swim and bike before I start it.....we shall see.
Dan Del Campo
Triathlete
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
BDC Cliff Notes
It is clear I don't keep this thing up to date and that it is always due to the fact that I view blogging like writing a college paper. I like to have something worth writing about. Actually, I have had a lot to write about so I guess that excuse just went out the window.
Maybe it is because I am too tired to write when training is going well (No posts is a GOOD sign in that regard!) Or maybe the creative flair isn't there when I actually have the time? I also think blogging is a bit narcissistic. It's like, now that we have all these venues to self promote and talk about how wonderful we are and how much we know about this or that or what we think gets to be a bit much. Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, how about we just attach cameras to our heads all day?
On that note, I guess I will take a moment and flash update this thing. It is a bit strange though as I have no idea who reads this and if they do I don't know their reasons. Maybe I am just talking to myself.....
The Florida trip is long gone. Great time. House had a flea problem. Carole pretended to throw a flea on Billy's food and he freaked. We question if he was in fact a Marine.
While in Florida I had a MAJOR epiphany with JZ. It was that I have no desire to do an IRONMAN this year. Why? I want my foot to get better and race AG one more year and kick ass as best I can. JZ told me after I made that decision that I looked like I took the biggest shit of my life.
My major goals in the sport are still focused around an IRONMAN.
I had a major mental unload in Florida on the phone to one of my best friends because I felt like my foot would never actually be better. I cried for the first time in about 5 years. It was a very cleansing moment. Since the conversation my foot has gone away. That is interesting to me.
I got an SRM for my bike and it actually worked and now I hate ridding when I don't have power.
My good buddy Carole has had issues with her training. Not being able to get her power up on the bike. Frustrated. Not understanding why. We had a chat on the phone and I told her to go out the next day and hit the numbers that she needed to if it killed her. She did. Now she is riding well. That is interesting to me.
I really want a dog.
I have been coaching my Dad for a triathlon since he got UBER inspired in Hawaii watching me race. Coaching my father.....that is interesting to me.
He races his first Olympic distance at Wildflower. I am more nervous about his race than my own.
I have had a few friends die in the past months. Suicide. Aids. One had texted me 9 times. They went unanswered. I was angry with him. Petty. He killed himself. It has made me reflect on relationships. Life. How can I be a better person? Being a better person is interesting to me.
I was in Tucson for over a month. First to visit with a friend at a nice resort. Then to train. I stayed at my friend Hillary's pad. I got to know my friend Doug better and meet a new Friend TJ. We laughed alot.
Tara Norton joined me for a week in Tucson and I just think she is the best. The last time I got to hang with her was at Epic NZ. We rode. We cooked. She got me hooked on American Idol. Adam Lambert is interesting to me.
I went to a training camp because my coach and training wife, Joanna, was going to be there. I said I was done with camps. I am glad that I went. It was the best camp I have been to. Great dynamic. Wonderful crowd. I got to hang with Bjorn who I had not really seen since we lived in NZ together.
I am able to go get my ass handed to me by top notch females. I don't think most guys can handle that. JZ, Tara, Sam, Catrina all served it up to me at some point. I don't mind. I want to see them achieve their best. Since my days of running, fast women have helped me achieve my highest level of success. If your ego can handle them smashing you from time to time you will be better off than smashing yourself with the boys day after day. Take it from someone that had a foot injury for two years. Not so interesting. Quite boring in fact.
At the camp I shared a condo with JZ and another women. She came up to me mid camp and said "Hey we are family". I had no idea what she was talking about. "We are related???" I asked. "No dork! I'm Gay." I had no idea. We had an interesting chat.
I stayed in Tucson for a few days after the camp so that I could see Hillary after IM China. I picked her up at 11:00 PM. She got home wide awake. Went to bed at 3am. Got me up at 7am to swim. How does one do that? That is interesting to me.
I left Tucson a day early to drive to Palm Springs. My buddy Mitch put me up for the night. He lives in Palm Springs. He has a fancy modern house. He cooked me Fillet Mignon with multi colored potatoes for dinner. We sat at the table and ate. One of us is not gay. That is interesting to me! haha.
I got up the next AM and ran 14 miles. I still had a two week sore throat from the dry Tucson air. Never affected my training.
I drove to LA after then run. LA is not interesting to me.
I got to see some of my very best and oldest friends while in LA for the night. It was a very relaxed and nice time.
I left LA early the next AM to drive up to my parents place who live on the Wildflower course.
I hate driving.
I swam in the lake with my dad for the first time. He had some open water anxiety and didn't understand why. I did. I tried to explain to him why but he didn't understand it. That fact that he doesn't understand why is interesting to me.
We swam in the lake again and the anxiety was less.
Being around Daisy, the golden retriever, REALLY makes me want a dog!
I am looking forward to the Boulder crew getting here for the race.
My parents just got home so I am going to stop rambling. I hope to actually write something. Probably about a reflection on the recent deaths of friends. But don't hold your breathe. I am not in denial that I don't update this thing. But people can change!
Maybe it is because I am too tired to write when training is going well (No posts is a GOOD sign in that regard!) Or maybe the creative flair isn't there when I actually have the time? I also think blogging is a bit narcissistic. It's like, now that we have all these venues to self promote and talk about how wonderful we are and how much we know about this or that or what we think gets to be a bit much. Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, how about we just attach cameras to our heads all day?
On that note, I guess I will take a moment and flash update this thing. It is a bit strange though as I have no idea who reads this and if they do I don't know their reasons. Maybe I am just talking to myself.....
The Florida trip is long gone. Great time. House had a flea problem. Carole pretended to throw a flea on Billy's food and he freaked. We question if he was in fact a Marine.
While in Florida I had a MAJOR epiphany with JZ. It was that I have no desire to do an IRONMAN this year. Why? I want my foot to get better and race AG one more year and kick ass as best I can. JZ told me after I made that decision that I looked like I took the biggest shit of my life.
My major goals in the sport are still focused around an IRONMAN.
I had a major mental unload in Florida on the phone to one of my best friends because I felt like my foot would never actually be better. I cried for the first time in about 5 years. It was a very cleansing moment. Since the conversation my foot has gone away. That is interesting to me.
I got an SRM for my bike and it actually worked and now I hate ridding when I don't have power.
My good buddy Carole has had issues with her training. Not being able to get her power up on the bike. Frustrated. Not understanding why. We had a chat on the phone and I told her to go out the next day and hit the numbers that she needed to if it killed her. She did. Now she is riding well. That is interesting to me.
I really want a dog.
I have been coaching my Dad for a triathlon since he got UBER inspired in Hawaii watching me race. Coaching my father.....that is interesting to me.
He races his first Olympic distance at Wildflower. I am more nervous about his race than my own.
I have had a few friends die in the past months. Suicide. Aids. One had texted me 9 times. They went unanswered. I was angry with him. Petty. He killed himself. It has made me reflect on relationships. Life. How can I be a better person? Being a better person is interesting to me.
I was in Tucson for over a month. First to visit with a friend at a nice resort. Then to train. I stayed at my friend Hillary's pad. I got to know my friend Doug better and meet a new Friend TJ. We laughed alot.
Tara Norton joined me for a week in Tucson and I just think she is the best. The last time I got to hang with her was at Epic NZ. We rode. We cooked. She got me hooked on American Idol. Adam Lambert is interesting to me.
I went to a training camp because my coach and training wife, Joanna, was going to be there. I said I was done with camps. I am glad that I went. It was the best camp I have been to. Great dynamic. Wonderful crowd. I got to hang with Bjorn who I had not really seen since we lived in NZ together.
I am able to go get my ass handed to me by top notch females. I don't think most guys can handle that. JZ, Tara, Sam, Catrina all served it up to me at some point. I don't mind. I want to see them achieve their best. Since my days of running, fast women have helped me achieve my highest level of success. If your ego can handle them smashing you from time to time you will be better off than smashing yourself with the boys day after day. Take it from someone that had a foot injury for two years. Not so interesting. Quite boring in fact.
At the camp I shared a condo with JZ and another women. She came up to me mid camp and said "Hey we are family". I had no idea what she was talking about. "We are related???" I asked. "No dork! I'm Gay." I had no idea. We had an interesting chat.
I stayed in Tucson for a few days after the camp so that I could see Hillary after IM China. I picked her up at 11:00 PM. She got home wide awake. Went to bed at 3am. Got me up at 7am to swim. How does one do that? That is interesting to me.
I left Tucson a day early to drive to Palm Springs. My buddy Mitch put me up for the night. He lives in Palm Springs. He has a fancy modern house. He cooked me Fillet Mignon with multi colored potatoes for dinner. We sat at the table and ate. One of us is not gay. That is interesting to me! haha.
I got up the next AM and ran 14 miles. I still had a two week sore throat from the dry Tucson air. Never affected my training.
I drove to LA after then run. LA is not interesting to me.
I got to see some of my very best and oldest friends while in LA for the night. It was a very relaxed and nice time.
I left LA early the next AM to drive up to my parents place who live on the Wildflower course.
I hate driving.
I swam in the lake with my dad for the first time. He had some open water anxiety and didn't understand why. I did. I tried to explain to him why but he didn't understand it. That fact that he doesn't understand why is interesting to me.
We swam in the lake again and the anxiety was less.
Being around Daisy, the golden retriever, REALLY makes me want a dog!
I am looking forward to the Boulder crew getting here for the race.
My parents just got home so I am going to stop rambling. I hope to actually write something. Probably about a reflection on the recent deaths of friends. But don't hold your breathe. I am not in denial that I don't update this thing. But people can change!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Florida Training and Fleas
Well I can tell you that I am not in Florida right now and I have been back in Boulder for quite some time. I wanted to write about the second part of my training trip but the condo that we were in did not have Internet access and the training just made me way too lazy to drag my butt up to Panera Bread (that is where we would get a quick Internet fix) and type something out. But for my own journaling sake I will write something now...
One of the things that I have noticed lately is that people get their pantie hoes in a bunch when they are going to travel with a bike because of the outrageous fees that the airlines are charging. I was a prime candidate for getting totally screwed as I left Palm Springs to meet my buddies in Florida. I had a bike box, one checked bag, a wheel bag, back pack and second carry on. I could have been looking at over 250 dollars of extra fee's. That isn't the most pleasant way to start the morning.
But here is the deal. When you are traveling you ALREADY KNOW that high charges are a strong possibility so what is the point of letting that get your goat? I decided that I was going to work some mojo and see if I could get out of these fees. The first thing that I had to do before I even got to the airport was know that if I did get charged I wasn't going to care. Secondly, I got into the "character" that I wasn't a person that was going to be charged. Sounds a bit odd but just wait....
As I cart all my crap to the counter I begin to go about my check in as if all this luggage is normal. Not to mention I throw in a little charm which really is just making the person behind the counter feel good. They are human and even if they charge me I would still want to make that person feel good. It can't be bull shit. You have to be sincere. With my sincerity I do tend to pull an Obi Wan once in a while. "This is not the bike box you are looking for. This is not the bike box you want to charge." Make sure you do the whole hand wave thing too or it loses effect.
I stick to my guns when I say my mental approach to this situation is why I got all that luggage checked for $40 dollars. I kid you not. On UNITED! AND I walked to the gate with my wheel bag and stroller tagged it. That is a little secret that I have been using for a good while. Save room in the bike box and carry your wheels on. I figure, I am not having kids so they can stroller tag them for the next few years for me.
The flight had a stop in Denver and I was meeting up with Carole as she was on the flight with me to Florida. I got a text from her when she was on the train to the gate saying "I can't wait to see you. Lets do an airport scene!" Oh dear lord. I knew she was planing on pretending to be my girlfriend and do some obnoxious jump on my lap and act crazy. It's rough when you have people in your life that know how to embrace you.
I strated looking around to see if I could hear Sharps on her approach but somehow she manged so sneak by and before I knew it I was being straddled. "OHHH Babies!!!" Her hair tossing from side to side was actually a bit funny. I did the only thing I could to get her off me. "Lets go get some food."
When we got on the plane I had to tell Sharps about the Texan Cougars I sat next to for all of 5 min on the first flight. They were these skinny, chain smoking, jewelery wearing, hair sprayin little numbers chatting away in the seats beside me. The one by the window was reading a magazine and the other right next to me began to say "You need to be reading up on our trip to Alaska!" The other one agreed and then said in the thickest Texan accent I have ever heard, "I hope I can git Sara Palin to sign my MOOSE hat." "Ohhh we like Sara Palin" said the other one as she played her Sudoku (easy level of course). And right then this overweight, hillbilly, older dude sitting in the row back grabs our seats and leans over and says "We DOOOOOO too. WE DOOOOO TOOOOOOO!" Regarding the Sara Palin comment. I was hard for me to decide between laughter or a really dramatic eye roll. I just looked back and saw that the entire back row was free. I kindly said "Ya'll have a nice day" and busted to the back for a nap.
That was our line for most of the trip and it just got funnier as the week went on. As Carole would say to that, "Yeeees it DIIIID! YEEEEESSSSS IT DID!" I am so thank full that we have laughter in this life. I swear it is the only thing that keeps me going sometimes.
Carole and I got in really late and got lost a bit on the way to the condo. It wasn't until after the first 40 min of being lost that she was like "Oh JZ gave me the Garmin for the car. We could use that." She is lucky that I am the fun gay friend and not her straight husband! When she got it working I told her to type in Taco Bell. Food like that doesn't count when it is past midnight. Everyone knows that.
The beauty of getting in late was making JZ have to come out to the gate at 12:30 in her bathrobe! She had it all figured out on how to sleep through our arrival but of course we weren't going to allow that! We all actually had a good late night chat. Mostly telling JZ that she was crazy if she thought we would be ready to ride at 7am. Her exact words after that were "What about 7:15?" God love her.
The next day was smooth and we got settled in to the condo and now just had to wait for Billy to arrive. He would be there in the next day or so. I think I will finish up writing about the actual time in Florida later. It had it's moments for sure but I doubt I can hold anyones attention much longer on this one. I'll get to the fleas in a day or two.
Later
One of the things that I have noticed lately is that people get their pantie hoes in a bunch when they are going to travel with a bike because of the outrageous fees that the airlines are charging. I was a prime candidate for getting totally screwed as I left Palm Springs to meet my buddies in Florida. I had a bike box, one checked bag, a wheel bag, back pack and second carry on. I could have been looking at over 250 dollars of extra fee's. That isn't the most pleasant way to start the morning.
But here is the deal. When you are traveling you ALREADY KNOW that high charges are a strong possibility so what is the point of letting that get your goat? I decided that I was going to work some mojo and see if I could get out of these fees. The first thing that I had to do before I even got to the airport was know that if I did get charged I wasn't going to care. Secondly, I got into the "character" that I wasn't a person that was going to be charged. Sounds a bit odd but just wait....
As I cart all my crap to the counter I begin to go about my check in as if all this luggage is normal. Not to mention I throw in a little charm which really is just making the person behind the counter feel good. They are human and even if they charge me I would still want to make that person feel good. It can't be bull shit. You have to be sincere. With my sincerity I do tend to pull an Obi Wan once in a while. "This is not the bike box you are looking for. This is not the bike box you want to charge." Make sure you do the whole hand wave thing too or it loses effect.
I stick to my guns when I say my mental approach to this situation is why I got all that luggage checked for $40 dollars. I kid you not. On UNITED! AND I walked to the gate with my wheel bag and stroller tagged it. That is a little secret that I have been using for a good while. Save room in the bike box and carry your wheels on. I figure, I am not having kids so they can stroller tag them for the next few years for me.
The flight had a stop in Denver and I was meeting up with Carole as she was on the flight with me to Florida. I got a text from her when she was on the train to the gate saying "I can't wait to see you. Lets do an airport scene!" Oh dear lord. I knew she was planing on pretending to be my girlfriend and do some obnoxious jump on my lap and act crazy. It's rough when you have people in your life that know how to embrace you.
I strated looking around to see if I could hear Sharps on her approach but somehow she manged so sneak by and before I knew it I was being straddled. "OHHH Babies!!!" Her hair tossing from side to side was actually a bit funny. I did the only thing I could to get her off me. "Lets go get some food."
When we got on the plane I had to tell Sharps about the Texan Cougars I sat next to for all of 5 min on the first flight. They were these skinny, chain smoking, jewelery wearing, hair sprayin little numbers chatting away in the seats beside me. The one by the window was reading a magazine and the other right next to me began to say "You need to be reading up on our trip to Alaska!" The other one agreed and then said in the thickest Texan accent I have ever heard, "I hope I can git Sara Palin to sign my MOOSE hat." "Ohhh we like Sara Palin" said the other one as she played her Sudoku (easy level of course). And right then this overweight, hillbilly, older dude sitting in the row back grabs our seats and leans over and says "We DOOOOOO too. WE DOOOOO TOOOOOOO!" Regarding the Sara Palin comment. I was hard for me to decide between laughter or a really dramatic eye roll. I just looked back and saw that the entire back row was free. I kindly said "Ya'll have a nice day" and busted to the back for a nap.
That was our line for most of the trip and it just got funnier as the week went on. As Carole would say to that, "Yeeees it DIIIID! YEEEEESSSSS IT DID!" I am so thank full that we have laughter in this life. I swear it is the only thing that keeps me going sometimes.
Carole and I got in really late and got lost a bit on the way to the condo. It wasn't until after the first 40 min of being lost that she was like "Oh JZ gave me the Garmin for the car. We could use that." She is lucky that I am the fun gay friend and not her straight husband! When she got it working I told her to type in Taco Bell. Food like that doesn't count when it is past midnight. Everyone knows that.
The beauty of getting in late was making JZ have to come out to the gate at 12:30 in her bathrobe! She had it all figured out on how to sleep through our arrival but of course we weren't going to allow that! We all actually had a good late night chat. Mostly telling JZ that she was crazy if she thought we would be ready to ride at 7am. Her exact words after that were "What about 7:15?" God love her.
The next day was smooth and we got settled in to the condo and now just had to wait for Billy to arrive. He would be there in the next day or so. I think I will finish up writing about the actual time in Florida later. It had it's moments for sure but I doubt I can hold anyones attention much longer on this one. I'll get to the fleas in a day or two.
Later
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