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 Swim
Comments: Swim I headed to the start of the 1.2 mile swim and joined my age-group wave for the start. At 755am the hooter blew. I decided not to swim in with the bunch in case I received a kick in the side so I waited a number of seconds after the hooter before setting out and swam on the outside of the main group. After 10 minutes, my body warmed up and the tightness around my damaged ribs started to ease and I began to swim quite well. I passed some of the people in my wave but plodded along at a casual pace. Andy Potts obviously did not hear the news of my injury, as he went out hell for leather from the start and broke the course record. Potts finished the swim in 22:43. I finished 21 minutes later. Fear motivates some people. I emerged from the water feeling good and ran up to wetsuit strippers, who whipped my suit off me in seconds. I then trotted to my bike. My swim time was 43:28  Transition 1
 Bike
Comments: Bike The bike leg was 56 miles - out and back - with a couple of challenging hills ranging from 3% to 9% gradients. I really enjoyed the first 28 miles. I had not been on a bike for 5 weeks and I loved being back in the saddle again. Just before going up the big hill at mile 10, the top male pros and Chrissy came flying past me on their way home which helped me push on the hill. My split at 28 miles was 1h31 at an average of 18.26mph and I felt good. The next 28 miles were painful. I started to feel sore on my right hand side and could not really get down on the aero bars or the drops for very long. I mainly sat up and pedaled. To compound the issue, I grabbed half a banana at the turnaround point. Having not eaten bananas or any other solid food on training rides, I should not have taken the food. Foolish mistake. I started to get stomach cramps which made the pedaling even more difficult. My split for the last 28 miles, which should have been at least the same as the out leg, was 1h50 at an average of 15.17 mph. Total bike time was 3h22. Transition 2
 Run
Comments: Run I was really relieved to jump off the bike. My whole rib cage was aching. I suppose that not having done any deep breathing over the past 5 weeks meant that the muscles were a bit tired from the sudden prolonged exertion. I had some Tylenol stashed at transition so I popped two and started the run. (Ibuprofen would work better but it makes me very nauseous). Due to the fact that Andy Potts had already finished, I decided to take it easy on the run and once my stomach issues dissipated after 3-4 miles I really started to enjoy it. It was an out and back loop which you did twice. It meant that you saw a lot of the other participants but it also meant that you could see people finishing as you were starting your second lap. I saw the Mrs and the kids twice and shouted “hellos” to a few fellow Rye triathletes whom I saw. A couple of people noticed my CAF shirt and shouted encouragement, which was great. The craziest thing on the run was that the local ice hockey team were handing out snowballs. These were great to crush on your head and neck to cool down. The bubble machine at the far turnaround point was also a nice touch. As I came into the finish chute I heard the opening bars of Coldplay’s, Viva La Vida. With that in the background, I skipped down the straight with a massive smile on my face and jumped into the air over the finish line with both arms raised aloft. As I landed, Chrissy came up to me and gave me my medal. I was completely blown away. My time for the run was a slow comfortable 2h20 Post race
Warm down: Post Race My wife and the kids were waiting as I cam out of the finish area and we took the obligatory family photo’s. Next stop was the massage tent, where Nia waited in queue while I went on a mission to find food. The post race athlete food was exceptional and I scoffed down 4 bread rolls with beef, tomato and mozzarella, a tub of ice cream, chocolate milk, a bowl of seafood chowder, cheese, pasta salad and four cupcakes. Man was I famished! My overall time was 6h33 - about 45 minutes slower than I was originally planning on (pre injury) and at least a full hour slower than I was aiming for at Steelhead. However, the time is what it is and I am pleased that I completed my first 70.3 Ironman whilst thoroughly enjoying it. Most importantly, I have raised $3800 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation thus far. I am still not close to reaching my goal therefore the site will remain open for sponsorship/donations for the rest of the season. http://raceforareason.kintera.org/tryathlete Event comments: Great Event!! Last updated: 2010-09-02 12:00 AM
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Prologue
2010 was meant to be a big triathlon season for me. 2009 was fun, I did the New York and the Westchester Olympic distance events and the Greenwich Sprint. It was good but I decided to up my game in 2010 and do the Sleepy Hollow Sprint, the New York Triathlon, Steelhead 70.3 Ironman, Timberman 70.3 Ironman and complete the season with my home race, the Westchester in Rye, NY. I also decided that I would race for a reason and raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (http://www.challengedathletes.org/) by seeking sponsorship from work colleagues and friends for my “A” race, the Steelhead 70.3 Ironman. http://raceforareason.kintera.org/tryathlete
I did a lot of solid base training over the winter and built it up over the spring supported by the guidance of Ray Kelly as a fantastic coach and the (sometimes) understanding of my wife.
The day before the NY race, July 17, I had no training scheduled and it was a beautiful day. We jumped in the boat with friends and went out on the Long Island Sound for a bit of tubing and skiing. I decided to go for a water ski. Nia, said that it was a bad idea and not worth the risk given the fact that I had a race the next day and had done quite a bit of training. I obviously dismissed her foolish suggestion. I broke a rib and damaged a couple of his neighbors.
I was told by the Doctor that it would take about 6 weeks to heal fully, so that put paid to any plans I had for the NY and the Steelhead races. My next feasible race was Timberman 70.3 Ironman. Therefore I set that as a target.
Over the next couple of weeks, I tried to do some training but failed miserably as it was either excruciatingly painful or very uncomfortable, depending on the activity. Swimming was a No-No as I could not stretch out or complete the stroke and running was only sore when I breathed or I bounced. I did manage to get on the bike in my basement a couple of times for some easy workouts, but nothing too strenuous or too long. The week before the race we had to go back to the UK to finalize the sale of our house. So that did not really help my preparation either.
As race day approached I became increasingly concerned about my ability to complete it. Although I was definitely healing, I was still uncomfortable and I resigned my self to the fact that although it would not be pretty but I would still give it a go. The swim was my biggest concern. With that in mind, I went down to Oakland Beach in Rye on the Tuesday evening before the race and met up with my Rye Triathlon Club mates and went for (about) a mile open water swim in the Long Island Sound. I was very slow and it was uncomfortable, but I did complete it which gave me the confidence boost I was looking for. I knew that if I got through that I could tough out the run and bike on the day.
Pre-Race Prep
I packed up the family on Friday afternoon and headed up to Gilford, New Hampshire. Saturday morning was quite relaxing. I played with the kids on the sandy shore of Lake Winnipesaukee and did a short swim to get the feel of the water. The water was beautiful and worlds apart from the choppy saline of the LI Sound.
After a boat trip round Lake Winnipesaukee, (which means “Smile of the Great Spirit”) we headed to the registration area at the Gunstock Mountain Resort. I did the necessary registration and briefing and walked around the expo. Dick and Rick Hoyt were there and I had the opportunity to speak to Dick and meet Rick which was inspirational and a motivational factor if ever I needed one. I urge you to check out the website and watch the video. The book is a good read too. http://www.teamhoyt.com/
After that we went to the transition area at Ellacoya State Park where I set up my transition area and checked out the various starts and exits for each of the legs. I realized then that I left the wheel magnet for my cycle computer at home on my training wheels. That bugged me immensely but there was little that I could do about it. The kids were acting up so we did not hang around too long and headed back to the hotel for dinner.
After a pasta dinner, I sorted out my nutrition for the following day. After some false starts with various products, I ended up using Hammer Nutrition products all through my training and really liked them. For race day I planned to consume:
Breakfast = 1 x Bottle of Sustained Energy, Recoverite, Gel mix ( 590 calories) and a bottle of Heed to sip pre race (200 calories)
Endurolyte tablets (electrolyte supplement) 2 pre race and 1 per hour if hot or when needed
Pre swim 1x espresso flavored Gel (100 calories)
Bike – Sustained Energy 3 Hour bottle @ 320 calories per hour washed down with water and bottle of Heed. Gels and an energy bar as back up if I got sick of the Sustained Energy.
Run - I had 3 Gels in my pocket and planned to drink water.
Post Race – Recoverite and anything else I could get my hands on, including beer.
Race Day
I went to bed at about 9pm, woke up at 430 am and had my liquid breakfast and got ready. Nia dropped me off at transition at 515am and went back to the hotel for a couple of hours while I got my body marked with my race number and finalized my transition area. Having triple checked my bike and running gear, I applied sunscreen and lubricant in the necessary areas and I was ready to go at 6am. Unfortunately, the Pro start was at 7am and my wave start was 755am, so I had a bit of waiting to do.
I walked around, chatted to other athletes, went for a pee about 10 times, thought about the Challenged Athletes who would benefit from the fund raising, thought about Team Hoyt and their challenges and I spoke to Chrissie Wellington and wished her the best of British luck to which she replied “Thanks mate!” All of that gave me a boost.
The sky was overcast and the rain threatened but at least it was cool. I headed out to the swim start at 645am and watched the Pro wave starts.
I went for a swim at 730 to warm up. The temperature of Lake Winnipesaukee was 71 Degrees and the water was clean, clear and calm. Perfect.