140.6 Ramblings - Triathlon Stories

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-23002546-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Thoughts from an amateur triathlete and entrepreneur while he trains for his first full iron-distance race, the Rev 3 Cedar Point full triathlon in Sandusky, Ohio. In April of 2011, just two weeks in to training, I lost someone very near and dear to me due to her long fight with cancer. After many close to me during the last few years have suffered from cancer, I've decided to dedicate my Rev 3 full iron-distance event to those who have lost the fight. Every little bit will help. Please join me in the battle to find a cure.

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Revolution 3 Cedar Point - Full Rev Race Report : Race Morning and the Swim

Part two of my Cedar Point Race Report/Experience.  I left the Bike out and will post that next.  It's been a busy couple of weeks catching up on life!  Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.

MORNING OF THE RACE

Race morning's always go by so quickly, and this one was no different.  I actually slept pretty well the night before the race.  I found that taking two Ibuprofen PM the night before a race helps me sleep well, and takes away any left over inflammation I may have.  Since we were staying at Hotel Breakers, which was literally 300 yards from the swim start, I was able to set the alarm a little bit later than usual... Alarm went off at 4:45am and the nerves started  right away.  I woke up, took one last glance at my race plan and started through the motions. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal, 2 pieces of whole wheat cinnamon raisin toast with Brummel & Brown butter (this stuff rocks), a bottle of Cytomax and a Larabar (which I ate on the way to transition).  

My better half's dad stopped by and drove me over to transition (was great to have such an awesome support crew there with me all day!).  Once we got to transition, I made my way over and dropped off my special needs bags, hung up my transition bags, and went over to pump up my bike tires/load my bottles on the bike.  

I must say that once I got into the transition area, my nerves subsided.  It's remarkable how we process feelings.  If we've done the work, deep down we know we are ready for any challenge that we face.  This was no different.  I felt ready. Calm.  Collected. Ready.  

I've read a ton of other race reports, and feel the need to share a couple additional details that helped make the overall experience what it was... these are the things that go unnoticed by so many, but they are the ones that you remember.  The morning music selection was awesome... as I walked up to the event I heard the subtle tones and steady beats of Death Cab for Cutie (I Will Possess Your Heart)... perfect, calming, serious, and yet mission-oriented.  The next song up, and the one I heard on the way out of transition was AWOLNATION (Sail)... for me, I couldn't have asked for two better tracks to start the day.  Great job to @SeanEnglishLive.  Well done amigo!

After taking care of everything I needed to do in transition I headed back to the hotel room to get my wetsuit on, have a couple more sips of water/cytomax and then head out to the swim start.  It was a simply gorgeous morning and you could definitely feel the seriousness in the air of all the athletes preparing for the day ahead.  Though, the most overpowering feeling came from the realization that we were doing this on a day that would always be remembered... the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The Rev3 crew surprised everyone and put out a very nice tribute on the beach - 1 flag for each of the lives lost on that day, 10 years ago. 

Pic: 9/11 tribute. Photo - Rev3 & Eric Wynn

Pic: Dawn rising, watching the pro men swim start & staying warm.

Before I knew it, it was time to watch the pros go off.  I didn't get a chance to do a warm-up swim, but wasn't bothered by this at all.  I figured I had 2.4 miles to start warming up, then 112 to get warmed up for the marathon at the end of the day.

SWIM: 1:15:15

As I made my way to the swim start, there was a brief moment of nervousness that started to creep in.  After all, this was what I had been training for all year, and preparing for mentally for a lot longer.  The time was here to start a day that would be my first 140.6 triathlon.  As the nerves rose, I remembered something that helped calm me down a ton... just two weeks prior I went out and finished an Olympic Triathlon swim extremely strong with no wetsuit!  I kind of chuckled, smiled, got ready, focused and made my way to the front of the pack.

Pic: My starting point in the front, middle/left of the pack for the swim.

Pic: Gun went off, and the sludge trudge began. 

As I hit the sludge, I looked right, looked left and reminded myself to take in every moment of the day.  "Stay in the moment, enjoy the experience," I repeated over and over.  Then the race really began as I started dolphin diving about 100 yards into Lake Erie.  At this point I was feeling good and started right in to my plan to swim strong for the first 300 yards and hold my ground.  My first lesson learned came shortly thereafter.  It was awfully hard to hold my ground when I was on the left side of the pack with people pushing me further out from the buoys as they tried to get out of the chaos of the front pack.  Lesson learned, next time I'll be on the right side of the pack and look for fast feet to hold out of the gate.

Generally speaking, the swim was pretty good.  The course was two loops in a triangle fashion with the first bringing you back to the start and the second taking you right in towards transition.  I settled in to a solid rhythm as we hit the first turn buoy and finally found myself towards the inside line.  I knew that I had lost the faster feet at the front of the pack at this point, so just settled in to my own comfortable pace and decided I would start to push harder after the first lap.  As I made my way in towards the beach on the first loop, I went to look at my watch to see how my pace was holding only to find out that somewhere along the way it had been kicked and stopped at 16 minutes.  Oh well, not much to be done other than hit start again and get back at it.

By the second loop I found a couple of other folks that were starting to push the pace and pass people - so I hopped on a train of about 3 people all the way to the last turn buoy.  At this point, I felt like we were slowing a little bit too much for my liking and pulled around them and pushed the pace to the beach.  It was such a great feeling knowing that all the hard work and training had payed off to the point that I could lift my pace for the last 1,000 and feel great doing it.

With about 300 to go I stuck with my plan and eased my pace to start lowering my heart rate and increased my kick slightly to get blood flowing into my legs.  It worked like a charm!  I hit the sand with a smile and a heart rate in high zone 1. Score!

Pic: Exiting the swim - happy and feeling great.

  Pic: Out of the water, wetsuit coming off and heading into T1.

  T1: 6:13

Pic: Walking through T1 to my bike rack - maybe I should have picked it up a little!

Pic: The cone-head helmet crew in T1 - we triathletes are an odd breed.

I felt great getting out of the water and was heading up the beach towards the wetsuit strippers.  Saw two guys on the left side that looked like they knew what they were doing, headed there way and was on my way in 10 seconds.  Perfect!  Found my bag right away and headed to the changing tent.  Empty seat right by the exit and I had a great volunteer who put everything back in my bag I didn't need. Again, bonus!  I took my time, made sure I had everything in my pockets I needed and headed out of the tent.  Part of my race plan was to walk through T1 and force myself to keep my heart rate down.  With a 6 plus min transition, I definitely accomplished that... :)  It worked, and I was below where I wanted to be heading out of T1.

Up Next: the Bike & Run - this is where it starts to get interesting!

Cheers,

E

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Regardless of the brand, the message is solid.  Had to share.  Here's to finding your strong!  Cheers!

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Revolution 3 Cedar Point - Full Rev Race Report #REV3CP

So, it's been about three weeks since I finished my first 140.6 triathlon, and honestly, I think it's taken that much time to soak it all in.  Before I get too much further into the race report, I want to stop for a moment and thank everyone who supported me and TEAM FIGHT.  Without your support, I could not have accomplished the biggest goal of it all... to raise over $1,500 for the Ulman Cancer Fund.  We did it and the totals are still coming in as some folks mailed checks, but it looks like we'll be close to $2k for this round!

As humans, we go through life setting and completing goals.  Ever since I was young, I was intrigued by the sport of triathlon and especially the 140.6 Ironman distance. For me, completing my first triathlon at this distance will always stick with me for a variety of reasons, but mostly, because it was the culmination of years of preparation and it really could not have gone much better.  Without further ado, here's the race report. 

As you'd expect - it's a bit long, so I will be breaking it up into 3 parts (Travel & Pre-race, Morning & Swim, Bike & Run).  Here's part 1 hope you enjoy!

TRAVELING TO CEDAR POINT

946 miles is just over 6.5 times the distance of a Full Rev triathlon and yet, in a car it took us only a couple hours more than it did for me to finish 140.6 miles under my own power... imagine if we still relied oh human and horsepower for our transportation!  Geez!

We had a great road trip up and broke it into two separate days of traveling so that we arrived the Friday before the race with enough time to drive the bike course, check in to the hotel, complete athlete check-in and cruise around the expo for a little bit before settling in for the evening.

Overall, the trip was pretty uneventful and we saw some sites (neat, interesting, awesome, and weird).  Not limited to, but including the NFL Football Hall of Fame, a giant power generator that looked like some upside down train engine from the future (picture below for your viewing pleasure), coal mines in West Virginia, great wildlife and so much more.

PIC: Some sort of futuristic, upside-down, power generating device.

One thing I will say about the trip, is we were thankful to borrow this behemoth vehicle that easily fit everything a triathlete and support crew could ever want.  We took all the necessities - microwave, toaster, multiple clothing bags, tri bag, bike, trainer, wheel sets, a cooler packed with goodies for the road and meals for the race, fruit - you name it, we had it.  Could you say we were overly prepared, probably.  Was it a little bit less stressful knowing that anything we wanted from the comforts of home (especially nutrition wise) was at our fingertips, definitely.

PIC: Everything a triathlete and support crew could want!

I was a little nervous from being in the Rover for so long and having my legs feel pretty stiff by day two.  We were really ready to get to Hotel Breakers (the host hotel for the race), but I thought it would be good to drive the bike course on the way in - namely because "flat" is a relative term to describe bike courses. I was so glad that we took the time to drive the course Friday on the way in though.  It was gorgeous!  So different from the monotonous training routes that I did my longest rides on.  Small rolling hills that you could ride through, shady parts, a couple little downhill sections with one longer portion, and loads of corn fields!

After a day and a half of being in the Rover, we were definitely ready to be out of it and happy to get to Cedar Point!

PIC: Hello Cedar Point!

After arriving and getting settled into our hotel room we went right over to the transition area for athlete check-in.  It was great!  The volunteers were so friendly and seemed genuinely excited to be part of the experience for the athletes, a theme that continued throughout the race.  The first stop was to get my arm band (#92) then on to the next stop where I was weighed in (they do this as a precaution for medical reasons to get a starting weight), next up was the photo booth and then on to get my timing chip.  It was such a cool touch to take a fun, personalized photo with me and my better half that went up on the big screen when I crossed the finish line!

Once we finished with athlete check-in, we cruised around the expo to check out all the goods and then headed back to the room to get some dinner and rest.

SATURDAY BEFORE THE RACE

Waking up Saturday morning the mood was positive, focused, and celebratory. After 5 months of challenging training, life's ups and downs, the realization that I was 24 hours out from the start of my first 140.6 triathlon began to set in.  As I got up to go through the motions, I began to think about the advice that a few seasoned-triathletes who have qualified for Kona multiple times told me... "Enjoy every moment of this experience.  Appreciate the fact that you are healthy enough to complete an event of this distance.  Have fun.  Stay positive."  So, that's just what I did.

The morning started with my normal pre-race breakfast and then I focused on getting through my pre-race workouts quickly so that I had some time to enjoy the afternoon and not feel too rushed at any point of the day. 

Saturday Workouts

Saturday Morning Swim: 700 yards, easy with 3-4 race pace efforts; focused on sighting, technique and comfort in the lake.  

The lake was fairly calm, but very murky. The swim felt pretty good with two minor exceptions.  The first was that when you got in the lake there was nearly 100 yards of this thick sludge (who knows what it was, but I'm still alive with no degenerating limbs - so it couldn't have been too toxic).  The second was the cooler water temperature.  Us Floridians get cold when the temperature drops and I am no exception to this rule.  Luckily, after about 5 minutes in the water I warmed up and the fear of having a cold water induced "ice-cream headache" on race morning subsided quickly thereafter.

PIC: Trudging through the sludge.

PIC: The scene on the beach Saturday morning was awesome.

Saturday Morning Bike: 11 miles (give or take) at about 18mph average.  I had 3 goals for this ride.  First, make sure that everything was okay on the bike (gears, etc.).  Second, ride the start/finish of the bike course down the rough road along the coast of Lake Erie to get a feel for how it would be on the way out and back. Third, and most important, loosen up the legs a little bit with 3-4 race efforts for 90 seconds each.  

The bike ride went great on all accounts!  I learned that the road was rougher than I thought, but holding a bigger gear would be the best way to get through it. Additionally, it would be important to check my back bottles after getting through the section on the bike as I saw a couple people lose them just during this ride.  It felt great to get the legs warmed up and I had to hold myself back a couple of times from going too hard... a great place to be!

Saturday Morning Brick Run: an easy 2 miles right off the bike at around a 11 min average pace with 3 pickups for 90 seconds at approx 8:30 pace with full recovery in between and a couple steady race efforts at 9:30-9:40 pace.  

Throughout the run I felt focused, and happy.  How could one not be when all things are firing in sync!  Not much else to say about this one. 

After the run I headed back to the room, showered, ate some lunch (orzo with lean turkey) and kept hydrating with Hammer HEED & Cytosport.  Lunch done, it was off to the Athlete meeting and bike check.

The REV3 crew did a great job with the athlete meeting.  They provided a full update regarding last minute bike course changes and answered all sorts of questions.  The bike course had to be changed due to construction on part of the it, which was promised to be finished by race day - but wasn't, the REV3 team had to make a few last minute adjustments.  Normally, this wouldn't be a big issue, but heading out of Sandusky, OH towards the country there are lots of things to deal with - namely railroad crossings.  The local police, officials, and race director were able to find a route that was not impacted by any such obstacle.  

PIC: Athlete meeting Saturday before the race.

PIC: Two great causes, Team Red White and Blue on the left and TEAM FIGHT on the right.  Was great to stop by and chat with the folks from TEAM FIGHT for a while on the way to rack my bike.

PIC: Racking the trusty steed.  Loved these racks - so much nicer than the normal "A-frame" style racks.

PIC: Nice touches from the REV3 folks - personalized name plates.

PIC: Bike racked, wrapped, and ready to spend the night!  Note: I find that 3 Target bags work perfect to wrap the bike - two on the front bars and one tied on the seat.

PIC: View of transition area from my bike rack location.

After getting my bike racked, I walked through transition as a practice for race day - exiting the water, grabbing my bag off the peg board (I scored a great location right at the end of the first rack), through the transition tent, back to my bike and then through Bike Out.  It's always good to do a quick walk-through to help visualize the motions.

Once that was done it was back to the hotel room to settle in for the afternoon which consisted of double checking my special needs bags (then setting them aside so I didn't keep checking them), keeping my nutrition and hydration plan on point, and relaxing.  

Last solid meal was at 4:30pm and lights out by 8:30pm.

Next up - Race Morning & the Swim!

Thanks for reading!

-E

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Cheers to that!

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"Welcome to the Neighborhood..." & #REV3CP 2011 Age Group Video

So many great memories from this video as part of my first Full Rev race.  Here are a few of the highlights:

Awesome to see my DailyMile buddy Jim Wilkes in the video (1:30).  Was awesome to see him out on the course around the 11 mile mark.

You can barely see me walking through the muck to start the swim (2:34), in my Orca 3.8 from All3Sports.com.

The guy getting off the bike with the yellow shoes (5:05) was my pilot fish for a good portion of the bike - the guy knew how to hold speed through the rollers really well!

"Welcome to the neighborhood..." at 7:05 - that guy was amazing and had more endurance than all of us combined.  Those are the kinds of fans ... scratch that... those are the people... that make this all worth it. 

Oh, and that shirt at 3:00... yeah, that was one from my wonderful support crew.  They wore them oh so proud all day!

My race report (multiple parts) will be up soon.

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It's Almost Time - #REV3CP

It's been an absolutely amazing adventure to get this far.  Today was filled with time that went by too fast, and enjoyable moments of just trying to soak it all in.  I started the day out with a little swim just to get used to the water and my wetsuit again and boy is the water murky.  Luckily, it seems just like home but a little colder - :).  After the morning swim, we headed back to the room to go get a little bike/run session in to keep the legs loose after not working them the past couple of days.  In simple words, it felt good.  After that, it was off to the athlete meeting, then bike check-in.  

Now, here I sit, looking out the window writing this short post... It feels surreal.  I look to my left and these nutrition bottles are here, ready to go for tomorrow.  One will go in the freezer tonight, one will be filled with ice and water in the morning, and the rest will have water in them.  They have the names of those who donated to TEAM FIGHT written on them.  They include some simple words of motivation.  And one powerful word... "Remember" - this is for all those that we've lost.  When things get tough, and I know at some point they will in the 140.6 mile day, I just need to look down and remember what the driving force is behind all of this.

I have too many words to say tonight, and yet, there are really very few.  I'll remain focused this evening, try to sleep, hold the nerves down in the morning, and then begin the process of enjoying somewhere around 43,107 "moments" (seconds) during the day tomorrow.

For those of you who would like to follow me along the course tomorrow, you can do so by going to www.rev3tri.com/live/ and tracking athlete #92 (that's me).  Also, my awesome support crew will likely be tweeting updates via @copychic on twitter.

140.6 miles at Rev3 Cedar Point... here we come!

-Elton

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Friday Before Race Day

It's been a long haul to get here. I wanted to put together a longer post today to talk about some of the challenges, the ups, the downs and all of the things that I've learned along the way to get here... two nights before race day for my first full iron-distance triathlon.  But, as I sit here this evening, looking out the window and watching some of the roller-coasters at the Cedar Point theme park I realized that it would be too long of a post for right now.  

As I sit here, I realize that there have been thousands of miles covered, hundreds of hours, and years of preparation.  Though, the most amazing thing has been the support from everyone along the way.  Friends, family, dailymilers, TEAM FIGHT comrades, loved ones, and everyone who I may have missed... to you, I say Thank You!  With you this is all possible.  With your support and encouragement, WE are sitting here this evening getting ready for the race. WE will hit our goal of raising over $1,500 for TEAM FIGHT to help in the fight against cancer.  

I have so many thoughts tonight.  So many realizations.  Yet, I know that I need to remain focused on the task at hand.  

I look forward to sharing the experience with you all the best that I can during the next 24 hours leading up to the race, through the race, and following.

Signing off for now as I write the rest of the donors names on my nutrition bottles (I'll get some pics posted tomorrow too).

Back with another post tomorrow afternoon, after my last race prep short work out.

As always, thank you for reading and supporting TEAM FIGHT!

-Elton

PS - you can watch/track live on race day this Sunday at www.rev3tri.com

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Road trippin' on up to Ohio.  It was a good drive today, and looking forward to getting settled at the race hotel tomorrow!

TEAM FIGHT!

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Rev 3 Tri Cedar Point Full Rev - Race Plan

If you've been following this blog since the beginning, you know that I have been using Joe Friel's book as a guideline.  I'll give a full review of it in another post, after the race, but one of the key component's that he talks about is writing out your race plan after your last Peak Week workout on Sunday.  So, yesterday, in between getting some things done that have been neglected over the past couple of months due to long training weeks, I outlined my race plan for Rev3 Cedar Point - Full Rev next Sunday.  

Warning - it's a bit long, and overly detailed.  Originally, I wasn't going to post it, however, I know reading others has helped me and  maybe this will help someone else prepare.  Someone who may be going through the same thoughts/feelings as they get closer to their first iron-distance triathlon.  

I found that taking the time to sit and write this out literally put me into a different mental state that has stayed with me.  Like most new things, one must experience the process to fully understand the feelings associated.  Bottom line - it helps. Ironman triathlons are as much a mental effort as a physical one.  I believe this level of detail will help when my mind gets tired.

Some of the Race-day morning schedule may change as I haven't seen the course yet and don't know the distance to/from transition areas, etc.  Other than that... this is it in its fullest.  Note: all time goals are based on training estimates and "decent" weather conditions.  

RACE DAY PLAN

Overall Race Keys for Success:  

Staying in “the moment” and being thankful to be able to be part of the race

Bike effort & focus (no huge HR spikes, “ride the course”)

Hydration, Nutrition, and electrolytes especially on bike

Don’t chug large amounts of fluids

Run effort/pacing in Zone 2 (especially first 3 hours); electrolytes on the run

The race starts at mile 16 of the run

Effort and focus is way more important than thinking about time - Don’t worry about the time during each leg; if I feel good, start to think about time at mile 18 of the run.

When it gets hard, remember it will pass.  

Gain energy from TEAM FIGHT. 

Race Day Goals:

 12:20 total time (Sub 12 hours on a good day; sub 11:30 on a really great day)

  Swim: 1:13 - 1:18

 Transition 1: 4min - 5min; (Walk through transition; Relax)

Bike: 5:45 - 6:05

 Transition 2: 3:30 - 5min (Slow jog off bike, Relax through transition)

Run: 4:25 - 4:35

Race Morning:

4:50am Wake up -  “I’m ready - all around ready... and feel great!” 5:00 It’s breakfast time... good fuel!        Bathroom/brush teeth, wake up 5:35 Stretch - put on sunscreen, race kit, HRM 6:00 Leave Hotel and head for Transition 6:10 Race site: Drop Special needs; no body marking, already have Rev 3 race tattoos. 6:20 Bike ready: bottles, computer, tires, adjust bike gearing for start of ride 6:30 Wetsuit on, body glide, gel, goggles and cap 6:40 Swim warm up: swim 3minutes, 3x pickups (test wetsuit comfort) - if too dark, test wetsuit comfort on beach and don’t worry about it! 6:50 Ready to go, watch pro’s start & say goodbye’s to support team 7:05 WHOO HOO! Start time-“I am ready, relaxed, & will do great” SWIM: Goal 1:15 minutes (1:55/100m) - *Great Day: 1:10 (1:48/100m)

 This strategy is based on my “Big Day #2” on 8/13 and re-confirmed with my 2nd place age group swim during the H.O.T. I feel like a swimmer now. :)

  Swim Keys for Success:

Start near the front... be confident.  Hold ground & don’t get swam over!

Steady/Fast first 300m then find fast feet

Slow down to a relaxed, steady pace, it should feel easy

Increase kick last 300m; relax last 100m

Don’t panic.  Breathe.

Axioms: “Shoom” “Shoom” <-- that's right... “Feel the water” “Glide and float" T1: Ease out of the water, relax.  It’s okay to walk.  Keep HR down below 110.

Goggles/swim cap off & into wetsuit sleeve - Use wetsuit stripper if I feel like it, if not, no worries.

Get T1 Bag. Relax. Walk to tent.

Tri Top on.  Take 1 Endurolyte → Endurolyte bag & waffles in back pocket → Bondi-band on → Shoes on → Arm warmers on arms if needed → Glasses on → helmet on & strapped → walk to bike → to mount line, off we go!

BIKE: Goal “Ride to run well” 5:50

This strategy is based on my last “Big Day #2” that went really well on 8/13. I must do all I can to hold back and stick to this plan, no matter how good I feel. Bike Keys for Success:

Keep HR in zone 1- low zone 2; ride to have a good run

Don’t let HR spike on hills or in headwinds

Let the speedsters pass during the first 90 minutes (First hour ridiculously easy)

Stick to Nutrition Plan:

Rehydrate out of T1 after 10-15 minutes with water

2 x 3 hour Perpetuem bottles; sip every 10 minutes (one bottle frozen, one with ice)

If anything goes wrong with nutrition on bike, no worries - I’ll have gel, Perpetuem bottle with powder only, and 2 waffles in my bike special needs bag)

Honey Stinger Waffles, one at 1:30 - 2 hours, one at 3:45 - 4:00 hours

Endurolytes as needed depending on heat (cooler, 1-2 per hour; warm, 1 every 40 mins for first 90, then 1 every 30 minutes)

Axioms: “Ride to run well” “First lap is a warm up” “Steady in the winds” 0-19 miles (T1 to hwy 126): Let stomach settle 15min then rehydrate with water and begin to sip Perpetuem every 10 mins. 19-30 Milan & False Flats: Watch HR, Likely cross-winds, “Stay slow” through 90 mins 31-43 (to HWY 143) Head-wind/Slight Downhill: Limit effort,focus on aero &  smooth,Waffle #1 43-56 (back to 126) Cross-winds/Rollers: Aero, “sail” in the cross-winds, steady effort on rollers, special needs coming up, assess feeling. 56-95 Loop two: “sail” cross winds, steady effort on rollers, keep cadence high, let HR hit zone 2, stretch back and legs as needed every 20 miles, Waffle #2 around Hwy 143/hwy14. 95-103 Back to Huron: The “hard part”, I’ll likely be tired, focus on making it to Huron, maintain nutrition & steady, aero effort in likely head-wind, Perpetuem done by just after Huron at the latest, if I feel good - it’s okay to now let the HR creep up into high end of Zone 2. 103-112 Along Erie to T2: Stay smooth and aero along the lake.  Try to enjoy the scenes.  Less than 30 mins to go. Last water & endurolyte around Sawmill Creek Golf course, Begin spinning at Willow Drive.  Smile. T2: Relax, light jog to transition bag rack then to changing tent

Helmet off → Socks on → Shoes on/tied → Glasses on → (if raining, hat/visor on) → Stretch → Race belt in hand, put on while walking out of transition

Run: Goal 4:30

Run Keys for Success:

Set cadence (90/min) during the first 25 minutes and ease into first 3 miles

Focus on form

Run effort/pacing in Zone 2 (especially first 3 hours); 

Electrolytes as needed, at least 1 per 40-45 mins

Pace the first 8 miles then lift effort

Gel every 30-40 minutes

The real race starts at mile 16 - Start coke at mile 16 if needed

Axioms: “The race starts at mile 16” “I’ve done this a hundred times in training” “Enjoy the moment” “Focus on what I can.  Smile” 0-5miles: Ease into pace. Set cadence, walk aid stations if needed. 5-13 miles/turnaround: Focus on form & nutrition plan. Walk aid stations - less than 30 seconds.  Tylenol between mile 10-13 depending on feel and Tylenol on bike. 13-16 miles: Things may begin hurting.  That’s okay. Keep focus & hold effort. Walk aid stations - less than 30 seconds. 16-20 miles: The race is on! Assess feeling, dig deep. Walk aid stations. - no more than 1 minute.  Shift to coke/water if needed.  Remember training. 20-23 miles: Do what you can do right now!!  These may be 3 really tough miles.  But then “it’s a 5k to the finish.”   23-26.2 miles: Make it home!  Heck, they have IV’s at the finish if I need it.  RUN! Great Day - 11:25:00 Good Race - 12:30:00 Post Race:

Get recoverite drink in as soon as possible (assuming my stomach can tolerate it)

Take advantage of ART massage tables

Meet support crew at “X” - place designated during transition walk-through on Saturday

Eat some solid food in small portions as soon as I’m comfortable within about 45 mins - 1 hour after finishing the race.  Eat small meals every hour or so until calling it a night.

Clean up, head back out to watch the midnight finish if I feel up to it.

Enjoy the atmosphere! Smile.

So - with that, I'm signing off and getting ready for the week ahead.  

Cheers!

-E

PS - please consider a small donation to TEAM FIGHT.  We're still closing in on our goal!

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Hey - that's pretty cool... I'm in the lead in photo for the Jax Sprint Series triathlon images on BB Action Photos online.  This shot must have been from the first race as I wasn't even there for the last one! :)

That's me on the right in the black/white tri kit.

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Exiting the water during the Hammerhead Olympic Triathlon on Sunday wearing my TEAM FIGHT kit.

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Packet pickup complete for Hammerhead Olympic Triathlon this Sunday, fueled by @hammernutrition!

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Why Are You Doing an Ironman?

I get this question time and time again from people all over the country.  It comes from folks that I work with, clients, advisers, friends, other athletes, family... you name it.  For those that haven't yet signed up for an endurance event such as a marathon, Ironman, or other similar event this seems to be the underlying question... Why are you doing an Ironman?  Usually, this is followed up with - "Are you crazy?" or some other similar check of my sanity.

So, since it's asked so often, I thought I would put together my best explanation below in long-form.  Though, I must say that this explanation is rather the "logical process" by which I came to sign up for, and train for a full distance triathlon.  For those that don't want to read all the details, here's the simplest explanation that I can give you: "Because I've always wanted to and I'm raising money for the Ulman Cancer Fund - I hope you'll support the cause and donate by going here."

Why am I doing an Ironman?

I've always admired the triathletes that compete in Kona each year and can remember watching the race on TV when I was little.  I guess this is no different than many triathletes who get the itch to do an Ironman.  For me it was a matter of time before I just committed to doing one.  Just over 2.5 years ago, a good friend of mine completed the Disney Marathon and I went along to cheer him on as "support crew."  He didn't train all that much, and was out there to just complete the day.  I spent hours upon hours watching the race with fans that cheered the entire time.  I stood at the finish line as the sun heated up the day, watching elation of the finishers.  Wishing that I was out there with them.  As he finally came across the finish line, he ran up to it tired, dehydrated, and yet found the energy to speed up and looked absolutely elated when he crossed the line.  For me, that started the spark.  

Later that year we took a guys weekend and went over to watch the Florida Ironman.  It was amazing.  We got there and as we drove into Panama Beach, FL the atmosphere started to change.  We checked into our hotel/condo for the weekend and there were Ironman hopefuls and support crews everywhere.  Getting up the following day to watch the race, we made it down to the beach for the swim start.  Chaos! But, there was an overwhelming atmosphere of positiveness in the air and all around.   People had written messages in the sand to their Ironman Hopefuls... it was surreal.

As we made it down the beach to watch the swim, the people around us were incredible.  They'd come from all over the world to be there for their athlete.  To watch him or her.  To be there to support them with whatever may be needed. We stood in the middle of the fans and watched as the athletes made it out on their second loop of the swim course.  At this point, I knew that one day soon I would be signing up for one... the intention was to sign up the next day (more on that in a bit).

Next up, we ran over to T1 to see the pro athletes come out and start on the bike course.  Those guys are freaking unbelievable!  Sub 50 minute swims just to start off the day.

Next, it was out on the bike course to see what this 112 mile bike ride would be all about.  We leap-frogged some of the lead pack of riders and got to watch a lot of the amateurs come through as well.  Inspiring.

Next up was heading back for to watch the run course, get some food, see the pro athletes finish, eat some more food, and then head back out to watch the final finishers come in from 10pm - midnight.

If you've never been at the finishing line of an Ironman in the last hour before the final finisher crosses, you absolutely must experience that for yourself... words can not describe the atmosphere of passion, courage, and pure motivation.  That was the flame.  I wanted to sign up for one right then!  

After getting up the next morning, the realization of wanting to be able to finish strong set in.  The realization of just how much time training would take and how long each of these Ironman Florida finishers had been working for this day.  It was a really hard mental battle, but I knew that I wasn't ready to sign up for the full distance just yet.

I started to think about how long it would take to get ready and decided that I would first complete a half-iron distance race, get another year of triathlon in the books and then re-evaluate my fitness/time before committing for a full.  

I signed up for the Florida Half Ironman the next day and completed it last year. To me, getting through that was absolutely painful in the heat of Orlando, FL on a hot day in May.  But it left me craving more.  

Going into 2011 I knew that I was going to try and tackle a full iron distance race at some point in the near future, but the problem with Ironman races was that most all sold out immediately.  Enter Revolution 3 Triathlon.  I had been talking with them about a few different items and knew they had a race in Cedar Point... a 140.6, full iron-distance triathlon.  One thing lead to another, and before I knew it I was committed to doing the race.  A few weeks in to training I lost my grandmother to her long battle with cancer and, though extremely difficult on me and my family, I took it as a sign that this was the right decision - Revolution 3 Triathlon partnered with the Ulman Cancer Fund and Team Fight this year.

So, that's the story, or I guess one could say the process, of how I got into this Ironman thing... and with it, I'm off to finish work before for another bout of training.  Rev3 Cedar Point is just over 30 days away, and I think I'm almost ready.

Thank you for reading, and supporting TEAM FIGHT.  Please consider a small donation to help support young adults affected by cancer.  As little as $5 will help get us to our goal!

Cheers!

-Elton

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Just a picture of where we normally start on the bike - thought I'd share it with those of you following from out of town.

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Good Muscles. Bad IT Band!

Thank you for reading, and supporting TEAM FIGHT.  Please consider a small donation to help support young adults affected by cancer.  As little as $5 will help get us to our goal! Less than a month left to get there! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Today was a tough day.  Overall, I feel physically good (with what's written below as the exception), and mentally ready for tapering over the next 3 weeks.  Funny how a small thing can either completely shake your confidence, or boost it depending on immediate decisions made.

For today's ride (which was supposed to be my last long ride before Cedar Point), I was coming off of a rest/test week and a great run from yesterday.  My body was a little sore this morning, but nothing terrible.  After I started out with a nice easy warm-up of about 25 minutes, with increasing gearing and cadence, I actually felt really good.  Even after yesterday's run my muscles still felt strong and I was cruising along towards Vilano.  I felt really happy with how things were going, heart rate upper Z1, low Z2 and steady 19mph plus into a headwind.  Then it hit. About 2 miles before Vilano, all of a sudden my right knee started to ache a little, after another 5 minutes it was full on mad at me and letting me know about it with a fury.

I stopped for a minute or two and stretched out my IT Band; this helped a little but not completely.  I couldn't believe that this was happening on what was supposed to be my last long ride before Cedar Point, but in a way I'm glad that it did.  We don't know what we're capable of until faced with extreme adversity, and generally speaking, we're best when we decide to plow through.

Rather than calling for a ride, I decided to just start heading back north and see how far I could make it.  I'm still not sure if this was the best decision, but I was determined to get at least a couple hours in the saddle done today and after all the wind was now at my back.  So, I took 2 Tylenol, put my head down, gritted through the pain, and made it back to the car.  It hurt.  To get through it, I made a mental deal with myself that if I could deal with the pain, I would go home and R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate). Ironically, about 2 miles from the car, my knee starting feeling better and I had another decision to make.  Keep going, or head home and try to get ride of the pain.

As hard as it was to stop, I knew that it was the right decision at that point. Somehow I was able to muster the strength to average nearly 21mph plus on the way back.  Even so, it is way more important to arrive at the starting line healthy than injured for another 2.5 hours in the saddle.

I'm choosing to take the positive from this painful experience.  The fact that if, by some chance, this happens on race day I now know that I can get through it. That in itself is a huge confidence boost.

With that - signing off and getting back to recovering/healing.

Thanks for reading and supporting TEAM FIGHT!

-E

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Wow - can't believe that I've almost gone through a whole bag of this stuff during training... The giant, Costco size bag that is!  I will say that it has been spot on with helping maintain protein needs.

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I Took a Jellyfish to the Face - Big Day 2 Recap

Thank you for reading, and supporting TEAM FIGHT.  Please consider a small donation to help support young adults affected by cancer.  As little as $5 will help get us to our goal! Less than a month left to get there!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Big Day Number 2 - In the books!

In summary, this one was better than the last, but still short of what I would have liked to accomplish.  I am now left somewhere in between feeling ready to go for my first iron-distance race and wondering if I have enough training time under my belt.  The tough part is knowing that I don't believe I can train much harder during the next week or two without negatively impacting my performance as I need to let my body absorb all the training it's been through as well as shed the fatigue.

Big Day Swim Recap: 2,300 meters; 41:01 total time

So, a couple of changes from the last big day swim.  First and foremost, was not allowing myself to overheat due to the wetsuit.  I accepted the fact that if it was too hot, I would come in, drop the wetsuit, and keep swimming.  Luckily, the water temperature wasn't boiling warm like last time - cool enough that I felt okay to swim in a wetsuit.  The second change was that I wasn't going to push the pace nearly as hard as last time and see how I felt afterwards.

The day started off as an absolutely wonderful morning, couldn't have asked for better ocean conditions.

I headed out into the ocean and was feeling calm.  Started my watch on the way in the water, as I will on race day.  Dolphin dove out a little ways and then started swimming.  I was moving along and felt good.  

How could you not enjoy a morning like this? That's me, cruising along in the ocean.

And then, out of nowhere, about 10 minutes in to the swim I got smacked in the face by a jellyfish!  Slimy, stinging, and completely unpleasant.  I wiped it off my face as fast as I could, but it still got the best of me and left some unpleasant small welts as a parting gift.  I was startled to say the least and headed right to shore with my head above water.  

My support crew was there, concerned, wondering what the heck happened.  All she saw was me thrashing around in the water on an isolated stretch of the ocean - not a good thing to see happen.  The pain was bearable and didn't seem to be getting any worse, but I really didn't want to have that happen again - so, we headed off to the backup swim location and jumped right back in the community pool.

While I didn't get the full swim in that I wanted, due to time, I was still able to get in a solid swim and felt great (besides the jellyfish sting) getting out of the water. Even though I felt good, I still forced myself to take in two bottles of hydration before the bike and eat a light breakfast - very similar to what I'll have after getting on the bike during Rev 3 Cedar Point.

Big Day #2 Bike Recap: 88 miles, 20.6 mph - Tired of Florida Heat!

Definitely felt better getting on the bike this time - not nearly as fuzzy headed or fatigued as the last Big Day.  The fact that I was feeling good, the weather wasn't too hot yet, and that I was able to get a pair of Zipp 808 Firecrest Wheels from my local bike shop, Champion Cycling,  to test out the bike setup for race day helped a lot.

I cruised along to a first loop average of over 21mph.  I was flying (for me) and felt great!  Heart rate was steady in the lower portion of zone two and nutrition plan was going well.  I was pushing a little bit harder than I normally do, but not by much and to compensate for it, I increased both my caloric intake (slightly) and hydration as well as electrolytes.  

I hit the mid-way point took on some more water bottles, swapped out my nutrition with a new bottle of Perpetuem, and took off again.  After I stopped, I knew that the temperature was getting pretty hot and humidity was through the roof.  It was now entering the hottest part of the day and I was beginning to feel the effects of the heat... it's almost indescribable.  It just persists and persists... relentless really.  At first, you feel like the weather is getting warmer, then your mind accepts how hot it is outside.  Any exposed skin begins to feel like it's slowly cooking.  If I'm honest, I'm really looking forward to Cedar Point not being 100 plus degree heat index! :)

The next 10 miles ticked by and I dialed back the effort a little bit.  When my awesome support crew came along, she said I looked a little wiped out - more so than normal, so we stopped and talked for a bit.  I was pretty beat up when I stopped and realized that I needed to cool off a little bit, so I took a short break in the car with the ac on and took in some more fluids.  After the break finished, we noticed the time and I decided that it would be best to cut the bike a little bit short so that I could focus on my run in the afternoon... I really wanted to have a good run.

She departed, I headed south for another couple of miles and then turned around to head back to base camp for the day.  As soon as I did, I was kind of angry with myself for not doing the full 5-hours/100 miles that I had planned.  So with that, I decided to slowly increase my effort and then ride the last 5-10 miles at LTHR to get in some good muscular endurance work.  I started to cruise along and finally pushed hard... I was amazed!  I was holding 24mph plus with heart rate below my LTHR and it was still hot out!  Came into base camp and had found the positive vibes again.  I needed that last hard effort to overcome the mental negativity that was starting to creep in.

All in all - very happy with this bike effort and hope that I am able to put something similar together on race day.

Big Day Run Recap: 10.79 miles, 1:45 time @ 9:45/mile pace

As I wrapped up the bike a little bit later than I had wanted, the afternoon run didn't get started until about 5:30pm.  This actually worked out great, as there were some massive thunderstorms that came rolling through the area in the afternoon.

It was time to get the last bit of training in for the day - so, my better-half and support crew and her dad (who are both training for the Disney Marathon in January) headed out with me for the run.  Within the first 500 yards I knew it was going to be a good run.  Normally, I run my long runs in my K-Swiss Blade Light Run shoes, but this time I decided to run in my Newton Distancias.  The combination of a lighter shoe along with my legs feeling surprisingly fresh helped me cruise through the first couple of miles at a sub 9:30 pace and low heart rate, which for me was awesome.  

I decided about 20 minutes into the run that I was going to try and hold that pace and only walk for about 15-30 seconds every 10 minutes or so to drink water at "aid stations."  It worked, and I felt like I had more in me - which is always a good thing at the end of a long day and long three weeks of training!  I also decided to try drinking Coke during the last 30 minutes of the run to see how it would work for me... mixed with water, worked great.  I felt more alert, quickly, and was able to push through the last 30 minutes at a faster pace.

I ended the day with a 15 minute cool down walk through the neighborhood and after washing up a bit, a giant turkey sub along with some Recoverite.

Big Day Recap Totals:

101 total miles

1 Jellyfish sting

7 hours total training time

Nearly 5,000 calories

Significant improvements from the first Big Day

2 bottles Perpetuem

Over a dozen bottles of water

1 good night sleep afterwards

I'm happy with the progress from the first Big Day 1 month ago.  I believe that my training during the last 3 weeks and mental preparation helped a lot.  There are now only 26 days... wait... whaaaaat?!  26 days!  That's it!  26 days until Rev 3 Cedar Point - Full Rev.  As this post goes out today, I feel ready and will do my best to keep that outlook through to race day.

As always - thanks for reading, and supporting TEAM FIGHT.  As little as $5 will help get us to our goal! Less than a month left to get there!

-E