I finally went "walking in Memphis"

It's been over a week since I ran my first marathon, the St. Judes Memphis Marathon. I've been meaning to write my report but have put it off. I've actually put off all things running. my race belt, hat and shoes are still in my truck in the spots that I threw them after the race haha. my Garmin is...well I'm not sure where it is actually. I think two of my water bottles are still in the truck too. Anyway, here it is.

I started training in August for the this race. Through that time I was able to log 388.02 miles which took up 50 hours 42 minutes and 17 seconds of my life. That averages out to a 7:50 pace. Too bad my marathon took me 3:40:53 which averages out to 8:23 minutes.

Some facts:
I ran in KSwiss Blades for all of my training, minus some 5ks and 1/2 marathons, and I ran the marathon in them.

I ran in 5 races prior to the marathon

I started wearing CEP compression sleeves the week before the race. Wish I had of trained in them the whole time.

I did most of my training alone.

My friend Kelly helped with most of the hard workouts and long workouts. Gotta have a good pace booty every once in a while.

I did have to fight burnout in the last few weeks leading to the race, but the race totally put the love of running back into me.

Pre race day...
I drove down to Memphis the day before the race to go to the expo and what not. The expo took all of 10 minutes haha. I don't usually buy anything at the expos or even look at anything...unless of course it's a nice set of running legs attached to an equally nice looking chica ;). After the expo I drove down to the start line to get familiar with the area and to figure out where to park in the morning. I get more stressed with the logistics of a race than I do the actual race. I do not like to feel rushed or stressed. If I don't know where I'm going then I tend to get stressed.

After scoping out the start line area and almost driving too far into the ghetto by mistake, I headed back to my hotel. Not sure where I was staying but I had to drive through the ghetto, then Germantown, then more ghetto to get to it. Don't worry I may have looked like a homeless white guy with the beard and all but I was packing "protection" haha. I ate some dinner at the hotel restaurant then headed up to the room. I'm very exact in how I do things the night before. I always soak in Epsom salt, watch a movie, stretch a little, and attempt to go to bed early. I soaked and stretched then got in bed around 6. I watched Date Night and The Centurian then went to bed around 10:30 I think.

Race Day...
My alarm went off at 4 am...the gun was going off at 8 am. I ate two bagels with peanut butter and two bananas. Yes TWO bananas. In my last three races I had bowel problems. I figured two bananas would take care of that haha. I didn't want to have to stop to use the bathroom in the middle of the race. I watched some sports center and stretched a little. I'm so used to the race atmosphere that it hadn't really hit me that I was hours away from my first marathon. To be honest it didn't finally set in until mile 25 of the race.

So I got packed up and left the hotel around 5:45. The streets were going to start closing around 6am because there was a 5k at 7. I ended up finding a parking lot with about 60 porta pottys that was 100 yards from the start line. Perfect parking. I was also 2 hours early. I laid in my truck and listened to music for about 40 minutes then went and walked around Beale street. It was still chilly since the sun hadn't really come out yet. I got a few looks since I was in flip flops. After walking around for about 20 minutes I put my shoes on and went for a 5 minute jog then stretched at my truck. At about 7:30 I jumped in the porta potty line one last time. I rolled into coral 3 at about 7:55 and found the 3:30 pace group.

3...2...1...GO

At 8 they fired the gun for the elite runners and then started coral #1 1 min later, coral #2 2 minutes later, and finally coral #3 2 minutes later @8:05. Again I'm so used to this atmosphere that I do not get nervous anymore or I just don't notice it. My goal was between 3:30 and 3:45 and I knew if I could hang with the pace group as long as possible that I would reach that goal. I knew going into the day that I would not be able to hold an average pace below 8 flat for the whole race. 3:30 is an 8 min mile. Well we get rolling and do our first mile in 7:50. Not bad I say to myself, we'll settle in to the pace soon. My legs felt great. I had tapered perfectly and they were fresh and strong. It's a good thing too. I loved my pacers and our group. The two pacers were encouraging and energetic, however they lacked the discipline to STAY ON PACE! mile 2 we ran in 7:30 WHOOPS. At this point I'm not panicking because I knew 3:30 wasn't going to happen unless I had the perfect day. Ultimately I wanted to enjoy the day so I was going to be happy with anything under 4 hours. So our little pack of 20 kept on chugging along. Mile 3 comes and goes, again under 8 minutes. Mile 4 was special. This is where you get to run by St. Judes Children's hospital. They were after all the reason I was running. I ran as a St. Judes Hero to raise money for the hospital. In return I was given a racing singlet to run in. So throughout the whole race I heard "Thank you Hero!" There were a ton of us out there. So anyway our pace really picked up running this section. The energy level and excitement were amazing. I had goosebumps the whole time running through there.

Ok so anyway my group keeps chugging along churning out sub 8 miles. It was relatively flat so I wasn't too worried. This was time in the bank for the end of the race. We hit the halfway mark 3 minutes ahead of schedule and got a new pacer. He was shocked to see us that early. He explained the remainder of the course to me. "mile 15 through 18 are mostly up hill then it's all downhill after that". So my goal now was to hold onto the group up until mile 15. Going into mile 15 my legs still felt great, my breathing was normal, and my stomach was perfect. It was now 65 degrees with 85% humidity. There were water stops at each mile and I was taking a cup of gatorade at each one of them. I also ate GU packs at mile 5,10,15,20, and 22. So mile 15 gets there and the hills start. I let my pace trail off. I had a 7:47 avg pace at mile 15. I didn't push the hills and whenever I got a flat spot or slight downhill I tried to accelerate but there were really only a few spots to do that. 15-18 were kind of a blur. At mile 18 my pace was up to 8:04 avg and I took my first walk break at the water stop. 18-20 had been my nemesis all through out training so I knew these next two miles were going to either make or break me. All I told myself was run to mile 19. So I did, it seemed like I had just left the mile 18 water stop when I rolled into the mile 19 stop. again I walked long enough to drink. Then again "run to mile 20" I ran this way for the next 5 miles. I walked twice between mile 20 and 25 not counting the water stops.

Around 21 or 22, can't quite remember, I felt the first hint of a cramp. My right hamstring shot me the first warning twinge when I was starting to pick the pace up. I was trying to stay about 8:30. I knew with the walking that my avg was getting wrecked but because of how fast the first 15 were that I could afford it. The only bad thing about the water stop walks were that it gets harder to get moving again each time. My legs had been on the decline since mile 20, I was starting to get a blister, and for some reason my left shoulder decided it was done for the day. Not sure what I looked like but for the last three miles my left arm flopped at my side. I would try to hold it up but my rotater cuff would just cramp and I'd have to drop it after a few seconds. However, during all of this I was smiling, interacting with spectators and encouraging runners that passed me and runners that I passed. We all looked about the same at this point. Stopping, starting, wincing, swearing, laughing, and just plain suffering. I felt like i was trudging through mud so I had to look down at my watch a lot to make sure I was in fact running at pace.

Well I get to mile 25 and suddenly I was overcome with euphoria and joy. It was then that it hit me, "you are running a marathon". I told myself anybody can do a mile and just kept moving. I tried to quicken my pace while not causing my hamstring to cramp. I started reliving some of the past weeks and in my head re-read some of the encouraging words that some of you had shared leading up to this. I also started desperately searching the side lines for my friend Kelly. She had told me the night before that she might drive up. I was breaking down fast, my shoulder was absolutely killing me, my feet burned, and my quads felt like I had done box jumps for 5 hours straight. But I was still smiling. With 1/2 a mile to go I even had a quick dance with the drumline that was playing by the side of the road. I turned into the baseball stadium and there it was...FINISH!! just 50 ft away. I picked up my pace to as much as I could give, I waved to the crowd to make some noise, and as I crossed the line I looked to the Heavens and pointed "Thank you God, not without you".

I had done it. I had run a marathon. I was pumped. I was handed a medal and a heat blanket thingy and a bottle of water. I hobbled over to the outfield and collapsed. The joy of finishing was now covered by the sheer pain that was my legs!! Kelly hadn't shown up, no family was there to celebrate, but I was still happy. I laid in the field for a while then made my way to my truck. Driving 3 hours back home about 45 minutes after finishing was not the smartest thing I've done but that's what I did haha.

Thank you again to all of you that encouraged me and helped me. Stay tuned for 2011. I will be racing 12-16 times including 2 more marathons and 2 half ironmen. I will need your encouraging words even more. See you in 2011!!

26.2 miles...it's more than just running

Well it's time for another blog entry...turns out I'm not so good at keep up with this.

I now have two weeks until my first marathon. Am I excited? To be honest not really. I've been somewhat spoiled the last few months with my running results. I have had several new personal records set and a few very strong finishes. However, I'm going into this marathon knowing that I'm not going to have a time worth bragging about. It will be more of a weekend warrior worthy performance. My training just did not go very well when it came to the long runs. I had two 20+ mile runs on my schedule. The first that I completed was a disaster at best. Yes I did the distance but it was full of so many stops and starts in the last 6 miles that I barely even count it as a 20 mile run. The second run was supposed to be 22 miles...I managed to log 18.2 of that. Same story, just a flat out disaster of a run. So I'm going to go to Memphis to compete in a distance that I know I can't even complete at this point in time. Will I walk across the finish line? Yes, but it could take 3 1/2 hours or it could take 5 hours. Either way I'm going to fall short of what I thought I would be able to do. People have said just go and have fun. That's hard for me to do when I perform far below what I know I can do. Unfortunately it's going to be exactly what I'm forced to do. I can't shoot for a decent pace because history tells me that at mile 15-17 my legs will start on a rapid decline which will ultimately leave me wondering why the F am I even out there.

This is why I'm glad that I chose St. Jude. First of all it's flat. I did all my long runs on the Country Music Marathon course in Nashville which has some mean hills. So maybe that will extend my breaking point out to 17-19 miles not having the hills to run. Second it's ultimately for the kids at St Judes in Memphis. Kids who face a much harder battle than a marathon. Kids who will more than likely never leave the hospital bed they are confined to. They'll be what I think about when I reach my breaking point. If they can look cancer and eventually death in the face with a smile each and everyday then I can suffer through the last miles of a marathon.

This will be an experience like none other for me. A time to reflect on the year I have had in sport and the year I've had just in life in general. Sport has been all ups while life has been mostly downs. This will be a time to look forward to the future. This next year will say a lot about the rest of my career and if it will continue or not. This next year is full of high goals and I will have to work harder than ever to get there. I set the bar high this past season but I fully intend to take it to the next level in 2011. This marathon will also take me to a new level of pain and really test my will to continue. It's in the depths of darkness that you learn who you are and what you are made of. Do you have what it takes to rise out and push through? Can you mentally keep your body moving when it tells you it can't take another step? I can say that barring being hit by a truck, I can push through. I have a fighters spirit and heart, that I know I will have to rely on.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped me prepare for this and for those of you who have been an encouragement. If you have swam, biked, or run with me I really appreciate it. If you have encouraged me, especially in the past weeks when I just haven't mentally been where I should, then I am truly grateful for your words. Often times I train alone and race alone. I have my parents who come to races when they can and I have friends that I've raced with a few times. I have to say that I'm jealous of those who have people hold signs for them or have a big group waiting at the finish line but I always look forward to the support I get on facebook and twitter.

Finally, I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No this is not a cliche music award speech. He has given me the abilities and talent that I have in sport, the same abilities that I can take for granted sometimes. (Thanks for pointing that out Joseph) He is the one that gives me the strength to continue and the will to succeed. He fuels my passion to beat my body up most days of the week. He has put each and every one of you who support me in sport or life in my life for a reason. I'm naturally a loner. I do things alone and fight my battles silently, for the most part. It wasn't till this year that I accepted training partners or took to heart advice given. I'm still learning how to let other come along side of me.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Chris Jesus" Phillipians 3:13-14

Half Way to Memphis

So my last marathon blog was the day I started the program. I just happen to be at the half way point now with 8 weeks to go.

My weeks have consisted of shorter runs during the week with a long run on the weekends. I just added my swim and bike training back in this week. I'm going to keep them fairly low so I can continue to focus on the marathon.

My longest run was last weekend at 16 miles. Tomorrow however I have 18. I have run 18 once before so I know I can do it. During my long runs I've noticed that I don't start hurting or breaking down till about mile 14-15. With runs of 18, 20, 22, and 24 coming up I hope that my threshold will continue to push out further. Part of the pain has been the types of long runs that I have gone on.

I recently discoverd "Squires Long Runs". They were designed by Bill Squires who was a running coach in Boston. In 1979 four of his local non pro runners finished in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon. Here is the link(http://running.competitor.com/2010/09/training/workout-of-the-week-squires-long-run_12784) Anyway, Squires runs are long runs with speed intervals worked into the middle portion of your run. Here are what the workouts look like.
Week 1: 15:00 easy, 6 x [2:00 surge @ 5K effort/8:00 easy], 15:00 easy
Week 3: 25:00 easy, 6 x [4:00 surge @ 10K effort/6:00 easy], 25:00 easy
Week 5: 35:00 easy, 6 x [6:00 surge @ half marathon effort/4:00 easy], 35:00 easy
Week 7: 45:00 easy, 6 x [8:00 surge @ half marathon to marathon effort/2:00 easy], 45:00 easy
The runs are designed to teach your muscles to handle hard effort over a longer distance. it's one thing to do an interval workout at the track. It's another thing to do one during a 2 hour run! So far I have done the first three workouts and I'll be doing the last one in a week or so. These workouts make the run go by quicker because you are constantly watching your time and splits instead of just running aimlessly. On race day if something happens and I have to switch up pace I won't be worried about it because of the experience I have gained from these workouts. I know my body can handle a sub 7:30 pace at mile 15 and still be able to keep ticking along. Last year I would have called myself crazy. run fast and far in the same workout were beyond my abilities.

My goal is to constantly improve in my running career and now my triathlon career. At some point I want to race at the elite level. It's workouts like the Squires that will help get me there. I have also decided to try and give back with my racing. I spend so much time doing it that I thought there needs to be a bigger reason for all of this besides getting faster and setting personal records. My first step was to run as a St Jude Hero. It makes my marathon training more meaningful knowing that it is for a cause. After the marathon I will be getting involved with More Than Sport, morethansport.org, by sponsoring a child in Africa and trying to get others sponsored. I want to always run and race for a cause. In the end it's not about a time or a possible win, it'll be about whose life will be impacted.

For those of you who think I'm crazy for all the training, maybe this will help put it in perspective for you. I could only hope that I would motivate you to set your own goals and go out and reach them.

Road to the Marathon

Today I started my training program for my first marathon. it's an easy week considering my fitness is ahead of the training plan. I have three 4 mile runs and one 9 mile run to do this week. Nothing major so it should be a fun week.

Today was a 4 mile hill workout. i picked a pretty good route in my neighborhood which put one big climb inside of each mile and several rolling hills during the rest. I have a love hate relationship with hills. i like the benefit and strength you get from running them but they suck to run. i tried to focus on keep my pace consistent during the long climbs instead of slowing down as the hill wore on. for the most part i was successful with this. my breathing never really got to heavy and my heart rate recovered quickly after each hill. i have my splits listed below

Mile 1 8:22

Mile 2 8:13

Mile 3 8:16

Mile 4 7:58

I'm pretty happy with this workout. i was able to get back up to speed after each hill and never really felt weak or that i was fatiguing. i followed the run with a protein drink mixed with Base Performance Amino and some stretching.

until next time....

Fall Creek Falls Triathon

So I raced my third triathlon of the season Sunday. I have to say that racing and training in triathlon was the best way to spend my summer. It has given me a new found confidence and I look forward to many more seasons of racing. Next year I will be stepping up to the half Ironman distance of 70.3 miles and possibly even a full Ironman of 140.6 miles.

Anyway back to Sunday. I got up at 4:20 despite setting my alarm to 4:05. It wasn't a problem though. Still learning this new droidX so it was more than likely user error. I got dressed packed up and ate a hammer gel, cracker barrel biscuit, half of a 32oz Gatorade and took off. I had about a 55 min drive to Fall Creek Falls. About 30 minutes from the race I ate a power bar and started working on my 1 liter of water. I typically do not each much the day of a race. When you know you are gonna be on the course for over 2 hours racing you don't want to get stuck needing to visit the porta potty. I aim for quality versus quantity.

I got to the race just as transition opened and was able to get a spot on the front rack about 10 ft from the transition exit for the bike and run. Prime time parking haha. When I started setting up it was an hour and a half from the start of the race. I like to be early to avoid feeling rushed. I set up my transition then took my bike out and rode the first 1/2 mile of the bike route. I do this just to get an idea what transition will be like. It was going to be an up hill transition so I knew I needed to top the hill before worrying about putting my feet in my shoes, then there was a flat spot where I could slip in just before taking off on a downhill. During warm up and during the race I was in my shoes within 100 yds of leaving transition and was hammering down the hill. i had 3 races and 6 perfect transitions this season. I hit all of them just as planned.

After i warmed up on the bike I stretched a little then put on my shoes and ran the first1/4 mile of the run course, again to get a feel for the transition. We had to climb the same hill as the bike and take a different down hill turn. it's nice to go downhill right off the bat after the bike...not so much fun to go back up that hill at the end of the race though...more to come on that later.

After my run it was about 30 minutes til the start of the race. I loaded my bottles, as always with Base Performance Amino. that stuff has been the difference maker for me. I have learned a lot about nutrition this summer and have learned that water alone will not cut it when it comes to endurance sports. You have to constantly replace what you are burning otherwise you will crash. No gas in the tank and you quit moving. Water hydrates but doesn't fuel. anyway, I loaded my bottles looked over my transition set up one last time which is very minimal. my helmet sits on my handle bars, garmin watch and sunglasses are inside of the helmet, and my shoes are already clipped to my pedals. my run shoes sit on the towel with my visor and race belt in front. that's it, plain and simple.

I grabbed my swim cap, which i hate wearing but that's what they use to identify us, and my goggles and headed down to the lake. I swam the first 200 yards of the course and came back to the dock. I don't warm up much for the swim, heck I don't even warm up when I swim in training haha. After i got out I walked over to the exit and watched most of the other swimmers doing their warmups. I noticed as the people were exiting that the ground was unstable or rocky. Mental note taken so I wouldn't be shocked at the end of the swim when I went to stand up. I listened to the head kayaker guy(who I will nick name Superguard) give his lifeguards instructions. I was quite encouraged when two of them said they had never kayaked and that none of them had ever seen a triathlon. wow! Superguard then proceeded to tell them not to worry about the first wave, my wave, because we were the "fast swimmers" and we "all" knew what we were doing. um incorrect. we were the first wave because we were under 30 years old or over 50. It had nothing to do with speed or ability. So I'm glad I'm a strong swimmer because superguard had just told his group of non-kayaking-no-triathlon-knowledge lifeguards not to pay much attention to us. If a less experienced swimmer with a fear of the water had heard that I'm sure their anxiety would have gone up.

For those of you who fall into the same category as Superguards band of kayaker misfits. In triathlon we can not receive any type of outside assistance or we are disqualified. You may have seen in the Tour De France that riders hold onto team cars while receiving food or medical treatment. Not us. if anybody helps us our race is over. The only exception to this rule comes in the form of a kayak. A swimmer who finds themselves in distress can hold onto a kayak or course buoy until they fill ready to continue. as long as the kayak does not make any forward progress. The swim portion is the most dangerous part of the race when it is held in a lake, river, or ocean. If you quit swimming you drown. Sometimes you get water in your goggles or catch a cramp or get kicked in the face. so it helps to know that there are kayaks in the general area that can come help if needed.

1.5K Swim 19:16 3rd in my age group. 1:10/100 yard avg
The swim was a wave start. This means that we entered the water in age groups, you tread water at the start line then take off when they blow the horn. this is an interesting start because there is nothing to push off of. I'm pretty sure my first four strokes were right across the guys back right in front of me. it took about 5 seconds to find a opening to get moving. i didn't do an all out sprint but i motored out of there in a hurry to get clear of the rugby style mass behind me. there were probably 45 guys in my wave and i was on the front line. i didn't want to start in the middle or back and get trapped behind everybody. i settled into my pace pretty quick and began to push it, or at least i thought it was my pace. turns out it was much faster haha. I read an article last week about swimming the swim in 4 sections. 1st section was hard, 2nd section settle into your pace, 3rd section push the pace again, and 4th section settle into your pace until the end. so i followed that game plan. i pushed the opening, cruised a little in the middle, pushed the later part of the swim, and cruised into the finish. i kept wondering what was wrong because i thought i was on pace but my arms were killing me. However there is no reason to save your arms because you don't need them after the swim. my legs felt good and relaxed so i kept it up. when i got out of the water and looked down at my watch i was shocked. it suddenly made sense why my arms had been hurting. i swam 6 minutes faster than planned and 10 minutes faster than my last race.

T1 3:53
We had to run about 4 tenths of a mile to the transition area and it was all up hill. good thing i have tough feet because that was a long way to go barefoot. once i finally got to my bike, i took my stop watch off and put my garmin on. i didn't wear my garmin in my first two races. i decided to wear it this time because i wanted to do better on the run. anyway i grabbed my bike and actually carried it instead of rolling it. we were in grass and had to cross dirt and roots to get to the pavement. i didn't want to risk my chain bouncing off so i just carried the bike. no big deal. i got to the pavement stepped on my left shoe, swung my foot over and i was off.

40k Bike 1:08.12 3rd in my age group. 21.8 mph avg
I slipped into my shoes just as I had during warmup and hammered down the first hill. i passed the first two guys within a 1/4 mile. some people don't ride as hard so they can save for the run. I like to go fast and so I will probably always have painful runs because of that. The bike course was a 12 mile out and back route. I had read a review a few weeks ago saying that the ride was more up hill going out so i knew not to go to hard on the way out and that i could make it up coming back. for most of the ride out i was in no mans land. nobody in front or behind. I was passed by two guys early on and I think another 2 towards the end. This was a fun course. there were several hills as well as several flats. i had three separate miles where my avg speed was 29 mph! my top speed was 37 mph. it feels so good to go that fast. I took 1 GU pack at mile 4 of the bike and again at mile 22. The second one was for the run. It takes about 30 minutes for the GU to take effect so I always take one at the end of the bike so that it kicks in during the run.

T2 :57
As i practiced during warm up i unstrapped my shoes at the top of the hill, rounded the corner, then while coasting towards the dismount line i slipped my feet out and put them on top of my shoes. swung my leg over my seat and coasted while standing on my left shoe. i hopped off my bike at the line and took off running into transition. when i rounded one of the corners my bike decided it wanted to go right while i went straight so i dropped it haha. no worries just pick it up and keep moving. i got to my spot, racked my bike slid on my shoes and visor on then took off while still putting my race belt on.

10K Run 50:04 6th in my age group. 8:03 pace
As i left transition I remember thinking that my legs actually felt decent. I knew i had ridden pretty hard and that my run could be tough. But still being pretty mad at myself for such a terrible run at Music City i was determined to improve Sunday. my goal was to make it hurt. When it hurt at Music City i caved in and walked. Not today! I ran my first mile in 7:30 and thought i could possibly hold that til the end. then the hills came. threee quick steep hills. it was like each hill took a part of my soul with it. after those i was reduced to a pace between 7:50 and 8:30. Most of the run was in the park of Fall Creek Falls so we were shielded from the sun which was great. it was a decent course. despite the first three spawn of satan hills at the beginning, the rest was a typical rolling course with one really long decline inside the 4th mile. that was fun because i was running 6:30 pace going down it. i stuck to my game plan to only take walk breaks at the aid stations. so just long enough to splash water and sip a Gatorade then take off again. i broke the rule once in between mile 5 and 6. remember that fun downhill coming out of transition? yeah as i said earlier, not so fun having to go back up it. at this point i had been on the course for around 2:15 minutes and my legs were just about shot. i walked for about 10 seconds then took off. I pride myself in being a fast finisher. I typically take whatever is left and dump it out in the last few hundred yards. So as I topped the hill I had two guys about 20 yds in front of me and I took off. stretched out my stride and dug in. My legs were on fire and felt like silicone had been injected into my quads. But i caught both of them even as they picked up their paces. I crossed the line and in usual fashion let out a scream. There's a feeling that is hard to explain when you cross a line knowing you gave everything you had. I turned around to see what the race clock said. It was at 2:23.15 so i knew i had to have been in the 2:22 range. i was so happy. i had dropped 22 minutes off my last race.

In the end i had dropped 10 minutes off of my swim, 4 minutes off my bike and 8 minutes off my run time. my total was 2:22.20. Had i not broken my rule and kept running during the 5th mile i would have placed in my age group. I missed 3rd place by 14 seconds. A lesson learned for next season. I have a lot of work to do on my run. Its been a great season and I'm so glad I got into it. If you have ever offered me encouragement I want to thank you. I spend a lot of time alone in my training and sometimes I wonder why I'm doing this to myself. Then i get encouragement from friends and it rejuvenates me. I challenge anybody reading this to TRI a triathlon. You will be shocked at what you can do when you put your mind to it. As for me, my next move is to prepare for next summers half ironman race and possible full ironman race. I will also be running my first Marathon this December. So my goal to hopefully make it to an elite ranking if not into the pros is still intact. I can only improve and as long as I'm having fun I'll keep at it. Stay tuned as i post updates leading up to my Memphis Marathon. Shooting for a time of 3:30. until next time...

Follow your dreams, don't settle for less!

Race Weekend

ok so it's been about a million hours since i last posted. i'm going to be posting this weekend though because i have a race on Sunday!! so stay tuned. i heard from a friend yesterday that a friend of his read my blog to prepare for their first triathlon. i thought that was pretty cool so i'm going to make sure to start posting about training and racing. later folks.

Music City Triathlon

So today I raced my second triathlon and 1st at the Olympic Distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run). I picked this race back in February when I decided to do triathlons. I knew it was a distance that would challenge me but that I could do. I was right. By far it is the hardest race I've ever done. I think had it not been 99-102 degrees it wouldn't have been quite so bad. So anyway it went a little something like this.

I got up at 4:45 and did my usual pre-race bagel and banana. Then prepared all my bottles with a mix of Base Performance Amino and Accelerade. I packed all my gear the night before so I wouldn't have to worry about it this morning. After I loaded my bike I took off to Nashville. I got to the parking lot at 6 am and I'm pretty sure it was already 85 degrees. I knew weeks ago this would be a hot painful race and mother nature didn't fail to disappoint.

So the race started at 7:30 but we had to wait almost an hour to swim because the sprint racers went in front of the Olympic distance racers. So I hung out with my mom for a while before finally getting in line for my race. With about 5 minutes before my start I put my goggles on. SNAP! The strap broke. I had to run back to my bike where my bag was to get another pair. Sounds easy right? Transition was about 500 yards from where we were standing. Nothing like a sprint to get your heart rate up. So now I'm back in line with another pair of goggles. That is why I keep three pairs with me.

SWIM 1.5k or .92 of a mile

The swim was a time trial start with 6 swimmers getting in the water at at time then being sent off every 2 or 3 seconds. Oh and we swam in the Cumberland river. Hopefully I don't get sick because when I swim I have water in my mouth pretty much the whole time and that is one nasty river. Swim was actually pretty fun. It was my first open water race and all my practice at the lake paid off. The first part of the swim was against the current which was no fun. It was kind of like a water treadmill. We were bunched up for a while so I kept feeling peoples feet and had somebody all over mine. I'm pretty sure I elbowed somebody in the head as well haha. Sighting the buoys and swimming straight were pretty easy. As a strong swimmer I find it fairly easy to keep a straight line. Others I know struggle and zig zag all over the place. I noticed this when we crossed the river. Because of the current if you didn't aim a little upstream you would get pushed down stream and have to work harder to get around the buoy. I held a pretty straight line which I was happy with. The next long stretch of swim was down stream. I remember noticing the buildings in downtown and thinking I never thought I would actually be in this river. Anyway we made one more turn and had to swim back up stream to get to our exit. I believe my time was 29:07. Now I had to run up hill and back over to transition. This seemed to take about a minute just to get to the bike.

BIKE 40K or 24.9 miles

Once I got my bike it was another 150 yards to the exit where you mount the bike. I jogged this pretty controlled. Once I got to the mounting line it was a simple step on my left shoe, swing my right leg over and off I went. My shoes are already on the pedals so the tricky part is getting my feet in them while moving. 1oo yards later and with one foot already in the shoe I lost a bottle because of a bump. You get penalized for leaving anything on the course so I had to make a quick U turn to go get it. A nice volunteer was kind enough to put the top back on it and put it back into the bottle holder that sticks out behind my seat. Bad thing was the bottle was now empty. I had planned on having 64 ounces of drink with me...now I only had 32! No worries, I've learned to make race day enjoyable you have to have a plan and be flexible when that plan needs to be changed. The bike course was a 12 mile loop that we had to do twice. It was a fun course for sure. Unfortunately my fun on the bike equaled my pain and suffering on the run...I'll explain. So the course only had 3 hills that were some what difficult. The rest was pretty much flat and down hill. There were several sections where I was hitting 30-34 mph which feels so fun. I lost count but probably passed about 50 or more on the bike course. I found a group of guys that seemed to be biking about my pace and just tried to stay with them. We were passing some folks like they were not even moving. I felt good the whole ride. My drink situation didn't hurt me. It was definitely getting very hot out there, I had one bottle of water just to pour on myself occasionally which helped me stay somewhat "cool". I kept wondering if I was biking too hard but I was having too much fun at those speeds to care. My legs didn't really feel taxed until I got to the last hill. I knew then, at mile 23 that I had probably taken to much out of my legs and the run would be tough. I ran the run course a few weeks ago with my friend Kelly so I knew with tired legs i was in for a suckfest!! The transition from bike to run was pretty smooth. Nothing to it really. You take your feet out of your shoes and pedal on top of your shoes for the last 200 yards then swing your right leg back over the bike and stand off to the left side of the bike. When you get to the line you hop off and keep running along side the bike back to your spot on the rack, off with the helmet and on with the visor, shoes and race belt with race number.

RUN 10K or 6.2 miles

I emptied the rest of my water bottle on top of my head before taking off. The jog out of transition and onto the run course told me all I needed to know. This would be the hardest run I had ever completed. The run course was a 3 mile loop that we had to do twice. On the loop we had to climb the pedestrian bridge, climb 1st avenue, and climb 3rd avenue. If you are familiar with Nashville you know those are some steep long climbs. I made it almost a mile before I had to walk. I don't know what my run pace was because my legs were so tired, but at this point it had to be about 100 degrees and I'm sure the heat index was close to 105. The heat was literally sucking the life out of me. They had water just about every mile but it just wasn't enough. I pretty much walked 2-3 times per mile. Probably the most depressing thing about the race. I CAN NOT STAND TO WALK!! But I was struggling even to walk it was so freakin hot out there. Near the end of the 1st loop I was actually contemplating not finishing. I don't think I can really give you an accurate description of how miserably hot it was. I tried over the past few weeks to prepare myself mentally for the heat but I still couldn't overcome it. My legs really didn't start turning over until about the 4th mile. I walked a lot less on the second loop but the damage was already done at that point. I had wanted to place in the beginners category but knew the chance for that was long gone. Now I just wanted to finish under 2:50. I got to the top of 3rd ave for the second time, hit the last water stop and made the best push I could with the 1.5 remaining. When I was about 500 yards from the line I used what I had left, which was too much. I was in a full on sprint and heard a friend of mine yelling "you better dig". 10 yds to go and I hear "NUMBER 726 Chris Hanson from Smyrna Tennessee" it's kind of cool to hear that. I crossed the line, and pretty much pulled a Chuck Liddell, arms down and flexed and let out a scream. So glad I didn't quit...So glad i finished. By far it was the hardest thing I did. I thought my last Country Music 1/2 Marathon was the hardest but it got trumped big time today.

In the end I was the 4th beginner, could have placed if I could have just got myself to run more. I placed 9th out of 33 in the 25-29 age group. I guess that's not to bad for my second only. It definitely put the 1/2 Ironman distance in perspective. I was going to attempt one in a month but after today I know I'm not even close to ready. So I'll get back to work and tackle that distance next summer.

Next step for me is one more Tri either in August or September. A 1/2 Marathon in October and finally my first Marathon in December. Need to put a lot of work into my run. Hope you enjoyed the read. Thank you for all the support from those who texted, tweeted, or facebooked!!

a few thoughts

so it's been a while since i blogged. and since there are only 2 followers i'm guessing nobody minds haha. anyway...some updates. i have a race in 10 days. it's an Olympic distance race which means a 1.5k swim 40k bike 10k run. this will be a tough race since it's in downtown nashville and quite hilly. i know i can complete it, and i hope to contend for an age group place. i was happy with my sprint distance race a month ago but didn't really feel all that tested. same reason i went from running 5ks to 1/2 Marathons and soon full Marathons. i want to be tested at the toughest distances. and i want to actually be able to compete not merely finish. so anyway. training has been long and tough. waking up early to swim, training at lunch, and biking or running after work are quite draining. some days i'm not entirely sure how i manage to find the strength or desire to do it. it's kind of crazy if you think about it. we athletes put in hours and hours and miles upon miles just to go do a race in a fraction of the time committed to training. but i love to race and compete. i love the fill on a race morning. everybody is there for the same reason. to be surrounded by a community all with the same goal in mind...finish the race to be best of your ability.

triathlon has been the best thing for me to find. i have a very extreme personality and the training needed to do well suits me perfectly. i typically find things i like and latch on then go at them 100 mph!! doesn't work great for relationships but is perfect for sport. my friends are part of my motivation. just hearing people call me crazy for doing so much makes me want to do more. i'm only scratching the surface compared to the Half Ironman and Ironman athletes. i want to be at that level within the next two years. my ultimate goal is to qualify for the Kona Ironman. i have a long road to get there. i have to make a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run seem like normal distances. right now those all seem quite far. i could do the swim right now, i will do the run in December, and i hope to go on a 112 mile ride before the year is over. short term i want to do well at the olympic distance and prepare for the 1/2 Ironman next summer. i also have to avoid burnout. which i think i'm starting to feel. luckily after my race i will be taking some time off. have to hit the refresh button then come back for more. probably will race 1 or 2 more Tris this summer before switching my focus to my December marathon. anyway that's all i have for now. probably a little hard to follow cause i have a hard time focusing. hope you enjoy the read...feel free to comment or ask questions. perhaps suggestions of things to blog about.

Running in a heat index above 100...not smart!!

so yesterday i jumped back into my training. i have an easy week planned. not running any more than 3 miles at a time and no more than 15 miles at a time on the bike. next week i'll start back into my normal distances. this week is just to get the legs moving again and to test my knee out. i took two weeks off and it only seems to have minimal improvement. oh well i'm not gonna sit around and keep getting fat.

so anyway yesterday after stretching for about 30 or 40 minutes i took off for my 3 mile run. i had on running shorts and a white running tank. it was about 5:45 when i hit the road. i knew it was hot. i knew it was going to suck. i knew i would probably want to quit somewhere around the two mile mark...what do you know i was right!!

the first 300 yards felt good...but from then til i got back 3.02 miles later all it did was get hotter and hotter. my legs felt good but sluggish. this kind of bummed me out. after a long rest i figured they would be ready to go. not the case. i dropped into my normal pace and tested some faster paces. ultimately i was just trying to cruise at a 60% of max effort. for me this is about a 7:50 mile avg. however in the heat even this pace felt like a sprint. i guess that's why i typically do a lot of my racing in the winter. i would rather run cold then run hot.

so mile 1 goes by in 7:53 i believe. i'm hot but not to bad. usually on the green way where i run there are plenty of other runners and cyclist. today...just me. hmm i began to wonder if i was the only idiot who ignored the temps and everybody else was waiting for it to cool off a little. anyway i turned around at the 1.51 mile mark according to my trusty Garmin205. from here back to the house it's pretty much a steady incline with a head wind. and this is when things start to get foggy. at this point i'm getting very hot. i can feel my heart beat in my face and my head is pounding. i don't have water with me cause i don't bring any if i'm only running three. legs are still good, knee feels good, calves are staying cramp free. so it is just a mental game of overcoming the heat.

mile 2 goes by and i think it was in 15:40... 1 mile left to go..bring the suckage. no matter what my plans are, how bad i'm hurting, or even if you threaten my life. when i get to the last mile of any run or race i pick up the pace. even on easy runs where i don't want to push i still drop the hammer in the last mile. i can't control it. in this years Country Music 1/2 Marathon at mile 12 i serioulsy thought i was having a heart attack. my chest got tight my right arm ached and my neck had a sharp pain. i remember thinking..."what do you want to do? if we keep pushing we can PR but you might die. worth the risk?" yup i kept pushing and i made it across the line just 1 minute shy of my PR. so anyway i'm less than a mile from the house, my head is pounding, i can't catch my breath, my legs are only slightly burning. i'm pretty sure i'm getting delirious and my back decides to join the party. my sciatic nerve flares up and now i can't feel my right butt cheek, if you've ever run you know it's extremely important to have your glutes firing properly. so now i'm trying not to die in the heat and i'm trying to make my right leg run correctly despite the numbness in my butt and the pain in my L5 disc. "why didn't you just stop?" that's what a friend of mine asked me last night. haha it never occured to me to stop. call it ignorance or pride but if i'm only running 3 miles i'm not bringing water or stopping.

1/2 mile to go. can't really remember this part. its the steepest of the return incline to the house. i kept looking at my Garmin to make sure my pace wasnt fading. i believe i was inbetween 7:40-7:57 that last 1/2 mile, although i felt like i was power walking. i also can't seem to breath now, my heart feels ready to explode, again head now feels as if a horse has kicked it, back is on fire, butt is numb, legs are strained but plenty left in them, knee is doing just great. and all i'm telling myself is "just make it home Chris". which i did...3.02 miles in 23:49 avg 7:52/mile.

when i get to my drive way i feel about ready to pass out, i was very dizzy and extremely overheated. and i'm sweating so bad that my sweat is sweating. i head straight for the hose. i drenched myself and stood in the shade for about 5 minutes. then i head inside to the amazing coolness of my 70 degree house. all i want to do is get off my feet so i can get my back to calm down. so i lay my dripping wet self right down in the kitchen floor. of course now i have two dogs frantically licking my sweat off my legs, arms, face, and hair. you would think i was sweating out bacon or something.

anyway...overall it was a decent run. i didn't want that pace to feel so hard but i think it was the heat. if it had of been cooler that would probably have felt like the relaxed run that i was anticipating. i was definitely hydrated well and had taken my Base Amino blend before the run. so my body had everything it needed. i guess in this heat i'm gonna have to break my rule and take water even on short runs. i know for sure i will wait til at least 6 to run from here on out. if that had been an 8+ mile run i would have been in trouble. today i have an easy bike. even in the heat the bike is much easier. so i shouldn't have any overheating issues today. till next time.

Saturday Morning Swim

so after a two week layoff for a knee injury that kept me from pretty much doing anything i decided to get back on the horse.

i got up early this morning around 6 and had a banana and drank some water mixed with Base Performance Amino blend. then i limbered up a little and put on my wetsuit. the lake is about 5 minutes from my house and it has a beach entry and no boat dock. therefore it is calm and quiet and so far no boaters play in the area...especially at 7 am.

so anyway i get to the lake walk down to the water as their is a couple of folks setting up for what looks like a big group picnic or something. i love the looks i get when walking towards the water with half my wetsuit on. its like they are trying to figure out if i'm gonna swim or scooba dive haha.

anyway i drop my bag and wade in to about thigh deep and finish putting my suit on. on with the goggles and cap and off i go for a warm up swim...

now what i haven't told you yet is i'm afraid of water i can't see in!! so the minute i put my face into lake water its a battle of wills in my mind. i have to literally tell my body to relax, tell my breathing to stay controlled, and tell myself to stay calm. i can panic if i don't. so anyway i swim out about 50 or 75 yards and then head back in. my shoulders feel tight from softball the night before and my back is a little sore as well. i make it back in stretch up a little and then stand there about chest deep and think about my workout

my plan was to swim for 30 minutes straight...now in a pool this isn't too terribly difficult. yes it's a long time but you get a mini break each time you turn around at the wall. in a lake it's non stop. today the water was nearly smooth as glass. so i drop underwater and push off. i swam about 75-100 yards out then turned right. i stay in a cove that seems to be about 500-800 ft wide. it is C shaped with big trees at each tip. i use the big trees to mark the line i want to swim on. since obviously in the lake there is no black line like there is in a pool. so you have to spot up ahead where you need to go, then swim blind for a while and spot again to make sure you are on course.

the first few minutes were tense...i typically get freaked out if i let my mind wander. i've seen to many horror movies so i picture things coming from underneath me as i'm looking down into the darkness. the first time i swam in the lake i about near hyperventilated, mostly cause the water was cold and very rough...it was the weekend after the flood so the water was really high.

so anyway i had about 4 or 5 moments where i had to calm myself mentally. twice i thought i heard something behind me...yes i know that's crazy...like a bass is sneaking up on me or something. it was just the noise my arms were making in the water. once i ran into a twig or something. and once or twice i thought about what would happen if i cramped up...nobody would be able to get to me and i would more than likely drown if the cramp was bad enough.

so 10 minutes in and i've gone down and back between the two points a few times now and i notice i'm about 300 yds from shore!! i had been drifting out all along haha. i also take inventory of my limbs. my shoulders are really aching and my back is killing me. i have a pinched nerve in my low back and the wetsuit makes my legs float higher than normal and pinches the nerve. so i decide to go back to the other end turn around and then at the halfway mark turn back to shore. when i made the turn to shore i picked the pace up a little. everytime i spotted though it looked like i hadn't gone anywhere. it seemed like the swim back in took forever.

i made it to shore with a total time of 18 minutes and some change. probably could have stayed out their for 30 but with my soreness and the fact that i was alone, i would rather be safe than sorry. when i'm not fighting the open water demons i really do enjoy my lake swims. my next race is in July in the Cumberland river right next to LP Field. should be fun and probably will freak me out since i'll be in the water with a ton of other swimmers getting kicked and elbowed haha. either way i'll have my game face on and will be ready to go. probably gonna hit the lake again in the morning and start back running and biking on monday!! hoorah!!

Zero Training Blues

so i pretty much never take time away from training besides the normal day off here and there. however in my last 1/2 marathon something on my knee cap popped in the second mile while going down a hill. i kept training all the way up until last weekend when i raced my first triathlon. i was in a lot of pain most of May and was not able to run as much as i usually do. so i decided to just get to the race and then take two weeks off to let the knee cap heal. this is the start of my second week off and i hate it!! i feel like crap everytime i eat cuz i haven't done anything. i'm dying to get back in the pool before work, and to ride or run after. unfortunately my knee doesn't seem to have improved all!!

i'm starting back monday regardless though. i have another race, olympic distance, on July 25th and that will only give me 6 weeks to prepare. i should come out of these two weeks pretty fresh and i don't expect to have lost to much of my cardio. next week will be a light week just to get the legs back up and running, then i'll build back up. my race is in a river so i need several more practice sessions in open water to get comfortable. the bike is 24.9 miles which is no big deal, as long as i don't crush it i should be good to run. the run is a 10k, 6.2 miles. that is a easy distance for me as a stand alone but will be a little more difficult after swimming nearly a mile and biking 24.9. i can't wait though. the course will be much more challenging than the sprint course i did in McMinnville. i know the run is in downtown Nashville and those hills are no joke at all, even on fresh legs. it will be a fun race and i'm sure i will have to push through some mental walls to finish but i don't go into a race i don't plan to finish strongly.

my July race will be my gauge to see if i want to attempt a half iron distance of 70.3 miles in September. that breaks down to 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. i know i can do all three distances as stand alones, so putting them together will no doubt suck terribly!! sometimes i wonder why i put myself through this torture. then i remember the feeling i get after every workout and after crossing every finish line. the feeling that you took what the course threw at you and you mastered it. you took all the quit your body and mind gave you and you ignored it and pressed on. it truely is an amazing feeling to take the freakish distances and treat them like they are just another part of ordinary life. i remember when an 8 mile run seemed long and 15 mile ride seemed crazy. now i don't consider it a long run unless its over 12 and its not a long bike until i've gone at least 2 hours.

so for now heres to one more lazy week of zero training...next week it's back to the grind and some more interesting blogs on my thoughts while training. my mind wanders a lot when i train. you would think that i would think about what i'm doing...i don't haha.

Drama

first let me start with this disclaimer...i have a hurt knee right now so i am not training otherwise i would be blogging about my training...so you are stuck with rants and useless thoughts.

anyway what's the deal with drama? seriously the word is not in the bible, or at least i don't ever think i've seen it. but i think it should have been. i hate drama but it seems to follow me. i often wonder if drama follows all of us. most everybody i know would agree with my dislike for "D"!! Are we as humans really that complicated that we make even the smallest things overly complicated?

without getting into too much detail...why can't two people just be together? why are there always rules and stipulations and labels? do you like me? yes. i like you. ok so lets see where this goes. simple enough but it never happens that way. seems like outsiders always want to put their two cents in and next thing you know you're so turned around you don't know whether you are coming or going. you can't have a simple convo without analyzing every word and phrase. should i say this, should i say that. is that to much, to little, what will they think if i say that or do this. good grief! where did these rules come from that muddy up even the simplest of relationships?!?!?

i just wish things could be simple. why do we all play games? hardly anybody says what they mean anymore. we all hide behind our mask and secretly love to see each other hurt, fail, or just be generally miserable...just to make us feel better about our own lives. most love gossip and most talk about their own friends behind there backs. when people ask how you are doing in passing they don't actually care or want a response. i guess that's why the bible says let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. somehow we have gotten away from that. we hide behind social media and portray our lives through status updates and tweets. i'm even guilty of this. i put up status's all the time when i'm hurting. of course i do it in a way that everybody knows something is wrong but has not the slightest clue about what. why can't i or anybody else just post "i'm pissed because so n so is causing "D" in my life" ??? i guess that wouldn't be politically correct right? we sure can't allow that to happen.

so in closing...if i can even say i made any sense. i just wish things were simple. if you're pissed at me...then say it. if you don't like something i've done...tell me. but i know that won't happen. i know people will continue to go behind my back and yours...talking and running there mouth with "did you hear" or "did you see their status" or "omg i can't believe the pics they posted" but the next time they see you it will be all smiles and high fives. funny how we are like that. we live for Drama but hate it so much...

Grooming

so it's friday morning and this is what's on my mind....

last night i let a friend groom me. meaning trim my neck line and eyebrows. now the neckline is a no brainer every guy with short hair has his neckline trimmed. but the eyebrows?? i don't have the greatest eyebrows as it is but after having an eyebrow ring a few years ago and letting my xwife wax my eyebrows they became even worse. now they grow out of control and look like vampire eyebrows most of the time. so i'm always torn. do i continue grooming them to look presentable or let them go rogue and natural. eyebrow trimming for a guy falls in the same category for me as mani/pedi's for a guy...GAY!!

just doesn't seem manly. but then if the chicas like well groomed eyebrows do i suck it up and do it anyway?? i wonder how many men out there actually get there eyebrows waxed regularly...hmm.

Drug test

so today i had to go pee in a cup cause I'm getting hired on with Nissan. the worst part about a drug test...stopping the flow!! seriously you drink like 9 gallons of water to make sure you REALLY gotta go when you get there. then they ask you for what...a couple ounces? torture...pure torture. thank God the lady didn't have to watch me. then i would have had stage fright and flow stopping problems!! no fun at all. that's all for now...just thought I'd share.

My First Tri

so this past weekend i raced my first Triathlon. i am not new to racing, just to triathlon. i have run many different running races from 800 meters to 13.1 miles. i love the race atmosphere. i don't really get butterfly's anymore just a calm excitement. anyway let me walk you through it...

4:43 am...alarm goes off and i almost can't remember why it's going off! my plan was to eat a small breakfast, get my bottles ready, walk the dogs, and take off about about 5:15 since the race was about 1 1/2 hours away according to MapQuest. registration opened at 6:45 and if you know racing you know the later you get there the longer the lines. i don't like to be rushed so I'm always at my races early. so i ate my usual pre-race breakfast, cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter and a banana. next i made one bottle for the pre-race and one bottle to take on the bike. my pre-race bottle was 16 oz of water mixed with Base Performance Amino blend (their website is in my links) this stuff is great for endurance athletes who need the proper nutrition for their muscles to handle the demand of a three sport race. my second bottle was 16 oz of water mixed with Accelerade. this is a carb and electrolyte replacement drink. third bottle was just 24 oz of water to drink up until i got to the race. anyway i got my bottles ready walked the dogs and then racked my bike on top of the truck and it was go time!

5:20 am...go time! on the road heading to McMinnville Tennessee.

6:50ish am...i roll in the parking lot and i look to be about the 30th person there. i have to go to pick up my race packet which has my number for the run, and my number to stick on my helmet. it also has tons of other brochures about other races and products. my number ends up being 76. this means there are 75 people that projected a faster swim time than me. at this point I'm kind of wondering how legit that is. (we'll come back to this in the swim portion later) i had heard the rumors already about slow swimmers submitting fast times so that they could be near the front only to get run over by the fast swimmers and causing a headache for everybody.

from hear on out i don't really remember the times until we hit 8 am...

after getting my race bag i head back to my truck to put my bike back together and to get my gear. next step is to head to the transition area. for those of you who don't know, a transition area is exactly what it's called. you go to this area to transition from the swim to the bike (T1) and from the bike to the run (T2). It's here where i am "marked". they write my race number on my right arm and right knee. then right my age on my left calf and my "class" on my right calf. this was my first Tri so i was signed up as a beginner so they stuck a big "B" on my right calf. turns out there were quite a few B's roaming around.

once marked i found my spot on the rack. the rack is where you hang your bike. time to set up my transition area. you want your running shoes, race number belt, and hat in one place and your sunglasses and helmet in another place. so my run stuff was on a towel next to my front wheel. the bike is hung on the rack using the tip of the seat so that your back wheel is off the ground and your bike is facing your exit. my sunglasses were inside my helmet which was sitting on my aero bars.

once i had everything set up it was time to warm up. i put my shoes on and went for about a 5 minute jog then stretched. at this point i think it was about 7:30. next i took my bike out and rode the first mile of the course then stretched some more. now i think its about 7:45 and i start drinking my Base Amino drink. i listened to the race overview and rules then headed down to the pool. i did a quick 200 meter warm up and then stretch and tried to remain loose. at this point it's around 8:15 and the pool deck is filling up fast with the 450 some odd competitors.

5 minutes before race starts...so they are shouting out directions trying to get the first 30 swimmers in the pool. here's where the fun begins. i know you can't really judge a book by it's cover but for the most part you can just a swimmer by their "cover". remember I'm number 76 with a projected swim time of 2:55 for 200 meters which isn't too bad, and 75 others say they will swim faster. i was being modest with this time. so they load the 2 min swimmers first and start the race. 1 swimmer every 10 seconds swam 50 meters went under the rope then back down, under the next rope and back out, under that last rope and swim to the exit, which was a zero entry so that made the exit very smooth. anyway as they are moving through the first 25 swimmers I'm watching and noticing nobody looks nearly as fast as their projected times, even the very first guy. so they start getting the 2:30 swimmers in the water and i say "what the hey" so i get in with the 2:30 swimmers. at this point there are no thoughts. I'm in the water following the line to the starter and I'm in full on race mode. i don't hear anything and my peripheral vision is black.

SWIM...i get to the starter, put my feet up on the wall and hold the wall with my right hand. my left hand is already pointing down the lane...GO!!...I'm gone and i think i might have been smiling underwater!! i catch the person in front of me and tap their foot(means I'm passing you at the wall). i have to slow up a little. she moves over and i pass her at the wall. i catch the next person in the middle of the lane and motor on by. these are the folks i spoke of earlier. they put down swim times that they can't actually finish. anyway after passing this guy in the middle of my second lane i catch the person in front of him and have to do the slow up tap on the foot method again. i pass him at the wall and head down my third length. I'm slightly annoyed because I've had to slow down twice already to keep from bulldozing two swimmers. third length i pass another swimmer in the middle of the lane and again catch the person in front of them and AGAIN the slow down foot tap is in full effect. we get to the wall and i head under the rope. i have one swimmer in front of me that i want to catch before we exit. i catch them half way through. so i think i was about 35th-40th swimmer in the water and i passed 6. now the slow downs actually helped cause it saved my legs a little. total time 2:53

T1...the run from the pool to transition was about 100 yard on the sharpest pavement I've ever seen. extremely painful to run on which slowed my down to hobble. i probably looked like an old man trying to hold in diarrhea while walking on hot coals!! of course we all looked like this. i get to my bike and notice about 10 swimmers still putting on helmets, sitting at their bikes, putting on shoes. i had practiced this part 100 times already. my shoes were already locked into my pedals and i don't wear socks. i simply put my sunglasses on, put my helmet on and grabbed my bike. just in transition i lapped about 10 people. more sharp pavement as I'm heading to the bike loading area. i get to the mat and step on top of my left shoe and swing my leg over. total time 1:11

BIKE...I pedal with my feet on top of my shoes for about 25 yards up a hill. then while rolling down the hill i slide my feet in and adjust the Velcro straps. now it's off to the races. at this point i notice and unusual feeling in my legs...they fill like they are inflated! i don't remember at what stages but i passed 4 more folks on the bike and had 3 people pass me. anyway the bike course had some decent hills on it but if you go up you get to go down. so at some points i was going 15 mph and others i was going 34 mph. i ended up averaging 20.8 mph. it took me nearly 6 of the 11 miles to get my quads to relax. and once they did i felt much more comfortable and was really having a great time out there. the last three miles were entertaining to say the least. now you are seeing the slower folks make their way out onto the bike course and i got to see all types of bikes some nice some not so nice. one thing i noticed. a lot of people riding bikes that they had no business riding. now if i had the money i would be on a 5000 dollar bike too so i can't really blame them. in the last 100 yards i notice the kid up in front of me has a B on his calf. at this point i decide i need to stay ahead of him on the run if i want to place. so i slide my feet out and pedal on top of my shoes towards the dismount. I'm over joyed as i notice he takes one foot out but leaves his other in. he stopped his bike, stepped over the seat, unclipped his shoe then ran to his rack with one shoe on and one shoe off. however i was balancing on my left pedal with my right leg already off the bike. so i was completely on the left side of my bike as i was coming to a stop. i hit the breaks and went straight into a run...back onto that SHARP PAVEMENT, i swear satan must have paved that parking lot!! total time 33:07

T2...i "ran" to my rack and racked my bike by hanging it from the handle bars. i took my helmet off and dropped it while slipping my shoes on. i grabbed my hat and race belt and took off running. i put my hat in my mouth while i clipped my belt on then put my hat on. just in time to grab some water from the first station. which i swiftly dumped on myself since it now seemed to be about 100 degrees. total time :56

RUN...here's where the fun started. when you come off the bike and into a run it feels horrible. imagine trying to run after doing 100 squats. your quads feel like they are filled with silicone and the motion from pedaling throws off your running motion. not 20 yards into the run my left calf begins to cramp. this isn't a shock as it had done it several other times when practicing going from bike to run. it took me a 1/4 mile and three quick stretches to get it to relax. on the run i pass two and nobody passes me. the first mile felt horrible. i didn't wear a watch because i wanted to enjoy my first race and not be caught up on pacing and splits. however i couldn't tell how fast i was running because of how my legs felt. i could tell by my breathing that i was running fast but i felt like i was crawling. the second mile was all about keeping my pace and not dying. i thought to myself "holy crap it's hot out here, keep pushing, i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, geez i want to jump in a pool, i think my legs are going to explode, i can't believe I'm finally doing this". the run at 2 hills, not really that big but after swimming and biking first they might as well have been Everest! they sure felt like it!! so i round the corner and see the finish line. i hear them announce my name and city and the crowd yelling. i gave a goofy pose to the photographer as i passed and a solid fist pump as i crossed the line. i was finally a triathlete!!

after the race i cooled down with some water and waited for the awards. Mom says i crossed the line in at least the top 10...i had trouble believing that. i ended up being 18th over all and 2nd over all in the beginner category. had i raced as an individual i would have been 2nd in my age group. it was the first time i have ever placed in a race. my highest place was 4th in my age group at a local 5k. so now i'm definitely hooked. my next race is in July and its an Olympic distance race. it will be much harder much more painful and much more rewarding. until then i'll keep you posted on my training adventures. hope you enjoyed the read...i know its kind of long.

Test Blog

this is more just a space filler. i'll put something real up tonight when i get the chance.