Toughman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The river was extremely shallow. I started to dolphin dive once the water was above my knee and began to swim once my hands weren't touching the ground. Some swimmers walked out for a long time.

I quickly got into a rythem, the wave seemed to split up fairly quickly and before I know it I began passing swimmers from the wave in front of me. I kept neck and neck with one woman until we reached the turnaround. It got a bit jammed up at the turn, so I took my time, didn't muscle through like I usually do, even breast stroked for a little to wait for my best opportunity to make a move.

On the return, the bouy's seemed non existant. Everyone seemed to be drifting to the far right for some reason. Either people were following the pack or now that I think of it, maybe the current was pulling the swimmers that way. Having no desire to follow the pack, or swim longer than I needed to, I sighted the swim exit arch on the beach and gave up looking for the return bouys. Every bouy I could see was on my left so I didn't care, and made a bee-line to the finish. I drafted off one swimmer for a few minutes, this was my best swim draft attempt to date. I was constantly passing red and white caps (the 2 waves in front) wich is always a great boost mentally. Dolphin dived once the water got shallow to the beach.

I came out of the water at 31 min, 16 min faster than I expected. Yvonne was expecting me between 40-45 min like I told her and took Evan to pee, so we missed each other at the swim exit. I didn't rush into T1. The key for me here was to cool my HR heading off onto the bike.

Overall fantastic swim. My pace was unbeleivable, I know there was some current there to assist. My garmin had the course at 1.15 miles, so it seemed very well marked.




Nothing I can think of really.

One of my keys to this race was to come out of T1 calm, cool and collected and with a HR below 130. The problem I faced in the past was coming out of T1 with my heart rate screaming even before the 1st crank of the pedals.

I bypassed the wetsuit strippers, mainly because I thought I could do it faster myself and I didn't want to risk re-tearing my recently fixed wetsuit. Dipped my feet into the kiddy pool and proceeded to walk to my bike. Got my suit off easily, helmet, race belt and glasses on and then realized I had my water bottle reserved for transition still on my bike, so I pulled it out and grabbed a sip to rid my mouth of river water. Walked out of T1 then jogged to the mount line.

Smooth transition overall. Having my transition H2O off the bike ahead of time would have been nice, but didn't hurt any.

My HR coming out of T1 was 141 and quickly shot to 160 after the 1st mile, this really concerned me. If I was going to blow up on the bike, I was going to blow up this race. My pace goal of 18.0 MPH was tossed out the window before I hit mile 2 as I weighed my options for climbing the hills, while preserving my HR. New goal, keep the HR calm, reiterated original race goal, don't blow up on the bike!

I did my best to spin the hills, never hesitating to drop into the lower chain ring if I needed to, placing my hands on the flats and sitting up making sure I had a maximum capacity for breathing. Even with this strategy, my Garmin was barking at me telling me I had exceeded Z3 and to calm down, well at a 14mph average and nothing but hills ahead of me I stayed the course, spinning, breathing and taking any opportunity I could to calm the HR. My HR finally got below 130 after 20 minutes, around the 5 mile mark. I made sure it stayed there for a while before I began to pick up the pace. My average speed after 6 miles was 14.8MPH and all I could say was oh well, and justified it by telling myself I’m not walking the run.

Miles 6-14 the course “flattened out” and by flattened out I mean it transitioned from straight climbing to rolling hills. With My HR under control some nutrition down it was time to carefully make up for lost ground. I began to play hopscotch with 3 other riders, one I called "Faustino" because that was his name, "single bottle silver Cervelo guy" and the last of which shall now be known as the Infamous “Cookieman”! This guy, 28 years old on a Cannondale from 1992, squeaky and everything, back hairy as all hell, had an entire bag of Fig Newtons taped to his aerobars. I was feeling good at this point so the chatty Brian decided to come out and play. I threatened the “Cookieman” that if he passed me one more time there would be a 2 Newton penalty. Well we stuck together for a good 18-22 miles with every cyclist coming into our vicinity commenting on his Newtons. I saw him pass a Newton to another rider and I have to admit I was jealous, but I wasn’t going to ask him for one no matter how bad I wanted one and jeopardize my well thought out nutrition plan. With Newtons as his primary source of fuel,a squeaky old bike and a non-aerodynamic back, this kid was killing it!

At mile 18 there was the 1st of 2 bottle exchanges. Even though my aerodrink was still ½ full of Gatorade Pro, I wanted to practice the art of bottle exchange and top off my bottle. Like everyone on BT has taught me, I pointed to a volunteer holding both a water and Gatorade, shouted Gatorade please, slowed down made the grab with a “Thank You” topped off my aerodrink and tossed the bottle in a backwards motion towards the aid station making sure not to hit a volunteer or cyclist. The whole process took maybe 15 seconds, was very smooth and I discarded the bottle well within the confines of the aid station.

The remainder of the bike was fairly uneventful. I finally dropped the cookie man and Faustino and not sure what happened to Cervelo guy. After mile 30 the course became fairly spread out and I had slowly increased my pace to 18.4MPH. There was a stretch where I was fairly alone for a while, occasionally passing or being passed by others. I hung behind "pigtailed pace booty girl" for a few minutes to break the monotony around mile 40 but quickly regained my focus and adjusted my goal for the remainder of the bike to finish with an 18.5 MPH avg.

There were a few points on the bike where, as illegal as it is, peloton’s began to form. This was not a matter of blatant cheating, rather a condition of roads open to traffic, narrow roads with no shoulders and one long stretch where ½ the lane was engulfed in pavement so rough it was unrideable. No one was blatantly drafting and we all seemed to adjust our positions within the group to avoid obvious penalty’s. On the out-and-back portion between miles 44 – 48 (where I took my 1st and only pee break on the course thanks to wooded areas and a huge inviting boulder) it became very crowded and the ability to make a move was non-existent.

My quads were beginning to burn towards the end oof the bike. I had an 18.5MPH avg on my Garmin and 13.1 miles yet to run, so the last few miles I held back when the urge to push hard called. I started to get nervous about the run on tired legs at this point.

I finished the bike in just over 2:55, 15 min faster than I had expected with a Garmin pace of 18.5 MPH and official pace of 19.4. I executed my nutrition plan to the T and it worked very well. It is nice to exceed expectations, however I placed 177 overall on the bike (compared to my 102 overall place) so I know there is work to be done.


Tape a box of Fig Newtons to my aerobars! Damn they looked so good!

Yvonne and Evan were there as I came into T2. Yvonne got a picture of me and I had the biggest smile on my face. I don't know if it was seeing Yvonne and Evan, my 2:55 time, 18.5 pace or a combination of the 3. I came into T2 glad to be done with the bike, a little concerned with the ensuing run but ready to hit it hard!

I didn't rush T2 at all. Chatted with Yvonne and Evan while putting my socks and shoes on. Loaded up my T2 nutrition pack and took a slow jog to run out.

Nothing

Once I hit the road, I quickly settled into a comfortable pace. Legs were a non issue, however I was feeling that lower Achilles pain in my right foot I had been experiencing over the past two weeks. I popped 2 Advil just before the end of the bike, so I told myself it was a non issue and kept on moving.

I posted an 8:18 pace the 1st mile and was feeling good. Mile 2 brought the 1st hills coming out of the park and lasted through mile 3 with the second half on loose packed trails, F-trails I said when passing two runners who were expressing their delight for trails. They are beautiful and all, I just feel slower, can’t get a good push-off especially on loose packed trails. This trail also had us climbing so I wasn’t happy!

Miles 2-3 I posted 8:12 and 8:13 min miles, then I looked at my total race time...

After careful and constant recalculating in the days prior to this race, I had projected a realistic race time of 6:00. Maybe, just maybe if I dug deep, conditions were perfect and I had the race of my life, I could come in around 5:30. Well here I was at mile 4 of my ½ marathon and I was about 4:05 into my race, If I could somehow squeeze 8:00 miles the rest of the way, I could come in under 5:15! Thus became the new goal! I had to be careful, I was feeling great but didn’t want to blow up. I had also read about “the mother of all hills” at mile 9-10, so with cautious confidence I pushed forward.

Mile 4: 7:37 pace, the 5 mile mark brought us past the base of the dam, and what a site it was. It was beautiful, waterfalls cascading down producing a cooling effect of the air, a dam rising 15 stories above with runners on top. RUNNERS ON TOP! I HAVE TO GET ALL THE WAY UP THERE?????? That ruined the serenity of that scene. I read about this climb between miles 9-10, so I thought they had mixed up the mile marks, because the next mile was a brutal climb to the top of the dam, of course on trails! There goes my new goal pace. There was a gaggle of cheerleaders lining the course just prior to this hill chanting something about “Tough runners don’t stop all the way to the top” or something kitschy like that. Well, I dug deep and owned that climb! Miles 5-6 I somehow posted a 7:58 pace climbing that hill. My HR managed to stay in the low 160’s and I was still feeling good…. ONWARD! Knowing that “Toughhill” was behind me I knew everything was downhill from there.

Mile 7: 7:47, 8: 7:53, 9: 7:16… I was on my way home, then I saw it! They weren’t lying, there it was, the “mother of all hills” ¼ mile seemingly straight up. My overall pace had dipped below 8:00 min miles and there were only 4 left, I wasn’t quitting now. I dropped my arms, got them churning and owned that hill! Nothing felt more accomplishing knowing that I pushed as hard as I could up that hill after a 1.2 mile swim and a challenging 56 mile bike. Maybe it was the crazy Asian couple dressed as Superman and Devil Woman and their cowbells uttering words of encouragement in broken English at the bottom of the hill (that was great) or it was the prospect of a 5:15 finish for my 1st HIM that drove me through it, but I got it done posting an 8:10 pace for mile 9 -10 with the “Toughman” hill.

Now I knew for sure that the remaining 5K was all downhill, both because they told me so and because this portion of the course was the same as the 1st 3. The last 3 miles I posted a 7:40, 7:42 and 7:32. I was 200 yards from the finish shoot, my 5:15 time was secured and once again I was smiling. Then some clown, not in my AG but I didn’t care, decides to pass me about 100 yards from the chute. I was having no part of that, I will not be shown up in the chute in front of hundreds of people! I mustered up one final burst and full on sprint passing him just 50 yards from the finish! This sent the spectators, volunteers and announcer crazy as I crossed the finish line. I let out a primal scream and clenched my upper body in victory as I crossed into the finish area in just over 5:13, what a feeling! What a race!

The volunteers immediately handed me an ice towel, offered Gatorade and water, medal’d me and then one volunteer slowly escorted me to the chip removal area. It was nice to not be raped of your chip the split second you cross the line. I often wonder if those chips aren’t made of 24kt gold that they need them back so quickly.


Absolutely NOTHING! Run of my life!

I laid down in the grass just outside the finishers chute and Yvonne and Evan came running over! I could tell immediately it had been a long day for them. Yvonne never hugs me after a workout when I'm drenched in sweat, but today she gave me a huge hug and reiterated how proud of me she was, she was floored at my results! Evan then turned to me and said, "Daddy are you done now? Can we go home?" It is a long day for a 3.5 year old! He was a trooper though and Yvonne said he behaved well for the most part.

I grabbed 2 slices of pizza and then ran into Allison, my physical therapist who was there cheering on her boyfriend. She didn't race today because she is too busy training for Kona! Yes, she qualified! A tremendous athlete taking 1st in the Elite division of just about every tri she does! She hung with us for a while and kept telling me what a fantastic time I posted. Good to hear from a Kona qualifier!

I gathered my gear from transition then Evan and I went over to the results board to see how I did. 102 overall, not top 5 in AG so I was clear to leave. I was going to hit up the post race BBQ and awards ceremony, but Evan was shot! Poor kid was up at 4:15am and hadn’t napped all day. We went back to the car, packed up, put the Giants game on the radio (mid 1st quarter) and headed home.

Somehow it has become sort of tradition for us to grab some fast food burgers after a race, why not, I have a caloric deficit at that point, right? So we hit up Wendy’s and got some burgers and fries. Evan was out cold the moment we put him in the car, so we got him some nuggets for later. I knew we’d get home in time for the 2nd half of the Giants game, so I stopped off at the liquor store and picked up a 12 pack of Amstel. Got home, put the game on, watched the 2nd Q, then showered. After my shower I collapsed on the couch, popped a beer and was so tired and exhausted I barely got through it. Oh well, all I need is 1 beer to celebrate!

Of course, Yvonne being as wonderful as she is let me lounge the remainder of the day. She eventually joind me on the couch and was able to catch a nap mid afternoon. As tired as I was, I couldn't nap, besides it was opening weekend of the NFL and there was tons of football to watch, so me and Evan hung out and watched football while mommy took a well deserved nap!


Nothing I can think of, I couldn't be happier with my results!


Fantasitc race! Extremely well organized, more volunteers than you can shake a stick at, aid stations everywhere! I have no idea why this race isn't more popular than it is. Fantastic! I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

I made is a priority to thank every single volunteer, police officer, race organizer or cheering spectator I passed on the course. No mattter how tired or out of breath I was, I was constantly shouting "Thank You" and giving thumbs up's! Everyone was so fantastic and made this race PERFECT!