Thursday, December 3, 2009

Where have you (or I) been?


Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been around the old blog much lately. Others may not have noticed or cared.

I've been a busy boy. Getting my USA Triathlon coaching certification, starting up a business, setting up a website, not training.

Well yesterday the website went live. I invite you to stop by, check it out, the Resources page is updated pretty frequently and I have a coaching blog now too. I'm sure I'll be back around here when training starts back up for IM Wisconsin.

Happy training!

Coach Rich
Tri For It! Coaching

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

IM CDA Kids Race Slideshow

Not much training to report - I was sort of preparing for a 10k but that seems to have come undone. Have done a couple of rides in this nice November weather - almost seems like stealing!

I finally started playing with PhotoStory and the CDA pics. First the kids 1 mile race.

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Doc is an Irongirl!

Yesterday the Doc entered IronGirl. It was her first duathlon. She loves to bike and is learning to tolerate running. If there's any question that I married waaaay over my head the next picture settles that question once and for all! She's waving to the kids.
Here she is climbing the 1/2 mile hill. Still spinning in the saddle just like her coach told her (flying by the women WALKING up the hill). The last minute course change reversed this part of the course. The carnage was unbelievable as women walked, abandoned, grinded up weaving all over the road in massive gears.
Oh yeah, they got to do it twice too. It was straight out of transition so you had the whole first loop to think about going back. Here she is flying into T2 waving to her adoring fam.
Heading out of T2 - that's a lot of enthusiasm. More than I can typically muster at this stage of a race.
Hitting the finisher chute.
Celebrating with Zman and JRose. She totally rocked finishing 209/859 overall, 49/174 in her age group. Her second run was 1 minute/mile slower than the first run. Later in the day she felt bad for feeling sore. She said "I trained for the distance." I explained that the soreness coupled with her relatively consistent pace indicated she had pushed it just the right amount.
Irongirls all around. The Doc with the girls from the clinic Loriann and Julie. Next year they'll be back for their second.
Now to figure out how to get the Doc in the pool. I see a Minneman novice division entry next year!

Oh yeah, I entered a 5k for Zman's hockey team on Saturday and ran it in 8:18s. I'm entering a 10k in 7 weeks. My new goal pace is 8:18s.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

How the Not So Mighty Have Fallen

Went for a just under 30 mile ride with NS Rob yesterday. Talk about depressing - not being with NS - but the ride. We headed east from White Bear into the rolling hobby farmland. It was beautiful but each hill dug into my legs. We weren't even on the "big" ones. How quickly fitness gains can be lost!

I could try and blame the soreness in my legs on Tuesday's tempo run, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. I just haven't been putting in much mileage on the bike lately.

Good thing I have almost a year before IMOO. I'm going to need it.

Starting today with yoga. Ohmmmmm!

Monday, September 21, 2009

I Can Feel It!

It's creeping into my every waking thought. I feel like Peter Parker in Spiderman 3 when the dark Spiderman was taking over. It's Ironman Wisconsin.

This weekend we were at the lake taking an evening boat ride and I found myself looking at the water contemplating all the OW (open water) swims I'll be doing next summer. How often will the Doc be willing to kayak along? That led to consideration of the IM swim. It sounds like I'm going to have to enter the washing machine this time. There's no way to stay to the outside in clear water. That's going to take a mental adjustment and perhaps a stroke adjustment as well - quicker turnover less power per stroke. I'll have to harken back to my MLB (that's middle linebacker not baseball) days and welcome the contact.

This wouldn't be such a surprise if there hadn't been about 30 minutes between the time IMOO 2010 came onto the radar and when I registered.

One big difference next year. This past year the whole family bought into the IMCDA experience: the big 2 week family excursion, missing 2 weeks of lacrosse, all of the prep time, the mental focus. Next year that can't be the case. I can't ask them to do that. Obviously I've got to put in the training time and sacrifices will be made by all (sorry) - but I'm going to make an effort to minimize the sacrifices.

Actually there is a second big difference. This year I'm going to have one of my ten best friends, ok my best friend, going through the training at the same time - all be it in the sweltering land of big hair, belt buckles, and boobs - Dallas. Most likely he will be using the same plan I will. Our daily schedules are a bit different (he's an aspiring restaurant magnate) but each week we'll be putting in similar workouts. It will be fun to share similar experiences on a weekly basis. I'm looking forward to watching the Ironman process for OB from afar.

Monday, September 14, 2009

A Funny Thing Happened

on the road back from IM CDA 09. I somehow find myself on a different road. The road to:

Also known as the "YOU'RE DOING WHAT!?!" Highway.

It's a year earlier than I thought, but after watching the coverage yesterday, I was pretty excited, and when OB signed up I really had no choice.

Those of you who have been bitten by the bug will totally understand. As for the rest of you, one day the bug will bite you too!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Turtleman Photos

So here are a few pics from the "race who's name shall not be spoken" (Turtleman) Leaving T1.


Believe it or not this is BEFORE the bad weather really got started. (No the race was not held at night)

They did capture Jim passing me at the line. Thanks for the condolence pat on the way by, Jim. (I will point out because I am small minded, that he still took third (last) due to starting about 1 minute before me.)





It's kind of hard to see, but it is absolutely POURING. I think based upon my expression I gave it my all (or maybe it's just disappointment in losing the Turtle). I really like the backwards AND upside down visor. I may wear it like that at all my races.A couple of photos of the Doc heading out for the bike leg of her relay. Spinning up the hill out of T1 - staying in the saddle - nice!


C'mon Doc, that guy may have race wheels but he's not even in aero position. I think you can smoke him. Make sure you drop back out of the draft zone before overtaking him!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Friday Smile

What's that you say? This is a blatant ripoff of Steve in a Speedo's Friday Funnies. Maaaaybe.

I thought this video was clever and perhaps even funny.



It's all about PERFORMANCE! I think the best part is the "carbon frame."

(Thanks Capt Winter for pointing this vid out on FB)

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Speed to Read Race Report

Sunday morning following the Turtleman found us not sleeping in (as we would have liked) but pumping up tires, putting a bike on the rack, gathering gear for transition and heading back to Shoreview.

Zman was entering the Speed to Read kids triathlon. I was looking forward to it because it had a pool swim as opposed to the usual kiddie swim (like my last triathlon!). Z was second into the water. He broke 2:00/min for 100m. Take that NS Rob!

Look at that high elbow! He's smooth and relaxed in the water.
He could work on his head angle when breathing and he turns his head further than necessary - but he's 11. He's got years to work on that.

Unfortunately I missed the pic on the first loop - Zman following the lead escort. How cool would that have been! At the end of the second loop he and Sven (the boy in red) came in together. The escort had dropped back for 2 reasons: 1) she was having trouble staying in front of the boys and 2) they had opened up such a gap that the escort had to drop back to guide the others.

Both Zman and Sven suffered on the run. Zman opened up a lead but then was walking with a side stitch. Eventually he started running again.
As they finished their 2nd loop they turned the corner to the finish straight. Sven slowly edged past Zman. The look that came across Zman's face was priceless. He maintained this expression for the final 100 yards, giving it everything he had. It was really fun to watch his internal competitiveness come out. It was all from him, we hadn't talked about any of it. I didn't ride the course with him or point out kids to try and pass (as some parents did).

Here is a closeup of the determination on his face.
Here is Zman almost taking out a little girl as he crossed the line. Easy big fella!
He's looking forward to entering a real triathlon some day soon. This is my 100th post in this blog. Crazy huh - most of you are probably saying "What a waste of time!"

Saturday, August 8, 2009

All Good Things - Turtleman Report

All Good Things . . . come to an end. So ends my reign as holder of the Turtle Trophy. Circumstances and a fierce competitor conspired to my end.

Threatening weather changed the already shortened 1/2 mile swim (from 1 mile) to a "kiddie swim" - that's right everyone marched over the timing mat, dashed out to shin deep water, turned right to the swim exit (hoping not to fall in a hole or slip in the muck) and over the exit mat. After beating Stomper by 3 minutes in a long 1/4 mile swim I had figured to gain at least 4 minutes in a 1/2 mile swim.

Still gave it the college try. Stomper started roughly 3 minutes in front of me, with Jim starting about 1 minute before me. I hit the bike hard. As we started out the rain started falling - hard. Rather than trying to look at my computer I just went on feel. Passed Jim around mile 7 and Rob around mile 10. Realized I was going a little too hard and backed off a bit on the second half. Ended up averaging 22.4 mph in wet conditions. I've never ridden that hard before. It was tough to choke down 2 cliff blocks - I'd planned on 6.

Now for the run. Screwed up my watch - AGAIN. Didn't reset my last training run. Have no idea how the 1st mile went. I was riding the edge with my legs just keeping moving. Rob passed me before mile 2. Knowing he was going to put at least 1:30/mi into me I knew that the battle for the Turtle was over. Still focused on my other goals for the race - biking hard and hanging on for the run. I was hoping to hit sub 9:00min/mi.

Right after Rob passed me the sky got really scary. Looked like a huge wall cloud (at least to me). The wind kicked up and blew my visor right off my head. Then the rain started again.
Huge torrents of rain. Someone said we were getting 2 inches an hour. I just kept moving as best I could. Mile 4 is mostly uphill. My quads were killing. I kept thinking I'd see Jim anytime now.

I hit Mile 5. Only a little further to go. Inside the chute I felt this rush of air as Jim sprinted past me. Nicely Done! I hope they got a picture at the line, but it was raining so hard I'm not sure that they were still taking pictures. He still finished 3rd and got the new "Take me to Funkytown" dancing/singing plush turtle but it was something.

In the end, Rob ended up beating me by just under 4 minutes. Hmm, where have I heard that number before. We race the course we're provided in the conditions of the day though and today he won the Turtle - no asterisk. I ended up with a 9:23 min/mi average on the run.

In other news, the Doc hit 19 mph for her average in the bike leg of her relay. She cut 12 minutes off her time when we road the course in training. Great Job!
Speed to Read tomorrow for the Zman. More pics to follow.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Group Ride or Pre Fight Weigh In?

Sunday I rode down from the cabin (18 miles) and met Jim and Stomper for a Turtleman bike course preview (22 miles). It's a course we all know well, but it was fun to ride together and the families gathered for bagels afterward.

To the casual observer it may have looked like 3 guys out for a ride on a beautiful day, perhaps getting in a tuneup ride on the course the week before the big event. That casual observer couldn't have been more wrong. This ride was about one thing, plain and simple, psychological warfare. It was like a pre fight weigh-in. No one wants to show any weakness and hopes to exploit some chinks in the armor of their competitors.

Ok, I have a sneaking suspicion that the ride was only cloaked in psyops in my mind. I repeatedly rode off the front, trying to mask any effort as if I was easily spinning 24mph and could do it all day. I'm not sure they even noticed.

So what's with all the drama? First of all, it's three guys competing in the same race year after year. Second of all it's the local race for Stomper and Jim. Thirdly, the event distances balance the competition fairly well (Stomper and Jim can trounce me running, Stomper resembles a rock in the water and has improved on the bike, Jim swam in high school and holds his own pretty well in the water). Finally, throw in a silly travelling trophy and you've got an annual grudge match. Here is the trophy pictured in front of anniversary poster from last year.

Yes, I'm aware that it's a tortoise not a turtle and rotund as all get out, but it's currently mine and I'm not letting go of it without a fight.

The shortened swim this year (cut to 1/2 mile) really plays into Stomper's strengths. Monday I took my garmin and used the boat to drop a buoy .25 miles from my dock. Took me 14:30 out and back in ideal conditions. Decent enough, but I'm not sure I'm going to get all the time I need.

The weather also isn't looking too favorable for a big guy like me. 90s and muggy.

I've got my plan in place. If I execute well, I've got a shot. There's a chance I could meltdown (literally) and it won't be pretty.

Got my last hard workout prior to the race today. A 4 mile tempo run. I will not reveal the pace for two reasons - 1) it was embarassingly slow and 2) don't need to help the competition.

Now to rest up and stay out of the kitchen.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

So This Is How It Feels

Chisago Lakes Triathlon was the Minnesota debut (as far as I know) of Team Trinity Designs. Here are 3 charter members - Stomper, Me, and NS Rob. There were a lot of us out there and it was kind of fun. NS knew some team members through kids, but didn't know they were on the team.

So this is what it feels like. I'm trying to remember what they call this. Oh yeah! It's racing. After months of focusing on going long, keeping effort sustainable it was really really fun to ride that edge. To push on the swim and bike and hold on for the run.

For the swim I started in the first row and went out hard. Early on a guy was 1/2 body ahead so I tucked in behind him. He was a strong kicker so the water was really churned and easy to follow. I no longer had to worry about picking my way through the numerous floaters, back and breast strokers. This guy was flying. I lost him at the turn despite executing a perfect stroke, backstroke, stroke turnaround. Now I was slightly overcooked with no pilot fish. Took a few breast strokes to catch my breath and put my head down to get to the beach. Where the heck is the beach? I know I was flying on the way out and I haven't lost that much on the way back. Why is this taking so long?

Clearly the swim was WAAAAAAAAAAY long. The fastest pace in the sprint was 2:04/100m which is crazy slow. Finally:

I hit the beach and made it up the hill in 10:11. The usual T1 - not fast but not too slow - 1:59. Wow my heart rate is up there. Took a bit of easy spinning before it dropped at all. I had been hoping to hammer out 22mph for the bike but could tell early that wasn't going to happen.
Rode along at around 21.5. Being in the 3rd sprint wave there weren't a lot of people in front of me. I had expected to get passed constantly but that wasn't really happening either. There was one stretch of road that was rough (the rest was awesome!). I hit a bump and heard what I thought was a tube popping. It was windy so the handling was just squirrely enough that I thought I was going flat on the rear. Pull off, hop off. No flat. Aha. Also no extra tube that I had wedged in between my bag and seat. It had stayed in there for all of IM CDA and numerous other rides, hauls on the rack, but it couldn't last as I charged over the bumps. Only lost 30 seconds as opposed to the minutes it would have taken me to change out the rear.
Finished the 21+ mile ride in 58:52 for an official average of 21.4mph.

My heart rate hovered above 160 for the bulk of the ride. That's way higher than the 135 I'd been training to ride for 6 hours. Not sure how the run will go.

Rocked T2 - 38 seconds. Jog bike to rack, slip off bike shoes and helmet, jam on running shoes, grab pile of gear (hat, glasses, watch and belt) and head out. No reason to stand there putting on the pile. Didn't realize I had another pair of glasses in the hat. Didn't realize it until I took the hat off to dump water on it at first stop. When the glasses hit the pavement I knew. Turned around and picked them up. Now I've got 2 pairs of sunglasses. Tuck 1 into the side pocket of my Trinity Designs top and kept moving.

I didn't look at my watch for heart rate or pace. Just tried to ride that fine line - pushing up to, but not over, the edge as far as my legs were concerned. Once I hit the park I tried to kick it in. There was a woman who had gone back and forth with me on the bike. She passed me early in the run and I thought I wouldn't see her again - yet there she was as we came into the park. I tried to encourage her to run it in hard - "you've got this" she said to me.
Finished the 5k in 27:44. At the finish I was in second but it was really early. Quickly I dropped to third. I never thought it would hold up. After some post race pancakes and soft serve (sweet!) they were calling my name. 3rd place in the Clydesdale division. Sweet. I had hoped to make the podium. I also finished ahead of Stomper - so it was a good day indeed.

After some research I may have discovered what happened to Stomper.
If you're smiling this big during a sprint you are NOT riding hard enough. Keep smilin' at Turtleman Stomper!

Ramsey lost his triginity. Here he is crossing the line. Pretty impressive for a big man training for Twin Cities Marathon in 2 months. He's hooked! Looking to do another race this year before TCM. Easy big fella. We'll get you out there plenty next season.

What a great day for a race. NS and his family came over to the cabin afterwards for some post race beach fun. What a great day!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Chisago Lakes Sprint - mini report

I was tired of the negative post about the upcoming Turtleman swim leading off the blog so I wanted to get something else up. No pics yet. Full report soon.

Short story - raced well despite rookie mistakes with electronics, balky electronics, and phantom flat. We were in the 3rd wave of the sprint and I didn't think my time would hold up, but it did. Took 3rd in Clydesdale. I had been hoping to hit the podium even though I know I have no control who shows up (only supposed to set goals you can control).

Met Steve in a Speedo briefly before the race. Trinity Design was well represented and everyone had a good morning.

Anyhow - "So this is how it feels" post coming soon.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Turtleman 2009 Swim Preview

NS Rob - Read no further as I want you to grab one of the remaining spots.

Muck . . . Yuck . . . Ouch . . . Yuck (repeat)

Turtle Lake is low, really low. If you've done the race before you are familiar with the submerged roadbed and the watermelon sized rocks. I almost met one with my face last year. Those rocks are now DRY.

This morning I met Stomper, NS Rob, and Ramsey for a little OW swim in Turtle Lake.

They must have added some sand at the beach - piled it right on top of the muck as it has a springboard feel to it. (the Muck)

You're swimming in/over weeds until you get to the roadbed (the yuck). To the left of the big dry rocks there is a relatively large rock free area that's about 4 inches deep then goes to knee deep for a while. There are smaller rocks though (the Ouch).

Then it is back to the weeds. (more Yuck)

Eventually it deepens enough that you're out of the weeds.

At some point you turn around and get to do it again.

Ok, this may be an overly negative post, but the swim is not going to be great with a stretch that requires walking on the way out and the way back.

I wouldn't predict that Turtleman is going to challenge Minneman for event of the year this year, which is too bad since Tman is such a great event.

I'm still looking forward to the Race for the Turtle. Heck, I'm even looking forward to the swim. Hoping to see how good I can go swimming "only" a mile. There are just going to be some people really freaked out by the muck, the weeds and the walk.

Mentally prepare yourself and rock the swim.

Monday, July 6, 2009

The Fourth Discipline

Most of you know the 3 disciplines of triathlon - swimming, biking and running. There's a 4th one, and without it we would ever get to race the other 3: volunteering.

Zman and I started our 4th of July off volunteering at the Minneman Triathlon in Oak Grove. I've done the race twice and last year took 2nd in the Clydesdale division. It's WAAAY too soon after CDA for me to racing so I figured I'd give back. I'm a member of the club that sponsors it so I figured I better sign up. We were assigned to the finish but had to be there long before the athletes - 5:15 am. The sun was coming up over the lake as we left the cabin and it was gorgeous. Even Zman thought it was cool. It did make for a really long day with the party and fireworks later but he seems to have recovered.

They grabbed us to pass out chips which was pretty cool - sooner or later every athlete came to see us. I haven't been a spectator at a sprint before. The Minneman has a special novice division which had 2 waves this year. The distances are particularly short - .25, 13 and 3 and it attracts a lot of newbies. It was great having them pop down their kickstands to get body marked and answering their questions.

One of the things I love about this sport is how generally open to newbies it is and how helpful people are. Sure there are a few overly intense jerks but most the most part everyone is out to have a good time.

An athlete came up to us and had forgot her goggles. I directed her to the PA who asked over the soundsystem. No fewer than 6 pairs of goggles were delivered to the PA table for use by anyone who forgot theirs.

Here's a pic of Zman passing out chips.

After the start we made our way to the finish line. We didn't have long to wait for pro David Thompson (placed 2nd at Escape from Alcatraz) who broke his course record - coming in under 54 minutes. I'm sure he was back out on the road that afternoon completing his training for the day.

There were about 5 kids passing out water and taking chips. They had absolutely no feel for who needed a little space after crossing the line but all the athletes were good sports about it. I was at the exit to the finish corral - making sure we got all the chips. A lot of athletes forget about their chip, grab a water and keep moving.

I met another member of the triclub which was nice. It was a beautiful morning and a fun time - even if we missed out on the hotdogs. Zman and I more than made up for it later at the neighbors. Wendy even made me a special fruit pizza! There were 2 ROUNDS of desserts and I tried them all.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Ironman CDA 2009 Race Day Report

OK, here it comes. The much promised (threatened) race report. So many choices, break it into multiple posts, chuck it up there in one mega post, pictures, video. Decided on one big chronological post with a follow up reflective post.

Here I am headed out with Doc and OB. Having the race on the longest day of the year (in so many ways) has its benefits. I never imagined it would be fully light at 5:00 a.m. Guess I've watched Kona coverage too much - it's always pitch black when the athletes arrive.

Body marking came first. I must admit I was a little disappointed with the sharpie marking just like any ole local triathlon. For some reason I thought we were all marked with the press on numbers like the pros. Got the Guru all loaded up (maybe a little too loaded up it turns out) and then it was time to wait.
Then it was time to SUIT UP! (How I Met Your Mother reference) and head into the beach. I hadn't really told OB and the Doc where I was starting from which was too bad as after a warmup swim we stood around for 15 minutes and I could have talked to them. As it was I used the time to reflect and tried to calm my nerves. I did manage to run head on head into another swimmer during the warmup. Fortunately we were both ok. The waves made it pretty tough to sight. He kept apologizing like it was his fault. I was swimming too!

Anyhow, I went WAAAAAY to the right. I'll trade open water for distance anyday. I couldn't even hear the music and announcements. I did hear the gun though and we were off. Not only did I start right but I swam right. I think the energy I spent swimming an extra 3oo yards paled in comparison to the energy trying to go around, between and over other swimmers in the peleton (can you use that term in a swim?) Maybe scrum is a better term. Here's a shot of the pack.

Believe it or not, my rockstar crew of Sherpa's was able to capture me in the water. Guess having a distinctive swim style pays off sometimes. I have a really slow turnover compared to most swimmers - trying to milk every inch out of each stroke.


My head looks pretty high in these pics but I'm going to attribute that to the waves and it looks like I'm getting decent body rotation.
The swim between the far buoys was really rough. Once you got out there there was nothing sheltering the waves and there was plenty of boat traffic out to see the race kicking up rollers. I thought after the first loop that I could swim closer to the buoys since everyone would be swimming about the same speed. The diagonal from the beach to the first buoy quickly dispelled that notion. Upon reaching the first buoy I kept going wide. The downside was that I couldn't find any feet to follow. I just focused on staying smooth and not pushing it too hard. I exited the water in 1:14:10. That's right around what I was anticipating. After coming out of the water I got out of the top of my wetsuit, found some open strippers and flopped onto my back. It took them a couple of tugs but off came the suit. Fortunately she shoved the suit into my chest as she directed me to the T1 bags. I would have just wandered off without it.
Heading into the tent for T1 (all the kids are wearing their suits this way). From my reading I knew to dump out my bag rather than picking through it to find stuff. Next time I'll have a better plan. I sort of fumbled around - started to put on helmet before shirt, things like that. After a short stop at the Biffy I was grabbing my bike and heading out.

Here's Team Van Sickle - minus OB. I wouldn't have finished without them - of that there is no doubt.
As hard as I tried I could not get my heart rate down where I wanted it. It was still in zone 1 but I was hoping to do the first loop in lower zone 1 instead of upper. Eventually I quit worrying about it and just focused on keeping it in zone 1. The pictures are all in town (where Team Van Sickle was watching) so you won't see me grunting up the hills.

The beginning of the bike was like the swim but on land. Just a scrum. 1:14 puts you up with and in front of some pretty fast bikers. Just as we leave town for the short out and back we make 3 quick sharp turns. This guy with a fully tricked out bike screamed past a bunch of us after the 2nd turn. I turned the corner on the 3rd turn just in time to see him skid across the pavement on his helmet and right shoulder, as his ride went the other direction. His day was over. I kept him in mind throughout the ride - particularly on the more technical descents. That was not how I wanted my day to end.

Sporting the GO BIG Sports jersey. If you're ever in Crested Butte, CO and have a biking need stop in and ask for Pete. These pictures really highlight the need for me to get some racewheels. Ok, so I averaged just under 16 mph so they wouldn't have done much good, but plenty of people behind me had them. It's not even really for me, but don't you think the Guru deserves them.
The first loop of the bike went pretty much as expected. At the beginning of the second loop I stopped to get my special needs bag. Read the card that JRose had made, grabbed some food. Didn't need the change of socks or extra tubes, cartridges. Shortly after getting the SN bag I stopped to pee. Clearly I'm getting enough fluids.

I was really dreading the hills on the second loop. About the time I hit the country club (about mile 80 of the 112 right where the hills start) the inside of my left leg started to cramp. Oh snap! This could get interesting. I was really worried about how it would respond on the climbs. The first climb from the country club is pretty short but steep enough to get your attention. The leg didn't cramp any more on the climb but just felt like it could lock up at any point. I decided I better get some more nutrition in and took banana pieces at the next couple of aid stations. I also ate some powerbars and hit the Gatorade pretty hard. (At this point in the story the soundtrack would feature some foreboding music so you the reader would know a mistake was being made even though the main character was blissfully ignorant.)

At one aid station I wanted Gatorade. They had started to shrink down the number of volunteers at the stations. There were 2 people handing out Gatorade. A women in front of me pulled up to one and stopped. Ok, I'll go to the next guy. As I approached he turned to someone behind him, shouted something. As he turned he took the bottle out of reach. Great. Now I've just got water. I drank the water and ate some more solid food (more foreboding music). At this point of a long ride the slightest thing can start to upset you. I realized what was happening (as far as my mood), told myself that it was outside the box of things I could control and tried to let it go. It worked.

I was amazed at how unfamiliar the course seemed on the second loop. On the first loop it was just as I had ridden it on the Computrainer and driven it (twice, once with Team Van Sickle and again with OB since he wasn't there for the first time). On the second loop I had no idea how many hills were left. I just wanted off. I didn't mind riding into the wind on the way back into town. I just wanted off.

As I coasted into the dismount line a friendly volunteer firmly grabbed both aerobars, made sure to look me right in the eye and said firmly, "I've got your bike, walk behind me for your T2 bag." It's amazing how 7 hours on a bike will turn you into a little bit of a zombie. He clearly had been dealing with some dazed riders as they came into T2.

After getting my transition bag, I realized I needed to hit the Biffy. Nothing upsets the volunteers like an athlete moving in the wrong direction, but they quickly grasped where I was headed. Hmmm, I thought, this is unusual, I've never had to poop during an event, but this is a long event. (more foreboding music).

T2 went very quickly after that - even with the complete outfit change. As I started running I was feeling great. Glad to be off the bike, making decent time, walking the aid stations. I did the first 2 miles in around 11 minutes per.


The Zman ran with me for a bit. It was shortly after this point that it hit.

My bowels shut down. Everything I had taken on the run was sitting in my stomach. I was bloated and cramping. I was quickly reduced to a walk starting at around mile 3. I walked the next 7 miles on my own. The course winds through town and then follows the lake. The wind was screaming off the lake and it started raining. I was cold. I was upset. I didn't take in any fluids or food during those 7 miles (almost 2 hours). I did the math (wrongly) and was convinced I was going to come in at least 5 to 10 minutes after the midnight cutoff. I thought about finding a medical station and just throwing in the towel.

They don't really have the medical stations well marked. Plus I didn't want to wait for a ride back to the park. I decided I would walk back to the park and abandon the race at that point. Several times I was on the verge of tears thinking about having to walk up to the Doc, Zman, JRose, my mom and OB - people that I love, people that had traveled with me to support me in this effort and tell them - "I can't do it." Even now it brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. I knew Anne was emailing a big group around the world with my progress (or lack thereof). In addition, I'm exploring the possibility of getting into athlete coaching. Ironman finisher looks a lot better on the website/resume then Ironman DNF. I felt like I was failing everyone including myself.

Fortunately the Doc and OB hopped on mountain bikes and met me as I came back into town. This is what they found:
I was freezing, walking with my hands in my pockets, and pale green in color. The Doc noticed I was on the verge of tears, and immediately went into crisis management mode.

Months ago I had shown her a blog entry from Bigun's wife Diana that contained a Sherpa guide. One of the things it said is that at some point during the day your athlete is going to want to quit. DO NOT LET THEM.

That's the last time I share any information like that. Somebody asked me if she went into cheerleader mode - I think it was more like drill sergeant. She told me I would make it. She reminded me how bad I wanted this. She did her best to get me to focus on something other than my suffering. She asked me if there was anything in my SN bag that would help. Yes, I had a long sleeve technical shirt in there. "Great! Just concentrate on getting to that."

I told her it didn't matter, I didn't have time. I had done the math. OB looked at me like I was crazy. "Rich, you've got plenty of time. If you keep moving the way you are you have an hour to spare." That was not the answer I wanted at the time. If looks could kill OB would still be lying by the side of the road.

He wasn't the only one to receive a killer look. As I got closer to the park, one of the owners of the house we rented saw me and shouted "You're going to make it Rich!" I was confused, my vision isn't great after long rides - cloudy, and my bib said Richard so I knew it must be someone who knew me and wasn't reading my bib. I didn't recognize the voice and still didn't really want to make it. I turned in her direction with disgust on my face. The person next to her asked her what she had done to me. Ooops. Sorry Kristina. Glad we saw you after the banquet so I could apologize and explain.

At some point I got a mylar cape with a hole for my head. It helped a little. I then noticed a guy going the opposite direction using his race belt to hold down the cape. Looked a little like Conan (the Bararian not O'Brien). Ooooh, I thought. This guy's a genius! So I rigged mine up and kept going.

Zman met me at the end of the short out and back that starts both loops. He wanted to be sure to run through the 7 goals of your first Ironman that don't involve a finish time. 1. Finishing 2. Finishing standing up 3. Finishing without visiting the medical tent etc. . . Why do I let these people read? Actually it was really cute and did help.

I got my long sleeve shirt. The thought of stripping off my cape and jacket to put it on was less than appealing. I hit the bathroom in the park (have I left the course am I DQ'd?) to strip down out of the wind. Got myself reassembled and headed out.

It was at this point I started walking with a woman from Texas. You can see her in one of the video shots - she's got a black garbage bag on and is in front of me. She had been in a motorcycle v. semi accident in 2006 (she wasn't driving the truck). Her leg still bore the scars. She was carrying pictures of it from the hospital and was just so positive about being able to be doing what she was doing. Her attitude was infectious. I started to realize that I was being negative about my situation.

XT4 (Becoming Ironman) has a blog entry about encountering negative people during the race and staying as far away as possible. I didn't want to be that negative energy on the course and tried to turn it around. I still wasn't feeling good so I had to slow down and let her go ahead. At this point I started taking water again. I even tried some chicken broth which almost caused me to hurl immediately. The water was helping. Aside from one mile that involved 2 Biffy stops (right after the broth) I maintained about 17/min miles. Not flying but not strolling either to be sure.

The weather on the second loop greatly improved. It actually got warmer by the lake. The wind died down and the water was warmer than the air. At one point near the turnaround the course curves right and heads uphill. They had lights at the top near the turnaround. There was steam rising from the road and several athletes were walking towards me through the mist. The lights behind them gave it an ethereal backlit feeling. All that was missing was some Chariots of Fire music. (The athletes were already providing the slow motion at that point in the evening).

At long last I made the left had turn towards the finish. A volunteer offered to take my cape for me (now being carried since it was warmer). I felt cheesy running in after walking for 23 miles but it's almost a requirement.

As you can see in these pics I was thrilled - as were my Sherpa's.
The Doc has been saying for months that this was my Ironman, not my first Ironman, my Ironman. I couldn't resist putting up 1 finger and announcing "First one done" - much like Lance and his 7.
Despite the excitement - I was exhausted and couldn't keep from yawning.
Final time 15:47:53. Left 1:12 on the table, but still think I got my money's worth. What does it all mean to me? That's a good question and one for another post.