Cherry Roubaix Road Race

    Well it's been a while since I've posted something. Guess I could say I've been busy with work and getting my Trail Mix business going, which would be the truth. In July I also went on two week long camping trips as a supervisor for the Camp Daggett Wilderness Adventure. While backpacking trips to North Manitiou and Pictured Rocks are sweet, it presents a problem in riding my bike. Thus my July miles were pretty slacking.

Views like this or ride my bike? It's a toss up.

     So the time comes for Cherry Roubaix, which served as the Michigan State Road Race Championship. The course is a fun one, with several climbs over the 15 mile and change loop. This being my first Cat 4 race, I was excited to race around "less sketchy" people; however there were still 60+ in my race. This made for some nervous situations as I attempted to stay in the front part of the race. The weather was great, right near 70, partly cloudy but with a very noticable wind.

    The first lap was mostly uneventful as I was stuck in the middle half of the field. A few people tried breaks, but were reeled back in rather quickly. I just sat in and waited to see how it panned out. Second lap was more of the same, with some good efforts up the hills and then lallygagging around. The field wasn't breaking up and it was apparent everyone waits around for the sprint in Cat 4 as well. On the third lap I decided I would try to get a break up the climb by Sugarloaf. After all with a field that big, there would be SOMEONE that would want to go with me. As we turned left I put in a solid effort to get to the front and catch up to one guy that had gaped a bit. As I went by him I said, "let's go." After a few seconds I looked back and he had sat up to let the field catch him. I decided to push on solo and made it up the climb with a few hundred meter gap. The gap grew for a bit, then they pulled me back in about 2-3 miles later.

    After that the field was soft pedaling. I sat in, near the front for a while to recover and a guy went off the front during a section of rollers, but was chased down. As it was apparent everyone wanted a sprint finish, I was thinking "screw that" and decided my best option was to just keep trying to ride off the front and maybe get someone to work with, despite there being only 5 or so miles to go. A couple times I gaped, but no one went with me and then I was reeled in. The last 3 or so miles were downhill with a tailwind and I was on the front hammering. At one point I gaped the field, but had to sit up as there were slow cars ahead (not that I think it would have affected the result)
    I was on the front until the last left turn, which left about 300m to the finish. I was pretty spent and wasn't about to contend a sprint finish. Besides the fact that my sprinting abilities are nothing to brag about, they also make me nervous in a field that big. So as everyone pulled around me on the final turn, I sat up and pedaled in, finishing somewhere in 25th ish place (I have yet to see the full results). Not what I was hoping for, but looking back, I doubt  anything I could have significantly changed. 

    Doing this race just reassured my my slight ill feelings toward road racing. Don't get me wrong, they're fun; but I hate the BSing around and everyone being pu**ies and waiting for the sprint. Sorry if that offends you, but that's how I feel. To me it feels like a "less glorious" win. A feeling that I can only compare to Pre and Bowerman and the "front running" debate in "Without Limits". Or the classic "getting High Schooled". What it means that I either need to get a team or other people I know to work with; or just work on my Sparticus TT abilaties and be able to ride away from the field. Just more learning experiences for next year I guess.

    On another note it was cool to see Dave Ide (a 55+ Master's stud, who puts the hurt on me on the Tuesday "Fast Guys" ride) sprint for the W. It was also cool to see my lil sis Mara (more commonly known as Road Weasel) do her first road race. Although it wasn't a super enjoyable experience for her as she rode solo for most of the race, if she keeps riding she'll be able to hang in there. It was also fun to have Daemian, Ben D. Ben P. and James participate as well. (Yes that's 3 Bens if you were counting)

The Road Weasel cranks to the finish

   My plan now is to take a week or two off, to let me knee healing catch up as that is still bothering me somewhat. Then I'll hit the MTB training and hopefully get a cross bike and get some experience in that this September. We'll just have to see.

Everyone should go to a Monster Truck Jam

FYI: The following post has little to do with triathlon or athletics in general.

So last summer the Emmet County Fair announced there would be a Monster Truck Jam. Having never been to such an event I had to attend. Long story short it was an incredible experience and we had a blast. The finale performed by Predator was spectacular.Video on left. Reptoid on Right.

Thus when I was driving to the Farmer's Market to sell by B-Nuts Trail Mix and heard an advertisement on the radio for Monster Trucks at the North West Michigan Fairgrounds I decided I had to go. So we got a car full and drove down to TC for the show. Now this show was paced a little slower but had superb people watching. To blend in we dressed the part (pictures below).

Walker the Welder and myself. Trucks in background. 

Nigh Stalker crushes a helpless station wagon

The following is a short bit of prose I was compelled to write following the show.

A dusty haze settled over a technicolor sunset as the scent of high octane racing fuel entered the nostrils and implanted itself within, touching the deepest elements of the human soul. The raging behemoths sat silent, having already unleashed their rage and destruction on the derelict station wagons. Leaving with ringing eardrums and muted grins, we absconded into the night. 


 

Duck Lake Time Trial-My first pure TT race

     Today I competed in the Duck Lake TT (link here), which served as the Michigan Time Trial Championship. Having competed numerous 40K (24.8 Miles for us silly Americans) efforts in triathlons, putting in an all out, balls to the walls effort is slightly different. I was excited to see what kind of time I could put down, considering I've been focusing on my bike training since my injury this winter.
    I have an 11.8 mile rolling hill loop by my house that I've been training on. This year I've been doing the loop consistently under 30:00. Last year my Olympic Distance Tri I've had splits of 62 and 64 and taking those things into account  I set a  goal for the TT to be at 58:00.
    I drove down the night before and stayed with my Grandma in Big Rapids, before driving to the race, near Whitehall.  I felt a little rushed as I got my equipment set up, warmed up, etc. I'd rather be rushed than have to sit around and wait--less time to think about it.
   I was a little jittery from excitement and some caffeine as I rolled out at 9:07. I focused on keeping a steady and controlled pace for the first lap, passing several riders and splitting somewhere around 29:30 I believe. The roads were in decent shape for what I'm used to-chip sealed last summer or so.  There was a steady wind, leaving the long side of the rectangular course into the wind. I just tried to keep my head down, stay aero and slowly build up the effort. With about 10K to go I knew I needed to force myself to push the pace and I responded well. I rounded the finishing corner and sprinted to the line. Glancing at my watch I knew I was right close to 58 flat.
   After a cool down I was able to track down my official results-58:02 and another Cat 5 'W'. Reflecting on my race I am happy, but I do feel like I could have left a little bit more out on the course. It was a new experience and I'll have to learn the pacing required for optimal results. I also need to get more confidence and risk more on the corners. It was a great experience and I plan on doing some more in the future.

Cat 5 40K TT- 58:02

  I have to give a shout out to Lon Epstein, who was a roommate while I was in Colorado my first year. He had an internship at Cannondale and got Chrissie Wellington to sign a picture for me. It arrived by FedEx the day before the race. Thanks Lon!

"Where'd those guys go?"-West Brach Road Race

After winning the cat 5 race at Washtenaw I put in to upgrade to cat 4, despite having less than the required 20 points. I didn't think that USA Cycling really cared that much...but I got rejected. Thus when Daemian and I signed up for the West Branch Classic road race we were both racing cat 5. Upon registration there was no course map, no info about number pickup or much specific info in general. There was a hand drawn map to the start staging area where the heading had North pointed down. Judging by this we were expecting an interesting race. The course was 44 miles, two loops, with plenty of rolling hills and one mile long steady climb to the finish.

Our race started at 10:30, and as we were standing in a group waiting and it was HOT! Not like Kona, just overcast, no air movement whatsoever. I hate waiting around to start in the first place and the heat only made it worse. However once we rolled off and got a breeze I didn't notice the heat for the rest of the race. There were about 30 or 35 in cat 5.

 For the first lap everyone was in one group, no one was really pulling, just getting into it pretty easy. Like my experience with other cat 5 races, there was little organization and tons of brake use-age. Annoying blast up the hill, sit up and bunch together, etc. No one wanted to work to put in some pulls and break the group up. I just sat in the middle of the pack. At the finishing climb for the first lap, there was some more steady effort and some people fell off the back. Around mile 25, I started to move up to the front of the pack to try to work with some people to break the group up. I put in a pull and looked back and no one went with me, they were just hanging out. So I sat up and chilled.

A mile or two latter I made another move to see if anyone wanted to go in a break. No one did so I figured I'd try it solo, since they weren't very organized. I got probably 300ish meters off and the distance held as I worked for a mile or so. Then they closed the distance down and I re-grouped. Still, no one was making any moves. I guess everyone wanted a sprint finish.

After a couple more miles I tried to break again and get someone to work with. This time one guy went with me. We gained some distance and it looked like there was a mildly organized attempt to catch us. We started to catch a few cat 4 guys that had blown up, still gaining time on our pack. We made a right turn and were working together well as there were many rolling hills. At this point we had quite a distance on the pack, but kept the pressure on. As we approached the final right turn for the climb to the finish I new there was no chance we would be caught.
    Getting into the "lets finish this race" mode, the began to distance the guy I had been working with. About half way up the hill I had about 100m on him and eased up as I crested the hill to the finish, getting my second win of the season. Now I can upgrade for sure.
   With Daemien in the main pack he gave me the scoop after we broke away. There was an attempt to bridge up, but it didn't get organized. After the second to last right, everyone went back to the "chillin" mode and didn't work together. At one point, in reference to our breakaway, a guy asked, "Where'd those guys go?" (or something like that). Daemian said, "They're gone!", to which he responded, "WELL WHY DIDN'T ANYONE SAY SOMETHING!" Interesting, since I thought I was pretty obvious with my intentions.

After the finish there was pizza, sandwiches and beer for all participants. I'd never been at a race with "free" beer (even if it was Mich Ultra). Road races just keep looking better than triathlons. Tons of fun, cheaper, food, beer and good prizes. I won a beer tub with 6 beers, a beer mug, and a nice helmet. Granted I killed 8 flies, got bitten by mosquitoes and  sweated my stones off waiting around for the awards, which should have been more organized, but it was worth the trip. I highly recommend any triathlete try road racing. I'll be doing a lot more of it.

Tour of Washtenaw: 2nd Road Race Ever

      Last weekend my buddy from work, Daemian, and I did the Tour of Washtenaw road race and had a blast. The unique thing about his bike race is that about 40% of the race is on dirt roads and the rest is paved, with sections of varying length. We both raced cat 5, which had about 36 racers. Having rained the night before the roads were a wet mess and we got filthy (as the pictures slightly show). In some places it was like trying to ride through peanut butter (I HATE peanut butter!). Other places it was super fast and smooth and everything in between. The dirt roads had numerous potholes, which of course were impossible to avoid, while riding in a pack. One could compare certain sections to riding on a jackhammer or as Daemian described it, "Letting Mike Tyson repeatedly punch you in your taint." Despite the mud and getting the crap beat out of you the race was a BLAST and I have a new respect for the Paris-Roubaix (and any cobbled races) pro guys. I don't know how they do it for that long.
     We rode our regular road bikes but got some slightly wider tires with a kevlar belt (these). Considering we didn't flat, the wheels were still true after the race and nothing ill-performed during the race, it speaks volumes to the quality and abuse decent equipment can handle....that being said it's not like we  pro riders or anything.

Daemian

    For the race specifics the plan was to push hard on the first dirt section and break the group up in an effort to limit our chances of crash carnage. I was part of two breakaway attempts in the first 8 miles, but neither stuck. I lost both my bottles on one pothole, after forgetting to put one in my back pocket. Daemian gave me one of his. At one point there was a turtle in the road and everyone called out "Turtle", which was a first for me.
    After we got back onto the pavement, we decided to just hang out up front and wait. There were two UofM guys and a couple other groups that were happy pulling so we let them do all the work. Something that I'm not sure I really like about bike racing, but I understand somewhat, is the tactics and strategy. I guess one could say you have to "use" the other riders to your advantage. Just part of the game making it so the strongest rider doesn't necessarily win. The first cat 5 race I did last summer was a great learning experience in all of these points.

Finish Line

     So we were just staying on the wheels of the front guys as they were putting in efforts and breaking up the pack somewhat. At one point I was behind a guy on a cyclocross bike when we hit a muddy section and, while I was already filthy, it added insult to injury. But it made it fun and reminded my of a particularly muddy Cross Country Regionals in College. With about 15 miles to go, there was a dirt section and there were about a dozen guys in the front group. People were putting in some good hard efforts and stringing us out. The pace dropped off a bit, like they were done and I decided it was time to go so I went off the front. I looked back and they were all strung out. A minute later everyone was blown apart. There was one guy on my wheel and a group of two about 50yds back. Everyone else was way back there. We sat up a let the two behind us catch up so we had a group of four to work with. That didn't last long and soon it was me and the guy on the cyclocross bike. We worked together for about 5 minutes before he dropped back and I soloed the last 10 or so miles for my first W at a road race. Being it was a cat 5 race I'm not dwelling nor bragging about that fact.
     That race was a fun experience and I'd love to do it again next year. I'm also planning on doing several more bike races this season. It's a great change of pace from triathlons in addition to the fact they're cheaper. Now I'll upgrade to Cat 4

It could be dirtier. 

      

B-Nuts Trail Mix!

The inspiration for B-Nuts came to me when I was preparing for my first Ironman Triathlon in 2009. Since there was never any snack food in the house (or if there was it didn’t last long), I needed something that was relatively healthy, filling and of course delicious. Store bought trail mix was lacking in the latter and thus I sought to make a trail mix to be craved.Thus I began mixing up batches of trail mix, which became larger and more complex. Soon the nickname given to me by my sisters became the name of the mix-B-Nuts. Last fall I started selling some to a few family friends. 

Last winter I was contemplating about expanding B-Nuts into a larger business and this spring I started an official business under the name Road Weasel Enterprises. It was named after my little sister and her infamous nickname-Road Weasel (story another time). I'd like to give a short rundown of the ideas behind my business and the improvements I've made this spring. 

          In an effort to expand my business am now able to purchase ingredients at wholesale, which increases product consistency and of most benefit decreases cost. I've also improved the packaging to offer heat sealed, tamper evident bags, which also have a zip lock type closure so you can nibble and re-seal the bag. I've sourced all the ingredients and materials from Michigan based companies and distributes to keep the money in our state. In addition I now have two different mixes, each available in 24oz and 6oz sizes. B-Nuts "Original" and "B-Nuts "Premier". Both mixes differ from traditional trail mix in the fact they have a higher percentage of nuts other than peanuts, delicious milk and dark chocolate covered nuts and fruit, tons of dried fruit including cherries, cranberries and blueberries and a generous helping of maple roasted nuts.

B-Nuts Original in 24oz and 6oz

With the passing of the Michigan Cottage Food Law I am able to make B-Nuts in my home kitchen. Click Here for more information, but basically it means I don't have "official" state licenses nor a Department of Agriculture inspected kitchen. However I still follow strict standards for cleanliness and preparation.

     More details to come and if you have any ideas for marketing, new products or feedback please let me know. I'm working on a granola recipe.

Don't forget to "Like" B-Nuts Trail Mix on Facebook! There's a ton more information on the Facebook page, including pricing and ordering information. Hopefully I can make a go of this.

The Damages of Skiing

Let me start by saying I had an amazing winter in Steamboat Springs, CO. Here's a youtube video to prove it.                         

Epic Steamboat Video

      That being said the epic face shots in the Canyon and hucking myself took its tole and resulted in this. (You can see how it happened at 10:19 in the above video.) Now for an anatomy lesson for the less inclined. This is a MRI of my left knee from the lateral (outside) aspect. The top bone is the femur and the bottom bone is my tibia. The stringy band in the middle that is angled backwards is my ACL. This is good news as a blown ACL looks like an exploded pack of Ramen Noodles. Just below my ACL on my Tibial Plateau you will see a white area. In short the top part of my tibia is basically crushed slightly, and is the reason my knee has been hurting and why I haven't been able to run.

      In the second picture you are looking at the knee from the front. Note the dark area and how it seems slightly lower on that side. As the initial examination I was suspected of having a blown ACL or torn meniscus, this MRI was good news. However it's basically a fracture and needs time to heal. Thus I made the decision to withdraw from Ironman St. George and am taking it easy for a while. This decision was easy to make once "premature arthritis" was mentioned. So I'm out 600 bucks and have to try to take it easy for a while. I'm planning on more bike races this summer but really focusing on getting this healed before pushing any kind of training.

The most adventursome adventure ever

      So this adventure was one for the books and most deserving of it's own post. All this time we had been deciding our adventures from this guide book. It was super helpful and I'd definitely recommend it if you need a guide in Kauai. So in this book there's an adventure labeled "The Jungle Hike". It said it involves hiking through mile long irrigation tunnels to get to a hidden waterfall.The book gives plenty of warning that this is an unmaintained trail, it's sketchy, super muddy and long. I love caves, I love waterfalls, I love adventures, especially filthy ones, sounds right up my alley. Ben and I set out earlier, like maybe 10am. The hike was muddy from the first 100 yds. It was more of a pig trail through the undergrowth with plenty of ducking, and crawling for our 6'2" scrawny frames. More than once we almost fell off a ledge or hole that was hidden by the thickest vegetation I've ever encountered.
        After a long hike we arrive at the first tunnel. It feels like Indiana Jones or something. You can see the light at the other end even as you enter the tunnel. There's about shin deep water and a slightly silty bottom and most of the time the ceiling is about 6 feet tall. After adventuring through the first tunnel, there's directions to get to the "slightly more sketchy" second tunnel. Of course we're going. So after crossing a river, scampering through the undergrowth, coming upon a makeshift campsite with discarded Ramen wrappers, we stumble upon the entrance to the second tunnel. Sketchy doesn't begin to describe it. The tunnel looks about 3 feet tall and we have to climb down this ladder into an irrigation canal with crotch deep water.

Actually the less sketchy tunnel exit, but you get the idea.

We have to walk hunched over for the entirety of this tunnel. The water is thigh deep and worse that that there's a foot of silty mud on the bottom of the tunnel. There's a point with rotten wooden timbers you have to crawl through. It seemed to me they were holding up the tunnel, adding to the sketchiness of the adventure. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel is close and we emerge, seemingly in the middle of the Kauai interior. After such a long, filthy, sketchy hike one would expect the most glorious view ever, considering the effort put in to get there. Now I'm not saying it was a let down, the waterfall was cool. But it's the experience to get there, not the final view.

Now we just had to turn around and hoof it out before dark. We made it, our shoes didn't fair so well. After several washes I still wear mine. I believe Ben threw his out.

After that adventure we pretty much chilled for the rest of the trip. Book reading on the beach, swimming and such. Ben flew out a day before me so we got a taxi to the airport and he caught his flight as I disappeared into the night to find a place to sleep. Let's just say the shore area around the Lithue Airport has a lot of miscellaneous junk lying around: Toilets, ropes, refrigerators, whole cars, car parts, mattresses, etc. It was like a dump. Eventually I found a nice junk free bit of sand beach and enjoyed my last night in Kauai sleeping on the sand as the waves crashed on the beach. Yes I did account for the tide coming in so I didn't get washed away in my sleep.

Beach Camp Site

 I awoke early the next day to get some good sunrise pictures.

I never get up early enough to view such events.

Sunrise near Beach Camp Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that I hiked some more, found a beach to chill on and read and killed some time before I went to the airport to fly back to reality. I left Lithue arrived in LAX and arrived in D-Troit. As I exited the plane, there was a blast of cold wind and I hurried onto the Jetway. I exited the Jetway and the attendant at the desk announced, voice laced with sarcasm, "Welcome to beautiful Detroit, where the temperature is 45 degrees." If I could only go straight from Hawaii weather to Pow skiing and skip the "in between" season.

This about sums up the trip. The moral of the story is that if you are planning a trip to Hawaii, add an extra two weeks. Forget your watch. Adventure. Chill.

Mountain Biking Adventures In Kauai

The last picture of me taken before my parents left.

So the plan went like this: mom and dad hang out for a week after the race, they leave their son for another 10 days and he bums around. Another friend from home (Also named Ben) comes to bum for 5 days in the middle. So we had camping gear, rented well used mountain bikes from this place, and didn't really have a plan besides hang out and adventure. Mom and dad drove me the 14 miles and 3600' up to Kokee state park (I would have never been able to pedal that with this pack). I camped for two nights and hiked around (see previous post). Then I rode down the canyon, which was exhilarating experience considering I was on a janky mountain bike with a 50 pound pack. Anyway I rode down to Polihale state park and hung out for a bit, chatted with some Hawaiian guy about pig hunting and cliff climbing. I decided the state park was really just an overrated scorching sand beach that was so hot you couldn't walk in bare feet. MI beaches are much more inviting. After that I rode a bit back toward Waimea and found a spot in the bush to camp for the evening.
       Ben was flying into Lithue and I decided to ride the bus over to Kapaa to meet him. He booked a room at the Kauai Sands Hotel, where the room was clean, the price was right, and the clientele were super classy. For the period of time while Ben was there we rode inland to camp and also spent some nights at the hotel. We hiked, mountain biked, and read some books on the beach. A perfect combination of relaxation and adventure. It's worth mentioning here that I read Unbroken in two days, and it is one of the best books I've ever read. Read it. Anyway ere are some pictures from our adventures.

Ben at the top of the Sleeping Giant hike near Kapaa

There are "wild" chickens everywhere in Kauai. This explains more. It's interesting.

The biggest Centipede we've ever seen. Ben's a centipede wrangler so it's okay.

Mt. Waialeale as viewed from the park near the Kuilau Trail.

My fat Whip.

One of the most beautiful places I've seen

So on my adventure I was mountain bike camping in Kokee State Park. Every hike I did was amazing but these pictures were from the best one. The Awa'awapuhi-Nu'alolo Clis Loop was incredible. It's not the trail itself, which is an okay trail, but the views from the vista's at the end. I started early in the morning and got out there with perfect light and no one else around. My words don't do it justice and these pictures only slightly paint the elation of the view.

View along the Cliff's trail. 

If I were a goat I'd probably choose to live here too.

If I could only build my house on this spot.

LoLo Vista: Up on the list of the most beautiful views I've seen.

View 2,000 feet down into the Nu'aolo Valley

Chillin' on Kauai

 So post race I went to Kauai to recover and hang out. I mean if you're in Hawaii why not extend your stay a bit. For about three days post race I just slept in and hung out, but I'm not really a lay on the beach/by the pool kinda vacation guy. I'm more of the, "let's go on some adventure" kinda vacation guy (as you'll see later). I could detail lots more of the sights, but I'll just include some captions. Comment with any questions.

Ke'e beach at the trailhead to the Kalalau trail

Hanakapi'ai Beach

Swimming in Hanakapi'ai Falls off the Kalalau Trail-totally worth the hike.

Mom and Pop on a hike near Kapa'a

Pu'u Kila Lookout in Kokee State Park

Waimea Canyon

The Famous Red Dirt of Kauai

Other Big Island Sights

We did go on a couple adventures pre-race. Here's some pics and short captions. 

The moon-like landscape on the top of Mauna Kea. Sea level to 13,796 feet and back in one day.

Hiking to the Lava Tube; landscape in stark contrast to the Western Side of the island.

Lava Tube where the roof caved in.

Interesting "Lava Stalactites" or "Lavacicles". Also roots growing through the ceiling.

Kailua Bay

Going Snorkeling

Pacific Ocean Sunset

Race Video

                 Here's the video I made about the Hawaii Experience. Quality/slightly cheesy soundtrack.

     Direct Link Here

Post Finish: The Death Star is Destroyed

The smile lasted for about 15 seconds as I was draped with a towel and ushered from the finish line by a “catcher”. Ann Anderson (Dave’s wife) was volunteering as a “catcher” and she immediately claimed me from some other lady. At this point the smile was replaced by a look of intense exhaustion mixed with liberation that it was over. I didn’t collapse or anything I really just wanted to get away from the finish area and sit down. Ann kept asking me if I wanted any water or anything. I still had the humor to tell her that I wanted some Tequila and my bed. (Tequila would have been terrible, my bed not so much.) Since I was relatively okay (didn’t need medical or something like that) Ann released me into the “Family area” and went back to catch more Zombie Ironman. I never feel like eating anything post race but forced myself to try or I would just continue to feel terrible. I needed some protein and I tried to eat a Powerbar but they have the unpalatable consistency of sand. The whole time I’m looking around trying to spot my parents. I could only relate it to a small child who lost his mom in the store and is wondering around, lost and confused thinking, “I want my mommy. Where is she?” That’s what I felt like as I wondered over to get my finishers shirt and medal and some pizza.

I finally spotted Mom and Pop as I painfully did an old man walk across the beach area toward them. They saw me and Mom gave me a hug and I rested my head on her shoulder and didn’t give much of a hug back. Dad got a hug as well. They said good job and they were proud of me and we went to go find a spot to sit down. As we were walking back toward the photo area I happened to see andypottstri.com on the back of someone’s jersey and I looked up and it was Andy (finally!), chatting with some other athlete. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Andy. You’re the man!” He turned toward me with a huge smile and said, “Thanks man." That was pretty cool. I got my picture taken with my parents, found Dave, who also congratulated me, and ate some more pizza before hobbling to the car to get out of my tri attire. 

Somehow my run had evened out to a 3:29.47. I still can’t quite wrap my head around that math because I felt I was moving so slow for about 18 miles of it. In the end my other official splits were 1:07.33 swim, T1-3:28, bike 5:08.50, T2-3:07. I finished 361^st overall and 14^th in my AG and only got chicked by two AG women (and 22 pros). Overall I am very happy with my result; however I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied. It’s hard to be satisfied when you don’t put together a good leg of your traditionally strongest event. I could point to a bunch of different “reasons” but it doesn’t really matter. I’ll just have to qualify again and come back to put on the better performance that I know I am capable of if it all goes right. My overall impression of Kona is that the race is “fun” and “cool” only because it is the “World Championship” and there are so many high caliber athletes. There is nothing about the course that makes in “fun” or “cool”, the whole course itself is wretched and it makes you reach down for another level of toughness you didn’t think you had. It’s either that or give up. And you work to hard to get there to give up.

It is now Tuesday as I sit at our condo in Kauai finishing this up. My legs still feel trashed and walking down stairs isn’t fun. I’m planning on taking several weeks off and not getting back into training mode until at least November. I’m signed up for another Ironman in St. George Utah on May 7^th, 2011. But I’m not really thinking about that one right now. Thanks to everyone that was tracking me on race day. Your messages, emails and phone calls gave me a little more of that toughness to get through the race, when you know there’s that many people that care about how you do. Thanks again and if you have any other questions about the race that I didn’t cover in this short novel let me know. I’d be happy to divulge further details. Best wishes to all.

 

To continue the theme, the Death Star was destroyed, but the Galactic Empire is building another one. The rebel alliance must develop a new plan of attack, get another chance to attack, obtain funds for the journey, and hopefully succeed again.  

Can the Rebel Alliance Pull it off?

At mile 15, or something like that, you make a turn into the dreaded Energy Lab portion of the course. It’s a downhill section into a slight ocean breeze. You would think “yaaa downhill” but as most runners will tell you, a downhill section on already trashed legs feels awful. It’s like your quads have to brake for every stride and the shock sent through your legs is painful. And it’s interesting because I’ve been told, and I’ve told people, on downhills you open up your stride a bit and run over the ground, landing on your forefoot as not to “brake” with each stride. While good in theory, sometimes your legs just cannot do that. The next two and a half miles are right around 9 minute pace as I reach the turn around and head back up the hill. Going uphill isn’t any better than going downhill and my calves seized up again so I try to stretch them out for a few seconds. In this situation the only real thoughts are, “I just want to be done. This sucks. Why am I doing this? I want to quit and walk it in.” Yes that crossed my mind several times during the miserable survival run/jog. There were many moments where I felt like I was on the verge of implosion and would have to walk, but I just continued to put one foot in front of the other. 

Back out on the highway you could see Kona in the distance but it seemed so far away. I was basically a running zombie and everyone just wanted it to be over. Without dragging this out to much longer it was basically mile to mile, aid station to aid station, with legs of death for each step and questionable looks at every aid station. I’m sure they were all wondering how these insane people do this to themselves. When you’re doing this your mind has to wander a little bit to try to not think about how much pain you’re in. In between one of those aid stations out there I was thinking about my finish and what to do for my picture. I needed something original so somehow I decided pointing to Petoskey on the Michigan Mitten with my hand would be cool. 

I finally hit mile 24 and there was a long gradual climb up to Palani which then turns right and descends into Kona toward the finish. The only way I had gotten this far was to take the run a section at a time and I told myself to just get to the top of this hill and then you’ll have a nice downhill. Going down Palani was not fun for the same reason the energy lab hill isn’t fun, only Palani is steeper. Mile 25 came by and I was just thinking, “One mile that’s a piece of cake.” There were people cheering now, but you don’t really notice them specifically in your zombie like state.  As I turned onto Alii drive I felt like the horse headed for the barn and was able to pick it up slightly. I didn’t want to do this any more. I wanted to be at the finish NOW! Again there were tons of people and banners and music and Mike Riley announcing but I didn’t really notice any specifics. I slowed down to allow the guy in front of me to have his time at the finish and so I could have mine as well. As I walked up the ramp I heard my name announced and I pumped my arms and then held up my hand in the “Michigan Mitten” and pointed to Petoskey; smiling and relieved it was over. My finishing time was 9:52.45.