Run To Remember 2017 recap

Started running again in January in order to build for Boston. A little sluggish in the first 2 weeks, but started to get into the rhythm of the training. The typical schedule is something like this:

• Mon - 6-8 miles running
• Tuesday - 6-8 miles running with some speedwork
• Wednesday - 4-5 miles easy running + 20-25 miles hard cycling
• Thursday - 6 miles medium effort running + 20-25 miles medium effort cycling
• Friday - long run
• Saturday - long bike + 4 miles running easy
• Sunday - off

So with that going on for a month, I thought it'd be a good idea to test the waters and see what I can do on a short course. At the end of January I ran a local half marathon in Griffith Park and did ok, basically matching where I was last year in January. I was encouraged by this development (even though I was sore as hell for 3-4 days), and so I signed for the Run to Remember half which is basically a collection of my lunch time running routes in Hollywood.

Did a little bit more work than I should have during my ride on Saturday the day prior, so the legs were not super fresh come Sunday morning when I rolled out of bed at 4:45am. Had my usual Clif Bar with a side of banana and cashews, plus coffee. Got to the Grove at around 5:45am, parked, picked up my bib, went back to the car... listened to the radio, peed in the bottle to avoid the stupid long lines and went downstairs again to take my space by the starting line.

The sub 7 min group was a little sparse so I had plenty of room of stretch and do some basic warming up. The weather was awesome - high 50s, plenty of sunshine, clear and cool. Kicked off at 7:01am, and the first 1/2 mile were a real struggle - I was trying to find some space to run, and it was a bit of an uphill, so the pace was really punishing. By the time we got to Melrose I settled into a good rhythm and was averaging 6:21 min/mile. We ran into the Paramount lot, where the water station was manned by my Tri team members. Grabbed a cup of water from Agnieszka and proceeded towards the Bronson gate. I know I look like I am being chased by cops in the picture below, but that's just how much of a savage I am.

There after a quick lot detour the 10k and the 1/2 marathon crowds split. I was able to see the field in front of me and by my estimation I was about 20th from the front.

I knew that the climb up Western and Hollywood blvd is coming up, so the rest of the run on Melrose was the effort to get as close to the group up front. For some reason I made it up Western with ease but once I was on Hollywood blvd I really started to hurt. The pace was still high, all the way to the turnaround on Vermont, but I was really struggling. Heart rate was in the mid 170s, no bueno. In my mind, I just needed to get past Normandie on the way back and then get my shit together on the downhill all the way back to Melrose.

I got to the turnaround and I was actually 21st there. The runners in front of me looked pretty young, so I thought that I had a decent shot at placing in my age group. The downhill back to Melrose was a nice relief for my quads and I was ready to take on the Melrose hill - TWICE! Climbed it quite gingerly, knowing how unpleasant it really is even on a training run.  Got back to the Bronson gate of Paramount and here we merged with the 10k crowds - or put differently, the walkers of the 10k crowd.

From here to La Brea it was mainly all about dodging the walkers, trying to not get jammed into the curb like it happened last year when a lady in front me decided to suddenly stop and bolt in a coffee shop. The average speed dropped to 6:34 min/mile. Finally got to La Brea and from here we had our own lane again. Suddenly I got dropped by a group of 3 runners. Chased them all the way to the 3rd street where a did our last turnaround, and were within a mile or so from the finish line. I caught all but one of them, but had him and one more running in my sight all the way to the finish line. Finish time was 1:25:54, official time 1:25;52, the Garmin goodness can be seen here in all of its glory.

Got my medals, picked up a few bananas and a Nesquick's protein drink and walked back to the car - slowly! Got home and actually discovered that I finished 23rd overall, and took the 1st in my age group. Yay me!

IM Los Cabos 2016 recap

Thursday

I fly in at around 2pm, get a car, shop for groceries at a local WalMart (lots of bread, strawberry jam and Jiffy Peanut Butter, along with Gatorade, beer and Pepsi) and head to the hotel. I am pretty beat from the travelling, but decide to go for a run at around 5pm. It is intensely hot and humid. I am sweating like crazy after 2 miles and cut my run way short.  The rest of the night is spent eating PB&J sandwiches and drinking beer while watching the Thursday night NFL suckfest.

Friday

I show up for the pre-swim at 7am at Palmilla.  The water is very calm and super warm with very little chop and no visible swells, but a bit of a current on the way back. Swim about 1000 yards and do not feel like swimming more would make any difference. In the afternoon I head into town to pick up my registration packet along with my bike from the TriBike Transport. The registration process is a bit chaotic, and then I find out that half of my numbers have the wrong name printed on them (I am not Nick). Without missing a beat, some industrious human working the “Problems?” window prints my name on a bunch of blank labels and just slaps them on top of my numbers. Along the way it turns out that the Mexican triathlon federation wants a onetime registration fee of $10, and even that is kind of comical – window 1 collects $10 without any receipt and sends you on the way to the next window that refuses to release your bib numbers without a receipt from window 1. Then window 1 and window 2 confer and decide that you are good to go.

Back at the hotel I put my bike together and go for a ride at around 1:30pm. It is on the Highway 1 with the shoulder randomly appearing and disappearing as construction trucks and buses zip by you at the speeds approaching 80 mphs. After 10 minutes I decide that my bike works fine and I do not feel like becoming roadkill, at least not just yet. I turn around dodging the traffic and go back. I have to cross the highway one more time to get back into my hotel which is a whole different level of scary (and stinky).

Then it is time to figure out how am I going to get to the race on Sunday. The host hotel (Hampton Inn) attempts to collect $15 USD for letting me use their race shuttle on Sunday, but then backs off. The concierge lady is nice but she is less than informed.

At around 4pm I go to the pre-race meeting and there is more chaos there. The 2 men wrecking crew running it consists of a super suave US expat along with an older Brit expat, but in a typical local fashion neither one is certain on the subjects of the course's vertical gain, the layout or the rules of what sort of gear will need bagged and dropped off on Saturday. At the same time both are insistent that no bikes will be allowed to be brought in on Sunday. And lastly, they flat out state that there will be no access to the bike gear bags in the morning. I leave slightly frustrated but not too worried.

Saturday

Gear bags and bike drop off at the T1 at 11am – again more chaos. Some teenager manning the entrance decides to body mark and let people into the T1 at the same time, creating a sizeable line. Then everyone is let in in and the event team kids run around and randomly body mark only 1 spot on your body (i.e. the right shoulder in my case). The bag drop takes place in a completely unmarked tent and no one working it knows for sure if the bike gear bag must contain shoes and helmet or neither or both. Everything seems to be improvised on the spot. It is 11:30am and it is already hot hot hot.  I leave the helmet, the shoes and the glasses in the gear bag and head to the T2 back in town (no address, just go by a drawing on the map!). I find it in a completely unmarked tent in downtown San Jose del Cabo situated in the middle of a busy road with just a couple of teenagers again manning the process. I leave my stuff there and hope that it works tomorrow. I am starting to get into the whole go with the flow thing that the locals use as an excuse for everything.

Sunday

I get on the shuttle at 5am (for free, yippee!), and the first thing I see is a bunch of people from my hotel bringing their bikes on the shuttle. I ask no questions at this point. We get dropped off at the top of the hill at Palmilla where I hear and sort of see (it is dark) the kids who are there to collect our special needs bags. They they just kind of stand there and wait for you to give them the bags. Then naturally I see more people zipping down the hill on their bikes in total darkness along with a whole bunch of bike gear bags brought in.  I get into the T1 and soon realize that I can access my bike gear bag and proceed to take the helmet, shoes, number belt and glasses out and set up a proper transition mat by my bike. No one says a word.

The 70.3 race kicks off at 6:15 with the male pros and the female pros leaving at 6:20 and the rest of the field leaving at 6:30am. The announcers are completely focused on the 70.3 field until about 7:15 when they remember to give some terse instructions for the full. The buoys are still being towed, and then we line up in what supposed to be self seeded corrals and head into the ocean at 7:30. It is already hot. It takes me about a minute to get into the water, and the swim is nice. No fighting for space and the water is warmer then the hotel pool. The course is kind of rectangular with 3 left turns to make. My watch goes off at the half point mark and – I see that only 31 minutes elapsed which is good for me in a non-wetsuit swim. We make the second turn and then the current suddenly picks up along with a sizable swell. It is now a fight, and after the 3^rd turning point the chop is bad enough that my goggles start to leak and I can’t really breathe to the left anymore. It takes me almost 50 minutes to complete the 2^nd leg which also turns out to be about 300 yards longer than expected. I get out of the water and can barely see from all the salt water in my eyes. 1:21 is my swim time.

T1 gets done quickly and I head out. Cannot not quite get all the sand off my feet but that is expected in a beach transition where the carpet does not really work very well. We head up the Pamilla hill and I am sweating like a pig. Nutrition wise the plan is to eat half a Clif bar (macadamia white chocolate, yummy!) and 6 Margarita shot bloks per hour long with 2 salt stick tabs giving me me about 325 kcals total with 850 mg of sodium. For the liquids I plan to take water only with an occasional bottle of Gatorade to mix things up.  The plan works very well as I have no issues with staying hydrated or fed.

The ride to Cabo San Lucas is unremarkable but the heat is unrelenting. I maintain about 170w of NP. The first big climb (there are 4 in total) is not bad and the ride down is definitely fun. I grab my first water bottle at a water station at the bottom of the hill and a little kid manning it holds on too it too tight and I almost get dropped. The ride back to San Jose is much harsher facing the wind and the fumes from the cars that are at a total standstill on the other side of the highway.  I make it to the turn around and the guy manning it is so confused and has no idea who needs to go where. The screwy thing with the course that you come to this turnaround, go up the hill and then if you are doing the half or finishing your 2^nd lap of the full you get to ride past the WalMart to the T2. But the airport hill needs to be done, and the amigo completely fails to communicate it. I head up the hill to the toll road and that 2^nd climb does not disappoint. I drop a good number of of people on the climb (still lots of slower 70.3 riders on the road), and then head down to the roundabout for the 2^nd loop and turn towards Cabo San Lucas. Pass the special needs and pick up the rest of my nutrition and a small Coke that really hits the spot at that point.

What the Mexican culture lacks in the areas like being organized or planning ahead, it more than makes up for that by displays of an enthusiastic attitude along with employing hordes of rules enforcement people. The Ironman is no exception to this modus operando. On the bike course there is no drafting at all because the officials on their scooters are out in force  looking sufficiently menacing. On the other hand, things like setting up water stations equidistant from each other are not something that the organizers would put too much effort into. Also, the volunteers working the stations are out in huge numbers and are going bananas for every rider passing through but the timing mats are way too few and missing on one of the 2 major climbs.

The ride back to Cabo San Lucas feels a lot harder now – the heat is just unrelenting, even more cars are at a complete standstill on the other side of the highway stinking up the air and there is a stretch of about 10 miles with no aid stations. I now make sure to stop at every station and either exchange the water bottles or just grab one and dump it all over my body. I do the climb at San Lucas (the 3^rd big one) and head down hurting a bit. The course is now pretty desolate with a rider seen maybe every minute or so.  My second salt stick dispenser jams and I cannot get any salt tabs out of it. I am very glad I grabbed a spare baggie of Salt Stick tabs out of my special needs. The rollers are getting harder and harder even though they did not get any taller or steeper compared to the 1^st lap. My NP slowly drifts towards 165w but my heart rate stays steady.

I catch myself starting to drift off a bit and now only concentrate on eating every 20 minutes and steadily riding the hills without spiking power. We get closer to San Jose and (it is roughly mile 91) I notice that my NP is now 192 and climbing and my TSS is nearing 287 with less than 20 miles to go. How did that happen? Then I notice that my 10 sec average power alternates between a cool zero even going up a hill and 800+. The P1 pedals are drifting and I am pretty sure that it is from the heat from the pavement that got to them.  I can stop and try to recalibrate but with only 1 major climb to go I decide to ride by my heart rate which is still steady. The last or the 4th climb to the airport road is just frustrating but I power through it and drop a couple more people in the process. I still have no idea where I stand scoreboard wise but it feels like I might be in the top 20% of the field right now. The poor soul manning the turnaround suggests that are 3 laps to do but I know better and just bomb down the WalMart street to the T2. Its pavement is so rough that I am afraid to reach down and unbuckle my shoes before the t2 bike catchers do their thing. My ride takes 6:02 to complete.

I grab my run gear bag and head into the changing tent. I sit down to only realize that I am completely baked.  It is a weird feeling – and I have to talk myself into going out of the tent. Running 26 miles just seems wrong at the moment, but I am that stupid sometimes. The first 2 miles along the hotel corridor are in same searing, tiring heat. It is literally punishing to the point that having a bucket full of water dumped over me only keeps me damp for 2-3 minutes. The upside to this is that worrying about having wet feet in this situation proves to be completely unfounded. I stop at every other station and drink a cup of Pepsi. Eventually I get jacked enough to find some running rhythm. It carries me through the first of 3 loops. I even start to notice things around me – like the totally enthusiastic kids manning the stations, and the strange practice of having race officials writing down bib numbers at turnarounds located literally a few yards after intermediate split timing mats. The heat is starting to subside and I run with a lot more ease.

I now notice how utterly boring the run course really is. It weaves around the hotel corridor and the marina and the city gardens replete with the cows, butterflies and barely covered ditches and then suddenly drops you into some backstreet behind the city hall only to make do a U-turn and make you back to the city hall passing the finish line within maybe 100 yards. I complete the second loop and it is now getting dark (the time just got rolled back 1 hour in the morning so what used to be 7pm is now 6pm).  I push through the hotel corridor one more time and it is hard to ignore the fact that for every runner there are now 10-12 people walking or weaving. Not good. The run over the bridge to the marina is in total darkness and I try to not get hit by some kid on the bike or an official riding a scooter.

Yet all good things must come to an end and I finally cross the marina bridge for the last time and come back to the city hall. The Ironman does this funny thing to me where it takes things that I normally love to do (Cycling! Running!) and subtly pushes them to the point where they are just not fun anymore, forcing me into this sort of mental game where I have to maintain focus or else things start to go bad. I cross the finish line at 3:59 looking dazed enough to have some helpful volunteer escort me all the way to the feeding station which serves pizza by slice, cookies and ramen noodles (!!!) along with water and Gatorade. Then it is time for a good massage from 2 very enthusiastic students of the local massage school and to head back to the T2 which is about 3 blocks away from the finish line. The entrance is of course right at the furthest end of the T2, but I am totally stoked to find my bike and bags intact and grab one last Clif bar for the night.

But would this really be a race in Mexico without more fun and games? As soon as I find my bike a gentleman comes up to me and starts asking for my helmet. I explain to him that I am not planning to ride my bike but he insists and it does not look like my Spanish is working. I finally pull the helmet out of my T2 bag, he checks the number on it and leaves me alone. I get dressed and head out, and one of the dozen or so kids manning the exit takes my timing chip.  I ask them where I can find a taxi and one of them tells that they are queuing up a block away on a fairly shabby looking street. This turns out to be totally true and I immediately secure a taxi van. As I am loading my bike and my bags into the van, one of the T2 kids runs up to me yelling “Chip! Chip!”. I tell him that it was just collected it and I don’t have it but he does not believe me and inquires if my heart rate monitor band, my 910xt and finally my cadence meter are all “Chip!”. I kind of get ready to fight him but the taxi driver gets in the middle and probably tells the chip collector to get away from his fare. $25 later I get back to my room… and then I realize that it is all over along with my 2016 season.  I go downstairs, order a cheeseburger and nachos along with 3 Heinekens and get back to my room to sleep a very brief sleep of death.

Ironman Arizona 2015 recap

Arrived in Phoenix Thursday night. Last race of the season, and it's been a fairly long season for me. My goal was to get as close to 10:30 as I can, and then re-evaluate. Also to have fun and enjoy the Arizona fall. Bib # 2487.

The forecast has called a rain to start after 6pm, so I figured that I'd be done well before that... how foolish of me. Did not pack anything warm at all.

Swim - was shooting for a 1:10 time. However I did not realize how packed would the starting queue be - by the time I got in line, best I could do was get to the dude holding the 1:15 sign. LOL. The steps were kinda funky, but I got in and started swimming. Lots of mutual pummeling, etc. After about 3 markers, I finally swam through the masses and had plenty of space. Some more traffic at the turnaround, but not too bad. Slowed down a bit for the last 0.5 miles - realized that my neck is getting horribly chafed as my wetsuit's collar somehow got twisted, probably during the starting fight for space. Got out, I guess that the timer was placed at the top of the steps - my Garmin showed 1:14, official time was 1:15:14.

T1 - got the wetsuit off, ran to the bike bags, found mine quick. Hands were cold - and given my lesson from 2 years ago, I wanted socks. Took a minute to get the strap to click and the socks to line up on my numb feet. Off to the bike course in 5:40.

Bike - oh boy. I knew that it'd take me 3-4 miles to start generating power. Was shooting for 183 NP... man was I in for a disappointment. Going out on the first loop I was at 175, by the time I was back in Tempe I was at 161. Somehow I just could not get warm at all, was peeing on the bike every hour. The winds on the way out of town were pretty mild, but I was just sucking. Nutrition wise I was doing great, taking on 100 kcals every 20, and an extra GU packet on the hour mark. I was barely sweating, and was mostly drinking water with a salt tab once in a while. The rain started after 11, and it was on and off for the rest of the ride. By the time I was finishing the visibility was nearly zero and I was shivering nonstop. Did a flying dismount and almost face planted - the carpet at the finish line was soaked. 5:35:08 - boo.

T2 - it was so warm inside the tent! Decided to stay inside for an extra minute and stretch in hopes of warming up. The rain was coming down extra HARD outside but it was time to poop or get off the pot. I got up. 3:35

Run - After the first mile I was so cold that I almost called it quits. Then paired up with a 50-54 dude who was cranking it out, and he pulled through the next 3 miles. The rain water turned the dirt path along the lake into an obstacle course, which made it fun. After 5 miles I was finally warm, feeling my toes, and decided to shoot for a 3:40-ish run. It was definitely on until the 19 mile mark, when I have realized that I was shivering again. Started walking the water stations until the mile 24. After that, brought it home without any more misadventures. 3:44:16.

Overall - 10:43:53. Went out with the family afterwards, and had a burger and some salad and a couple of beers, got home to watch the 'hawks crapping their collective bed... and fell asleep on the coach... and woke up in the middle of the night HUNGRY. Typing this up before I forget stuff.

Conclusion - a very middling outing. I got work to do, with the bike re-fit and probably some sort of coaching. I should also get better prepped for colder events - which is hard to do in SoCal, but now that I got burned twice (here and in NYC 2014)... 

Hansen Dam Olympic 2015 recap

Location - Hansen Dam Park near Pacoima, the Valley region of Los Angeles. My first tri of the 2015 season.

The weather is always a crapshoot here, and of course we got a mini-heat wave this weekend. The swim is in an urban lake, called Recreational lake, and the day prior to the race the temps were easily in the 90s. Oh well. Brought the sleeveless with me just in case, set up my transition, got body marked, had a banana and a Gatorade. The air was easily in the upper 70s, and when I went for a pre-swim - the water was easily 85.

Swim. The course was 3 laps around the lake, and about 1/3 of the loop you had some blazing sun in your face. I was in the second wave, which got going at around 6:48am. The course was merging with the incoming waves during the start of each loop, and of course I would run into the incoming swimmers EVERY time. The course was pretty loosely measured, and I swam at least 1700 yards. Out in 32:53. Meh, hate swimming in a muck.

T1. Nothing too eventful except that someone managed to rack their bike next to mine facing the same direction so that their bullhorns were tangled with my front brake cable. Took about 30 seconds to unscrew this, without dropping the other bike. 2:14

Bike. The course was 2 loops, claiming to be 22 miles. You climb on some rollers and false flats for about 5 miles, and then bomb down. I ended up with about 19.7 miles total distance on my bike. Anyhow, I was shooting for about 200w per loop. At the end of the first loop hit some nasty crack in the pavement, and heard a pop coming from the wheel. Slowed down a bit, the front wheel seemed to be intact. However, going up the second loop felt really hard for some reason. I was starting to get passed by chicks, people riding road bikes... more road bikes on the way down... wtf... avg power up to 214w. Dismounted in T2 and immediately saw that a spoke was broken. FML. Had to carry the bike in. 54:13.

T2. In and out quick. Was getting pretty hot, so poured about 1/2 bottle of water on the head and chest. 1:12.

Run. About 70% trails, . I knew that I was not going to be able to medal, so decided to just treat it as a tempo run for a marathon. It was a bit hilly, so 7:15 min/mile was about the right pace. The organizers did set up at least 8 or 9 drinking stations, so hydration was not an issue. The last 1/2 mile were a bit of work since we basically went down a dirt ditch and then up the said ditch. Was over before I knew it. 46:46, 2:17:19 total, 4th in my division, 17th overall.

Got a bagel, bananas and water and went home to cry to momma. The wheel turned out to be ok, just had the spoke replaced the next day. Silverman is next, and then IMAZ. 

OC Marathon 2015 recap

It's been 8 days since, so I'd better write up a recap. Memory is not my forte anyhow, so here it is.

I started to taper one week prior to the race week. Ran about 10 miles less than prescribed, and did not do strength work or tempo. Just eas-ish running instead. The right ankle was getting pretty stiff and sore, and I really felt that resting it up would be a good idea. The week of the race I did not run at all Wednesday through Friday and just rested and iced the ankle. Unfortunately by Friday I started develop a little bit of nasal congestion. Really, really hoped that it does not develop any further. Loaded up on Vitamin C and liquids.

The day before traveled to Newport Beach and checked into a hotel. There was some stupidness going on with the shuttle passes, but thanks to my friend Joanne we got the coveted wrist bands even though it cost an extra $10. Had a chicken sandwich with mashed pot at TGI Friday (it sucked and was drenched in Tabasco, ugh!).  Laid out my gear for tomorrow and went to bed at 9:30 and kinda sorta slept til 3am.

Woke up and had PB&J sandwich and a banana with coffee. The weird head cold thing was still there but it was sort of in the background. Wanted to see if I can cram an extra Clif bar and some Shot Bloks but was way too full. Got on the bus at 4:30, got dropped off at the race start. Had a bottle of Gatorade, hit the porta potty a couple of times, forced myself to have a gel at about 5:25am. The race got going at 5:41am. It was almost bright enough. The temps were in the high 50s. Perfect!

The first few miles were rollers through the town, and I kept pace pretty controlled. Then we got to Corona del Mar and the pace quickened a bit. I was at 7:10 and saw a few 7:08s. I knew that this was not going to be prudent, and really tried to keep the pace in check. We hit the first (and really the only) sizable hill on Dover Dr heading towards Castaways park. The pace was around 7:11 and it stayed that way til the half marathon split point.

I had to make an assessment there. My plan was to honestly ask myself if I was feeling strong - this was the logical place to bail if something was not firing right. I had another marathon scheduled 3 weeks out - and it'd been smart to avoid running the full 26.2in OC, to save the energy and fight another day. But I felt like a million bucks at that point. The ankle was a tiny bit achy but otherwise all was good. And so I popped a gel and it was on!

The course was pancake flat til mile 20. We ran past the Segestrom Pavillion, through the mall and through some fairly non-descript 'hoods. Had another gel - but I felt no signs of energy depletion. The pace was around 7:13 at mile 20, but I started to feel the miles a bit. I took one last gel and pitched the remaining 2 to reduce the weight. At around mile 22 after we got off the river bike path there was pretty small but sharp hill and it felt like I was running up the Trash Truck Hill in Griffiths Park. I also found that if I sharply turn my head, I get dizzy. Ugh again. I think that the temps were rising and my body started to lose electrolytes faster than I was able to replenish them.

So the pace was at about 7:15. Started popping salt tabs but still from mile 24.5 I was cramping a bit here and there. But I still was on track, just had to keep thinking good thoughts. At mile 25 or so some dude gave me mini bottle of ice cold water and yelled at me to pick it up as I was almost there. Right he was. Pushed harder but had to mind the crampy state of affairs at that point.

Got to the fairgrounds, it was kinda desolate there, but eventually reached the merger point with the half marathoners. Was very happy to hit the finish line and see the clock at 3:12. The official finish time was 3:12:43. I've done it! The full Strava thing can be found here.

Surf City Half marathon 2015 recap

Ran the Surf City half marathon yesterday. 2 other buddies came along, so we all carpooled. Took about an hour, and parking was relatively painless despite the horrors that I have read about in the reviews. We got there at 6:20 and it took no time to find parking in a structure ($12 though).

The pre-race went as expected. Line up at a portapotty, do the deed, mill around, hit the portapotty again, off to the starting line. This time I took a bit longer than usual and had to push through a densely packed crowd to get to the starting line.

So the plan was to run the first 7 miles or so at a 6:45 pace, and then slow it down for the last 6 miles, to end up with the average of about 7:15. The first 5 miles went great, but by the end of mile 5 I felt like I was developing major blisters on the balls of my feet. Both of them. I was running in my Saucony Guide shoes with about 230 miles on them, and I have been doing all of my speedwork in them... no real issues in training, logged 12 miles in them just last week... perplexing. By mile 6 I had to make a decision to slow down to get to the nearest aid station and get some Vaseline. Found it at the mile 8 or so. From there I ran the rest of the course very leisurely, stopped at a portapotty, since a bunch of time was wasted anyways.

Finished with the feet absolutely searing. Finish time was pretty irrelevant by that point (1:58). Had a couple of beers in the garden, waited for my friends to finish... enjoyed the sun and the chatter around me. Will need a few days to let the feet heal and maybe find another half to do in mid February to test the fitness. This said, week 5 is over just like that!

Ironman Arizona 2013 recap

Woke up at 4, had 1 more serving of rice, a PB&J sandwich, a cup of mild coffee and a banana. Got to the park at 5:15am and ate a Clif Bar. Dropped of my SN bags and changed. Listened to death metal and was getting pumped. The pros went off at 6:45am and I lined up for the entrance.  Before the start had a GU and 4-5 oz of water. Jogged/jumped up and down for about 4-5 minutes. Got into the water, it felt about 64-65 degrees.

Lined up in the middle about 4-5 rows down. With about 2 mins to go, a woman next to me starts having a panic attack. She is bobbing up and down and trying to swim on her back. I grab her and some dude holds her other arm and we call a kayaker. He finally hears us and starts making his way to us. The woman is getting wigged out and I am trying to tell her that she is not done for the day. It is chaotic as the kayaker is trying to pull her up and people are swimming all around us. Finally she is secured and the gun goes off a few 5 seconds later. By now, I am probably 15 rows down and it is a wild stampede. I go through about 5 mins of fighting for space. Finally, I get some open water and swim without too much contact until the turnaround. The turnaround is a mess again, with people trying to cut it as close to the markers as possible. Once we turn around, I take my straight shot back to the museum building that I sighted before. Again, tons of open water as people are wondering off in all directions. I am starting to feel like I am getting a little too worked and I slow the pace down a bit. Before I know it, we come to the last turnaround and a bit of fighting ensues again. I swim up to the steps and get pulled in. The clock reads 1:19.

T1 - pull my wetsuit off right away and run having to dodge people being stripped by the volunteers. Run into the bag holding area and find my stuff quickly. Hands are a bit cold so it takes time to take my gear out of the bag and put my top on and shove food into the back pockets and then pack the wetsuit. I run towards the exit and grab my bike from the volunteer. Shove a Clif bar into my mouth before jumping on and wash it down with Diet Coke to hopefully kill off any fauna I might have swallowed in the water. The clock reads 1:30. 10 mins down the drain. I guess that I need to figure out how to do a better T1 in the IM format.

The goal was about 150 NP, and at least 500 calories intake from non-fluids. I get on the bike and I am shivering. Freezing almost. Takes me a good 15 mins to defrost. Of course, I barely put out any power in this condition. We get to Beeline and the wind is in our face. Ride to the top pretty slowly, and then get to bomb down back to McDowell. Awesome! Not a ton of drafting. The second loop feels much easier for some reason – that’s because the wind had shifted. Ride to the top is now super fast. The stomach starts to get a little tight, and the sun is in my back heating up my saddle and my rear. I eat my GU packets and my Clif Bloks 3 cubes at time but I am not a happy camper digestion wise. The ride down is painfully slow as it is again against the wind. I have to stop at the special needs area and grab 2 banana halves and refill my aero bottle. 2 mins go by and the cramps are gone. Back to Rio Salado and off to the 3rd loop. I try to drink as much as possible (I am using G2 grape flavor with about 20% water added on top) and I have to stop again to fill up the aero bottle and grab 2 more banana halves. Take away - need to work on my tempo rides. I can get faster, I know it. Bike time was 5:47:39.

Got to T2. I hand over my bike, get my run gear bag and try to change on the grass. I get accosted by a volunteer and get told to go to the tent and change. Whaaaat? It is hot and musty in the tent and quite dark too. Find a seat and put on my shoes and hat and my running belt with the number on it. Turn on my Garmin, and pack the bike helmet and some leftover food stuff into the bag. I keep 2 GU packets and a packet of salt tabs. I am out of the tent and the time reads 7:25. Another 5 mins spent.

It is mid-day and then sun is still quite warm, probably in the mid 70s. I start my run and the whole herd of us is moving towards the east end of the park. It is confusing since I have no idea whether someone is running their second loop or not. My heart rate monitor starts glitching again, and is showing a 190 bpm HR. I know that I am not quite having a heart attack, and in fact my breathing is smooth. I get angry and pitch the heart strap at the next trash can. Feeling liberated. Some rollers in the first mile. I come to the first drink station and get some water. Take it in and the stomach is unhappy again. The pace is still good – about 7:55 min/mile. At the next aid station I take some cola and a wet sponge. It feels much better. We turn around and are now running back to the Priest bridge. I alternate between Cola and bananas, followed by tiny sips of water, between drink stations. The stomach is not super happy about it, but I feel like I will fight through this. Cross over to the other of the lake and run a little slower but still within the 8:10 min/mile pace. The voices inside my head are beginning to talk about how cool it’d be to go sub 11. The next 6 miles are a blur… I get back to the T1 area and feel like going number one. I am tired of peeing myself and jump into a porta potty. The pee looks dark. Crap! I take a salt tab and it makes my stomach churn. I switch to almost 100% cola for the next 4 miles. Eventually I make it back to the T1 area and I am feeling pretty spry now for whatever reason. I notice a 7:55 min/mile pace at one point. Cross the Priest bridge and am now seeing the sub 11 mile goal fading. Garmin is projecting a 3:39 finish time for the run… and my heart just goes. I try to pick up the pace but it makes my quads cramp. I make it back to the turnaround under the freeway, grab water at the next station and a banana… water makes me throw up. Gross. I have to slow down to keep going. My mind starts to wander a little and the next 2 miles are a blur again until I make it the hill on Curry road. I know I need to walk that hill or else I may be forced to walk the last 3 miles altogether. I also walk the last incline to the Priest bridge and I am elated to know that I only have 1.5 miles to go. I forgo taking fluids or food at this point and just concentrate on moving forward as fast as I can. I come to the split between the loops and I can hear the noise from the finish line. Going about 7:20 min/mile at that point, not even sure why. I come to the finish line and am overwhelmed by the crowd. Crossing the line, it reads 11:10:05. A 3:46 run, nothing to write home about under the normal circumstances.

I get seated by the volunteer and drink my chocolate milk, and grab some chips and pizza and water. I am almost delirious. My kids find me and call me. I am now realizing that I am done. Suddenly I feel much better. I find my clothes, change, grab the bike and my gear bags and we head out. Wife parked about a mile from the finish line, and is joking that I can always ride my bike back. I seem to be walking ok though. We get back to the rental, I shower and we all go to Grimaldi’s in downtown Scottsdale for pizza and beers. I am feeling great. We get home and I black out into the darkest sleep where no dreams dwell.
All in all... this being my first IM, I think that I could have done better transitions and probably more tempo bike rides.