May Is For Racing! St. George 70.3 and Other Stuff

I'm basically breaking up my 2014 race season into 2 halves. First half A race was a return to St. George Utah for the Ironman 70.3 funfest on May 3rd. I really had a great experience last year including my second 70.3 World's Championship qualifier and my first Ironman podium. I went into this race with a goal to improve on my overall time (comparing it to the same course in 2013) and get on that podium again. If I was fortunate to qualify for Worlds again, I would pass it up. Due to my second half of the year A race goal; IM Arizona, there is no way I'm getting to Mont Tremblant in September. 

We had quite the Tri-Geek road trip. The entourage included my partner in crime and CTS teammate, Russ Brandt (we share the same coach - Nick White) another Kona boy and local phenom, Jonathan Coffen, and the buff and young,  Nic Wirski. We all were returning for different reasons, for Nic, it was redemption after struggling last year on the run after a blistering bike. For Russ and Jon, it was check on their 40 plus year old bodies (babies!) and see where they are and where they need to be when all three of us go for it at IMAZ in November. For my goals, re-read paragraph one above!

With four bikes, a Yakima roof shell and a decent amount of testosterone we loaded into my Toyota Sequoia and left for Utah Thursday, May Day.

All four of us shared one hotel room. We became even closer...anyway, Thursday night we found our local pad, George's Pub and Grill and overtook the basement pool room and made it our own. Friday was the normal pick up race wheels, get to the reservoir for a swim and ride. Early dinner (so early, we are again!) and early to bed.

Race Day:

Swim

There were 24 waves and I was in the 22nd. The pros went off at 7am. I went at 7:57am. The weather in the morning was warmer than last year do the wait wasn't that bad. The water was perfect at approx 64 degrees. I found my rhythm and felt pretty conservative but ok on the 1.2 Mike counter clockwise course (with LOTS of buoys). There is always a false sense of accomplishment when you find yourself passing previous wave swim caps (Male 50-54 was eraser pink) but te reality is the swimming studs of your AG are actually ahead in another zip code. 

0:33:58. 1:45/100m. 20th in AG.

St. George is a point to point race so you have to keep a clean transition stuffing your wetsuit goggles and cap into the bag where you find you bike helmet, glasses and shoes. Everything went good and I found my spot and got to work. 

T1  Swim to Bike 3:07

Bike

Everything about the IMSG bike is patience, speed, hills, scenery and, did I say patience? Russ told me last year that the race really starts at mile 40 as we enter into the hilly and beautiful Snow Canyon. 5 miles of steady climbing but if you take it too hard and play the hero, then you WILL pay for it on the run. Again, no surprises on the up and down course. I always laugh inside at the car and mouse game that happens during an Ironman bike leg. My MO is I beat the big boys up the hills and then the buzz by me on the down hills. Back and forth. This played out over and over again. I work to take in 250-300 calories on the bike per hour. I can do that with one water bottle with a concentrated mix of Fix Performance and Hammer Heed along with one gel flask of EFS Liquid Shot (400 calories) of course, I have water as well. Water is the only thing I take aid stations. I took it nice and steady entering Snow Canyon enjoying (relatively speaking) the volunteer signs along the five mile climb. Signs that said things like "Shut Up Legs!"  He last sign you see at the top said, "Your Face Make a Bad Brake Pad!" That is the cue you are heading home to downtown St. George and if you dare, you can get to speeds over 45 mph. I didn't...

2:45:25. 20.31mph 14th in AG.

At a point to point race you have to be thinking where your T2 bag is racked. Fortunately, I had a great spot near the run out blow up that was easy to find. Again, you pack your bike equipment in the bag you will find your visor, shoes and nutrition. 

T2  Bike to Run 2:29

Run

I LOVE this course. It is mostly asphalt and concrete, an out an back. Exactly like my training routes near home on Happy Valley Rd. You climb right away and I relied on my short stride and high cadence to start a game of "Find my AG and Pass Em!" It kept my mind focused and it was working like a dream. I carry PowerGel Double Latte (2x Caffeine) gels to take one out of T2 then one every half hour. I drink water, and cola alternating at each aid station. I started another new game of "Pass But Don't Get Passed" which was fun since my wave was so late at the start. It's also encouraging not only passing guys in my own AG but also guys with 20, 30 or 40 something scribbled on their calf. There is really no way of knowing what place you are in until you find a friend or your phone after the finish but I was hopeful I was on a good position to podium. I was running 2 minutes faster than last year. With a mile left and a turn onto the last main stretch home, I was smiling and thinking I had done all the road killing I could do for the day. Then...

I look ahead at a fit 5'7" muscular triathlete with a close shaved head that had some very short GREY hair and also a faster cadence than me. I tried to get closer and it took work to try to make out the marking on his calf. I thought, "no way there's still another guy to catch!" " "I'm done!" I told myself in a self pity kind of consolation. I could make out a "0" and I realized the scribble above that wasn't a "4" or "3". Yes, it said "50". I am not known for my finish line sprints! (See my Leadman finishing chute pics!) Then another thought entered my mind. "What I he's in 5th Place?" I will be very upset if I didnt go for it and try to get him. There is an aid station with less than a 1/4 mile to the finish (mainly for those starting the run coming on the other side). The guy did slow down just slightly and that was my chance. I came up right behind him, confirmed his age and as we came to a traffic circle roundabout with 500 yards to go and the finish line in sight. I kept it going and at the Iromman carpet I looked back and he was not going to get me. He WAS in 5th place.

1:31:54. 7:00/mi. 5th in AG.

It took a while to verify the final standing because I passed him so close to the finish. My individual results had me in 6th but the 50-54 AG list showed me in 5th. In fact, there ws only 10 seconds between 4th/5th/6th place. I guess I should've worked one more guy!

That afternoon's award ceremony also gave the Divison 2 Club Award to One Multisport!

We went to the Club Reception then eventually found even more friends like John and Brooke Schohl, Dee Frash, back at our basement at George's to celebrate! 

I credit (of course) my coach Nick White with Carmichael Training Systems for helping me get my goal. I also attribute my strength at the race end to my Endurance work with Coach Will Burkhart and Josh Otero at Power In Motion Crossfit. I can't thank my bike sponsor, Valdora Cycles with Pete and Kendra Olson for the beautiful new PHX2 I broke in at this race. Of course my club, One Multisport and my teammates on the ONE Elite Team for all their support.

Just this past Sunday, it was so great to race locally at the Tempe International Tri.  The level of talent in the AZ 50-54 AG is just amazing. The overall top 30 in the race had the superstars John Poisson, Geoff Cleveland, Steve Rink and Todd Witten. There is no rest for the old and competitive! It rivals anything you find at an Ironman event. Anywhere!

Onward to second half of the season goals that will get me to the starting line at IMAZ and my desire to get that Kona slot. There I said it!

Until next time!

Dan

And the 2014 Season Begins...

Every season brings on basically the same thoughts and emotions. You'd think I'd get used to the performance anxiety I feel (careful, I'm talking about racing here) every time I look at my new year race schedule. As a retuning member and lead of the One Multisport www.onemultisport.org Elite Team, there is pressure to perform.  Will I be good enough? Will I be able to compete and have fun? It happens every year. 

The year kicked off positively with my 11th consecutive Rock and Roll AZ full marathon on January 19th. After returning to the ranks last year on the sub 3 hour club, my plan was to do it again on this familiar course. I've said it before and I'll say it again...sub 3 hour marathons hurt for 3 hours! Especially the last hour. 

I went out a little faster than planned but felt very good clipping away at 6:38-6:41 min miles.  At the 13.1 point I was right where I wanted to be at 1:27.  I know the man maker really starts at mile 22 when the left hand turn takes you onto Van Buren to become Mill Ave. There is the only substantial hill at that point that leaves the most fit walking. With my reserves in he bank, I felt confident I was going to make my goal. However, at mile 20 my left hamstring cramped. It worked out without much time lost and the right hamstring seized up at mile 22 right before the turn home to Tempe. I was concerned but doing the math in my head, I felt safe. The final result was a PR of 2:58:44 a 7 second improvement from my record of 7 years ago in 2007! Welcome to my 50s! A big thank you to my coach, Nick White with Carmichael Training Systems www.trainright.com getting my marathon plan dialed in as well as my triathlon season the rest of the year!

There was a long gap before the first significant triathlon race this year. With IMAZ coming in November, I am making a conscience effort to race less and train more. 

The Leadman Tri on April 13th was that first local race of distance and I wanted to I well. The distances mirror the 70.3 ironman but with a longer swim (2.5k a longer bike (109.5k) and a shorter trail run (13k). I have to admit I'm always am looking at my competition. This, my second season in 50-54, every year brings new competitors and old (no pun intended) favorites. Besides phenom Geoff Cleveland, new guys who aged up like Salvador Lancaster from SoCal and Paul Hert from Washington State have the big 5-0 bdays this year! Another great triathlete and top USAT All-American who came to town was Rusty Robertson. 

Dang! No cake walk! The swim was forgettable but not a catastrophe. 42:33 for which my Garmin says was 1.8 miles. No extra credit for extra distance in triathlon. Sighting drills for Town Lake are a must! The bike was a 4 loop urban course. My goal to keep same was to see how close to 45 min I could stay for each loop. No problem for loops 1 and 2. Loop 3 saw the most traffic with the Marquee International and Sprint races well on their way. The wind began to pick as well. I came into transition for a 3:08:37. The 3rd best bike split in AG. I just upgraded my Valdora Phx2 frame the week of the race. I am so pleased with it and so honored to represent Valdora Tri Bikes again for my 3rd year! www.valdoracycles.com. Once on the run, I knew I could hopefully get a feel for where I stood in the race. I knew Geoff was WAY ahead with 31:56 (not a typo) swim split! Last year he had 9 minutes on my and beat me to the tape by 30 seconds! This year, he was able to run and no 8 mile run of mine was going to catch him! On the pedestrian bridge at the beginning of mile 2, I saw a Mark Allen Elite Race Team kit that I thought belongs to Jonathan Coffen. It wasn't him, it was Rusty Robertson. Age 52 on his calf. I clipped ahead and passed him before we crossed that bridge. That was the motivation I needed to push forward and run scared to try to podium. I didn't know where Salvador or Paul were at at all.  I saw Geoff on the other side of the canal and he had a good 7-9 minutes on me. I came into the final stretch of the run  and was pleased with my AG best run split of the day 1:02:27.  Final time and belt buckle award time was 4:56:14.  

Second in AG for the day.  

Thee are many goals for this my first full year at 50. One is to build strength and power to sustain me during these long endurance races. I am having a lot of fun adding Crossfit to my weekly core schedule. I go 2-3 times a week at noon to Power in Motion Crossfit www.powerinmotioncrossfit.com for an endurance based workout that includes strength training and an endurance WOD. I am looking forward to see great results from this and am so pleased to have Josh Otero and PIM as a ONE Elite sponsor this year!  

Next stop is a week from today at Ironman 70.3 St. George ! Race report to follow. 

Special thanks to my 2014 sponsors, One Multisport and ONE Elite which include Destination Kona www.dktristore.com, Foosia Asia Fresh www.foosiafresh.com Power in Motion Crossfit, Complete Skincare and Body Restoration www.completeskincareandbodyrestoration.com Fix Performance www.fixperformance.com as well as my sponsors: Valdora Tri Bikes, Spira Footwear www.spira.com and Fitsok www.fitsok.com.  

Train safe everyone and happy racing

Dan

My Rookie Season Begins or Welcome! 50-54

This, my latest Blog post title, is inspired by a Facebook comment made after posting a picture this past Saturday with my friends, Bryan Dunn and Russ Brandt as we held our Ironman 70.3 World Championship Letters.  "Nice to be a rookie!"  It said.  Amen!  I've said it before, Triathlon is one of the main reasons, we weekend age group warriors look forward to getting older!  If you have spent any time near me this past year, you know I am turning 50 in 2013.  Yippee!  The "new kid on the block!", my "rookie season!"  My first dip in this AARP card carrying pool came at the Lifetime Fitness Tri www.lifetimetri.com Tempe Leadman Epic 125 and the, my "A" race of this early season, Ironman 70.3 St.George.

Leadman Report

The annual Marquee weekend was a huge Triathlon festival with USAT Collegiate Nationals taking place along with the normal Sprint and Olympic races.  The longer 70.3 race was replaced with Lifetime's Leadman 125 distance including a 2.5k swim, 109.5k bike and 13k run (including trails).  For those of you that are metric challenged, this format has a longer swim and bike than the traditional 70.3 Half Ironman and the run is closer to 8 miles instead of the 13.1 normal half marathon.  No secret to anyone that this takes away my running advantage I sometime can muster for Half Ironman success. I was very willing to do this race and gauge my race fitness/readiness for St. George.

Swim

At the pre race meeting on Saturday, I saw Geoff Cleveland.  A retired Lt. Col in the Air Force and multiple Kona racer...and in the 50-54 AG.  Geoff is legendary in my books.  A race like Marquee or Soma can also bring in Colorado, Nevada and California "ringers" that you have no clue about.  I call ringers out of town Podium Stealers who come in and leave as fast as they race!  I also know Geoff was/is a tremendous swimmer.  Great...

Wave starts were not crowded and I had plenty of time to enter the water after singing the National Anthem for the event.  I ritual included water and a gel a half hour before race start and an E6 Energy shot www.E6energy.com a faithful sponsor of our ONE Elite Team.  My pool work is solid but I have a lot of open water sighting and turnover to do.  I was hoping for a 42 min split but exited the water in just over 45 minutes.  Nothing completely hopeless but after reviewing final times, it was over 12 minutes over Geoff's swim split of...are you ready?  33:31.  Ouch!

Swim: 45:28  (Geoff 33:31)

T1: 1:42 (Ironically exactly the same as Geoff)

Bike

Lifetime regretted to inform us the week leading to the race that an agreement with the local Indian Community was not reached so bikig the Beeline wasn't going to happen.  Instead we has approx. four 17 mile Tempe loops to complete the 68+ mile bike leg.  This could be mind numbing, but I set my Garmin 910xt to go off at every 5 miles to check my progress.  It was basically clear for the first lap because the Olympic and Sprint races started 1 and 2 hours after we did.  Laps 3 and 4 were busier with traffic and loop 4 was mainly Leadman athletes.  I prepared with a goal of my standard 300 calorie intake every hour.  Two 20 oz. water bottles had First Endurance EFS Grape www.firstendurance.com mixed with our ONE Multisport www.onemultisport.org ONE Elite sponsor, Fix Performance www.fixperformance.com Carb powder that gave me a concentrated mix of just under 250 calories.  I also has one flask on EFS gel (vanilla) that is 400 calories.  I took water at aid stations for hydration.  I would drink and chuck the bottle safely when I needed to. My Garmin clicked off the multiple 5 mile intervals at completely different places on the course but I felt strong and every alert came in at 13:00 to 13:30 mins.  I only rode up to 70 miles in prep for the race so I did wish it would be over at 56 miles but more for repetition than for fatigue.

Bike: 3:05:19  22.3 mph average (Geoff - 3:06:23 - I gained a minute on him!)

T2: 1:23  (Geoff 2:03 - I'm gaining!!! well...)

Run

The 13k format has us run along the Tempe Arts Center on concrete and over the pedestrian bridge before hitting the trails.  I was glad for this to get my city boy running legs under me and turn over my 92+ rpm cadence. I take a gel when I leave transition and one every half hour.  My favorite is 2x caffeine Power Gels www.powerbar.com I have been concerned about my right calf that acts up on up hills and trails.  Just great!  It tweaked a little at the beginning of mile 2 as I stepped in a small hole but it got better.  I concentrated on a mid foot stride instead of a toe strike up the hills and it paid off.  I began passing earlier wave runners and looked ahead to the canal where I could maybe see where Geoff was. before heading back.  I saw a lot of recognizable triathletes but missed Geoff.  I don't know how, but I did.  I gained speed on the remaining 3 miles back to the finish line transitioning to coke, ice and water then...FINALLY on the Mill Ave. Bridge with less than a half a mile to go, I saw Geoff.  Unfortunately for me, he also saw me.  I sprinted and so did he and I finished 28 seconds behind him.

Run: 59:21 7:20 pace (Geoff 1:09:28) Almost!!!!

Total: 4:53:30  44th Overall  41 Male 2nd in 50-54 AG

St. George 70.3

My goals for St. George were simple, yet not known to too many...Podium at an Ironman event and a Vegas World's slot.

I traveled with Russ Brandt and Nic Wirski to Utah on Thursday.  After check in at the hotel, we headed to register and packet pick up.

Friday we drove to the Reservoir to swim and bike a little.  The water was calm and cold at 60 degrees.  The red rock and sand was beautiful!  The forecast was great but Ironman hasn't been good to Utah and the past couple of years form the full Ironman format was a swimmer's disaster.  We were hopeful the switch to the 70.3 event and the US Pro Championships would vanquish any demons ready to ruin our Saturday!

Raceday

We had dropped off our bike Friday, late afternoon and we woke to a hotel breakfast open at 4am.  We were at T2 by 5:00 am to catch the school bus shuttles to the reservoir swim start and T1.  The Pro waves began at 6:55 a.m.  There were 20 waves and I was in wave...19.  The only wave after me was men 55-59.  (Something to look forward to I guess)  Basically, everyone was on the course before me and my "Old Guys Rule" wave of 50-54.  (A guy actually yelled that before our gun went off!)

Swim

After a so so swim at Leadman, I wanted to push the pace a little here.  Every minute counts at these races where championship slots are at stake!  I figured I needed to be in the top 20 out of the water, ideally top 10 off the bike and top 5 finisher to meet my goals.  We swam a 100 yds to the buoy start and that was enough to get my face numb and used to the cold water.  Full wetsuit and no neoprene cap needed for me in the 61 degree water.  I passed so many swimmers.  I felt my turn over was better and hoped for a 32 min exit.  I wasn't too disappointed when I looked at my Garmin and saw 34 minutes runnig into T1.

Swim: 34:34 18th in AG

T1: 2:25

Bike

We drove the bike course after our bike drop off Friday.  Russ has ridden the Full Ironman the year before and he wisely stated that the race begins at mile 40 at the entrance of the Snow Canyon Park.  Big Climbing that can ruin the run coming ahead.  I followed the same nutrition regime as in Leadman and felt very good all day.  The miles on this one big loop ride was fun and every hill came with some relief.  My Valdora PHX2 www.valdoracycles.com handled like a dream.  Russ and I are coached by Nick White with Carmichael Training Systems www.trainright.com and our recent Tri School camp in March had me adjust my seat up for a better angle.  The end of the ride is fast and furious at top speeds.  I was still conservative the entire bike knowing I just need to be in the top 10 and then run down the oldie but goodie boys.

Bike: 2:43:52  20.5 mi/h 12th in AG

T2: 2:30

Run

We didn't get to drive the run course Friday.  I studied the website elevations but still thought I remembered 4 miles of up hill before any relief.  I also had stressed all week about my calf.  The Friday before, Elliot Kawaoka joined the regular ONE crew for one more Bartlett Lake open water swim and run.  The swim was great but I really felt some pulling on that right calf on the hilly 45 min run.  It was probably race week, but I felt it hurt every day leading to race day.  I iced it and elevated it and wore CEP Compression www.cepcompression.com socks or sleeves every day.  My biggest concern was not being able to run like I had trained.  I need my run to reach my goals.  I started the run and felt great.  Power Gel ad water and I was on my way...up hill trekking along at a high cadence.  I thought to myself, "The calf feels fine" then at .75 in the 1st mile, it tightened up.  Crap!  But I didn't slow down and it worked itself out.  I noticed I was passing a lot of guys including a couple that had 50 something written on their left calf!  I was pleasantly surprised that a down hill came before mile 3.  I chose to wear the Spira www.spira.com Stinger 2s for the run. They felt awesome and I had zero issues.  I zoomed down as fast as I could. This energized me for the next hill and so on and so on.  Another 50 something road kill!  Then another.  I made it to the 6.55 mile turnaround and felt very good.  I knew the return route from watching and living it in reverse so I went for it.  Before I knew it, I was at mile 10 with less than a 5k to go.  I no longer was any 50 somethings written on athlete legs but rather 30 and 40 something.  I turned left onto St. George Blvd. thinking, this is what I trained for.  The 4amdark runs and intervals, the TrainingPeak www.trainingpeaks.com posts on Facebook, it all came down to this! A little joke by the run course director had us turn left into a neighborhood at mile 12 that had us go uphill and back just to add mileage.  Really???  After this, it was fast and hard to the Ironman carpeting!  Still, not really knowing where I stood yet.

Run: 1:33:51 7:09/mi  4th in AG (Fastest run split by 3 minutes in AG)

Total Time: 4:57:12  172 Overall 142 Males and 4th AG.

After the finish, I couldn't find anyone.  I almost asked a stranger to use their smart phone.  I finished before 1pm and found out we couldn't get to our warm clothes bags (where my Iphone was) until 2pm.  Later I did find an Ironman staff that had a laptop and could give results.  I waited my turn and then after giving her my race number, 2363, I let her know I only needed to know my age group place.  She looked for what seemed like an hour and said, "Dan Cadriel, you are....4th in the 50-54 males.  I was very happy!  First thought was, "Podium!"  One goal down.  No word on slot allotment until 2pm.  The whole world starts back up at 2pm obviously!  I did meet up with Russ, Elliot, Nic and Bryan Dunn at the food tents and we waited it out for slots.  Elliot is an Accountant so he predicted 4 slots in my AG and reassured me I was going to Vegas in September.  Near 2pm a women scotch taped a white piece of paper to the Ironman table.  I walked over and ran my finger from top to bottom until it stopped at "Male 50-54"  Then running it left to right it stopped again at the number 4.  Four slots allotted.  Goal #2 reached!  Bryan also placed 4th in the 45-49 AG and Russ placed 5th in the 40-44 AG.  We wnet to get our bags and returned to pay for the 70.3 World Championships.  The women asked me if I wanted to take my award now,  I said, "No, we will be back for the wards presentations."  She replied, "I don't blame you at all!"  It was very fun to join our local Goodyear, AZ superstar and the winner of our AG, John Poisson on stage.  He was on fire Saturday!  Local AZ stars, Todd Shoemaker, Jonathan Coffen and Adam Folts also got slots at roll down.  Locals, Linda Hurley and Robert Barry also placed 1st and 7th in their age groups respectively.  All in all, it was one of those race days that went basically as best as it could. 

I want to thank my coach Nick and CTS for my coaching, Spira, ONE Multisport and Valdora for such great products and a club I am so proud to represent.  Fitsok www.fitsok.com, Extreme Endurance www.xendurance.com for my recovery and lactic acid management, Shamrock Farms Rockin Refuel www.rockinrefuel.com for the lactose free chocolate milk I use for recovery and Isagenix www.isagenix.com for my daily nutrition regime.

The season is young...and I'm not!  But I still feel like a rookie!

Until next time!

Dan

2013 New Season / New Goals

I was called out by my ONE Elite Teammate, Elliot Kawaoka, recently that it was September 2012 since my last blog post.  Where did the fall go?  How did the Holiday's fly by without a year end summary, recap and singing of "Auld Lang Syne"?

There was plenty to talk about!  My Triathlon season closed with a successful finish at the Red Rock Co. www.redrock.com  Soma Half Iron Triathlon on October 21st.  This would be my 6th 70.3 race of the year.  (There is an asterisk on my Boise 70.3 since most of the bike leg was cancelled) But still 6 races none the less!  Soma seems to attract out of towner age groupers, especially from Southern California so you never really know who your competition will be!  This would be my final USAT age group Triathlon in the 45-49 age group.  (Good riddance!)  So I wanted to finish Strong! 

Everything went as planned, even on a tired body full of races.  The swim was a combination of 45-49 and 50-54 age group men. WE waited in line to enter Tempe Town Lake trash talking the youngsters in front of us telling them that we would catch them soon!  It was a wetsuit legal swim so after my traditional rendition of the National Anthem, we were all off!  I have to confess, that I don't remember anything particular about the swim since it was way back in October, and that's a good thing.

  

Swim: 35:37 15th in AG, 80th Male, 110 Overall

The bike is full of local turns and familiar Tempe locations.  No Beeline on this course but it's flat and fast.  The two loop course is a good test of nutrition and strategy to hold a position and save the legs for the half marathon.  I felt good picking up faster swimmers and taking in my nutrition that included First Endurance EFS Electrolyte Mix and Carbo Pro.  I took a shot every half hour of the EFS gel as well.

Bike: 2:29:35  2nd in AG, 22nd Male, 28th Overall

The run is my place to shine.  I especially have been grateful this year to Extreme Endurance www.xendurance.com  for the use of their product this year.  The benefits of reducing lactic acid and speeding recovery at my age is vitally important!  I hit the run fast and I felt I knew the course well enough to know where and when to push it and when to settle in and coast.  My goal was to try for another sub 1:30 time.  Everything went well, utilizing the hydration on the course, enjoying the calf muscle compression benefits of my CEP Compression Sleeves www.cepcompression.com  and my Spira Stinger XLT racing flats. www.spirafootwear.com and my fitsok socks www.fitsok.com . I really enjoyed catching the younger runners out there on the 2 loop course.  Heat wasn't a major issue, then again, after Vegas 70.3 World Championships in September, nothing seems hot anymore! It was a tough last 5 miles and my pace did suffer a little. I was going to be over the sub 90 minute goal but I held on passing more runners as I worked the end of the last lap. I latched onto a 40-44 age grouper for the last two miles coming onto the Rural Bridge and we hammered it home.  I was hoping to podium not knowing if there was an unknown racer in my age group who may have been in front the whole race.

Run: 1:32:43 3rd AG, 19th Male, 23rd Overall

1st in AG 45-49!

The best part of this race was the year end party and awards given out by Red Rock.  I finished 6th overall in the individual race series and our club One Multisport www.onemultisport.org  took the Big Club Championships again for the second year in a row! 

Besides a sprint Triathlon on Thanksgiving Day, my focus then moved to my annual running of the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon. www.runrocknroll.competitor.com/arizona.  I have run the full marathon every year since it came to the Valley of the Sun in 2004.  Competitor Group was honoring all 10 year runners with a special bib and I was asked to sing the National Anthem for the day.  I did two sub 3 hour finishes in 2008 and 2009.  I set a goal with my Carmichael Training Systems coach, Nick White www.trainright.com  to do a sub 3 again.  My training included a lot of interval weekday work and long runs with a purpose. I felt strong and tested the waters on December 9th with my first attempt at a 15k coming in just under an hour.  59:50.  There is no other was to put it...Sub 3 hour marathons hurt.  Holding a 6:51 average pace for 26.2 miles is very tough.  The course changes last year when and I realized the end is harder and I need to "bank” about 1:30 or so by the half marathon to finish in time.  Last year I was at 1:29 at the 13.1 mark and finished in 3:02.  This year, the only takers to hit sub 3 hours where the Folts Twins.  Brian and Adam are on fire and learning to go long big time!  They also talk a lot so it's pretty entertaining to run 3 hours with them.  My time at the half marathon was 1:28:11 so I felt I was on pace and tried to take in 6:45 mile pace for any flat, fast distance that presented itself.  Brian pulled off about mile 18 for a potty break, but he was fast and back in front of me before mile 19.  Adam was good until a potty break at mile 22 left him taking more time than he wanted along with some muscle fatigue.  I didn't see him again as we entered the war zone aka Van Buren.  This hilly portion comes at the worst place and time and my pace suffered into a 7:00-7:30 pace.  This is where the bank comes in.  As Van Buren becomes Mill Ave. you join the Half Marathoners over the Mill Ave Bridges.  I saw Steve Rink at mile 25 fresh and loose from his smoking 1:20 half mary finish and he slapped me on the butt and said I had 8 minutes to finish.  This is doable I thought.  I actually was very relaxed.  I was going to do it. I saw a lot of people I knew at the final stretch and didn't realize my Garmin 910xt had just turned over to 2:59:00.  I saw the finish shoot and it seemed to click off fast.  I sprinted to the chip scanner and the clock turned to 3 hours.  Did I do it?  I immediately went to my morning clothes bag to get to my phone.  I saw Facebook and Ryan Petry posted, Dude! 2:59:59!  LOL!  Yup, by the skin of my teeth, I made it under the wire! 

2:59:59  5th AG, 48 Male, 50 something Overall

This season is going to be exciting!  I'm taking quarter by quarter.  First up is the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Leadman 125 in Tempe. www.lifetimetri.com Then my focus is to go to St. George UT for the new 70.3 race to try to qualify for Vegas Worlds again, this time as a 50 year old! 

More to come on all of this!  Here's to a great 2013 everyone!  Let's do this!

Dan

50-54 USAT AG!!!!

To Worlds then Home

This blog post is really late and overdue.  August leading into September was full of family, work, coaching Cross Country and training. This all lead up to my A race of the season, Ironman World Championships 70.3 in Las Vegas on September 9, 2012.

August training was difficult due to the heat and humidity.  There were some great group workouts like Friday morning swim/runs with my club, ONE Multisport www.onemultisport.org at Bartlett Lake.  The warm murky water and hilly asphalt replicated the Henderon, NV course at Worlds.  Fellow Sole Sports Running Zone www.solesportsrunning.com and ONE teammate, Nick Werski would join me in my bricks at Bartlett faithfully.  I followed local AZ Triathlete Icon, Bryan Dunn's advise to recover up hill and speed the downhills. August training felt more like peak training for a full Ironman.  Not so much for the distance but rather because of the effort.

A highlight was getting to race through the month for TriFamily Racing www.trifamilyracing.com in Prescott Valley, AZ and for Mountainman Events www.mountainmanevents.com in Flagstaff, AZ. Both race venues (Sprint and Half Ironman respectively) were in cooler higher altitude climates.  I placed 3rd overall at the Prescott Valley Tri that included a 22 mile bike leg on a cold rainy day.  Flagstaff looked like we might have rain as well on August 12th.  The day was sunny, clear and warm.  As always, I took the 1.2 mile swim cautiously due to the altitude.  As expected, the first 200+ meters were the most difficult trying to get air and acclimate to the lack of air.  My lungs soon got used to my stroke and I moved on to a 35 min. swim leg.  I was hoping for 32-34 but I was ok moving on to the bike.  I have had success on that bike course. Just enough moderate climbing and recovery speed to crank it!  My coach, Nick White with Carmichael Training Systems www.trainright.com told me to hit the bike powerfully and work on hydration.  I felt I did both well and came into T2 with a 2:29 bike split for the 56 miler.  Coming into T2 is funny at this race because the Olympic racers are all done and packing up.  You have to run by them all knowing you still have 13.1 miles to run including the 2 mile hill at Marshall Lake.  I felt good and focused starting the run looking for Kona man Erik Svans my buddy and for today, my rival.  He is always going to be in front of me and my only chance today was to catch him on the run.  It did happen heading out on the out and back after Marshall Lake Hill.  He had a bad day and I may never have the opportunity to pass him ever again, so I took a mental picture and filed it away!  I really wanted to try to go sub 1:40 and go after the alabaster Master's Trophy. (40+ Overall Finisher). I won that award last year. My 1:43 run split was good enough for an age group win and 7th overall but no Eagle's head reward!  41 year old, Brandon Nichols from Sierra Vista got it with a minute better finish time.  I didn't know I was that I was that close to him.  Our swims were the same and I out ran him by 5-6 minutes but he blazed that bike course with a 2:22!  The best of the day! 

This all lead to finishing up the last days of training for my big show in Vegas.  The trip to Worlds was amazing and fun.  It was a couples trip along with Matt and Terra Duke. Matt qualified a day after my Boise race in Lawrence, Kansas back in June.  It was also Cristette and my 22 wedding anniversary Saturday, September 8th, the day before the race.  We arrived Friday and went straight to the expo and registration at the Henderson Pavillions. I have had some issues with one of my tubular tire holding air and a flat spot that didn't settle wellwith me.  At the expo, I called fellow Vegas Triathlete and friend, Randy Parr for a recommedation of a bike shop to help me.  He came through so well and within the hour, I was at The Bike Shop in Henderson 10 minutes away from the expo and was able to pick up my bike on the way to the welcome dinner at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Friday night.  CTS hooked me and Matt (and our wives) with VIP passes for the weekend.  Very cool!  Front row seating and open bar!  Vegas Baby! I also hooked up my boy, Elliot Kawaoka for VIP seating that night. 

Saturday we slept in and headed for a practice swim at Lake Las Vegas.  Worlds was a point to point race with T1 at the lake.  T2 and the finishline was back in Henderson at the Pavillions.  The water was confortable and obviously non wetsuit legal.  Matt and I met up with my fellow ONE Elite Teammates, Carlos Mendoza and Sue Meno for a quick ride.  Back to our timeshare on the strip to rest. Matt and I took the bikes back to Lake Las Vegas (T1) before heading out to an early anniversary dinner near the strip.  No wine though.  It was going to be hot and I was hydrating all day until my bathroom stops were frequent and on the hour!  I hindsight, I may go back to my one glass pre race night.  It usually is good luck!  Bed was around 10 pm after stamping race numbers and sponsor temo tattoos for my sponsors, Fitsok www.fitsok.com Isagenix www.isagenix.com and ValdoraCycles www.valdoracycles.com.

Race morning breakfast was an Isagenix Bar with Oatmeal with Bananas and coffee. I took my daily 3 tabs of Extreme Endurance www.xendurance.com and Matt and I were on our way along with buddies, Mike and Chris to drop us off at Lake Las Vegas.We had to be out of transition by 6:15 am.  This was the classic case of hurry up and wait.  The race had the pros go off at 6:45am.  Then 19 more waves began all the way until 8:00 am!  I was second to the last wave at 7:55 am.  This means the half marathon would be at noon!

The swim was uneventful.  Lots of open water and not too much hammering around me.  I did notice a herd of yellow caps coming up on me at the turn to head back.  It was the fast 25-29 males.  Dang!  34:36 Swim 57th AG.

T1 4:17

The fastest part of the bike course was the beginning 10 miles after a big climb out of Lake Las Vegas.  Then it's off to Lake Mead for an out and back hilly and hot ride.  No opportunity to get into any kind of rhythm.  I felt the heat right away.  I drank every 10 mins and took in Salt Stick tabs every half hour. I use a combo mixture of EFS Light Grape and Carbo Pro along with just water.  My gel is EFS Mocha. My goal was 280 calories per hour and as much water as I could handle.  I took in 5 bottles and probably should have taken in more.  I got thirsty and that's not good.  I could have used another aid station.  Both Elliott and Carlos passed me on the bike.  Elliott first and Carlos at just before 30 miles.  It was my race and I focused on consistant pace.  I saw some riders stopped on the route back just head down and fatigued.  My feat were burning hot in my cycling cleats due to the ground temps. The end of the ride is a 6+ mile moderate climb to the Henderson Pavillions.  There were runners everywhere when I got close to the end of the bike leg.  Like a full Ironman, they take your bike for you and you head to grab your T2 bag and head to the tent to change etc.  I felt fine and had 3 guys watch me change my shoes and head out to the 3 loop run course.  2:48 Bike 20 MPH  51st in AG.

T2 2:03

The run was fun to start and the heat didn't really hit me at first.  There were a lot of spectators along the course. My first mile was fast with a sub min pace.  Then that was the end of that.  The couse is either straight up or down on ashpalt roads for ever.  My body was hot and I had some light cramping but not the "stop in your tracks" kind.  Just my pace deteriorated over time.  My HR stayed high.  I passed Tucson Tri Stud and fellow age grouper, Leo Carillo who was reduced to a walk.  I kept going only stopping for cola and ice at every aid station.  They were running out of ice at many of the stations.  Luke warm water doesn't cut it!  Every loop had us pass the finishline chute.  That's tough to have to go left when the finish was just strides away at the right!  My time finally did come and on my last (3rd) lap, I was amazed how many studly World Qualifiers were behind me still trekking on.  ( I found some happiness in this).  Terra and Cristette were in the VIP Zone waiting for me to finish and I loved coming in and being done!  After giving me my huge medal and T-Shirt, I headed to the cooling tents looking for a diet coke (the only thing I crave post race - don't ask)  I found a warm diet coke and Elliot sitting in a chair looking like a zombie!  It's kind of funny now, but all I did in sit on the floor under his legs and I stayed there for a while.  I;m not quite sure for how long we stayed there not saying a word.  Battle Zone graveyard!  1:57:11 Run 55th in AG.

5:25:28  Finish Time. 55th AG  674 Overall.

I really would like to get to that course again, now that I know it.  We'll see what happens next season!

This past weekend was like coming home with the Red Rock Co. www.redrockco.com Nathans Lifetime Tempe Triathlon.  Great day to race.  I was happy to see Xterra World Champ Jamie Witmore and her husband, Courtney Cardenas who emceed the weekend.  I sang the National Anthem and then it was off to the races.

I felt like I was racing hard but I was happy for the Olympic Distance length vs. all the Half Ironman 70.3 milers I have endured this season.  My swim felt faster then the time shows (story of my life!)  No issues and a lot of feet to draft off of.  Those stairs leading out of the water are something I never get used to!  29:02 Swim 13th in AG.

T1 1:56

The bike felt fast and flat!  I took off picking off swimmers for the first loop. My Valdora PHX2 was feeling powerful and my pace was 23-25 consistantly.  Just like old times, I had Carlos find me right before the end of lap 1 of 2.  Then came the 40-44 phenoms from the 4 minute behind wave, Russ Brandt and Jonathan Coffen (all Kona Qualifiers) for a star studded lap 2.  This helped push me to stay with them and I came into T2 ready to run.  Still no Leo Carillo or Erik Svans. Did they swim THAT Well? They did!  1:03:55 Bike 23.33 pace 4th best in AG.

T2 1:09

The run is very familiar. 2 loops around the Tempe Town Lake.  I actually felt slow on the first lap keeping Carlos in sight but not able to gain. in fact, he pulled away.  I figured I was running 7 something pace but was surprised to see 6:50 for the first mile.  I was running faster than I thought.  Just holding my postion.  I lost sight of Carlos and never saw Leo.  He has redemption from Worlds on his mind!  He is a work horse!  Strong and fast!  The second loop was much more crowded with 1st loopers starting their runs.  This is where I noticed my pace was better than I felt it was.  Heading over the Mill Ave. Bridge to the finish, I had idea where I placed.  I knew Carlos was in front and I assumes Leo was done, changed and went home.  Was there any out of town spoilers here today like at Marquee or Soma?  Not today!  42:11 Run 6:47 pace 2nd best run in AG.

2:17:30  3rd in AG 33rd Overall.


What a great season!  And it's not over yet!  Soma next month and other races and events along the way.  Worlds was a great experience! I can only imagine what Kona is like! I will find out someday!  But...there's no place like Home!

Dan

Summer Training and Racing Into Fitness

The dog days of summer are here and I have no regrets.  Born and Raised in Phoenix, I have learned to appreciate and even embrace the heat.  Maybe it is just that I hate the cold that much more.  I love 5:00 a.m. workout starts without the need to load a light kit to the bike or layer clothing, gloves and a tuque (Canadian word for beanie) before heading out for a run.  I've always associated sweat with work.  Sometimes winter rides, runs and swims lack the human liquid oozing out of my pores that prove a quality workout effort has occured. One exception...I definitely run faster in colder weather.

Besides sweating through workouts early in the morning when the rest of the world is still asleep, I also take advantage to race as often as I can.  Shorter Sprint or Olympic Triathlons (My friend, Steve Rink calls them Diaper Dashs) and even a 5k or 10k run are a great way to fine tune my competitive edge, work on transitions, and just keep in touch with the endurance community.

This calendar year (or season) has no 140.6 Ironman planned so I have more flexibility to race more often.  Something that dedicated training for a full Ironman can't afford.

Working with my coach, Nick White as part of the Carmichael Training Systems Train Right Program http://www.trainright.com/, I have continued to train for my next A race - the Ironman 70.3 World Chamionships in Las Vegas on September 9th. http://ironmanllv.com/. The focus continues to be 2 solid weeks of 12-15 hours focused on endurance and interval training followed with a week of endurance only recovery work - still in the 12+ hour goal.  If there is a Sprint Traithlon or 5K thrown in, I have to work it into my workout plans.  For example, I competed in the TriFamily Racing http://www.trifamilyracing.com/ JCC Firecraker Triathlon in Scottsdale on July 9th. I still had a hard bike the day before and a 40 minute run after crossing the finish line race day.  Results were still good with a 3rd overall finish but the real win is the work in tranistion, speed work and hyrdation management. This isn't for everyone but it seems to usually work for me.  The results aren't always stellar and the decision has to be made that this type of race is not the ultimate goal and racing without a normal taper (even for a short race) may be frustrating.  This was the case at the Red Rock Company http://www.redrockco.com/ Rio Salado Olympic Tri back in May.  (see previous blog posts for details)

I also really enjoy supporting smaller local races full of first timers and youth.  This is the backbone of our sport.  Without new entries into multisport, we will just be a bunch of veteran spandex wearing elites discussing power meters, drafting violations and whether pros should be competing with us as age groupers. (all conversations I have been a part of before)  Every athlete is different and has certain goals with separate training and race styles.  I just know this is one way I stay motivated and feel has been one of the main ways I have been excited to compete and train for over 25 years in the sport.

Big races and big goals is still a huge part of what keeps me going too!  After meeting with my buddy and exteremely successful local Traithlete, Bryan Dunn about the Vegas Worlds course, I have added more hill work on the bike and for selected runs.  One new addition has been the going the past couple of Fridays with my peeps at ONE Multisport http://www.onemultisport.org/ for the Bartlett Lake open water swim.  Now that I have the Garmin Forerunner910XT https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=419&pID=90671, the accuracy and cold hard truth of open water distance, pace and stroke are now recorded. The other opportunity this gives me is a brick run out of Rattlesnake Cove just like it will be like at Lake las Vegas. I hope to do more of these early Friday bricks before September. Just another reason to love summer and the Arizona sun!  (no wetsuit needed right now!)

No issues or injuries to report (hallelujah!).  I continue to use Isagenix Nutrition http://www.isagenix.com/ for recovery meals and continue to take Extreme Endurance http://xendurance.com/ tabs for reducing lactic acid and speed up recovery.  I was asked recently what vitamins I take.  I take a multi tab, extra E and C, Magnesium, an Omega 3 and a Digestive Enzyme.

Next month (August) is Mountainman http://www.mountainmanevents.com/ Half Iron Triathlon.  Then just a short 4 weeks to Vegas Baby!  I am thrilled to have fellow ONE Elite Teammates, Carlos Mendoza and Sue Meno join me at Worlds.  Their amazing qualifying performances at Vineman 70.3 this month sealed the deal!

Until next month, go out there and train and maybe throw in a race too.

Boise 29.3 or There's More Than One Use For a Wetsuit!

Race goals are a funny thing.  Nothing is for certain in Triathlon or in life for that matter.  That's why, I guess, Triathlon mimics Life.  Ever since I competed in the Ironman Califonia 70.3 race on March 31st, I had the bug planted inside me to qualify for the World Championships in Las Vegas this year on Sept. 9th.  I even mentioned this goal in my profile in 3/GO Magazine http://www.3gomagazine.com/.  Nothing like throwing it out there in a worldwide publication!

What the heck!  I have seen moderate success this season in the 70.3/Half Ironman distance with a 16th AG place in the very competitive Oceanside race and a 3rd overall at the Red Rock Co. http://www.redrockco.com/ Marquee Half Iron in April.  But it's very tough to get a slot with so many 70.3 races only alloting 30 slots per event!  For a 45-49 year old male age grouper, that usually means a guy has to rank in the top 2! 

Enter, stage right, my One Multisport Elite http://www.onemultisport.org/ teammate, Klas Kuntze.  He informed me that Ironman has allotted 100 slots at the Boise, Kansas and Syracuse 70.3 races this year!  "Boise is doable", I thought.  And after negotiations with my wife, I registered for the June 9th race in Idaho.

Between Klas and fellow, youngster Triathlete (and accountant) , Elliot Kawaoka (#fathervsson) the math seemed to work for a good shot at this coveted spot for Sin City! (Really, Lake Las Vegas)  According to Elliot's excel spreadsheet, there could be 8-10 spots in my age group in Boise.  (Elliot already qualified in Florida earlier this past month!)

I discussed the plan with my coach, Nick White, at Carmichael Training Systems http://www.trainright.com/ and we hit it running!

Upon arriving Thursday, June 7th in Boise, after a two day road trip with my middle son, 17 year old Nathan, I was so pleased with the weather and accommodations we had in the quaint downtown area.  Klas has become the "Ken Glah" of triathlon travel and we were set up at the Grove Hotel which was set up right next to the expo, T2 and finish line! 

Weather was even better Friday, the day before the race. (Boise is a Saturday event with a noon start time)  A group of us local Phoenix tri geeks including Klas, me, Alex Russell, David Rizzi and Karl Schneider took a late morning ride/run brick following the beginning of the 13.1 run route.  I actually overdressed for the workout and shed some layers after our tune up bike before the quick brick run.

We all kept checking weather reports throughout the day that had seemed to forcast rain for Friday and showed a cloudy and cool race day Saturday.  There was no rain this day and maybe the weather predictions were off a bit.  Just maybe! : /

Having a Half Ironman start at noon is very interesting.  I have done the Boston Marathon at noon and  at 10 a.m. in years past but never a 4-5 hour Triathlon.  Friday night dinner was later than usual for a pre race meal; about 7:30 p.m. and we could literally sleep in race morning. 

Race Day:

My body automatically wakes up at 4-4:30 a.m. every morning, but I was able to stay in bed until 6:30 a.m. I immediately got up and peek out the hotel curtain to view the T2 set up outside my window.  It was raining and the flags were stiff on their poles due to the strong winds.  Just great!  "It'll be a lot like Oceanside." I thought, "drizzly and cool - fast run!"  I had a shower and shave and made my pre race in room breakfast of coffee, oatmeal with sliced bananas and Gatorade Perform.  All made inside my room, sinkside.  Weather can change so fast and the cannon doesn't go off until 12:35 p.m. for me.  A lot can change by then.  And it did.  I soon found out it would only get worse.

We took my Toyota Sequoia out Friday afternoon to the Lucky Peak Reservoir to drop off our bikes.  School bus shuttles met us race morning Saturday at 9:15 a.m. to take us to the swim start.  We arrived before 10:00 a.m. and as soon as we unloaded, the cold, wet, windy weather slapped us in the face with a fury.  So different than when we were there the afternoon before!  The race announcer greeted us on the PA system and I went straight to T1 to check on my bike lugging my T2 and Morning Clothes Bags.  My Valdora PHX2 http://www.valdoracycles.com/ looked wet but good and ready. I took it off the rack to get my tubular tires aired up by the local bike shop.  I attached my Bento Box that held my tubular spare and EFS Gel Flask. This Point to Point race called for a "Clean Transition Area" which means you leave nothing on the ground. The T1 Bag containing my new Louis Garneau Vorttice Black Knight Helmet with visor, shoes, and socks now hung from my handlebars.  After the swim, it's mandatory to insert your wetsuit, goggles and caps in the same bag completely and leave it all in the transition area.  All this prep took only minutes and I began to realize the weather was getting worse and worse with more rain, wind and dropping temperatures.  There were still 3 hours until race time!  I began to regret getting a 10:30 a.m. ticket for Nathan to come see the swim start.  There may be one thing worst than waiting to race in miserable conditions.  That's waiting to watch someone else race in miserable conditions!  The cold wind left us with no where to hide. Karl found me and said he was putting on his wetsuit early to stay warm.  That sounded like a good idea and I noticed many shivering, low body fat Triathletes doing the same.  I found a small bathroom and took my time putting on my Aqua Sphere Phantom wetsuit and then still put on my jacket.  Walking outside again, it didn't seem to help that much.  It was later reported that temperatures had dropped to 41 degrees or below. That was without the wind chill factor.  Still 2+ hours to go!  Klas or Karl noticed some wetsuit clad Triathletes now climbing into the back of a large UHaul Truck parked right next to T1.  We went to check it out.  Looking in we saw rubber skinned refugees with teeth chattering inside.  We climbed aboard and joined them inside.  Over the next hour 30+ Triathletes would come in and huddle/cuddle to stay warmer than the outside elements.  Klas announced to all inside that I would be putting this adventure in my Blog.  So be it!  We could still hear the announcer giving updates about transition closing and stupid jokes about the weather.  Then the big announcement came..."Due to severe weather and 40+ winds from the NW, the Race Directors have decided to eliminate a large portion of the bike course where athletes would be most exposed to the dangers.  You will complete the entire 1.2 mile swim but bike approximately 15 miles into downtown Boise to T2 and then complete the entire 13.1 half marathon."  Our home away from home (UHaul Truck Cabin) digested this information and we started to plan accordingly.  "It's going to come down to the run." I thought.  Transition closed close to noon so I filed out of the truck at about 11:45 a.m. to make last minute adjustments to my race set up.  I took my 24 oz. water bottle off the frame that held my EFS drink. and just kept the smaller 20 oz. version on my bike.  I still kept my spare and tools attached.  You never know. 

The Swim:

The race was delayed by 10 minutes due to road adjustments and run volunteer set up much earlier than expected.  I was so cold.  I now donned my neoprene cap and beenie still in my wetsuit and jacket waiting for the very last minute to turn in my Morning Clothes Bag.  The water tempswere annouced to be at 57 degrees.  Much warmer than the outside air.  I wanted to get in the balmy 57 degree water! 

As we filed onto the boat ramp by cap colors, I made my way along with my neon green headed brothers between the ages of 45-49.  Two waves to go before we would start and I had felt like so much energy was used just to keep my body warm to this point.  My legs felt tight and crampy.  The swim volunteers on jet skis were already bringing in swimmers in yellow caps who gave up on the day back to shore before I even got started.  Not a good sign!

The water felt just fine.  It should have been stinging my face, hands and feet but they were already frost bit.  The horn blew and we were off at 12:45 p.m.  No issues on the swim at all.  Good room to find open water. Sighting was ok and I felt like I got into a groove early on.  I caught white caps right away on the triangle course.  At the first major turn, I glanced at my Garmin 910xt and it read 14:36.  It was a triangle, not an out and back so I didn't know if that was good or not.  I felt more congested and got hit more the last 500 meters as we finished the 1.2 miler running uphill to the carpeted timing mat.  A great wetsuit stripper greeted me and my butt hit the ground as he pulled the neoprene from my ankles.

Swim time: 34:47 AG Rank: 13th. Gender: 163 Overall: 209.

The Bike:

I had been debating and discussing the use of gloves and arm warmers in the bike with other racers.  I was all for it but concerned about the time it would take to put it all on in T1.  I also knew once my adrenaline gets going and my competitive nature comes into play, I don't feel I need these items and just move on.  That was the case here.  I entered T1, strapped my helmet, put my Fitsok  http://www.fitsok.com/ F4 socks and shoes on.  I was required to stuff my wetsuit, goggles etc into the bag as well and I was on my way.

T1: 2:56

It was the biggest post race discussion that some pros decided to keep their wetsuits on for this short 15 mile ride into town.  The pictures are amazing and funny.  Personally, I was cold but I feel I have been colder.  In 1994, I did the a sprint tri in Show Low, AZ on October 20th.  I rememeber the date because my now, almost 20 year old son, Andrew was celebrating his 2nd birthday on that race day.  The swim was 800m in a warm indoor pool and I remember seeing so many Triathletes "wasting time" putting on clothes for the 12 mile bike.  I was in a speedo and ran to transition to head out.  It began to snow and I got the weirdest looks from truck and car drivers as I shivered along the local roads.  If I can live through that cold and embarrasment, I can do this!

The first big downhill came right away as we left the reservoir.  With a combination of wet roads and wind, I was extemely nervous to take it too fast.  There were other no pass zones and faster straight aways that made this bike go by so fast.  I did take in 2 big gulps of EFS drink and gel as I saw downtown some into sight.

Bike Time: 38:15  AG Rank: 10th. Gender: 145 Overall: 169.

I entered T2 and overshot my bike spot and T2 bag. I backed it up to reletively empty rack.  I should have saw that as a good sign but didn't put it all together at that moment.  Taking off my helmet and shoes, my socks were all bunched up. I fixed them, put on Spira Stinger XLTs http://www.spirafootwear.com/ visor, sunglasses and took off.

T2: 2:34

The Run:

Leaving T2 it was ironic that the weather was clearing up a little.  The only thing that could have been stranger would have been a heat wave at this point.  That didn't happen.  It did take 2-3 miles to feel my feet though.  They were still numb from the swim and short bike.  I knew they were hitting the ground but I felt nothing.  That may have been a good thing.  At the very beginning of the run, I spotted my friend and rival, Jeff Bassett in his Team Faster kit just ahead of me.  (Rio Salado all over again? See my other blog entry for the details) I knew Jeff was there and would be competing for a Vegas Worlds slot.  I was encouraged that he was just right there in front of me so early on the run.  I usually have to fight the entire run to get near him by the very end.  I kept him in sight and put a 6:30 first mile on the course followed by a couple more sub 6:40 miles to begin the race to the finish.  Still, really  had no idea where Jeff or I stood in the AG ranks.  If it were a true 70.3, I could guesstimate finish times.  My goal was to run fast and hard and I wouldn't want to accept anything less than a solid sub 1:30 half marathon time considering the modified bike course.  Upon the 2nd loop of a very picturesque trail/park course, I came upon my ONE Elite Teammate, Tour Guide and good friend, Klas.  He has crashed on the steep hill right out of transition hard and was just holding on through the pain to finish.  I came along side of him and he said I was in this for sure.  BUT, there was no place to rest and it would have to hurt.  As I asked him if he was okay, he barked, "Forget about me and MAKE IT HURT!"  My next mile was 6:38.  Jeff never lost ground and I truly felt like I was running faster and should be gaining ground!  Dang it, He's good!  He knew I was there and he just kept bringing it.  He was NOT letting up.  With a 5k to go, I hit it and raised my heart rate to over Anaerobic Threshold.  "So what, it's almost over.  I thought. "I want no regrets today."  As the last turn into town approached, I knew Jeff was within a minute but not able to be caught.  I hoped he didn't have the last spot but I had run very hard.  As the Ironman logo carpet hit beneath my feet, I noticed the runner just yards ahead of me had the number 48 marked in black on his left calf.  What?  I put on the afterburners and sprinted to catch then pass him with less than 20 yards before hitting the timing mat.

Run time: 1:27:32

Total Time: 2:46:04

Overall AG Rank: 7th. Overall Gender: 93 Overall: 107.

It would be within the hour after checking posted results next to the food that Jeff was 6th, I was 7th place in our age group and the guy I out sprinted, Doug Ross from Knoxville, TN was 8th in our AG.   "How many slots would there be?" I wondered.  I soon found a conference room within the Boise Conference Center that would have results, Vegas slots and awards.  There was a sheet of paper taped to the door showing the slot allotment for the race.  "45-49 Males - 8 Slots"  I made it!  So did Jeff and Doug!  I left the room looking for Nathan to tell him.  In doing so, I bumped into Jeff and told him the news.  He already knew.  He congratulated me and held up a Ironman logo piece of paper.  He already got his slot!  Dang it again!  He even beat me even in getting his award!  ;-)

I learned so much this past weekend. 

1. We compete in an outdoor sport with no real guarantees. 
2. The ability to adapt and improvise can make all the difference.(Ask Matty Reed and his wetsuit ride into downtown Boise and eventually the win)
3. The journey is usually a bigger part than the actual race.
4. I can put together a fast twitch sprint at a finish line afterall!
5. Sometimes putting your goals out there can motivate you to acheived success.

More races, more successes, more failures, more fun and learning await this season for sure. 

Thank you for being a part of it all.