FD3 Triathlon: Goof Recap

FD3 Triathlon: Goof Recap

The previous post was a review of the FD3 Triathlon Series as if it was a product.  Below you will find a more detailed account of my personal experiences during the race.  Let me know in the...

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NYC Marathon: Goof Recap

NYC Marathon: Goof Recap

If you didn’t have an opportunity to read the epic writing in the previous post, I discussed the reason “why” I ran the NYC Marathon, then I highly recommend that you do.  Not just because the...

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NYC Marathon 2015: The Why

NYC Marathon 2015: The Why

My Why - PKD The human brain is an advanced computer that controls many different systems.  The body is like a room full of servers each independently managing a different system with one major...

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Workout Wednesday: Run Strength

Workout Wednesday: Run Strength

Happy Hump Day!  Workout Wednesday’s will consist of favorite workout of mine that I either have prescribed to my clients or have been assigned by MY Coach.  It might also be a favorite of yours. ...

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Rock n’ Roll St Pete Race Recap…Lessons Re-Learned

Rock n’ Roll St Pete Race Recap…Lessons Re-Learned

The crazy thing about not running “Best Damn Race”, was I felt like I needed another race to replace it.  It wasn’t very long after I got home on Saturday, that I had typed in the URL for the Rock n’ Roll series and registered for the Rock N’ Roll St. Petersburg Half-Marathon.  I have no idea what the driving need was.  I have plenty of races on the calendar, so what was another half-marathon?  I decided to chalk it up to the hype of BDR and the fact I wanted to race.  Is that a distinctive trait in all endurance athletes?  I have no idea.  I humbly request that you take a few seconds, put yourself in my shoes and let me know if you think you would’ve done the same thing.

RnR7

Ben, Pete and I at the expo

I always get excited to go to the expos.  It isn’t the free stuff, or the vendors, it is the aura, the environment and the excitement of the race.  This expo was no different.  I wasn’t excited about any of the vendors or the new technologies, I was just excited to be there and take it all in.

Road ID did something new this year.  They were engraving on-site.  This was the first event I attended where this was an option.  What a great idea, and it was so easy.  Several kiosks were set up with their software running on it and all that had to be done, was pick the product (wrist band, dog tag, ankle band, etc), type the content of the engraving, slide your card to pay for it and they engraved it for you

Jessica Crate and I

Jessica Crate and I

right there.  That was my exciting highlight of the expo, besides seeing my friend Kat(Sneakers & Fingerpaints) volunteering with Brooks and Jessica Crate hanging out with Powerbar.

After hanging out with Pete and the gang and seeing a lot of friends at the expo, it was time to head home and chill out for the night.  Afterall, not only was I at the expo but I also did a little training ride on the bridges of Clearwater.

The next morning brought on the same excitement as always.  I didn’t wake up with the overall feeling of competing, I was more content with the positive anxiety rolling through my body at the idea of running.  Period.  I love races like this, especially since when I walk around either the start or finish I always seem to find someone I know.

RnR9

Cheryl & I at the Start

Driving to the event was not an issue.  My plan was to just find a place near Tropicana field, on the street or a cheep garage between the start and finish line, but at the last second I decided I really didn’t want to deal with it, so I ended up parking at the Trop for fifteen bucks.  This is one of the things I am not crazy about with the Rock n’ Roll race series.  Everything is an extra charge.  $15 dollars to park at the expo, $15 to park at the race, $5 for a shuttle from the finish line back to the start, $1 per runner you want to track, $5 for the runner to allow others to track and not to mention the $110 race fee.  I do enjoy the local races just for the fact they are usually all-inclusive.  Best Damn Race was the cure for all of this.  One price which even at full price was cheaper ($70), and it included parking, all the good food you can eat, and all the beer you could drink, but I digress.

My first perception was that this race was already increasingly superior to last year, at least for me, because mother nature was giving us a beautiful 57 degrees that morning vs my last experience with the race which was a very cold 33 degrees.   This for me was absolutely perfect.  The temperature would rise but by the time I finished it still would not have hit 70.  A small breeze filled the air with a clean scent, but I could not consider it wind.  Even though it was still a little chilly I decided to tough out the wait for the start in just my race attire instead of bringing anything extra for gear check.  As I turned the corner around Tropicana Field the start-line events came into my line of sight. There, looking down on the parking lot,  were three huge banks of port o’ lets, a few tents for info, volunteers, water and food, and of course the corrals.  My heart rate increased a little as the anxiety started to ramp up.

The Mini-Marathon was starting first, which was a 5k, and then the main event, the Half-Marathon, would start about 25 minutes later.  Making my way into the arena, recognizable faces started coming into

Stephanie & I at the start

Stephanie & I at the start

view.  This running community, no matter how much publicity it gets, is still relatively small, so racing seems to promote seeing the same faces at most of the events.  Even though I didn’t know a lot of the athletes by name they were recognizable, but of course it is not uncommon for someone to come up behind you and give you a big hug, or tap you on the shoulder to say hi.  I ran into Margie and her friend she was running with, as well as Cheryl, Stephanie, Mike, Wibke, and a bunch of others which calmed me down tremendously.  I decided that I would race this for fun and just let my legs decide what they were going to do.  What I decided and what happened were two totally separate ideas.

Around 7:25 the corrals were filled and as I was bib number 1062 I was to start in corral number 1.  The crowd noise was diminished to a slight whisper as this 13-year-old girl gave us a beautiful rendition of our national anthem, the gun went off and we were on our way.

My legs felt really good, my breath flowed easy and my form fell into place.  I was listening to my iPod, but the volume was low enough for it to be drowned out by the local bands that were playing on the course every couple of miles.  As I passed the first mile, I looked down at my Garmin which read 7:28 which was around 10 seconds behind the race clock, which made sense, but the pace was a little fast.  I decided to keep on going and let my legs decide.  My Garmin alerted me of my 7:30 pace at the end of the 2nd mile which turned out to be about a tenth of a mile

Feeling good

Feeling good

before I reached the race clock.   This is not uncommon with races.  The GPS signal grabs satellite data every three seconds and within a city, sometimes it does not make a connection for a few passes depending on buildings, and a variety of signals that can interfere with the accuracy.  I where a foot pod to record my cadence as well as fill the gaps when the satellite is not available, but the algorithm that fills the gaps will not do so until I have recorded the history at the end of the event.

When I crossed mile three at a time very close to my 5k PR time, I knew that I was at a pace that was way too fast for my fitness level at this time, but I was feeling really good, so against my better judgement I continued.  My pace stuck at a range in-between 7:26-7:40 until mile 8 and that is when it caught up with me.  Even though I was sticking to my nutrition, I started to feel the ache in my legs, and the tightness in my chest.  I got a hold of my breathing checked my posture, leaned in a little more and kept going, but unfortunately, my pace for the next 3 miles steadily increased.  I was pretty consistent with the people around me up to this point.  I played cat & mouse with a few of the runners, and I was passing people here and there and feeling pretty good about it, but for the last few miles, I would start to get passed.   Between, nine and ten, I saw Ben

Seeing a familiar face.  Thanks Ben Mena

Seeing a familiar face. Thanks Ben Mena

Mena on the side taking photos.  A familiar face usually helps, so I turned toward him and mucked for the shot, pretending I felt a lot better than I actually did.  My legs started getting heavier as we headed toward a small bridge, and I noticed Jessica Crate heading the opposite way toward the finish line, along with a lot of other familiar faces in that elite athlete group.  Just on the other side of the bridge my watch alerted me to mile 11 and a lap time of 8:31.  Out loud I yelled at myself, “Are you f***ing kidding me?” which gained me a few smirks and a couple of double takes from the others around me.  I assessed my form, and my efficiency and noticed I was pretty much jacked up, so I slowed my breathing, lifted my arms to put me back in the right posture, tucked my hips and leaned from my ankles.  I glided through the next mile at was alerted that I covered it in 8 minutes flat.  “Better”, I thought to myself, but I was weakening and I knew it.  I only had 1.1 miles left and while no matter what the finish line would be crossed, but it would be the longest mile of the race.

In a period that felt like two minutes went by when I saw Jessica running the opposite way, which could only be her cool down run, when I yelled and waved and before I knew it, she was in front of me.  Yelling at me to stay with her.  Her commands kept calling my ego to release anything I had left.  “Bring your

Elite Athlete Jessica Crate

Elite Athlete Jessica Crate

arms up, relax and let’s do this!”, is what I heard from her as I started leaning more and lifting my legs.  “400 meters Brad kick it into gear, c’mon let’s go!” is what sparked my kick.  I could see the finish line, it was right there all I had to do was take everything I had and just push to get there.  Jessica’s last words to me were “50 meters left, GO!!!!” and I took off with everything I had left.  Honestly, it hurt, but the pain subsided the nanosecond I crossed the timing mat.  The race clock said 1:45 on the nose when I crossed and I was disappointed in my time, but not in my effort.

My chest was tight, my back started to twinge a little as I retrieved my medal, took photos and started gathering after race treats.  Water, Gatorade, chocolate milk, bananas, strawberries, granola bars were basically shoved into my hands and I hadn’t even left the finish corral.   I didn’t know what to do with it all, but  I thought the race should really hand a plastic bag to the finishers so it could be collected without effort.  After all, we all just ran 13.1 miles, the blood isn’t exactly flowing to our brains.

Sexiest woman on the course Karen D.

Sexiest woman on the course Karen D.

I found a nice secluded spot to drop all my goodies, and start my post-run routine of lunges, stretches and squats before I started socializing.  I caught Jessica at the VIP tent and thanked her for bringing me in and then proceeded to hang with Tara Lee, Cheryl, Karen, Teresa, Holly, Mike, Brian, Stephanie and who knows how many others at the beer tent while we listened to Sean Kingston play live on the stage of North Shore Park.

I didn’t pay for shuttle ticket out of principal, and I kinda decided prior to the race I would just run back, which was probably going to be more of walk by the way I felt.  I said my goodbyes to friends at the beer tent and headed back to the VIP area to say goodbye to Jessica, when she told me that she parked at the Trop as well, so we could just run together.  “You know, I don’t run as fast as your slowest jog.”, I told her, but she just blew that statement off and we ran back.  When I say we ran, I am not kidding.  This girl runs like the wind and even though we were keeping a good pace for me, I know she had to keep looking back and slowing down.  I will say, when I reached the car, I felt

In the beer garden

In the beer garden

pretty good.  Looser and more agile.  This was a feeling I was going to have to remember.  All in all, 16 miles for the day wasn’t to shabby.

Have you ever run again after a hard race? How did you feel?

Carpe Viam!!

The Nutty No-Excuse Goof

The line to register for IMFL 2013

To coin a bad phrase; “Oops, I did it again.”  I signed up for Ironman Florida for 2013.  The energy of Ironman is intoxicating and if you have any ambitions of competing in one you have to go and either spectate or volunteer.  You will either be so overwhelmed that you end up scared out of your mind, or you become so energized you sign up the next day.  I again had no intention of signing up.  I was planning on doing another Ironman, but I was thinking another location like Arizona, but between Pete, Jaime, Kat, Stan, Tom, Ken, Chuck, Todd, (and probably a few others I am missing), I couldn’t help but think how much fun it would be.  I basically trained mostly on my own for my Ironman in 2011, but this time it will probably be a lot more fun.

Anne, Marai and I after they both crossed the Finish Line

What also helped was volunteering the day before and getting to be right there for my friends and watch them compete.  Anne, Marai, Eve, Summer, Kat, David, Rick, Iron Rick, Mary-Ellen, Carola and Jessica all did amazing.  A few of them with PRs if not for the IM distance but for this course.  I was so honored to be able to sneak in and put Anne’s Medal around her neck.  It seemed to mean a lot to her, and it meant a great deal for me as well.  It also helped to be there when Mirinda “Rinny” Carfrae ran past me and I cheered for her through the bull horn I was yelling through for gear bag numbers.  To be so close to someone with her talent is so inspiring.  She took 2nd and locked up her spot for Kona 2013, so I imagine her off-season will be nice and relaxing now that she is engaged.

Mirinda “Rinny” Carfrae as she zipped by me

Being that last year my goal was to do an Ironman, and I accomplished it.  This year, I may have to up the ante by adding Ironman Louisville to the list to make this the year of two Ironman distance races.  I am still not quite decided yet as there are logistics that have to be worked out, but I have heard good things about Louisville and because it is in the heat of August and is not the most popular Ironman, the registration stays open longer.  This allows me a little bit of time.  (Of course, I just put out a chunk of money for both the IMFL race and the deposit on the rental for next year, so I need a couple more weeks to save to pay for it.)

I feel like I am stronger than last year and I am definitely faster on the bike and run.  The swim still has a lot to be desired, so my focus on the off season will be a lot more swimming.  I am setting up my goals for next year.

The Goals

The Three of us…again.

Swim: 90 minutes or less (Aim: 1:15) – 1:15 – 1:30
Bike: Avg 20 mph or higher (Aim 21.5 mph) – 5:15 – 5:40
Run: Avg 9 min/miiles or less (Aim: 8:00) – 3:45 – 4:00
Transitions: 5 min or less – 10:00
Total: 10:40 – 11:20

The Plan:
Swim: 3x Week (Drills + Intervals, Tempo, Long)
Bike: 3x Week (Intervals, Tempo, Long)
Run: 3x Week (Speed, Tempo, Long)


The Periodization Cycle:
Strength: 3x Week (Heavy, Supersets, Endurance)
Yoga/Stretch: 2x per week (possibly more in Recovery Weeks)
To include A LOT of BRICKS!!!

2 Week – Base (Low Intensity, High Duration)
2 Week – Build (Med Intensity, Med Duration)
1 Week – Peak (High Intensity, Low Duration)
1 Week – Recovery (Low Intensity, Low Duration)

I decided last night to put my own plan together with the help of a bunch of resources to include what worked for me over the last year.  I will definitely be building in weekend workouts with the A-Train and speed workouts with Progressive, but besides that, if anyone wants to work out with me during the week, you are more than welcome.

The Goof’ On-Duty

I wanted to put this out there to not only give a glimpse into what goes on inside a goofy brain like mine but also to make myself accountable.  I hope to continue to blog about this new journey and while I am learning and experiencing I may be able to bring an ounce of motivational inspiration to anyone whom thought doing an Ironman was beyond their reach, because let’s face it; if I can do it, anyone can do it.

CARPE VIAM!

(Seize the Way! or Seize the Road)

How to Race Ironman Florida With Very Little Stress

I have a lot of friends that are competing in the Florida Ironman this weekend.  This is the granddaddy of endurance competitions right in the heart of the panhandle Florida at Panama City Beach.

I want to wish you all the best of luck and I know you will all be an Ironman at the end.  Of course, a couple of them already are, but that doesn’t change the challenge any.

As I did this last year I want to give you the lessons I learned while taking on this challenge.  Take them or leave them, but hopefully, you will take something out of it and if not another reader might find a helpful hint to take on their journey to the Ironman Triathlon in their future.

Left to right: Eve, Kat, Marai, Summer, Mary-Ellen & Iron Rick, Anne, Carola (Not pictured: Rick Jansik and David Nardoski)
  • Double check your gear on Thursday when you arrive.  Most likely you will know someone coming up on Friday, so they can bring an item you may have left behind.
  • Go to Athlete Check-In early Thursday or when you arrive on Wednesday.  Get it over with so you have all of your gear bags and as you unpack you can start to pack them.
  • Buy all of the SWAG and stuff you want early.  They run out fast and if you follow #2 then you will not have to wait in line.  For some reason, Ironman does not hire the fastest cashiers in the world and the line seems to take forever.
  • Swim a portion of the course early on Thursday morning as close to race time as possible.  Notice the current, the temperature, how long it took you to warm up, and any wildlife in the water.  Double check to make sure your wetsuit is fitting correctly and any adjustments you needed to make to feel comfortable.
  • Write these ideas and any other adjustments down.  Then the excitement of the race does not bode too well for memory cells.  It is best to be able to look over a checklist on Saturday Morning.
  • If you do not have the experience do not feel invincible enough to rent race wheels or if you do, rent them at home and bring your training wheels with you.  The weather may say 5-7 mph wind gusts on Friday, but that can change to 20 mph in a heartbeat and a lot of miles are spent in the crosswind.
  • Ride on Thursday as well.  Ride a few minutes in each of the major gears and in the low chainring to spin your legs and get some blood moving.  This will also check your bike for any adjustments you may need.  There is always a bike maintenance tent at the expo.  Ride after you swim in case you need to get some maintenance done.
  • Keep eating and keep hydrating especially on Thursday.  Thursday is actually more important than Friday as far as nutrition and rest are concerned.
  • Do not run on Thursday.  Save the pounding for Saturday.
  • Plan for a long, long sleep on Thursday.  The excitement is building but not enough to hinder your sleep on Thursday vs Friday.  Friday will be a completely anxious day and that night will be hard to sleep.  Get it on Thursday.  No alarms, no loud roommates, just sleep as long as you can.  Once your up, you’re awake and it will be hard to get back to sleep.
  • Walk through your transitions and even legs and make a checklist for your gear bags.  This works.  (ex.  I get out of the water, strip my wetsuit, go to the tent and I put on my shoes, helmet, glasses..etc…then write down “shoes, helmet, glasses, and anything else”)  Make sure you walk through your nutrition plan as well, to make sure you have enough nutrition on the bike.  If you are putting the powder in bottles, do that at this time as well.  It is your choice if you want to add the water today or tomorrow, but put the powder in the bottles.  (Personally I put my bottles completely together and put them in the freezer.  By the time you get on the bike they will be almost thawed and you will have ice cold hydration)
  • Put your gear bags together on Thursday night, when you are calmer.  You are more likely not to forget anything.  You will still have a  few things to put in them but the bulk will be there.
  • Plan for a special needs bag for the run, but ride with what you will need for the full 112 miles.  The stopping for the special needs bag is not worth the time.  Have what you need, and if you do come into a situation there are aid stations every 10 miles, they will help.
  • Do put a special needs bag aside for the run.  This is just for some warmer clothes just in case the temp drops.  You probably will not need it, but at least it will be there.  Do not trust the forecast in Panama City.
  • Do a 15/15/15 workout on Friday.  15 min swim, bike and then run to clear all the excess and get your legs feeling like they need to for the next morning.  It sounds weird for the day before such a hard day, but trust me this will make you feel much more confident.
  • After you return and shower after your little workout check your gear bags one last time.  Empty each of them out and run through your checklist one last time.  You can turn these in, pretty early on Friday, and you will want to so you can just relax the rest of the day.
  • Relax as much as possible on Friday.  Put your feet up, watch TV, play some cards, but relax.
  • Do not forget to eat and drink.  Follow your nutrition plan which should include your meals on Friday.
  • Lay down and try to sleep no later than 8:30.  3:30 am comes awfully quick.
  • Get up at 3:30a and take a shower.  This will awaken you and start your day.
  • Have a nice breakfast by 4:30.  This will make sure you have all the nutrients in your body by the 7 am start time.
  • If you train with a gel, have one in each sleeve of your wetsuit.  It is always a little chilly on Saturday morning, so even if it is uncomfortable, your wetsuit provides warmth.  If you have a sleeveless put the gels in your pant legs.  I also put a couple of Imodium as well, but that works for me.  I suggest it if you know it does not cause side effects for you.
  • Find your friends and have them near you at the start.  This helps.  It provides some comfort because the rest of the day…you will be most likely alone.
  • Have one of those gels 10 minutes before the start of the race and the second one while you are running back into the water on your second loop.
  • Put a smile on your face.  If you are terrified then fake it.  Most of the time faking it will make it true.
  • Trust your training it got you here now it is time to have confidence in it.
  • Do not eat or drink anything but water for the first 15-20 minutes of your bike.  Your body is making a switch.  Allow it to settle before you put anything in your stomach.
  • Ride your own race.  Do not worry if others are passing you.  You have a plan stick to it.  Enjoy the scenery and get lost in it.
  • If you have a watch with a timer use it.  I personally had my alarm go off every 15 minutes so I knew to make sure I was drinking and eating.  I knew that I had to take in a quarter of bottle every 15 minutes and a gu every 45.  In the Ironman if you get behind on your nutrition it is a hard fight back.
  • Salt – Make sure you have enough salt.  I took 250 mg every hour and I had no cramping at all.
  • Do not deviate from your plan.  You spent a lot of time putting this plan together do not deviate even if you feel great.  You never know what the course will bring.
  • HAVE FUN!  This may feel like the longest day of your life while you are competing, but after you cross the finish line it will feel like it went by in a blink of an eye.  Enjoy it!  You spent a lot of time training for this, have some fun.
  • Last but not least.  Watch when you are coming into the finish shoot.  If there are people around you, either slow a little or speed up and make sure you are alone as possible coming across the finish line.  This is going to be your moment.  It should be one of the few times in your life you should be selfish.  Savor it.  You swam, cycled and ran the whole thing alone, cross the finish line alone.  Trust me here, you will thank me for it when you see the video later.

I am so proud of all of you.  I am so lucky to be able to call you my friends and I know you will all be amazing.  I will be there volunteering and I really hope I get to see everyone.

Kick some booty.  Ironmen and women.

Carpe Viam!

Rev 3 Florida 70.3 Race Recap

Saturday was a phenomenal starting with watching a few of my girls PR at the Great Westchase 5k.  The night before I was contemplating going or not going, being that my race was the next day and I should really  just head to athlete check-in, get a little workout in and return to relax.  I couldn’t keep away though.  Just the thought of five of the ladies I coach at Fit2Run (my girls), having the ambition to run that morning, was enough that I just couldn’t stay away.  I really wanted to be there for them and cheer them on.

They all looked a little surprised when I arrived, but in a good way, at least I hope in a good way. I was shocked at the amount of people that showed up being that I barely ever heard of this race.  My girls, Sharon, Kim S., Molly, Sonja, and Donna were there and ready to rock and I even saw a few of them doing their prescribed warm-ups, which made me smile.  With my camera in tow, I was happy to grab a few shots, but I knew I shouldn’t run with them, but deep down I wanted to.

After the gun went off I grabbed a few action shots and raced over to the 1 mile mark, but I missed a few of them, so I just hung out about three-quarters-of-a mile from the finish and waited.  I grabbed photos of the women I saw, but I still ended up missing a couple.  When Sonja came a long I saw a certain, not pain, but concern on her face, so I decided to jump in and bring her across the finish line.  She is one of my projects, as she has been one of the few that continually asks questions, and genuinely wants to get better.  I have even put a personal plan together for her to run the Best Damn Race Half-Marathon.  She makes me so proud, as she continually gets better in more ways than one.  I brought her in, egging her to push just a little more and increase her cadence and speed.  She came across the line with a new PR and made this coach feel like the proudest papa ever.  To increase that feeling even more, I found that all of my girls PR’d and Sharon by more than four minutes which is HUGE!!

We hung around a bit and checked out the expo before I said my good-byes and started my journey south to Venice, Florida in order to Attend the Check-in for my own race.  The drive wasn’t bad from Oldsmar, around an hour-and-a-half, but it didn’t feel that long due to the radio blasting classic rock from 107.3 The Eagle.  I love that station.

When I arrived I was surprised at the organization of the check-in.  There were volunteers helping with everything to include parking.  After I received my packet and got my athlete bracelet I was told to go get my timing chip in the next shelter.  There stood two, large screen monitors with keyboards and little cameras at the top.  The staff member brought up the application where it asked for my bib number and then had all of my information loaded.  I verified it and then he coded a new chip and then took my picture.  I was curious and asked him what the picture was for and he informed me that as I would cross a mat about 200 yards from the finish, my picture would come up on a huge monitor above the finish line.  I was pleasantly surprised and excited about that.  I would probably not see it myself, but just the thought already started my heart pumping for the race.  I left that area and looked to my left and found a massage tent, and as I didn’t get a chance to see Lisa Jamison that week, I decided to check it out.  I again was surprised when I was told by the volunteer that a massage pre and post race were included in the registration.  They asked me what I was looking for and I told them I really just needed a good stretch and that is exactly what I got.  Three LMTs all took turns massaging and stretching my legs, arms and shoulders out.  This wasn’t some 20 minutes quicky rub down, this was a good 45 minute full-on stretch and it was awesome.

I caught up with Pete and Jaime after that and we all went over to get our SWAG bags, which by far was the best I had ever received.  A Headsweats visor, Blue-Seventy goggles, samples of Power bites and a new Powerbar and very little paper all tucked in a drawstring bag labeled with Muscle Milk.  The rest of the expo was pretty rudimentary, so we decided to head over to Sharkey’s for some lunch before the mandatory meeting.

The mandatory meeting brought on a surprise and a little fun.  The race director notified that due to the rough water, and the possible Red Tide warning, that it was possible that the swim would be cancelled or reversed.  What I haven’t mentioned as of yet, was that due to Hurricane Sandy, it was already very windy.  The waves in the ocean looked angry and rough.  One part of me was a little relieved, but it was outweighed by the side of me that was disappointed.  I mean I should have been excited due to the swim being my worst event, but it just wouldn’t, and later didn’t, feel like a true triathlon if the swim was cancelled.  I felt the last race of the season was going to be a huge disappointment without the swim, not to mention the high winds on the bike were also a concern.

At the end of the mandatory meeting there was a worst wet suit contest which was really entertaining.  Six athletes went onstage with really ugly wet suits, some worn, some bleached and one of the custom made was really terrible.  An athlete with this multi-colored, turquoise, purple, orange and black multicolored wet suit one by unanimous cheering and laughter by the athletes.  The top two ended up winning brand new wet suits provided by Blue-Seventy which was kinda cool for them.

I was continually impressed with Rev3 when I visited transition.  They didn’t have the rails that I was used to where the bike seat hooks underneath with just a little room to setup your bike and run gear, they had these wood boxes the ground that gave each athlete a sleeve where your bike tire was inserted allowing the bike to stand up on its own and the ease of removing it and returning it during the race, and a box for your gear and even more room between bikes.  Not to mention the little of added extra of personalizing your spot with your bib number and name printed on the box.

The rest of the night basically consisted of packing up my gear, changing an inner-tube on my bike and relaxing.  Oh, I will say one thing that the race provided that was really cool; race tattoos.  These are temp tattoos with my bib number for both arms and the back of my right hand and my age on the back of my right calf.  They looked extremely professional and were a lot easier to apply than  I thought.  Peel, stick, wet with a wash cloth and peel the back off.  Done.  I didn’t know how complicated it was going to be, so I applied them Saturday night and slept in them, and they looked just as good at 4 am when I awoke.

Pete, Jamie and I before the race

All of the athletes I knew had rented hotel rooms in Venice, but the ride was less than an hour, and I thought I would be better off sleeping in my own bed and having some solace time, prior to the race.  I was very happy I made that decision.  The ride down that early in the morning was easy and fast.  I had plenty of time to rack my bike in transition and lay out my shoes and stuff before the race.   As I walked up to transition I heard the announcer officially cancel the swim and proclaim the pros would have a 1.5 mile run prior to the bike but the age groupers would have a La Mond Time Trial start.  While the disappointment came over me I was also curious about this time trial start as I had never had that experience before.  Upon finishing I caught up with Pete and Jaime and socialized with them, Carola, Laurie, and some new friends we made.

Carola and I


Finally, after the pros finished their run and started on the bike the officials lined us up in bib order and started us at the Swim In as if we just came in from swim.  After the first athlete ran into transition they continued starting each athlete every 3 seconds.  I was bib 364 which gave me a good 5 minutes in line before I finally was started.  I ran to my bike, jumped into my shoes, put on my helmet, with clipping my chin strap, grabbed my bike and ran to the mount line.  I registered 1:37 for T1 which was ok, being that I was at the far end of my row and far from the bike out line.  The wind was howling the whole time on the bike, but luckily the first 25 miles or so had a great tail wind.  I was keeping speeds of 25-27 mph with medium effort and was feeling pretty good, even with some of the more experienced bikers passing me like I was standing still.  Even Pete caught me with his race wheels and flew by calling me to chase after him.  I kept him in sight for a good 5-6 miles until I lost him, which just at the point we turned into the wind.

It was brutal.  I never thought I could work so hard to reach speeds over 16 mph.  That is all I ended up thinking.  “No matter what I just can’t go below 16.”  It is such an arbitrary number but it sticks with me for some reason.  I just refused to go under it.  Later on this might had led to another problem, but I will get to that in a minute.  Around mile 40 there was relief of about four miles, but even that was quickly defeated by turning back into the 20 mph headwinds that plagued us all on the back half of the course.  After mile 20 I wasn’t really passed again, however I was doing my fair share of passing which was nice ego boost.  I caught up to Jaime who started 260 people in front of me and even Blaine who was ahead of me by 100 or so.  I was feeling pretty good in that arena, but I just couldn’t catch Pete.  I tried though.

When I got back into transition I was noticing a little pain in the arch of my right foot.  I never felt that before, so I just shrugged it off, but when I returned my bike it’s sleeve in transition, and donned my running shoes, I felt this sharp pain in my foot like I was running with a nail stuck in the ball of my right foot.  I seriously thought I somehow broke my foot.  I left transition within 90 seconds only to end up sitting on the curb howling in agony at the pain in my foot.  I took off my shoe, massaged it and started rolling it over the curb and the pain was so intense tears started welling up, and not just due to the actual pain, but for the brief thought I might DNF.  I said to myself, forget it, I am going to finish this thing if I have to hop the 13.1 miles and crawl across the finish line.  I put back on my shoe and started to run slowly.  I was so relieved when the pain started to disappear.  I didn’t quite have my legs after the bike, but at least my foot wasn’t broken and hopefully the pain would subside completely and soon.

Digressing back when I first entered transition, Pete yelled at me as he had just crossed the timing mat, to come and catch him.  Well, even after hanging out for a bit, I caught him before the first mile marker.  He was hurting pretty bad and I was hoping he was alright.  We stopped for a minute to stretch and then we walked and then ran for a bit.  Just about the first mile marker Pete cramped up really bad and he just shouted for me to go on and even after I doubled back to make sure he was all right, he shooed me away so I ended up back in familiar territory; alone or alone as one can be in a race with 500 athletes.

My legs were still a little stiff, but they slowly loosened up.  When I hit the second aid station, I grabbed some water, but at the third station I walked through it grabbing water and Pepsi washing down a Honey Stinger gel along with it.  Interestingly enough, I had just recently found that Coke or a cola of any kind, really helps during a triathlon run.  Not as much in a fresh run, but in a triathlon it sends a bolt of sugar right to the glycogen stores and seems to give me this little lift, just enough to make me feel like I can push a little harder.  Problem is, it is short lived, but combined with the right other source of sugar it can keep me going for at least a couple of miles until I hit another aid station.  That ended up being my strategy.  Walk through every other aid station grabbing water and coke(Pepsi) until I got to the last garbage can and they I started running again.

The run was two loops with this two mile, out-and-back concrete trail along a canal.  That was the part I wasn’t happy about.  First, it felt like it would go on forever and second it was concrete and I could feel the impact.  I adjusted the best I could by lifting my knees and landing as softly as possible, but it just wasn’t enough because I could feel it in my legs at times.  On the long canal trail I saw Jaime on my left after the turn-around, and it didn’t seem like she was that far behind me and then I passed by Blayne who was looking really strong.  They both inspired me to push a little harder.  I was feeling stronger at the start of the second loop so I started to lean from my ankles a little more and raise my cadence.  The second loop seemed a lot shorter than the first, not that I wasn’t terribly thrilled when I saw a sign “Half Mile to Go”.  I powered through that last 800 meters passing two other athletes in my age group.  About 100 meters prior to the finish line I heard in a huge booming voice, “And from Tampa Florida, Brad Minus coming down arms wide looking like a champ.”  I was ecstatic, exhausted and in a lot pain.  The pain in my legs was terrible.  I knew it was a soreness from the race, but it was a pain a little more intense than normal.   A handler walked me through as I was awarded my finisher medal and handed a Gatorade and a water, making sure I was stable.  After I assured him I was fine he took my chip, told me congratulations and pointed out the amenities for the finishing athletes.  I wanted to wait for Jaime, but I knew if I didn’t get someone to work on my legs before I cooled down entirely I was going to be in even more pain later, so I headed for the massage tent.

I didn’t have to wait long til I was lead to a table where a Chiropractic student named Marceia, worked me over.  In other races and even while watching some of the other volunteer massage therapists work over other athletes I usually see a cookie cutter approach to working on athletes.  Meaning, like an assembly line, athletes are brought in each one is worked on in the exact same way.  I only say Marceia work on the athlete prior to me and I was wondering if it was going to be the same way.  I was so delighted when it wasn’t.  She continued to ask me about my soreness and pain levels as she worked on me, and she was even using the same techniques that Lisa uses with me and even better, she did nothing to me that was even similar to the athlete prior to me.  This woman had instincts and they were good ones.  When I got off the table I was still a little sore but I felt 90% better.  Thank you Marceia wherever you are.

I heard Jaime cross while I was waiting and by the time I finished my massage I saw Pete from a distance come across, so we were all in at this point.  Chris and Fallon had come to watch and pleasantly surprised me by staying for the entire race.  I am so impressed with Revolution 3 and everything they had available.  It was actually possible to cross the finish line and walk right over to the results tent, type in your bib number and immediately check all of your splits, and since it was web based anyone who is tracking an athlete was able to receive real-time information.  The very second an athlete crosses a timing mat, anyone in the world could see the time if they are on the web page.  The last few Ironman races I have either watched or competed in, my followers have told me the lag could have been up to an hour after the split was crossed.

Jamie, Pete and I afterwards

After, some pics and some socializing we checked our times and awesomely found that Jaime had placed in her age group.  While looking at the computer it looked as though she had taken third, but when she was actually called for second place during the awards ceremony.  Congrats Jaime!

I ended up breaking the 5 hour mark at a final time of 4:59.13 with 2:49 bike and a 2:06 half marathon, so I was happy with my performance.  If there was a swim, I probably would have come in right around the same as Augusta, and I was glad for that.

This ends my triathlon season.  I am in the midst of planning my off season and I have already titled it, S3F.  Speed, Strength, Swim & Flexibility.  I plan on working on my speed on the bike and the run, adding some endurance strength especially in my back and arms in order to increase speed in the water, doing more work in the pool on my form to try and relax and reduce my time in the water and increase my flexibility to protect my back and lengthen my stride and stroke.  I am planning on competing in Tough Mudder in December with the A-Train, probably doing the Clearwater Marathon and maybe a couple of other short races just to keep my edge a little, before the first race of my season which at this point will be St. Anthony’s in April 2013.

Carpe Viam!

The Goof goofs – Twisted Tuesday

It happened even before I realized it.  I was on the ground with a burning sensation on my chest and both of my knees.  “OUCH! Son of monkey’s uncle!” (edited for content).   I face planted during a sub eight minute mile during a run on Davis Island this morning. (Pause for laughter) (Pause for more laughter) It’s ok I’ll wait.

I hope everyone does laugh because it is funny.  Here I am, Ironman, Running Coach and motivator, on the ground bleeding for a full 10 seconds.  What makes it even more funny, is that I teach two major aspects when I coach form.  First is to raise your knees in order to make you lighter like a gazelle, second is to look five feet in front of you.  Well,obviously if I was actually following my own advice this wouldn’t have happened.  (Pause for more laughs)

Ouch!

There I am.  I scraped and bruised both hands, my chest and both knees.  Needless to say the shower hurt and of course the Hydrogen Peroxide “bath” stung as well, but nothing compared to my ego.  Don’t get me wrong it was still dark, and the curb was one of those six-inch step ups, but I still should have seen it.

What makes matters worse, is that I was running with Scott and Sarah out by the airport and a biker came by and suggested we have lights on because he couldn’t see us.  I understood that, it made sense, but would I even think about adding more weight for lights?  I have ran that route a thousand times, he wasn’t going to hit me and I sure would never hurt myself running.  Biking?  Maybe, but surely not just running.  That incident happened all of ten minutes before I bit the concrete. It tastes a little salty this time of year from the sweat that seeps off all the runners, but it isn’t bad.
It did remind me of some safety aspects we as athletes need to think about, especially if we work out in the morning or at night.  Daylight is not coming as early or staying as late this time of year so we need to take some more precautions.  Here is just a couple of gentle reminders of tips you may know or may not:
1) Use a reflector belt when running in darkness.  They are light and you can just put them around your waist.  I was required to have these belts in the military and I hardly remembered they were there, but I also could see the people around me. 
2) Lights come in all shapes and sizes both to help you see and help bikes, people and cars see you.  There is a great visor light that allows you to see the road in front of you and also lets the cars see you.  Also there are plenty of red lights that can be attached to your shorts or fuel belt for your back.  
3) It is not a bad idea to run with pepper spray or some kind of defensive spray that can be reached easily if  you run alone.  This means guys too.  Don’t get an ego if you are out there alone.  No one will be around to see you anyway.  Of course the best thing is to always run in groups at night and it is a heck of a lot more fun.
4) If you are running on the road, run on the left against traffic.  First, it makes it easier for cars to see you and you have more time to assess if you are in danger to move out of the way.  Second, it is actually the law.  I have never seen it enforced, but it is the law.  Pedestrians against traffic, bikers with traffic.
5) Keep a change of clothing or at least a shirt change in your car.  Sometimes you don’t realize how much you sweat during the cooler months and when you start to cool down it will get uncomfortable.  After your cool downs, change your shirt before heading home or anywhere else.  It may be just a short ride, but you will thank me for it.
Well, that is all the tips for this week.  I wish you all the best workouts possible this week, and if you are here in Tampa come out to Cork & Olive, in Brandon,  on Thursday at 6:30 for Run for a Cause.  I’ll be there with my group.  Message me on Facebook or use the contact page and I can give you more info if you would like.

 Carpe Viam!