I AM AN IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes!!!! At last, I am an Ironman!!! It's hard to describe the feeling and emotions that come after such a long, hot day, but I'm going to try.

I signed my brother up a couple of months ago to come with me to Arizona to primarily be my post race support and driver on the way home. He gladly accepted and I was very excited to not be going to this event alone. After some discussion my mom wanted to come, my sister and also my dad and step-mother (although they had some conflicts). Finally my mom and sister both had plane tickets; my dad and step-mother couldn't rearrange appointments and thus would be unable to attend.

Race week came, my mom, although injured from a recent fall, still boarded the plane and flew to San Diego. My sister, too sick to get out of bed for more than a week, was unable to join us. At a great surprise to me, Saturday evening I got a call from my dad, "...we're in the lobby!" Screaming, I leaped from the bed and brought Dad and Joanne to our room. Visiting, dinner, race-prep, bed. The time had come...

Today, I would become an Ironman. I was up at 3:20 (about 4 hours of sleep). I stretched, ate, put body glide on almost from head to toe, nope, that includes my toes. I also covered the inside on my tri-suit (clothes I would wear all day) and wetsuit collar with body glide too. Finally, I coated my face with zinc and we were out the door around 5 am.

I was worried I didn't have everything. I had a couple of bags, but it didn't seem like enough.

(perhaps I'll add more here later, but for now, I'm on a time crunch)

We plunge into the water like penguins lining the sea, one at a time over the edge and swim away into the water. The swim was a mass start, all 2035 athletes in the water together when the gun goes off. Tired of waiting behind the slow penguins, I moved to the front and plunge over the edge. The water was chilly, but thankfully after 2 practice swims, one Friday and another Saturday, I was ready for this. I had my wetsuit on and lubed and hoped it would be enough to get me through the 2.4 mile swim without significant chaffing.

I float in the water, freezing now and ready to swim. I talk with those around me a little, taking in the magnificence of this amazing day. I locate my mom and brother looking down from atop the bridge under which we start; I wave and then wait. Finally The water becomes alive at the sound of the gun. 2000 bodies begin pushing forward and we are moving. I crawl with my head above water, but soon, settle into a stroke. I find my own space and swim towards the turnaround. The mass start was not the nightmare that I hear about over and over. I wasn't crawled over. I wasn't kicked too many times. I just put my head down and swam a really long ways breaking stroke occasionally to look up and see how far was left and how little I had already swam. The meters passed by and before long, I was turning around heading back.

At last, the swim was ending and I was happy to have that completed and ready for the next event. I crawl out of the water, make it to the "strippers", laid down while they pulled my wetsuit off and then headed to transition.

I found space on the ground, dumped out my bag and began sifting through its contents. I needed bike shorts, socks, shoes, halo (sweat guard), glasses, helmet, a shot of gu, sunblock, gloves, race number and I was on my way. I made a quick stop by the sunblock slathers before making my way to my bike. As I made my way down the chute, my bike was rolled out to greet me and off we went for a very long ride.

I was almost immediately sick, within the first 5 miles my stomach already felt unsettled. I struggled keeping my 'food' (Sustained Energy) down along with my electrolytes, but managed to stay on track with my planning for almost 2.5 hours.

The bike course was a 3 loop course with totaled 112 miles. The first half of the loop was slightly uphill with a major head-wind. I was feeling pretty upbeat and just pushed along slowly into the wind. The miles came and went and before long, tired as I was, the turn around was here. Now I had a great tailwind and picked up tons of speed. I was having a blast! The slow trek up to the turn around was completely worth it for this much fun. I topped out at 33 mph but held over 25 for most of the trip back downhill. I was awesome.

Lap 2 came and I was starting to feel the sun beating down on me. The course was hot...very hot. The temperature was measured at 97 on the course. I slurped water from my cup between my aerobars and spit it on my arms and legs in an attempt to stay cool. There was no cold water on the course. In fact, the water felt like it came off the stove. There was no relief. With nothing cold and the intense heat, I was starting to suffer. It became almost impossible to get anything down at all. I kept a positive attitude, but I swear they moved the turn around a few more miles up the road.

As I turned around this time, I again picked it up, but not as much. The special needs station was coming up. I had placed 2 food bottles and 1 frozen water bottle in my bad. I slowed up, traded bottles, and was excited to have cold water for a change, even if only briefly. It seemed to breathe new life into me while it lasted. The water still even had a small piece of ice. My only regret is that I didn't put 2-3 of them in there or freeze my food bottles too. That would have been perfect!

The miles were now passing much more slowly, yet there were still 40 more to go! How was I going to make it? Slowly I kept telling myself. Slowly I will finish my race. Who cares about any one elses race. Slow and steady, I'll make it. By mile 80 I was hurting, but nothing like what was to come.

I made the final turn around, headed back to transition thrilled to think that after 7.5 hours I would dismount the bike. I slowed up as I approached the dismount line, yelled to the volunteers to catch my bike. As I stopped, they took hold and my spaghetti legs took hold. I wobbled a bit as I made my way to my running bag and into the transition tent once again.

This time a volunteer brought me water, with ice!!! Another nice lady took off my shoes and socks, changed my socks and shoved my feet into my running shoes. She also opened my pills I had to calm my stomach and fed those to me as well. She was great! I picked up my fuel belt, changed into my visor, slathered on some biofreeze, had more water and walked out into the light. I stopped a medical guy to use his shirt to clean my glasses. He looked oddly at me, but let me barrow his sleeve anyway. He told me that was the strangest request he had all day.

I walked out to start the marathon. Yes, after 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, I still had a full 26.2 miles to cover on foot...somehow. I walked for a bit, taking in fluid, a gel, and just regaining my self. I started to shuffle along, but stopped for frequent brakes. I started with shuffle for 1 min, walk 1 min. As I settled in, I shuffled for 2 min, then 5 min, then walked.

I continued on, talking with fellow athletes along the way. I was ok, just tired, but hanging in feeling strong enough. By lap 2, again a 3 lap course, my spirits were dropping. The pain was setting in. My hips hurt, my legs ached and I began to wonder how many miles I could endure.

I met up with Rick, I had seen him on the bike and we would now join together to finish the final 2/3 of the marathon. We shuffled occasionally and walked alot. We were constantly re-calculating how much time we had to finish and if our current pace would get us there...it's debatable, we better shuffle more. By the half way point, I was approaching misery. By the 3rd lap, I was hurting, badly. I had already began sniffling my way through the miles trying to hold myself together and not loose it. I saw my family, they asked if I was ok, I nodded, but knew it was a lie. I was not holding up well at all. After I passed them, I lost it. The tears rolled down, but Rick kept me moving.

Rick and I didn't talk much, only occasionally. We were both hurting. I was doubting my ability to finish, but knew I had it in me. He would ask about our pace. Tell me we were going to make it and we would walk in silence, me sniffling and trying to focus on my breathing. The sun had long set before we started out 3rd lap. We had been counting down the hours when we still had over 4 hours left of walking.

Rick's wife Katie joined us with about 10k left. They walked a few steps ahead. I would stop every now and then and bend over and rest on my arms on my knees, tears rolling down, I wanted to quit. I hoped Rick and Katie would leave me, but at the same time, I didn't. And they wouldn't. I told them to go on, they wouldn't. They pulled me through over and over again. I hurt so bad. I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. I didn't want to continue. Every step seemed virtually impossible. I felt like the muscle on the outside of my shins was going to come off the bone. How was I going to make it for another 2 hours walking?!?!

I have never wanted to quit something so badly. I have never been in so much pain for so long. I have never walked for 10+ miles in the darkness with tears slowly trickling down my cheeks.

Looking at my watch, I told Rick he could still make it in under 16 hours, he should go. He told me he didn't care and besides, he had nothing left to run with either. At last our time was coming. We rounded the bend up towards the finish line. He was ready to shuffle again. I let him go to get his picture. After a few steps, I too started to shuffle along.

I rounded the final bend, my dad came out and ran a few steps with me, smiling from ear to ear, "I'm so proud of you! You did it!" I began my shuffle down the final chute, I saw the clock, 15:59:47, I could still make it. I sprinted, with what, I'll never know...my heart and ran through the exploding crowd who cheered me on as the announcer counted down 10-9-8...3-2...I was over the finish line!!! I had done it! I AM AN IRONMAN!!!

I did not cry like I thought I would. Instead I ran to Rick, "We made it! We made it! We finished in under 16 hours!"

My ironman experience was so much more than I ever thought it would be. I am almost thankful for hell I experienced. It has changed me. I had friends who came along and encouraged me. I had volunteers and spectators cheering me on to the end, late into the night. I had so many people who did so much for me that day, that night, I am so grateful!

The night got longer. Following the race, we headed out for a bite to eat. I made it about 5 steps from the car before almost collapsing to the ground in front on Denny's...

To be continue...

80 and Beyond

Today was a first. I biked 76 miles and then ran 4.5. It was a great day and I felt amazing!

I was up at 5:40 so I could hit the road by my standard 7am. This allows me to make it to Del Mar by 8am to meet the San Diego Triathlon Club. They have a group ride that starts at the local Starbucks. You can choose several distances. I usually just stay the coast and do my own thing, but I like to start with the club because every week I meet someone new.

Last week I was fortunate enough to meet a nice couple, Kebby and Reggie. They also just moved to San Diego a little over a month ago. They're from the Atlanta area and are training for Ironman Arizona. How much better could things get? I gabbed with Kebby for about an hour which is where my turn-around point was last week. She and Reggie continued on making their way up the coast. We had a wonderful time when we were together and talked about getting training together some too.

This week, I was hoping to see them again, but no such luck. Oh well. Instead I biked with 4 others up into Carlsbad (about 15 ish miles N. of Del Mar). There, I bid them farewell and continued my trek north and into Camp Pendelton. At last, I hit the halfway point and I turned around flying down the final hill I just climbed. I love the downhills and am learning to embrace the ups too. They build character and make you stronger; I guess that's what it's all about.

As I was nearing the halfway point, the winds started to pick up. This made the ride back challenging at times. Along the coast there are cars parked. These cars provide a little bit of a wind break, but between every car, the wind pushes you. So as you are whizzing along, the cross wind comes and goes and adds an interesting element to cycling. I was happy to finish my coastal miles and head back inland without kissing the pavement as I thought I might.

The final miles from the coast are uphill as I mentioned in my previous post. Each time I ride though the hills get a little easier and I am less frustrated. This in itself is an accomplishment. This week was the first week that I have been well fueled. The other day I stopped in and bought a container of Sustained Energy. It rocks! I use about 5 scoops per water bottle. I sip on the bottle every 15 minutes, and one bottle lasts about 2.5 hours. For Ironman, I'll take 3 bottles. Today, I took only 2. I also consumed almost 3 other bottles of just water.

By the end of my ride, I still felt really good. I could feel my legs were tired, but there was no time to stop. I got off my bike, put it in the garage, changed shoes, took off one layer and was off and running. I ran about 4.5 miles and felt great. I could have kept running, but I wanted to save some energy for Sunday's scheduled 10 mile run. Now that today is Sunday, 10 miles seems like a long way on the hills around here when I'm feeling as tired as I am, but hopefully by the afternoon I'll be feeling a little better and will pound a few out.

So all in all, I'm feeling pretty good about my race. Should I? Most people think I'm crazy to even consider doing this race with my lack of preparation, but I feel strong and fit and have a few more weeks to iron out any kinks for race day. I wasn't ready for my half-iron either and I thought the race went very well. We'll hope things go really well for this one too. Then, I'm going to take a little time off and not worry about training. I'll probably do a couple of races this summer and call it done for the season; we'll see. I would like to get to the track and do some track work-outs with the tri-club. I need lots of work on my running. I still think that's my biggest weakness and this year, I'm going to change that!

Today I went farther than I have ever gone before on the bike. When you add my running, it's still the farthest I've gone in a single day by 10 miles. Next week I will go farther...farther on the bike, and a few extra on the run.

On my lucky day, race day, I will swim farther than I've ever swam, I will bike farther than I've ever biked and run as far as I've ever run. It promises to be a day to remember and I can't wait!

Why?!?! Not again!!!!

I'm behind...that's the story of my life.........

I'm sick...that seems to be the other story of my life, at least in the last several months. I was sick in October, November, December and now February. I've been sicker in these last four months than I have been in the last 4 years combined. I'm sick of being sick!!! Too many changes, too many new germs...from students to co-workers, these people are always bringing stuff my way.

Life in San Diego isn't bad. My job is ok, not fantastic, but not terrible either. I love the people I work with. Several of us go out on Thursday nights. It gives me something to look forward to in my week other than training, although training...what training, it's not like I have an ironman in 6 weeks. Yes! 42 days from this moment, I'll still be racing, hopefully nearing the end, but not quite finished.

I'm really bummed that I haven't been able to train for this event. I think I could do well. This means I'll just have to do another one ;) I guess I shouldn't speak too soon, I haven't done the first one yet. I'll be less prepared for this than anything I've ever done. It will be close to my preparation for the Disney Marathon which was kind of show up and say, well, I paid and I'm here, let's do it! I feel much the same way about the ironman. I'll finish. Yes, I have no doubt I can do it, but it's unlikely I'll post my best time. If I would have prepared and trained as planned, things would be different, but they're not so I won't pretend they are.

This first weekend I got here Mark and I cycled about 30 miles. I got off and have never been so sore in my life. I took baby steps around town as we hunted for breakfast and then the beach. I stopped many times, almost in tears the pain was so bad. I needed a new saddle! So that week, we got one. I bought Blackwell's Adamo Road Saddle (http://www.ismseat.com/products.htm). It's an innovative saddle that people either love or hate.

Up until this point my friends that cycle, like Mark and Big John, love it and I have never really understood why. I cycled because of the social aspect and the fitness, but I would never feel like I just couldn't wait to get out and ride and ride and ride. I just didn't get it...until I sat on the Adamo Road Saddle. It has changed the my thoughts, feelings and ideas about cycling in a matter of only a few miles. I am in love. It's so comfortable and I can ride forever!!!

Mark and I went out again and did about 30 more including the Torrey Pines hill which is 1.5 miles long. We did it towards the end of the ride which I guess made it even a better workout. I was already good and tired from all the hills here. It's amazing, for all of you who think San Diego might be flat, you're wrong! It's nearly impossible to find a flat stretch anywhere at all. There are great hills to climb on every street. It's tough cycling here, but great for my training.

Sadly, Mark left and I'm here now cycling on my own. I live in Carmel Mountain, which as the name suggest is on a 'mountain'. I left out last weekend and headed down the 56 trail. It's this awesome bike path that parallels I-56 and goes to the beach. Once at the beach, I bike the coast. The ride to the beach is pretty easy. It's almost ALL downhill. I go fast and peddle occasionally until I get near the beach, then I have to climb a little; however if it's all downhill one way, it's all uphill the other way. Yes, so at the end of my ride, I climb and climb and climb. It's good for me.

Last time I was out I went 53 miles and everything was great except I didn't bring enough fuel with me. I could have used either a really good drink like Perpetum or Sustained Energy or even a few more gels. Oh well, now I know a lot more about what my body needs when I cycle here. To help me work on cadence and get some good long rides in that aren't broken with tons of stop signs and lights, I bought an indoor trainer last week. It's awesome!!! It's quite and easy to set up. I went with the Cycleops Fluid Trainer. I went in to by their magnet trainer, but 1) they didn't have any in stock and 2) the fluid trainer was less than what I anticipated and had looked up for the magnetic trainer. Sweet!

My hope is that I can cycle before work and run after. I need to be able to do one of them in the dark, and neither are very safe outside in the dark, so now I can cycle inside anytime! Yeah! I just need to get well. I tried out the trainer on Saturday morning, my usual cycling time, but a few minutes in I was coughing my head off. The fit passed and I continued, but then it came again and this time, I thought my insides were going to come up and so I gave it up. No more cardio until I'm better. I can't take the coughing. Besides a few years ago when I was sick I coughed so much I tore my chest wall open and was in bed for 3 days unable to move.

I feel like I just sit and wait to get better. I have done some strength training and will continue to do that, but it's not helping me build endurance. Until next time...thanks for stopping by :)

Moving on...Disney World Marathon

Yes, I still want to finish my race report, but we'll see. I know I have at least a few more comments about it, but first...I had several life changes come about during November and December and I'm currently moving across the country to San Diego. I quit my job teaching at Embry-Riddle and have accepted a position with General Atomics working as a Test Engineer on the Predator.

Among other changes, Irfan and I decided to just be friends. Now on to other updates.

Training has been week, but I still ran the Disney World Marathon on Jan 13 even after taking most of November and December off from training. I was happy with the result: 4 hr 40 min 58 sec. That's still faster than San Francisco and I know I will do much better on the 3rd one...like they say, the 3rd time's a charm :) Let's hope so.

How was the race? Very good all things considered. I spent the night before the marathon in Orlando so I wouldn't have to get up so early. That helped, but I was still up by 3:30. I stretched, ate and was out the door and headed to the starting line. I was lucky to have been joined by Mark, a cycling friend who has recently been running more. He ran for a friend who was not able to run the race. Here's a picture of us before the race.

We started in separate corrals and so I ran the race alone. Well, maybe not alone. When there's 15,000+ runners, you're never alone on the course. I started off feeling pretty good and so I went with it, perhaps because I'm stupid, because a smart runner would really hold back and know they have a whole 20+ miles to speed up. That was my goal for this race, work towards negative splits (running each mile a little faster than the previous) and for the most part, I did that all the way until the last 2 miles.

For the first 5-7 miles the people were so think it was difficult to spread out and claim your own space and set your own pace. The mass was running together. I drafted a few guys off and on to start with. I was given this advice at a local running store and decided to give it a go.

The weather for day couldn't have been any better. It was in the low 60s at the starting line and it stayed mostly cloudy the entire time I ran. There were times when the wind would pick up, but I was drafting, therefore it didn't matter too much.

I met a nice guy around mile 7 and we ran until almost mile 18 together. He was a fellow triathlete and this was his first marathon. Finally at mile 18 he told me to go ahead. I ran to catch up with another couple I had leaped-frogged with for many many miles. I drafted the husband closely. When running we held a 9:20-9:40 pace. For the last several miles we would run 6 and walk 1, but before that we were walking the hills. They were awesome for me. They pushed me and demanded that I give it my all. By mile 24 I couldn't go it anymore. That pesky mile 24, it's the same one that got me in San Francisco. I'm going to work on that.

Up until this time I had felt really good. I had consumed 5 packets of CarbBoom, but probably should have taken 1 more. With 1 extra gel, I think I could have held on. The only other issue I had during the race were my knees. Almost from the first step the outside of my right knee hurt. In the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to even finish the race the pain was so bad, but at one of the aid tents along the way I decided to try Biofreeze. That stuff is AWESOME!!! I stopped at every aid tent thereafter and would get 2 handfuls and slather up. It feels a lot like icyhot or other sports creams. I highly recommend it!

So at mile 24, I would run 1-2 minutes, walk, run, walk, run....I ran a 12+ and 11+ pace for my last 2 miles, not too bad I thought since I really felt like dying. In the end, I didn't die, I crossed the finish line completing my second marathon 90 days before my next marathon that I will run as the final leg of my Ironman.

The following day was nothing like post-SF. I felt really good. Sure I was a little sore, but all-in-all, I could walk, lift my legs and smile. It felt good for my muscles to be sore. The soreness went away though in only a couple of days. There was no time for rest, I loaded my car up the following day to depart Florida early Tuesday to begin my 21 day adventure across the country covering almost 5,000 miles...and we're off!