Oklahoma City Redman Triathlon - Full Redman - TriathlonFull Ironman

the swim started about 45-minutes late because of the rain. seemed to come out of nowhere. In Colorado I seem to know when it's coming but I was not expecting this at all. the RD delayed the race for safety reasons...primarily bike safety. I can understand this but at the time I felt just get on with it...I've ridden in some pretty bad rain storms through the mountains and there was no lightening today, so just get on with it. at one point they made an announcement that they were considering making the race swim-run-swim. some people seemed pretty happy to hear this but I was not! that's not what I had trained for and there was no way I was going to get back in the water to swim after a 26-mile run! fortunately, they made the decision to carry on with the race as planned and just asked that everyone use caution and that there would be a mandatory dismount at about mile-6 of the bike because of high water. I was okay with that.

The swim itself was pretty uneventful. Right before the start I saw Will (trimyapparel) and we talked a bit. then what was funny is a couple times on the course I saw him on the swim. not often I recognize anyone while swimming open water but I did recognize him! I expected to finish the swim in about 1:10 - 1:15. Finished in 1:14 so I am happy with that.

nothing

wetsuit strippers rock! this was the quickest wetsuit removal for me ever! I had left my gear with the T1 tent and i am glad i did as it was all dry when I arrived. On the way to T1 I saw Will exiting as he finished the swim just before I did. I was a little disappointed as I expected that they would have my bag for me as i arrived to the tent. The guy asked me my number and couldn't find the bag and started looking for another guys. okay, so I'll find it myself. put on my bike gear, had a gatorade and went to my bike. I had put a towel down that I knew i would recognize to help me locate my bike. right way I noticed someone had thrown a bloody rag on my towel. yeah, I'm sorry for whoever had a nosebleed or cut themselves but don't leave that sh!t in another persons area! that is just RUDE! How gross...really pizzed me off. I just kicked the bloody rag between my bike and the spot next to me. That really grossed me out!!

not have a blood rag thrown in my transition area!

I don't really know what to say about this bike. I know I am capable of doing much better. Interesting that my average HR was exactly the same for the ride as it was for the swim. can't remember a time when that has ever occurred before. normally the bike will get my HR much higher.

the bike went wrong from the beginning. as I was leaving the transition I couldn't remember if I had reset my computer so I went to reset it. I just bought the computer a couple weeks ago so I am not all that comfortable with all the functions. as I was getting up to speed along the dam road i looked down and could see it read 38mph! this was not right. when i reset the computer I must have reset everything! I stopped again to see if I could get it calibrated but it was all screwed up so I figured I was going by HR and PE. I knew I wanted to keep my HR in Z2 so that would be a better gauge anyway than the computer.

Starting out the rain was coming down pretty good. At about mile-6 we came upon the area where we had to dismount and walk our bikes through a grassy area for maybe 15 yards. shortly after this as I was getting up to speed I heard something fall behind me. I wasn't sure what it was but kept riding and a short while later another rider tells me my pack is unzipped and I dropped my C02 cartridge. well, my extra tube was still there and I still had a pump with me so I wasn't that worried about it. just zipped it back up.

at mile-14 they had put up a mile marker...it was shortly after this that I caught up with Will. We talked for a while and I asked him what his cyclometer was reading because I had messed mine up. he said he wasn't riding with one...so I looked at mine and told him we were holding 30mph! wow...this felt so easy! anyway, we rode together for a while until the next aid station where he stopped.

I rode abut another 15 or 20-minutes and felt the urge to pee! I know it was raining and all but I am not one of those people that will pizz all-over myself on the bike! I just pulled over on the side of the road and relieved myself. the first of 3 - pitstops I had to make on the bike. At least I know i was hydrated! In fact, while I am not so happy about my bike split I am very happy with my nutrition on the bike! I brought with me 1 powerbar, 1 cliffbar, 4-gels, and 2 bottles of water. I took several Gatorades and gels at the aid stations, plus one banana. However, the banana I just could not get down. At the last minute the girl asked me if i wanted one and when I went to grab it, I smooshed it in my hand. I tried to eat it but I gagged big time and it ended up all over me and my bike. other that that I think nutrition for me went very well.

one other thing about the bike...seemed that there were alot of flats out there. 2-guys flatted right in front of me! glad i never flatted!



not be such a wuss and push the bike a little bit harder! I know had my computer been working I would have at least kept my avg speed at or above 18mph and i don't think it would have hurt me any on the run. yep, not be a bike pussy!

again I went to the transition tent. while i don't think this saved me much time...I think it was good that I had my stuff in here because it stayed dry! I put on running shorts, dry socks and vaseline on my feet. I made the mistake of sitting down in a chair at transition. it was hard to get moving again. as I was leaving the transition the number fell off my bag because things were so wet. I decided to run the bag back to my transition area to be sure I would be able to find things after the race. wasted a little more time with that.

transitions always take me longer that the average guy. what's 10-minutes out of 12 1/2 hours anyway...

when I finished the bike i actually thought I had finished it under 6-hours. I wasn't until I left T2 that I realized that it was over 6-hours. well, I looked at my watch and I was at around 7:48...I still felt under 12-hours was in reach but it would really take a really strong run for me to get there. When i first started running my legs just did not want to go but about 10-minutes and they seemed to be feeling like running legs. About a 1/2-mile into the run I heard someone yelling my name from a vehicle. I looked over and it was Olga and the kids driving through the parking lot. this was the first time they saw me all day as they didn't know the race started late and then with the rain and all the mud it did not make for a good spectating day. Anyway, seeing them made me smile and keep moving along. Also, on this first lap I saw Will again. High-fived him and we gave each other encouragement. First of several times that we passed each other on the run.

Seemed shortly after my legs started feeling their running form my feet and toes were killing me! I figured it was just because of the bike and they would work themselves out. I hit the first lap in about 1:03...keep this pace and I'm under 12-hours. But I was having some doubts. Not that I was feeling terribly bad...but not strong either. My feet were still bothering me so i stopped to adjust my wet socks to see if that would help...they were soaked from all the puddles on the run course. On the second loop I decided to try coke with some ice and a hand full of pretzels. man, this was so good! this is what got me through the rest of the run was knowing that there was coke at any aid station along the way!

The third lap was probably the hardest for me. I just didn't want to run anymore so I walked every aid station. During this lap i remembered that I had a package of endurolytes in my pocket. I had taken one early in the run so i had three left. I went to get them from my pocket but there was so much moisture that the package was wet and the capsules had dissolved. I went ahead and took a gel at another aid station (around mile 19) and told my self I was going to push this last lap as hard as i could. I picked it up and was playing cat and mouse with another guy. we ran a few minutes together and tried to encourage each other. he said he was hurting and was going to walk a bit and I kept moving actually feeling okay. Then my quads started cramping big time! All I could do was shuffle. The next aid station I think was mile 22. I asked if they had endurolytes and they did. she gave me 4 and i washed them down with a coke. The guy I had been playing cat and mouse with caught me at this point and when i started running the best i could do was a shuffle. But the endurolytes did kick in as the last mile was my fastest of the entire run (7:44). Yeah, where did that come from? I think mostly I just wanted to get it over with but also not having to deal with the cramps helped as well. I could see the guy that I had been playing cat and mouse with but couldn't catch him. He waited for me to finished and we congratulated each other. Funny, he went from getting on my nerves in this race to being a good motivator to me to finish things up.

My feet bothered me this entire run. It never occurred to me that it had anything to with anything other that fatigue after the 112-mile bike. Well, as i was unpacking today I pulled my wet, muddy running shoes from my gym bag. Where are the orthotic inserts? They were still here at home...I forgot to pack them and insert them in my shoes. I've been running with orthotics for years but also will use them in some of my other shoes...and that's where they were...inside another pair of shoes! never, thought about that as I was running because I just figured the discomfort was part of the race experience. I don't think it made any difference in my run outcome...but my feet would be feeling much better today had I remembered to insert them into my running shoes!

go for endurolytes earlier
remember my orthotics!

had a water a chocolate milk.
found my wife and kids and went to the massage tent and had a great massage! this wasn't one of those quick 5-minute sessions that alot of events provide. this was a good half hour! I wish i would have had money with me to tip the guy!

I would have liked to hang out longer after but it was such a muddy mess that we just wanted to go to the hotel and get cleaned up!

Had a couple beers and a cheeseburger at the hotel. For a minute i thought I would not be able to keep the cheeseburger down...but washing it down with a cold beer helped!


I think the bike should have been faster but you never know. Anything can happen over 140-miles! Also, never really being sure what to expect. I kept my avg heart rate at 124 for the duration of this event...right in the middle of Z2. Can't help but wonder if I should have tried to keep it closer to Z3. Maybe that's where have a coach helps? While I didn't follow a specific training plan for this...I did put in the time. I didn't want to put pressure on myself with doing specific training on specific days...i just looked at a specific number of hours to train each week and let the be good enough. Not ideal...but I think that's the only way i could make this work.


This was my first 140.6. I did my first triathlon in 1986 and while I did take about a 10-year break...I have probably participated in 40-50 triathlons in my lifetime. never until a couple years ago had I any desire to go 140.6. Not that I didn't think I could do it...I just didn't see the point of it. I was more motivated to try and go faster than longer (somehow that does not sound right). Last year though, admitting to myself I am only getting slower I thought I would give it a shot and discussed it with my wife. While she was not overjoyed to hear that this was something I wanted to do...she supported me and she and the kids were a great support this past summer while i was training! While i enjoyed training (alot) and participating for this event it is not likely I would ever do it again. In fact, I even told my family that this would be it! So I think as far as tris for me...probably sprints and olys is all I am going to make time for in the future.

As far as Redman ...I think it was a great event and i am glad that I chose this race for my 140.6 experience. Yeah, the weather wasn't perfect but they can't control that! The volunteers were awesome and there were plenty of them! While I did get a little frustrated at the transition tent when they didn't have my bag...i know these guys are giving their time and i really appreciate it! The race swag was pretty cool too! An embroidered PC case, Redman hat, 2-shirts, a visor, etc. I would highly recommend this race! Maybe someday I will be back to do the half.