Timberman 70.3

Pops and my Timberman trailer digs.

Timberman Half Iron 2010

Well, it came quick.  I only decided to do this race back in late July, and suddenly I was on the start line --WHAT-- with the pros.  WOW, pretty cool!  The most exciting thing for me was that I was starting with just 20-30 people instead of  200-2000 in some cases, like Ironman Lake Placid where the swim start is a mass start.  Yes, that means all 2000+ amateurs begin at the same time -- scary, you get trashed. It's sort of like being in a washing machine -- not that I have ever experienced that, but it seems like it would feel pretty similar. This would be my debut in the professional ranks, my return following the accident, and it was my brother Mike's 33rd birthday -- it was a very emotional day.

I wasn't sure how the day would go.  I did know it would be slow for me, but it was a starting point. My life changed in the blink of an eye (see post 'Blink of an Eye') and would never be the same, but my new beginning had to start somewhere. And so it did, ouch -- 4am breakfast! Not that I forgot about the QT2 Sytems (http://www.qt2systems.com/) breakfast protocol -- large quanities of unsweetened apple sauce, 1 banana,1 scoop whey and 1 bottle of PowerBar Endurance sports drink (http://www.powerbar.com/), but man, 4 am bowls of apple sauce:  yummy!  But, this sysyem really works! Throughout the day, out on the bike, I use a combination of PowerBar Gels and PowerBar Performance Energy Bars; for the run, I go with just the gels -- it works great! Back in February, just several days following the accident, I was asked to be a part of PowerBar Team Elite for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, this is a great honor and I truly believe in the PowerBar Nutrition System.

BANG!  Like dolphins, 20-30 pro men go diving through the clear waters of Lake Winnipesaukee. Quickly, without surprise, I was dropped from the group, but was so stoked to be out there -- it was great!  I actually got a good laugh out of it.  I was dusted...no suprise given my swim volume leading up to Timberman was very low.  The swim is my weak spot.  If I'd had some volume, it would have helped, but I still would have been dropped.  BUT, maybe, just maybe I could have stayed in front of the 3 pro women who passed me at the first turn buoy -- they started 50 seconds after me -- HA, HA.  The swim was a rectangle -- 700 meters out (north), 400 across (east), and 700 in (south). The first 700 was smooth --slow, but smooth.

Man did things change shortly after the 700 meter point, as we turned east -- HOLY @#%% CHOP --where did this come from?  From shore, it appeared to be very calm.  My family really didn't beleive me when I told them it was very rough coming across the lake. It was this segement where I lost all form, at times, feeling like I didn't have a clue what the he.. I was doing -- survival mode! It's funny, but I sort of love when sh.. hits the fan like this.  Pure survival mode -- humbling!  It remained very challenging for about 400 meters -- gulps of water, missed strokes over the waves and prayers that it would change at the turn buoy.  It did, as I turned for the shore the chop was less severe, but -- oh man -- passed by a few more gals.  Oh well!
SWIM 32:20:  not great, but not terrible.  If my swim fitness was there, maybe this number could have been 28:30-29:30 -- in time, I hope!

As I made my through transition, I could see my parents and my brother Dan.  It was at that point where I felt like I never left the sport -- there was something about exiting the water, running through the cheers and bells and feeling the support of so many people I didn' even know. It felt right and, physically, I felt pretty good. As I approached my bike, I could see my brother Dan.  Mike was always with him at my races.  Suddenly it hurt, bad; but Dan was there and Mike was with us in spirit.  Dan asked "how you feelin? You okay?"  Dan asks these questions all day, at every race, every year, always making sure I'm okay, getting a read on how I'm feeling.  He always asks, but has said that he can pretty much always tell by the look on my face.  Oh man, where did everyone go?  I think my bike was the only one left on the pro rack -- I laughed!

I had done this race a few times in the past.  Actually, it was my second triathlon ever back in 2005. The bike course was a mix of long flats and some hills, a pretty good course for me in the past. Early on, my legs were slow to react, but after about 10-15 miles they began to come around. Exiting the water between 5-10 minutes behind the other male pros left me out on the road riding alone. Around 20-25 miles in, I had caught all but one of those fast female swimmers, but the men were long gone. I did catch one male pro at around 50 miles, but he ended up passing me within the first few miles of the run. Anyway, I felt pretty good on the bike, very strong in the hills, a little shy with power on the flats. Overall, about what I expected.
BIKE:  2hr 24min bike split, 23.3 mph.

The temperature was perfect and there was a light rain falling as I rolled down the hill into transition. I was feeling really good, no stomach issues, and my legs were okay. Over the last two seasons I have used Powerbar  (http://www.powerbar.com/)  products for all my training and racing nutritional needs with incredible results. In the past, nutrition was often a problem during ultra distance events. As I dismounted the bike and approached my spot on the rack, my teamate Tim Snow was lacing up his sneaks. Tim and I headed out together running about a 7 min pace. Tim is a great runner, but was using the race as a training day in preparation for Ironman Louisville on Aug 29.  Back in July, he ran a 2:54 marathon at Ironman Lake Placid, finishing 5th Overall, but missing a Hawaii (Ironman Championship) slot by the slimmest of margins.  In order to claim a Hawaii slot as a pro, you must finish within 5% of the overall winner's time -- Tim finished between 5-6 % behind Ben Hoffman the overall winner -- kind of screwed up, I think!  So, he will be going for it again next Sunday down in Louisville. We ran the first loop together, maintaining a 7 min pace and pretty much a full blown conversation, amusing many folks along the way. It was a great pace for me. I wasn't sure how the run would go, but my thought was I could probably run at least a 7 min pace for the 13 miles. So, Tim peeled off at the beginning of the second loop and I pushed onward, comfortably maintaining the 7 min pace out to the turnaround. It was around mile 10 that I decided to pick it up some as I was feeling pretty strong and thought I could push it hard to the finish line -- the last 3 miles I was running 6:00-6:30 pace.
RUN=  6:52 pace, 1:32:00 run split with the last 3 miles being my fastest. Usually, it's the other way around.

Finish Time: 4hr 32min. All and all, happy with it.  It was very smooth and enjoyable.  It was an emotional day, but a positive one, for a life that has been full of darkness for many months.

A special thanks to my friends in Vermont -- Patti and Scott, who over the course of the last 6 months have helped me in so many ways -- Thank You so much! And my friends in Albany -- Renee, Walter, Brendan, Craig and my brother Dan for all their support, my Mom and Dad, brother Shawn, sister Kelly, Aunt Con and my best buddy Rat (Bill) out in Flagstaff, AZ -- Thanks!  Keep on Shining!

A Slippery Slope

A Slippery Slope

Sorry about the lack of updates, but it has taken me some time to be sure about any racing plans.  Thanks for checking in! Over the last few months following the loss of my brother, Mike; his wife, Jill; and their children, Makayla and Bryce, I have spent many hours wondering if I would ever return to Ironman racing and training. In the intial days and weeks -- even the first few months -- I was pretty sure that my season was over.  And maybe my career.  I knew my 2010 season plan for Oceanside 70.3, Ironman St. George -- along with a hopeful return to Hawaii -- was out.  Gone.  In the immediate aftermath of the accident, I was ready to throw in the towel on many fronts, and triathalon was one of them. Life had smacked our family right in the face.  It flattened me.  I lost my best friends, two of my biggest supporters, their children, my god child, Makayla, a piece of my heart.  It created a giant hole in my life and made for a very uncertain future.  In the wake of it all, I was broken, deeply depressed, angry and had no idea how I could ever live with this; the weight of it all was unbearable.  At this point, it has been 6 months since the accident, the anger, pain, sorrow and sadness have not magically disappeared, but the fog has lifted -- some.  As Lance Armstrong said during his fight against cancer, "pain is only temporary, quitting lasts forever." In one of my most difficult weeks back in July, I knew I needed help, as I was in a very dark place. Maybe it had reached that point where I had no more answers.  All along I have faced this challenge alone, with the support of my best friends; but the darkness that had overcome me, those days of that week, was all too much.  It was at that point, although with uncertainty, I knew I had to start riding again. The only real options in life were limited.  As Lance's words rang in my ears -- give up or hold on to hope and believe that things would get better -- I listened. Ironman racing and training have been my life for the last 4-5 yrs and, at this point, it was possibly the only stable ground I could bring back to my life after a large part of it had been ripped away.

 So, in early July, I started to ride with some focus, wanting it to work out, at least well enough that I could possibly race at some point this year -- I hoped!  In the months following the accident I had gained over 15 lbs from drinking beer daily, poor eating, and lack of exercise. It was my plan to shed some weight by cycling, and then I would start running.  As most of you know, running with extra weight is bad and hard on the body.  It was also being out on the bike, on the open road, in the hills where I found the most comfort.  It was helping me mentally, emotionally and physically.

 As a pro triathlete, we are allowed to register for Ironman and Ironman 70.3 (Half-Ironmans) races at any time during the season. So, after my original season plan changed following the accident, I registered for several 70.3 races and a few Ironman races, uncertain if I would ever get to the starting line; but life was in turmoil, and I had no clue what was ahead.  I was making decisions and hoping for the best. After spending the weekend as a spectator at Ironman Lake Placid on July 26th, I made the decision that I would race at Timberman 70.3 on August 22nd, my brother Mike's 33rd birthday. Although I would not be in great shape for the race, I hoped that it would be a positive step forward, regardless of my finish time.  I started to log in some decent mileage on the bike, a little swimming and eventually some running, getting in just a couple of runs beyond 10 miles before Timberman with only a couple of weeks of 20 plus miles.  I figured my durability for the Half-Iron distance would be okay and was pretty certain I could complete the distance in the 4:20-4:30 range, knowing that just 2 months of training wasn't going to produce a PR performance.  But, it was time to pick up the pieces and at least try to move forward. I am sure -- Mike, Jill , Makayla and Bryce will be with me along the way, with Danny and the rest of my family along the side of the road, as we move step by step through the pain, suffering and sorrow of such an unimaginable loss.

So, my new season plan will be : Timberman 70.3 (Half-Iron) August 22nd, Syracuse 70.3 (Half-Iron) Sept.19, and most likely Miami 70.3 (Half-Iron) Oct.31st.

Thanks for checking in.