stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL (Page 240)

steve and jess, first of all, congrats on amazing race!!!!!  Jess?!  3rd in AG?!  that is  beyond awesome.  i am so excited for you.  a 30 min pr on a tough course is astounding.  you know, when you were talking about how you were nervous because your training had been subpar lately, i was thinking that it sounded an awful lot like a nice taper.  i knew you'd be fine.

and steve, a 30 min gap is just ridiculous.  seriously, don't you ever get tired of beating up on people?   you're such a bully

i look forward to reading RRs.

Neil, it was so nice reading your updates.  i will be printing them off for my IM loo scrapbook.  loved them.  that is really cool about mile reilly coming on just before that.  i kept thinking of all of you (and the other people i knew'd be tracking me every time i crossed a timing mat.  you made me feel loved   thank you.

it was an amazing race.  i can't believe i managed to pull of a sub 6 hour bike and follow it up with a 3:51 marathon.  that is a marathon PR for me.  it was a war zone out there.  i saw the high listed at 96.  it was hot heading to transition at 5am. 

Neil pretty much got it right, i made the turn onto 4th street, saw the finish and then mass of spectators and sobbed for the last 2 blocks.  the good news about that is that the crowd really responded to that, which only served to make me cry more.  my mom was there.  my teammates and coach were there.  it was really emotional.

i was also able to wrap back around and catch ryan finish.  awesome.  he also pr'ed his marathon!!! 

even given perfect temps, i just couldn't have expected the day to go any better.  what an amazing experience. 

i'll give more details and a RR later but now i have to go stand in line for the finisher's store.  what a kick in the teeth that is after race day!!!

talk to you all soon!

lisa

I am so impressed with what all you racers accomplished this weekend.  (Neil - thanks on the Inronman updates!)  There are no words - just speechless!  Lisa, have you gotten your tattoo yet?  Congratulations to all of you!  What an impressive group.

holy crap.  i'm tired.  and sore.  oh, so sore.  and chaffed.  and tired. 

the champagne that we are currently drinking is not helping with the tiredness   celebratory champagne.

so, steve, to answer your question.  i did go to the rolldown.  i was relieved, actually, not to get it.  this is not my year.  i wasn't prepared.  there were 3 slots in our AG and the first 3 accepted them.  i was 8.

so, all that heat training paid off for sure.  it was almost 80 degrees at 5am when we were heading to transition.  egads.  temp in loo yesterday reached 97.  in the city streets, i'm sure it was hotter.  i'm waiting to see info regarding the dnfs.  i might have mentioned this in an early post, but the massage therapist i got after the race said he heard their were 300 dnfs by 8PM!  whoa.  ...and honestly, i never felt overwhelming hot the whole time.  i had a very specific hydration and nutrition plan and worked it to a tee.  in fact, with all that heat and sweating over the whole race i only lost 3 lbs!!!  that's crazy.  i probably went through 7-8 bottles on the bike and i stopped at every aid station on the run to get sponges, water, ice, water again and coke.  i was really impressed with only the 3lb loss.  what they say is true.  you completely loose your motivation to eat/take calories during this thing, but i forced them down my throat.  after doing an ironman in near 100 degree temps EXCLUSIVELY off of first endurance, i am a complete believer.  that is all i used.  the powder, the gel, their pre-race and their ultragen.  the only thing i added was coke on the run.  i had the same issues as in placid, though.  for a few days after use, my stomach is all kinds of messed up, but during a race, you can't beat it.

how was the weather in vermont?  steve, what was the topography like compared to columbia? 

hey all,

just got home around 9:30pm last night.  time enought to scarf down some dinner and get to bed.  We need to adopt a 16 year old (isn't that the driving age in most states) to have as a triathlon sherpa and driver   we did drive straight with one stop at a KFC buffet (when in Rome).  that grossed me out, but ryan was a pig in poop.  the driving wasn't so bad, cut the packing and unpacking of the car sucked.  i couldn't believe how much crap we brought and how much more we brought back.  mental note for next time.  pack lighter because i'm not going to want to carry it post race.

neil, on the toenail front, i'll probably lose one from this race.  the only reason it isn't more, i suspect, is because i had already lost 3 good ones in June from eagleman.  i'll have 6 left.  do you think i can't get a discount on a pedicure?

on the activity front, i suspect we'll try to get in the pool this evening sometime.  splash around a little, nothing structured.  we have an oly in less than two weeks here in reston.  it's our hometown race so we didn't want to miss it, but i sure won't care how i do.  ryan on the other hand, i think plans on leaving his guts on that course and going out with a bang in 2010.  he can have fun with that.

steve,  ryan had a great race.  he had a fantastic swim.  he said he felt great and came out of the water in 1:11.  we had been cautioned by a lot of people to take the first 30-40 miles on the bike really easy.  he did that.  in retrospect, i think (and he thinks) that he took the bike more cautiously than he needed to.  he ended up putting up a bike split that was only 2-3 minutes faster than mine.  this should have been way more, and he was capable of way more, but it's your first and you just don't have a clue how it's going to feel to have to run a marathon after.  i think it was smart for this race for him to take it easy, but now that he has one under his belt, i suspect he'll be a bit more aggressive in placid.  i think the run for him is such a mental game that he was just very protective of it.  he was never a runner, and now he is quite fast.  his brain won't accept that and he psychs himself out, i think.  he's had a lot of successes this year, so i'm hopeful that his brain will catch up with his ability.  his marathon pr to this point (he's done 2) is something in the 4:5X range.  i knew he was capable of so much more this time around.  i had told him and our coach (in jest) that if he didn't PR his marathon at loo i would divorce him.  he told me after the race that during the toughest portions of his run that he kept moving because he didn't want to get divorced.  he also said that he kept asking belle to run with him.  "run with me girl," he'd say.  he always ran with her.  it's sweet.  he's sweet.  he ended up having an awesome run.  he did pr his marathon by something like 40 minutes.  he ran the whole time, only walking the aid stations.  he's a stud. 

it was so special to be able to see him several times on the course.  i saw him for the first time on the out and back segment of the bike and was able to tell him i loved him.  he saw me riding in from the bike as he was heading out onto the run.  we saw each other within the first 10 minutes of the run on an out and back portion that crossed a bridge.  i then passed him at mile 4 (swiftly with no conversation other than something short [that neither of us can remember].  i was too damn tired and focused for anything else).  we then would pass each other another 3 times on the 2 loop course (although i only saw him one of those times).  the finish line was something special though.  i was so excited i got to see him finish and then be at the end of the finishers chute.  we just held each other.  it was awesome.  there are a lot of pics of this.  as things get back to normal around here, i'll try to pull all the pics that everyone took together.  there are a bunch on facebook.  there is also a video that a teammate took of me crossing the finish line on facebook.

on the tattoo.  i always thought i would get one.  not real sure now.  maybe i will, maybe i won't.  if i do, it won't be until the december time frame.  you can't swim for 2 weeks afterward, i've heard.  i have a race in less than two weeks and then clearwater in november.  can't really take the 2 weeks now.  one of my friends got her's the next day in loo. 

missing kona was a relief, honestly.  we just have spent so much money this year between race fees, our trip to placid, loo, belle's illness.  it's been ridiculous.  if i had gotten a slot, we would have figured it out, but i was grateful that i didn't have to do that to our household budget.  i'm confident now that i will eventually qualify.  i'd like to think that sometime in the next 15 years i'll be able to get there.  next year will be tough.  i got caught up in the fexy frenzy of registering, but in retrospect, that was possibly the worst race i could have registered for if i was aiming to qualify.  ryan and i talked about it on the trip home.  my best chance is that lake placid get's hit with the hottest day in it's history next year.  never thought i would be hoping for 100 degree ironman day. 

steve, ryan did make a wish in 2007.  here is a link to his RR http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=91082.  the year he did it, they didn't yet have all their permits so it kind of turned into a sprint.  i guess they have that figured out now.  he said the bbq at the end is great.  he also said that if you do it, he'll do it.  i will likely spectate.  it's about 10 minutes from his mom's house. 

with that, i have to run.  time to go to work. agghhhhh.  i could have used one more day

steves RR here:

RACE REPORT -- Half Vermont Journey (1.2*/56/13.1)
Salisbury, VT, August 29

BEFORE
Left home at about 8 Saturday morning, looking forward to a relatively short drive -- a little over four hours to Middlebury, just north of the race venue. My plan was to meet ANNE and Ken at packet pick-up at 1, and that worked perfectly. We chatted for about 30 minutes, then I went off to tour the race site while they went off to lounge in the hot tub at Vemont Sun Fitness Center. I drove the run course and half of the bie course, and did a brief 15 minute swim in Lake Dunmore. Then it was back to Middlebury for the pasta dinner at Mister Ups, where the three of us were joined by Jess ("ThatGirl") from the other group, and her boyfriend Mark. That was very pleasant, a great set-together, in fact. From there it was back down south for about an hour, finsihing the rest of the bike course en route to where my motel was in Rutland. I spent the evening getting all my stuff together, focusing mainly on nutrition, and as asleep by about 11:20.

PRE-RACE
Up at about 4:40 and away from the motel shortly after 5. I stopped for a bagel and tea, which I consumed along with part of a water bottle with Hammer Nutrition's Sustained Energy in it. At that hour it was only about 37 minutes to the race site, and I arrived there shortly before 6, and claimed the end spot on my designated rack. I waited for Anne and Ken and Jess to show up, then yakked for a while and just idly fussed with my stuff, to no serious effect. Had more Sustained Energy and a small chunk of Clif Mojo Bar. About ten minutes before the start, I had a Hammer gel.

SWIM
I was in the second wave, departing at 8:03, and that went smoothly. I caught a few drafts and generally felt quite good. At what I guessed was about the halfway point (it is a double loop of a long ellipse, with different entry and exit points), I was at 17:31; that was very pleasing. Even more pleasing was scrambling out of the water and checking my watch and seeing 32:51 or so......and immediately suspecting that the course had been measured short. Even though my swimming has been pretty good recently, it could not have been THAT good to chop about 5 minutes over my previous HIM swim best time of 38 minutes (which I have often wondered if it was measured short itself!!!!!). Post-race consensus had it that the course was indeed short, and my guess is between 4 and 8 minutes so. Drats.
32:53 (1/4 a.g., 55/133 overall)

T1
Transition was about 25 feet from the water, as close as I have ever had it, i think. My transition was good, at 1:28.

BIKE
I was very excited about this course, being mostly long gradual climbs and descents, many nice flat stretches, and beautiful pavement on Route 7 with wide shoulders. However, my plan was not clear. For the 4 or 5 previous days I had been worried about my knee, and that contniued right into the start of the race. So, there was a big part of me that thought that I should push the bike really hard because there was a chance that I wouldn't be able to do the run (I was worried about my ITB). This was the approach i took for the first 35 miles or so, and then I realized that the knee was feeling great....and that maybe I would be able to handle the run after all. I then dialed back my effort a bit, a situation that was aided and abetted by a fade of sorts from pushing hard for the first couple of hours. My final 15 miles were not all that pretty, as I had lost my focus and some of my energy/strength. I also wasn't tending to my nutrition very well. I went through about 20 oz of HEED mixed perfectly, and maybe 15 oz of HEED mixed poorly, and some water in my aero bottle. I also had two gels, about a dozen mini-pretzels, a chunk of Mojo Bar, two Fig Newtons, and a bit of bagel. Looking at that now it's not too bad, but still not quite enough; and haphazardly executed as well. It was hot already with complete sun for the entire ride, and I should've been more diligent about getting in some electrolytes. I had Endurolyte capsules with me, but saved them for the run. (That was a useless idea - see below)
2:45:18 (20.3mph) - 1/4 a.g, 35/133 overall

T2
Also good, even taking time to slather BodyGlide all over my feet as I was running sockless.
1:30

RUN
I knew the first couple of miles were mostly a climb, and approached it cautiously. I hit the mile 1 marker at 8:10....and the mile 2 marker at 16:30...and the mile 3 marker at 24:48....so I was already falling off pace. And already, I could fel my system shutting down to the idea of anything other than liquids. I had a flask of Perpetuem, mixed into a paste, and took a gulp at about mile 3.5 which I washed down with water at an aid station, but I didn't like the way it tasted. Uh-oh. I was cruising along okay until just past mile 4.....where there was a hill that I had underestimated on my drive-through the day before. (Anne had driven the run course just out of curiosity, and her impression was that it was tough. I told her at the pasta dinner that I thought it looked quite reasonable; Anne was the one who was VERY correct in her assessment! ) To my surprise, about 2/3 up it I decided I would break into a brisk walk, and that helped some -- but it unsettled me that I felt I needed to do that. And even though the course was very generously shaded for over half of it, the heat was pretty oppressive - about 85. Not too humid, but hotter than I like. The short story here is that on the way out to the turnaround, there are about 6 or 7 tough hills (including the ones at the beginning) , of which I walked parts of at least two others after the one at mile 4. I was feeling pretty crappy by about mile 5, and my focus centered on the notion that from mile 11 to the end, it was mostly downhill. Just before the turnaround I had a CarbBoom! gel, and that really helped. But by mile 8 I was feeling tuckered out again, and the gel I picked up was a raspbery Hammer, which I quite dislike. i consumed only part of it, afraid it might sickify me. And as for the Endorlyte capsules, I was afraid to take any of those for the same reason. I mostly lived on water and HEED, but the HEED was very, very weakly mixed. In fact, it was so weakly mixed tat at at least three of the aid stations I drank 1/2 of it and then doused with the rest! And at every aid station I had a sip of water and then doused with that. It was not too pretty from mile 7 to 11, but once I got there I piscked up the apce some. And even though it wasn't exactly flat or downhill for all the final 2 miles, it was favorable enough so that my heaviest suffering was behind me. Those final trwo miles were almost half-decent!
1:56:57 (8:55/mile) 1/4 a.g., 40/133 overall

FINISH
5:18:03
1/4 a.g.
38/133 overall

FINAL THOUGHTS
While my nutrition is locked in for sprints and olympics, it is far from perfect for half irons. At that distance I am usually unreceptive to solids during the run, and that is not a good situation. Add to that that I get lazy and/or forgetful on the bike, and I proceed through the half iron runs somewhat nutritionally compromised. So, I need a new strategy!!!
I think I MUST stockpile electrolytes during the bike, and to that end I am going to continue to try to make EFS work for me. I love HEED and can drink it easily, but if I can't handle Endurolytes then I'm running into an electrolyte deficit by the time I'm partway through the run. I also need a gel that is palatable to me, and if CarbBoom! can right their restructured ship by next season, that is how I will go. I used to love Lava Gel, but that company continues to struggle. And I will try the Liquid Shot from the EFS people, which is their gelish thing but made without gelling agents -- so it isn't truly a gel. But one of the things I loved about Lava Gel was that it was very loose, and so if Liquid Shots are equally loose, then it should be something I can stomach.
I also had scattered thoughts about the run and how I would approach the bike, and going through most of the bike without a clear pacing goal ended up hurting me on the run. That normally doesn't happen to me, but this time it did.
Finally, I REALLY screwed up on my assessment of the run course when I drove it the day before. i don't know where my perceptive brain wa, but I grossly underestimated the hilliness on the way out. This is another piece of eveidence that supports that i have become kind of complacent over the years, and clearly I need to become much more diligent in my race preparation when I am doing the longer distances.

Overall, my time was good --especially on a tough course on a hot day. But I'm still displeased with my shortcomings, and need to make a few changes before the next long one!!

...so getting to work is not going well just yet

great RR steve.  two quick thoughts:

1.) send me your address and i'll mail you some EFS gel to try.  There are many people i've talked to who aren't really crazy about the powder, but i've yet to meet a person who has tried the gel and not liked it.  it's yummy and loaded with electrolytes.  it only comes in vanilla.

2.)  i completely understand the lack of focus issue on the bike regarding nutrition.  i've tried two things that have worked for me this year with the longer distance stuff.  the first is just having per hour nutrition goals.  for eman and loo i've known exactly what i need to consume before the clock ticks over to the next hour.  the other thing is having landmarks that i have to eat by.  so, for an estimated 6 hour bike time in loo, i calculated roughly what part of the course i would hit the hour increments by and visualized where i would be in my nutrition at that time.  for example, i knew i needed to eat a hammer bar (my only non EFS nutrition of the day) at the end of the out and bike portion of the bike.  it was drawn into a map i made (that i'm emailing to you now).  these things have worked for me.

Sorry Steve - I somehow missed your question about Amelia Island.  I grew up going to the FL panhandle so really know nothing about the rest of the state.  Because I grew up going to the gulf (beautiful white beaches, clear green/blue waters) I don't really like going to the Atlantic side, where the beaches are flat and grainy and the water visibility is poor.  I have known people that go there, and they enjoy it, but I personally have no insights!

In highschool I went to the GA coast a couple of times with friends.  I remember it being pretty in a different way, lots of marshy landscape, spanish moss etc.  The beaches were not as nice, but the social scene was what was important back then.  Savannah itself is a neat city to visit.

if what you say is true and this is the 6,000th post i will use it to tell you, steve, and all the other members of this mentor group how much you've meant to me this last year and a half (?!). 

We've seen each other through quite a bunch of things; injuries, graduations, new jobs, first times at various distances, family crisis....

i'm so happy i've "met" you all.