PALM SPRINGS HALF MARATHON

Sometimes I think my personal athletic goals can get in the way of Gods will for my life.Today God reminded me that he can use my love for sports and  even my desire  to "win" something.

My wife Liz and I love to run the Palm Springs Half Marathon. This year we decided to to do the Husband and Wife relay. My thinking was that based on previous years times if we trained hard, we just might win the division. I'm usually happy just racing the clock but like any competitive person I really wanted to win this, or at the very least finish top three.

The race started and Liz was off running the first leg of the half marathon. I jogged to the relay point where Liz would pass me the baton anxious to check out our competition. I struck up a conversation with one of our competitors Charlie from Canada. He was a two time Ironman finisher like me and his wife was a triathlete as well like my wife. Hmmm. This could be interesting. My wife Liz came in ahead of his wife and I was off and running. With numerous relay teams it was hard tell where we stood but I was sure we were at least second. In this race you meet back up with your spouse and run the final leg together and cross the finish line together. We crushed our goal time of 1:45:59 and ran a 1:41:35! For me it was a break thru run that included a 7:18 mile. Post race Liz and I were feeling great about our effort and we were sure we finished top three.
As we waited for the results we saw Charlie and his wife Maureen and walked over to ask them about their race. The conversation was easy because all of us had so much in common. I don't remember how it came up but I started talking about ministry in Mexico. I told them how much Liz and I love serving in Mexico and spending time with the kids at Siempre orphanage. Maureen was listening intently and asking me questions. I told them both that they should join us for a day in the colonia and Siempre. "I would love that!" said Maureen. Then she whispered to me "Charlie needs that". We exchanged information and it looks like Charlie and Maureen may take their first trip to experience what life is like in the colonia with us in March. And the race? 

The "colonia" Baja California

As the results were posted I looked to see our placing...fourth. I would like to say I wasn't disappointed but I was. Liz and I both trained hard, ran very well and finished fourth?? I hid the disappointment from our new friends as we said goodbye certain to meet again. 

Afterwards I was reflecting on the race and meeting Charlie and Maureen. Maybe God in his infinite wisdom placed me at the right place, with the right circumstances so that a couple from Canada could have the experience of serving and connecting with the poor in Mexico. Awesome.

SILICON VALLEY LONG COURSE RACE REPORT

Three weeks before this race I received notice that the swim venue was changing due to water quality conditions at Almaden Park and the swim would be moved to Uvas Reservoir roughly 20 miles south of the original swim course. This would mean there would be two transitions for this event instead of the original plan for one. I’ve only done one other race with two transitions and it’s not my preference. It just adds to the stress because now you need to make sure you have exactly what you need for the bike and run at two separate locations. I was grateful though that the organizers cared enough about my health that they didn’t want me swimming in polluted water. Logistically two separate transitions are hard on the race promoter as well.

After a seven hour drive my wife Liz and I arrived at T1 to drop off my bike and scout out the new swim venue. It was interesting because we would actually swim around a long peninsula with a large hill. I can’t recall ever doing a swim where you cannot see the start or finish once you’re in the water. The other thing I noticed was that the water level seemed low and the distance from the point of exiting the swim to transition was maybe 200 meters on dirt and brush. It would not be pleasant for this tenderfoot. After the bike drop we drove half of the bike course towards T2 at Almaden Park and then to my cousins house in San Jose where we were warmly welcomed and treated like first class clients at the Ritz Carlton.

THE SWIM

No wonder I swim slow

I arrived a little later than I normally like to before a race and was still trying to sort out what I needed. This had more to do with two transitions than poor planning. Once I had everything set up it was time to get my wetsuit on and head towards the water. Unfortunately I was headed in the wrong direction. What I thought was the swim entry was actually the swim exit! We were swimming the opposite direction than what I had envisioned the day before. This may not seem like a big deal but when swimming is your weakness it’s very important for me to do visualization of what my swim looks like days before the race. I hurried down to the water and asked the race official how much time I had…”Ninety seconds!” he said. It was just enough time for me to get in the water and swim to the start line. At least the water was warm. The gun sounded and my swim was off. I started swimming and was actually staying with my group at first and then started to fade. I just didn’t feel strong during my swim like I did at Wildflower. I don’t know if it was being disoriented and rushed to get to the start but I just was not feeling like I had power in my stroke. It just didn’t feel like my day. I reached the boat ramp and for me there is nothing like getting your feet back on solid ground.

SWIM TIME: 49:58

WILDFLOWER LONG COURSE RACE REPORT

Race Headquarters

I decided to put this race on my calendar this year because of its reputation of being one of the toughest half iron distance races around. The U.S. Championship course will be much more difficult than Ironman Arizona and I wanted to compete in this race to get a feel for where I'm at in my training and where my weaknesses are. Some say the Wildflower long course is nearly as difficult as a full Ironman. The 56 mile bike has 5,345 feet of elevation gain and the 13.1 mile run has over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. In comparison the U.S. Ironman Championship course will have 3,900 feet of elevation gain in its 112 miles and 2,100 feet of elevation gain for its 26.2 mile run. As you can see the Wildflower course is not for someone who doesn't like hills.

 The carrot for this race was chasing my wife Liz's course time of 6:35:43. Looking at her splits I felt I could beat her swim and bike times. The key would be gaining enough of an advantage in those disciplines to beat her run time of 2:10:27 which I was fairly confident I could do based on my recent training.  
Before I get in to my race report let me tell you that the Wildflower Triathlon is a must attend event. The venue is beautiful, the race celebrating its 30th anniversary is very well organized. It totally lives up to its reputation as the Woodstock of triathlons with over 30,000 people attending, live music, excellent food vendors with reasonable prices, tri related sports vendors and even activities for children. Nearly everyone camps or brings an RV. Even some of the Pros have been known to sleep in a tent during the weekend. It's the perfect place for a beginner or serious triathlete to race and if you bring the entire family and they will all be guaranteed a good time. The only time you may be disappointed with is your finishing time if you under estimate the difficulty of this course.

THE SWIM 1.2 Miles

First off, let me tell you that Lake San Antonio has the best tasting water I've ever swam in...and did I mention warm? This is only my 9^th triathlon and only my second in the past 18 months. Although I’m more confident than I used to be, I still get butterflies. I told my wife Liz when I stop getting nervous about triathlons, that’s when I need to start doing something else. After setting up my transition I walked down to the boat ramp to prepare for my wave start. The lake was calm and peaceful with the exception of the athletes who had already started swimming.

Swim start

 It looked like the perfect morning on Lake San Antonio. After the wave started ahead of us we all had a chance to get in to the water for a quick swim before our start. The water was a comfortable 68 degrees and with the warm sun on a black wet suit it felt refreshing to get in to the lake. Back on the boat ramp we all waited for our wave start. As usual I hang toward the back of our group to stay out of the “real” swimmers way. The gun sounded and I casually stroll in to the water knowing I'm one of the slowest in the group. As I started my swim aiming for the first buoy of the rectangular course I was feeling calm and started my slow and steady stroke. At the first buoy I noticed that I was still with other swimmers in my wave and there were actually a number of people behind me. This is good! Right turn and I seemed to be sighting well as I swam a perfect line parallel to the shore. I was still getting hit and kicked occasionally by a few swimmers, another good sign that I'm at least hanging with others. Feeling more confident than ever during a swim I started pushing my pace and noticed I was catching stragglers from the wave in front. To me this was a great feeling and just boosted my confidence to swim harder. As I made my way around the final buoy I noticed I had taken a bad line and was now about 100 meters off line from what everyone else was swimming. In my haste to swim harder I sighted poorly. Lesson learned. I corrected and was in a nice groove when about 200 meters from the boat ramp my left calf cramped. Not bad but enough I had to stop, stretch it out and then swim timidly to the finish. I got out of the water looked at my watch and was so happy. I just had my fastest 1.2 mile swim and that was with a cramp and bad sighting.

Liz's Time: 54:19

Goal Time: 45:00

Actual Time: 44:01

IRONMAN ARIZONA (IMAZ) RACE REPORT - THE SWIM

"O My child, give Me your heart, for out of it issues life. My hand is upon you, and I will keep you in all places wherever you go. I am your God, and I am your Father, and I will care for you and provide for you according to all that you need. I will be at your side, ready to help you whenever you call on Me. I am not unmindful of your needs, and My concern is for you."

  
Thank you to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All things come from you. Thank you to all of my friends, family, and the church body for praying and supporting me. My wife Liz, you are such an incredible woman taking such good care of me and supporting me throughout this entire Ironman journey. I'm so blessed to have you. Thierry, your words of encouragement and excitement touched my heart.

PRE-RACE

My alarm woke me up from a deep sleep at 4:15AM. It was time to get out of bed and try to pour down as many calories as I could stand before race start. I would be burning around 1,100 calories in the swim alone (based on my swim time) so I needed to eat as much as possible in the morning knowing I will never be able to make up the calorie deficit during Ironman.

Breakfast consisted of:

1 Bowl of oatmeal 260

1 toasted wheat bagel 280

1 bowl of cottage cheese with blueberries mixed in. 275

1 bottle of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem. 270 (to drink during the drive to the race and in transition)

We left our Hotel at 5:30AM and had zero traffic or parking problems which was a relief. I just had to drop off my special needs bags and put on my wetsuit. (My bike and  other gear was dropped off Saturday)

I arrived at transition to find my front tire flat sending me in to a little panic. Fortunately the race support crew from Landis Cyclery fixed it in 5 minutes and I was good to go.

THE SWIM

 The longest swim I had ever done in training was 1.5 miles so I really did not know what to expect. Race morning water temperature was 60 degrees.  I had talked to so many people and read so many blogs about suggested ways to start the IMAZ swim that it was now 30 minutes from race start and I still was not sure what I was going to do. IMAZ is a deep water start meaning you have to swim 100 yards to the start line and tread water until the cannon goes of at 7AM. Some told me wait as long as possible to get in the water otherwise you will freeze and waste energy before the race starts. Others said swim to the start early and sit on the bank of the lake, out of the water until the start. Others still said stay as far away from the bank as you can, its too crowded and you will swim a longer distance. If you've been reading my blog you know I hate the swim and struggle with it, especially in cold water. After a short prayer I put on my neoprene cap, my goggles and then my swim cap (to hold my goggles on if I get hit.). I decided to go in the water at 6:50AM that would give me 10 minutes to swim easy to the start and find a place to tread water. I figured 10 minutes wouldn't hurt me.

At 6:45 I started slowly to the dock with hundreds of other athletes. I've never seen so many grown ups walk to the edge of the water like little kids and just stare, not willing to jump in. I was one. Finally a guy with a bull horn yells "Your going to miss your start! If you don't start jumping in I'm going to start pushing you in!" He looked like a man of his word so I jumped in. It hit me...the cold...I couldn't put my face in the water and swim normal because I was still

trying to catch my breath so I back stroked and clumsily thrashed my arms looking for a place to start. To my surprise I found it. A nice green kayak to hold on to. I was now positioned less than halfway back in the pack and toward the center of the lake. I had a good line to swim and I was resting my legs. Perfect! It also gave me a chance to take off my wool socks I wore in to the lake to keep my feet warm. With one minute to start, the Kayak had to go and I miraculously found a 12 foot open space of water with no one in it. The cannon fired  and my swim started! I received some great advice from a veteran the day before the race. "Your going to be so amped up! When the race starts, swim slow, and then when you've done 2,000 meters swim even slower!" I started a nice easy pace and got hit and kicked while I hit and kicked others. After 500 meters it seemed calm and I was moving forward in the wake of nearly 2,300 swimmers. I was used to the water at this point and experienced none of the panic I've had in previous races. I developed a nice steady pace. The turn was a little further past the Rural Road bridge than I thought which surprised me. It started getting congested again as swimmers aimed for the turn buoy. I got hit a few times and decided to take a wider turn to avoid people. I turned left again and started swimming back toward the Mill street bridges, glanced at my watch again and saw that with only a few hundred meters to go I was on pace to beat my goal time, something I've never done before in a triathlon. I pushed my pace and when I did my right calf cramped severely. I was in agony and could not swim. I flipped on my back and tried to back stroke while I stretched my leg out. It finally felt better and I was able to swim to the stairs to get pulled out of the water. As I stood up on the stairs the cramp hit me again and I had to just stand there and stretch it out. Finally I walked up the stairs and over the timing mat. My swim was officially over.

GOAL TIME 1:44:00

ACTUAL TIME 1:38:39

I walked up to a wetsuit stripper and he had my suit down past my waste in no time. I sat on the ground and as he pulled my suit off of my legs my right calf  cramped again. He tried to help me up but I could not move. Another volunteer came over and asked me where the cramp was and started kneading and massaging my calf to work it out. I'm not sure how much time elapsed but after some time I told him that I thought I could stand now. They both helped me up and I limped gingerly to get my bike bag. Despite my cramp it was an amazing swim for me and I felt strong and confident the entire time.

1Peter 5:7 - Thanks Pastor Matt Davis for the mini sermon you e-mailed to me.

IRONMAN ARIZONA (IMAZ) RACE REPORT - THE BIKE

With my calf issues coming out of the water I was already running behind in my Transition 1 time. On top of that my bike was mysteriously missing from the bike rack! Looking at this video it's pretty hilarious what happened but not so funny at the time. The race support staff call out your number on a bull horn to the bike transition crew. Then a crew member gets your bike and meets you at the transition bike exit. The problem in my case is I did not run down the middle aisle to get my bike from the volunteer, I turned right when I entered transition and ran down the outer perimeter to where my bike was racked. Who knew someone was getting my bike for me?? This video says it all.

T1 GOAL TIME 10:00

T1 ACTUAL TIME 14:58

Now  that I have my bike, it's off to do my favorite part of a triathlon. As I headed out on Beeline HWY to do my first of three 37 mile loops I noticed three things, 1. My calf was still bothering me, 2. My stomach did not feel great, and 3. There were going to be challenging weather conditions. These are common things that can  happen during an Ironman. You can plan and train for this grueling event but all of the planning and training doesn't help you for race day unknowns. On the first half of my first loop I was averaging 18.7 MPH and trying to keep my effort steady and under control. I was on target at this early point in the race. I reached the turnaround and the ride back to Tempe is a slight downhill so I was confident now in my bike time. As I rode back towards Tempe the winds, rain and even occasional hail started. But the toughest part was the wind. As I fought the wind on the way back I saw my average speed slipping downward. After one loop my average speed was 17.2 and I knew unless the weather changed my bike time goal and my sub 13 hour Ironman was out the window. The second loop was  worse with gusts up to 25 MPH and no place to hide. I saw numerous racers drafting which is not allowed in Ironman races. One of them had an Ironman tattoo. "You call yourself an Ironman sucking wheel?!" As bad as I wanted to suck wheel myself I was not going to taint my first Ironman. At least my stomach was feeling better and my calf was not seizing up on me. My wife was volunteering at one of the bike aid stations so I pulled in to say hi and use the potty.

 

At this point in the race I knew I couldn't make my bike goal time and I have to admit I was a little mentally defeated. I had a great swim and now the part of the race I enjoy the most was not fun. The unrelenting wind was just beating me down. If you ask most bike racers or triathletes if they prefer wind or hills, most will say hills. They have a beginning and an end. The wind just keeps coming at you. I had to keep pushing on and oddly enough I was looking forward to the run. My biggest concern now...how would my calf react to the run?

I want to thank the IMAZ volunteers at the bike aid stations. It was cold, windy and rainy and they always were pleasant helpful and had a smile. Amazing!

GOAL BIKE TIME 6:20:00

ACTUAL BIKE TIME 6:54:34

IRONMAN ARIZONA (IMAZ) RACE REPORT - THE RUN

The bike course was so brutal I was happy to get back to transition and begin my run. At this point I wasn't too concerned about my transition time. I wanted to make sure that my feet were fully prepared. This meant putting Body Glide between every toe and on every inch of my foot before putting on my compression socks. This would be my first marathon and I didn't want to take any chances of developing blisters or hot spots on my feet. I left transition and started the final leg of my Ironman journey. The IMAZ run course is also three loops which makes it spectator friendly. It's so awesome to be running and have hundreds of people cheering for you and ringing cow bells. Fired up from the cheering and happy to be off of my wind battered bike I started my run feeling great. A woman caught me and saying "great pace" and we started running together. I  looked at my GPS and the first four miles were all sub 10 minute miles including a 9:19 and a 9:36. I know nothing about running marathons, but my wife who runs them regularly has always cautioned me about running to fast at the beginning. With my goal pace being 10:29 minute miles I decided to let my new running friend go and slow down my pace. I was feeling great and God had answered my prayer..."please Lord,don't let my calf be a problem on the run."

Things were going well as you can see by this video and I thought if I cant meet my bike goal, I can meet my run goal! I really wanted to run a sub 5 hour marathon on my first attempt at a marathon. At 10 miles in to the run I was on track towards my goal time of 4:35:00.

 

Then as I reached the 13 mile mark, the longest distance I've actually raced before, my mile splits started slipping. I still felt pretty good but I was slowing and I was having a hard time keeping my pace up and I was losing motivation to keep my pace up. That's were the mind games start. "I'm not meeting my overall time so I will just slow down" or "Even if I walk the rest of the way I would still cross the finish line before the cutoff" You can see in this series of videos how my run was gradually coming apart at the seams.

At mile 20 I had now hit the wall. I was now running over 12 minute miles. I tried drinking coke, had a GU with double caffeine but nothing helped me to run faster. I never walk during runs except to take on water at an aid station. I walk just long enough (10 - 12 feet) to drink my cup and then keep running. At this point I was walking as I got to the aid station, drinking my cup, and then walking until the very last trash can to throw my cup away and then start running again. I kept justifying this as a way I could still meet my personal standards of never walking on a run except to take on water.

This is where you really begin to understand what it takes to become an Ironman. I began to think about all of the people who had so generously given to Homes of Hope and all of the prayers of supporters, friends, and family and I was asking God during this most difficult time..."Lord please hear their prayers and give me strength to finish" Then I heard an announcer at one of the run aid stations say "If you want to finish under 14 hours you better keep running!" I managed to pick up my pace and started calculating the distance and miles splits and realized if I picked it up I could finish under 14 hours and I could still do a sub 5 hour marathon! I kept praying and focusing and as I reached mile 25 I knew I could do this. I went from a 13:29 mile at mile 23 to a 10:26 mile at mile 26. I want to thank all of you who were praying for me those final miles. I could not have finished strong without you!

As I finished my last lap and turned left to run my final meters I started to think about what my finish would look like and how I would react. I've had many visions of it in training. I wanted to be sure I honored God as I crossed the line and often thought I would drop to my knees after crossing the line. As I reached the final stretch and saw the grandstands with hundreds of people cheering I was overcome with joy and wanted to share my joy with every person who was witnessing my finish. As I crossed the line I pointed to the sky and was just so thankful that our loving and merciful God had allowed me to take this journey and finish it as strong as I did.
GOAL RUN TIME 4:35:00
ACTUAL RUN TIME 4:56:57
OVERALL TIME 13:57:51

MAGIC MOUNTAIN MAN TRIATHLON PRE RACE REPORT

This Sunday I will be participating in the 2nd Edition of the Magic Mountain Man Triathlon at Castaic Lake California. My second Half Ironman. This race will give me a final opportunity to test my transition skills, nutrition strategy, and equipment in a race situation before Ironman Arizona (IMAZ). I will be returning to familiar grounds from my mountain bike racing days as this venue is also one of the race locations for the California State Championship Mountain Bike Series. I loved racing here then, and I’m hoping some of that positive thinking will cross over racing here as a triathlete.

The 1.2 mile swim in lake Castaic will be my first mass start triathlon so it will be a good test of getting hit and kicked without panicking. The water is advertised as between 68-70 degrees so being cold is not an issue with a full wetsuit. I’m hoping to improve on my Half Ironman swim time.

The bike course will be very challenging with a total elevation gain of 6,800 feet for the 56 miles but cycling is my strength so my biggest concern is how this tough course will impact my run. To give you an idea of how tough it is, after the swim you jump on your bike and start a seven mile climb with an average grade of 5%! That should warm me up after the cold water!

The 13.1 mile run is mostly flat around the lake on asphalt with some dirt.


Some of my most important testing during this race will be my nutrition. I’ve been using a liquid nutrition formula from a company called Infinit (http://www.infinitnutrition.us). I’ve been testing this product in training (at the recommendation of other Ironmen) and it’s been working great without causing any gastro intestinal distress. To give you an example, I did a training ride last Saturday of 97 miles and the only nutrition I had was 5 bottles of Infinit which kept me hydrated and fueled for the entire ride. No gels, cliff bars or Double Doubles. I will also be using a special formulated nutrition mix for my run from Infinit.
Praise God for giving me the, health, strength, determination and perseverance to do this race.


Here are my goals for this weekend.
SWIM - :45:00 (I know, still slow but it would be a PR!)

T1 - :07:00 (I’m not using my compression socks on the bike. I will put them on in T2)

BIKE – 3:25:00 (Not sure about this one…really tough course!)

T2 - :05:00 (Put on compression socks and sunscreen)

RUN – 2:05:00 (This would be a PR…the tough bike and heat could keep this from happening)

TOTAL TIME 6:27:00

I would love to PR this race going under 6:25:57 which was my time at California Half Ironman in March. It would be amazing considering how tough this bike course is. I can’t wait to get on the run course because this is where I feel I’ve made my biggest improvements. What may kill my run in this race is the predicted 87 degree weather after a very tough bike course. Regardless of the outcome the real goal is to use this race as a training tool to finish Ironman Arizona! Please pray that my race will be accident and injury free!

RACE REPORT - Peters Canyon Trail Run #3

It's been an unusually mild summer here in SoCal and that makes for great running conditions. This was the last race in the series and I had set of goal of doing a PR for this race to really test myself and my conditioning. My best time was 42:16 and I was hoping to finish under :42 The race was being run counter clockwise again which I think is the harder direction. Most of the 1,000 feet of elevation gain on this five mile course hits you at the one mile mark whether you are warmed up or not. I kept leap frogging a woman much younger than me when we hit the hills. On the climbs I would race past her, on the down hills she would race past me. She had to be under 5'3" with an inseam of 10" but somehow she is faster than me on the downhills? It was weird. I was thinking if we were both on mountain bikes I would show her who was fast! There's nothing like a race to get the competitive juices flowing. As we finished the majority of the climbing and started back to the finish line with two miles to go I pulled ahead. With one mile to go I caught a guy wearing an Ironman Finisher hat and flew by him. Looking at my watch I knew I would PR...not because of the elapsed time but because my heart rate was at 180! With a half mile to go 10" inseam girl goes flying by me while Ironman Finisher is at my heels. I pick up the pace and jump on 10" inseam girls heels for about... 10 meters and I realize there is no way I can beat her but I've dropped Ironman Finisher. With 50 meters to the finish line Ironman Finisher kicks it in and catches me... I try to stay with him but I'm done and slowing down. I cross the finish line 41:15! To my surprise my wife is at the finish line as well...the woman who eats 7:00 minute miles for breakfast!? She beat me by seven seconds? Now admittedly my wife had a bad day and still beat me by seven seconds...but those seven seconds will go down in Clarke family lore for some time.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS TRIATHLON

After doing my scheduled 2:30 training ride with the local race group my wife and I drove to Oxnard for the Strawberry Fields Triathlon. My fifth triathlon and third at the Olympic Distance. I stayed with my weeks training schedule going in to this race since this is a "B" race to help me feel more comfortable in race situations. It would be nice to taper a couple of days and do a "PR" but that's not the goal. I certainly wont be doing a 2 hour 30 minute training ride the day before IMAZ. The goal is to learn and boost confidence knowing my Ironman training is paying off. This is a well organized race at a nice venue. The volunteers were helpful and you get free strawberries! I would recommend this race to anyone...unless you are a very poor swimmer. As it turned out, this race was a mixed bag for me.

THE SWIM

In talking with my competitors who have done this race in the past, they have had a few years where the swim is cancelled due to surf conditions. This year when we arrived at the beach the conditions looked perfect. Athletes walk 1/4 mile south of transition swim out and then parallel the shore swimming north against the current then a right turn swim in to the beach. The transition is aprox. 200 yards from the beach. As I waited for my wave, watching the surf it seemed to get bigger. (I was in the last wave) The guy next to me in my wave said "I think a swell just came in". He was right... but it was still nothing to be fearful of but I realized my goal time of 30 minutes was out the window for sure. The gun went off and I ran to the water. I know I'm a slow swimmer and I'm learning to accept that. I don't try to keep up with anyone I just try to swim my speed. The swell seemed to be breaking far from shore and seemed to take forever for me to get to the first buoy as I fought the waves. As I started to swim north I already felt tired including my right calf muscle that was on the verge of cramping. In addition to that my bilateral breathing was helping me to take an occasional saltwater gargle when I would breath on the ocean swell side. I was swimming thinking, "that was stupid to ride so hard yesterday" I actually had the thought that I couldn't finish this swim. I was so dejected. I must have looked pretty bad because as I was swimming to shore, waves crashing around me, a lifeguard on a board came over to ask me if I was OK. At this point I was OK because even without swimming, the waves would have washed me ashore. I'm glad no one asked in the first 20 minutes of my swim...I probably would have quit. This picture says it all.GOAL TIME :30:00
ACTUAL TIME :46:03

T1

No issues here. I thought the distance from the beach running in sand to the transition would slow me down but transitions across the board for this race were fast. One advantage of being a slow swimmer is that its easy to find your bike out of 400 bikes when there are only 25 bikes left in transition when you exit the water.GOAL TIME 5:00

ACTUAL TIME 3:49

THE BIKE

The bike course has you riding on roads that border strawberry fields hence the name. The roads are in good shape with a couple of overpass type of rises on them so it's basically a flat fast course with mostly light crosswinds. A good course for a fast time. It's nice to have my favorite discipline after my worst. I feel like an athlete again instead of a floundering fool. It's often what motivates me during the swim. "If I can just get to the bike..." As I started my two laps on the bike course my calf cramp during the swim was long forgotten, but my legs felt heavy from my training ride the day before. As usual I get to pass other people on the bike who are either faster swimmers than me or they are first timers doing the sprint distance. Either way its nice motivation to know I'm faster than someone at something!
GOAL TIME 1:10:00
ACTUAL TIME 1:05:36 AVG. 21.1MPH



T2
I did stop to borrow another competitors sunscreen and made a trip to the Potty other than that, a good transition I thought. I'm still using regular shoe laces no trick laces for me.
GOAL TIME 4:00
ACTUAL TIME 3:09


THE RUN
I left transition with a guy who did the swim without a wetsuit and swam faster than me! I caught him at the end of the bike and we ended up leaving transition together to start the run which was great because it always motivates me to have someone to pace with. Unfortunately he started out faster than my legs wanted to go and I had no idea what the run course was like although it was advertised as flat and fast. It seems to take me a half mile to a mile before I really start feeling good transitioning from bike legs to running legs. The course was flat as advertised and I was beginning to feel better and finding my groove. I felt like a was doing a great run but it was hard to tell. I dont use my GPS in tri's and my heart rate was staying at 158 (80%) which seemed low for the effort I was putting out. After I completed my first of two loops on the course I looked at my split and saw I was running a great time. On the second lap I caught my friend I left transition with and picked up the pace as I passed him. He yelled behind me "Great run!" I was a little worried that maybe I would blow up towards the end but I managed to keep the pace steady and kick it in for the last 200 meters.

GOAL TIME :53:45
ACTUAL TIME :52:22
MILE PACE 8:03

GOAL RACE TIME 2:42:45
ACTUAL RACE TIME 2:51:01

Overall I'm happy with my race. I had a solid bike and a great run and if I would have done my goal swim of :30 minutes I would have finished 8th in my age group.

What lessons can I take away from this race? My swimming leaves much to be desired. This race was a good reality check for me that I need to work harder on my swimming and I should do some open water training swims. Something I have ignored completely. I also have not taken a single swim lesson. I'm determined not to do so. Part of it is pride but I also want to prove that anyone using free resources such as Youtube and some hard work you can finish an Ironman swim. After all, I'm not trying to compete, I'm trying to finish.

RACE REPORT - Peters Canyon Trail Run #2

I have to admit that morale for this race was not what it should be. After doing research on Achilles pain and reading horror stories of snapped Achilles tendons and surgery I was thinking about sitting out this tough 5 mile course with 1,000 feet of total elevation gain. The problem was I had already paid for the race. It didn't help my morale either that I left the office late and had to hurry home to change and hopefully get to the race before the gun went off. Now my morale was low and I was frustrated. A big thanks to my supportive wife for helping me get my running gear together and making my recovery drink. We did get to the race on time and I started without much of a warm up. The course was being run clockwise this time which I think is the easier way. Running this direction you don't face steep climbs until 2.5 miles in, however you do run the first two miles gradually uphill. My goal was to race within myself concentrate on my running form and see how my Achilles responded. As I get more comfortable with running I'm trying to work on a posture that doesn't waste energy. Miraculously my Achilles did not bother me during the race and I finished in 42:59, 17 seconds slower than last months result but maybe the course is slower this direction!?

So what does this have to do with Ironman? Entering a race is a great form of training and a great motivational tool. This race replaces my weekly track workout at the local high school where my competition is my watch. It's much more fun to be drafting behind two runners the final mile of a race thru a beatutiful wilderness park while each of you pushes the pace just a little harder hoping to beat the others, versus avoiding walkers taking the inside lane at the local track while you carefully calculate did you meet your goals for that mile without knocking any walkers in to the infield. Training for an Ironman can be menotenous and boring. Do a race, any race once in awhile to have fun, push yourself and gauge your fitness. What started out as a low morale training day ended up being a fun race as a pushed myself against two other runners to see who would finish in 105th place! BTW - My amazing wife ran a 37:51 finishing 5th in her division!

RACE REPORT - Peters Canyon Trail Run #1

Competition... without it, the well of focused training begins to run dry. I hit my stopwatch to start another 10 mile run followed by a 15 mile bike all at 75% or less of my max heart rate and I wonder if I'm really improving on my fitness when one long run feels just like the last long run. Fortunately the first competition on my race schedule was coming up and though it was only a 5 mile run (no biking or swimming this day) it's a course that has nearly 1,000 feet of elevation gain in those 5 miles. A great opportunity to see where my run fitness is at. I was joined by my wife Liz and our neighbor Susanna. The weather was perfect for running, overcast and cool. This race is a great well organized small event (400 runners) that runs through a wilderness park near our house. A post race BBQ is served to deserving runners after a hard run. The course is mostly on fire roads with some single track and each race of the series they alternate the course to run clockwise or counter clockwise. Today they would run the race counter clockwise which I feel is the harder direction. The reason, it puts all of the hard climbing at the front of the race and I just don't feel warmed up after only one mile before the climbing starts.
The gun went off and I settled in to a hard but controlled tempo to warm up. My goal was to run hard but not all out and see if I could beat my PR for this course from last year. If my training is on track for Ironman I should...but you never know. Last year at this race I injured my hamstring so I didn't want to treat this as an all out race for fear of another hamstring injury. On the hilly part of the course I managed to catch some runners who were ahead of me. I looked at my watch with 1.5 miles to go and knew I was running well. My final official time was 42:42 beating my previous best on this course by over three minutes. What did I learn from this race? My training plan is working. All of the base mileage runs keeping my HR under control are paying off. Now I can refocus on my training knowing I'm going to reap the benefits at my next competition.

Ironman California 70.3 Race Report

"Running" with "patience"...in these two words I have combined the intensity of purpose and the quiet waiting upon Me you must have or else you will be overtaken in the race by fatigue of body and soul. So as I have told you before, come to Me and pour out your praise and your love and your worship. I will bless you and guide you and use you in My own good time and pleasure. You shall not be disappointed.

Above is an excerpt from the wonderful devotional "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances J. Roberts. This devotional was given to me by my Pastor Jeff Biddle and I have taken to reading it race day mornings. It helps me to connect with Him and remove my pre-race anxiousness. I have given Him my praise, love and worship and He has not disappointed me. To Him goes all of the glory for everything I do and accomplish.

My alarm was set for 5AM but I awoke on my own at 4:55. The weather forecast called for sunny skies, low 50's at race start and low to mid 70's by midday. Perfect weather. For breakfast it was a cinnamon raisin bagel followed by a banana. Transition would close at 6:30 and I wanted to get there by 6AM to set up for my 7:13AM start. Our hotel (Days Inn) was perfectly located .7 miles from the transition area so it was just a short bike ride from the hotel. I didn't feel too nervous but I must have been because I made another rookie mistake before the race even started. I found the rack where I was supposed to set up my bike and transition area. I had my gear set out perfectly and quickly ran to the Porta Potties. When I came back to the transition my bike was gone! I started to panic! Why would anyone take my bike and gear! I started looking up and down the bike racks in the transition and then realized my mistake. My race number was 1210, I had set up my transition in 1012! It was too late to move and I sheepishly told the guy next to me what I had done. "You better hide your numbers or you may get DQ'ed!" My race was already off to a precarious start. I hid my numbers as my rack mate suggested and started putting on my wetsuit.

THE SWIM
The water temperature was cold as advertised at 59 degrees. Before the race I purchased a Zoot neoprene cap to help keep my head warm. Taking a tip from another triathletes blog I decided to wear wool socks while I waited to swim out to the start to keep my feet warm. The beauty of wool is it keeps you warm even when wet. The race officials did allow "booties" to be worn because of the temperature being below 60 degrees but I didn't have any of those. IMCA's swim start is in waves while in the water. As each wave starts the next wave swims out to the buoy start line. The up side is you are not in the water long before your race starts so you don't get cold treading water waiting. Most of the wait is on dry land in a crowded corral. As I waited for 30 minutes slowly inching my way to the water as each wave started, I realized my next two early mistakes of the race. One, I forgot to eat my GU and two I was already thirsty and did not have water with me like most of the athletes around me. Mad that I may come out of the swim hungry and dehydrated I closed my eyes, tried to relax and prayed. As they called my wave in to the water I fumbled to set my watch (why didn't I do this earlier) and started to swim to the start line. I'm a confirmed slow swimmer so I had a bit of panic wondering if I could swim to the start, maybe 50 yards before the gun went off!I made it with time to spare and then my race began. At the last minute I had decided to leave my wool socks on during the swim. How much can they slow me down when I'm already slow and at least my feet will not be frozen on exit. I'm pretty sure I was the only one in the race swimming in wool socks! As I've said before, when you are sighting buoys in the water the distance seems so far but this time I just put my face down in the water and kept a constant steady stroke and with each sighting I could see my progress. I felt none of the panic that I had in previous races and knew I could do the 1.2 mile distance. As with any triathlon I got kicked and I kicked others. As I rounded the far buoy I was gaining confidence and even started swimming faster, but told myself to slow down and keep it steady. My swim time may not be indicative of this but I easily had my best swim ever in a triathlon. No panic, I was not cold, and I felt like I could have done a faster and longer swim. As I climbed up the boat ramp to exit the water, wetsuit strippers were on hand to unzip me and help me get at least partially out of my suit. Awesome! Note: I was not cold after the swim (neoprene cap and wool socks?)
GOAL SWIM TIME 48:00
ACTUAL SWIM TIME 49:07

T1
I took my time to drink water, eat a GU, spray on sunscreen and put on my trusty SLS3 Compression socks. All of this takes time but most important for me is being prepared and not forgetting anything. I know the transitions are free time and its something I should practice but haven't made it a priority.
GOAL 7:00
ACTUAL 10:59

THE BIKE
I left transition leaving my arm warmers behind since I had considered wearing them for warmth and sun protection but decided against it) There is a short very steep climb out of the harbor and then the first 20 miles are on relatively easy terrain. I found myself averaging 22 to 23 MPH and was tempted to ride harder but held back at maybe a 70% perceived effort. My legs felt great but I knew that all of the major hills were not until mile 29 and I had heard rumors that some people have to walk one of the hills. I also wanted to be very careful not to push my self to hard on my strength, the bike, only to falter on the 13.1 miles I had to run later. Thirty miles in I saw the hill. It looked impressive from a distance but in my experience you can never truly judge a climb on the bike until you are on it. At the base of the hill was an aid station with volunteers handing out water bottles to anyone who wanted one or two. Maybe its my bike experience but I was thinking "why would I take on three pounds of water before riding the toughest climb on the course?" I rode past the eager volunteers and started the climb. Before I know it, I was already in my lowest gear (39x23) and just turning the pedals over at 4 - 5 MPH. It wasn't a matter of making it up the hill, I was more concerned with what this hill was doing to my run time! Halfway up the climb there they were, racers walking their bikes. Even a guy with an aero time trial helmet which made me wonder how many seconds he saved wearing an aero helmet while walking up the hill? In his defense I was estimating the grade to be 12-14%. I talked later to some athletes who confirmed this and said it has some short sections that are 16%! Ouch! If I had to do it again I would consider a 39x25 gearing set up on my bike to save my legs. I talked to a few guys who were running compact cranks for this race. Nobody told me! Despite the hills, the course was beautiful and the roads were in good shape. I should also mention there were very strong cross winds on the back side of the course that made things sketchy with my high profile wheels. The final 12 miles are mostly downhill as the course headed back to the coast pushed along by a nice tailwind. I also witnessed for the first time "on-bike evacuation", or peeing on the bike, something that I've heard is commonplace in Ironman events. Unfortunately this woman didn't realize she was peeing during a strong cross wind that blew her urine in the the face of another competitor! Fortunately as I was passing her I was on the windward side but I can tell you the recipient of her "evacuation" was not too happy! As I headed towards the transition area I looked at my computer and saw I had done a great ride. I could have gone harder but I was focused on staying within my goal time so I could have a good run.
GOAL TIME 3:25:00
ACTUAL TIME 3:08:37

T2
I racked my bike, ate another GU put on my hat and running shoes and then asked a volunteer to spray me down with sunscreen again and stopped at the "Potty". (I refuse to "evacuate" on the bike)
GOAL TIME 5:00
ACTUAL TIME 7:29

THE RUN
I've had some strong "brick" workouts preparing for this race but I've never done a half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike. The first mile is always the hardest as your legs now adjust to running versus spinning. It's important to run easy until the legs adapt...they always do...eventually. I was trying to settle in to my goal pace of 9:35 minute miles which by my normal running standards is slow even for my ability. As I reached the 2 mile marker I looked at my watch and saw I was running roughly a 10 minute mile pace and my legs did not feel great. I was disappointed that I was running so slow and began wondering if I might have to walk near the end of my run, something I never do. Much of the run course was on the strand next to the beach in Oceanside before it went up a short steep hill one block to a residential road with a few minor hills. There were tons of people along the race course cheering on everyone who was trying to finish, and with everyone's name printed on their bib number people would call you out to personally encourage you. It was a beautiful day and running along the beach in sunny weather was much more fun than my last race running around a lake in the pouring rain. My legs did start improving and after finishing the first of two laps I was gaining confidence I could finish strong. The key was keeping my heart rate under control even though my legs felt better and I was tempted to run harder. I had no experience to draw from how hard I could push myself and wanted to be conservative. As I hit mile 11 of the run, I looked at my watch and knew it would be close for me to make my goal time of 6:30:00. I started picking up the pace at the same time as a woman in front of me. She was my carrot and I was chasing her to the finish. We were both flying by other competitors and as we raced the final mile people were yelling our names. With 400 meters to go I could see the race clock in the distance and knew I would make it. I had a huge smile on my face the entire way to the finish line. When I found my wife Liz I was surprisingly overcome with joyful laughter and emotion hugging her and repeating "I did it! I did it!"

GOAL RUN TIME - 2:05

ACTUAL RUN TIME - 2:09:48

GOAL OVERALL RACE TIME - 6:30:00

ACTUAL OVERALL RACE TIME - 6:25:57

Desert International Triathlon Race Report

After checking in to my hotel I decided to drive out to the event location to meet Ron Saetermoe owner of Triathica and do an easy pre-ride of the bike course. It was also an opportunity for me to learn from Ron's extensive tri experience. As we rode a leisurely pace and talked about the race and Ironman, I knew this would be a very fast course unless the predicted rain fell on race day. Whatever malaise I suffered from on Friday seemed to disappear as I envisioned hammering my bike around this course on race day.

THE SWIM
When I woke up this morning I looked out of my hotel window to see the sidewalks and streets were dry. It was cloudy and cold but still a good day. I arrived at the park set up my transition area and prepared for the 3/4 mile swim donning my wetsuit, earplugs, and goggles. It is so daunting for me to look out at a lake and strain my eyes for the buoys I have to swim to. The distance seems so far. I have to keep reminding myself that I've done this distance before. Then I start thinking about the cold water and Ironman Ron telling me he may wear a neoprene cap, something I don't have. Fear and anxiety start building up as I wait for my wave to start. The thought of quitting enters my mind and I quickly push it out with positive thoughts and prayer and this is before I even start the race! I started a conversation with two guys next to me for distraction. One is from Toronto Canada and has no fear of cold water. The other is from California. He tested the water and told me its freezing. We watch as a number of swimmers from each wave quit the race and head to shore as if the lake is shark infested. The gun sounds and we head to the water. I walk as long as I can to avoid as long as possible getting my chest wet. The first thing I notice is that my feet don't seem that cold. Maybe its the 53 degree air temp vs. the 63 degree water temp. I plunge my whole body in and start swimming. The water hits my chest and I have to catch my breath, which messes up my stroke, which causes me to panic. Fortunately I have my wetsuit on which keeps me floating. I started swimming again slowly and as I got used to the water temp I rounded the first buoy and was starting to get in to a groove with my slow and deliberate style. I flipped over to backstroke for a minute and as I looked in to the sky a seagull flew over and I was reminded of a Switchfoot song about faith, how my faith can sustain me thru the swim. Faith in God, faith in myself. With renewed confidence, I finished my swim. So much fear and self doubt trying to deceive me.
GOAL TIME: :35:00
ACTUAL TIME 31:17

TRANSITION 1
As I ran to my bike, happy I survived the swim and beating my goal time, the rain started falling. So much for a dry race. I had a wind vest and armwarmers in my transition bag so I pulled them out and put them on to try and stay warm during the ride. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not rolling up my socks and struggled with them, then a woman came up to me and asked me if I saw her husband who was racked next to me. Huh? As the rain came down I left the transition and started my bike.
T1 GOAL TIME 4:30
T1 ACTUAL 8:18!?

THE BIKE
This is the part of the race of course I love. Even in the rain I had my revenge on the numerous people who swim faster than me. I heard a bunch of guys complaining about riding a bike in the rain. Having raced bikes in the rain many times I actually found it to be easier in a tri. In a bike race your sitting in the peleton getting covered with dirt and grit flying off of everyone's wheels. Hearing these guys complain just made me stronger. My first lap I averaged 20 MPH and wondered if I was saving anything for the run. I felt great and decided to keep up the pace or push it harder on the second lap. It was one of those good days. At the end of the second lap my average was 20.7. With one hill to climb back in to transition I kept it in my big ring and stood up passing a few more riders. I was soaking wet and despite armwarmers and vest, starting to get cold as I racked my bike.
GOAL TIME 1:20:00
ACTUAL TIME 1:11:54

TRANSITION 2
I had the forethought to cover my running shoes and hat with my towel before I left on the bike, not that it mattered as the rain continued to fall. I opted to keep my vest and armwarmers on for the run and jogged over to the Porta Potty. (Too much hydrating in cold wet weather) as I climbed in I started shivering violently rocking the Potty! Good call on wearing the extra clothing for the run!

GOAL TIME: 3:00
ACTUAL TIME: 4:21

THE RUN

Most of the run was on dirt trails and roads that took us around Lake Cahuilla. Other than being cold, my legs felt pretty good after my great ride. I settled in to an easy pace for the first mile so my legs could adapt from the bike. The course was mostly flat with a couple of very small hills. I've never run in armwarmers or a bike wind vest before. You would think that I would overheat, but starting the run so cold and with the constant rain I felt just right the entire time. My run was going well and I knew I was on track to meet my time for the run and overall for the race. If you saw me the last mile of the run the first thing you would have noticed is the huge smile I wore on my face. Like former Ironman Champion Natascha Badmann who would often run with a smile, I was just happy to be able to use the gifts God has given me so that I can try and live life to the fullest.

GOAL TIME: 56:00

ACTUAL TIME 55:09

RACE GOAL TIME 2:58:30

ACTUAL RACE TIME 2:50:59

RACE RE-CAP

This race was a huge morale boost for me as IMCA nears. Although IMCA is roughly double the distance of an Olympic event, my training is paying dividends. To not meet my goals in this race would have been devastating. I did learn from this event. On the nutrition side I found out why I struggled in the past with stomach cramps in the first mile of the run. Don't chug all of your sports drink in the last miles of the bike! Take in as much fluids and or nutrition as you can early in the bike. This helps you to recover from the swim and fuels you for the remainder of the race with out causing stomach problems. Socks. Most tri people frown on socks except for maybe the run. I've gotta wear socks. I had wool socks for the rain which kept my feet warm and I LOVE my SLS3 compression socks! The problem is putting them on after the swim. It seems to take me forever even when drying my feet and rolling up my socks to the toes. I just need to keep practicing!
Pre- Race Meal
1 Bagel
1 Banana
Race Nutrition
3 GU gels. (with caffeine) One before the swim and one in each transition.

Palm Springs Half Marathon (Valentine's Day)

I'm not a runner. One reason I played baseball back in the day is you don't have to do a lot of running. Things have changed since my baseball playing days and I'm actually starting to look like someone who runs, at least my wife now calls me a runner...and sometimes a triathlete. As I train for IMCA I've noticed that my running has really improved. It's hard for me to imagine that I now go out for a ten mile training run on a regular basis. With Valentine's Day coming up and my training schedule calling for a twelve mile run I thought it would be fun if my wife Liz and I ran the Palm Springs Half Marathon together. With my training times I felt I could do a P.R. (personal record) and build confidence for IMCA. This would be my third half marathon and first since 2007. My previous best was 1:57:03 at the SIlver Strand Half on Coronado. My goal was to run a 8:50 mile pace. The course was advertised as a flat fast course. My wife having come off of a Boston qualifying performance at RnR Arizona decided to run with me at my pace to encourage me.
We started too far back as the gun went off to start the race and my first mile was painfully slow at 9:15. Of course once we had open ground to run I turned it on wanting to make up the time and then some. Liz cautioned me "You don't have to gain it all back on mile two!" The course turned out to be much more up and down than I expected and at miles nine and ten Liz was concerned I was not going to stay on pace. To add to the concern there was a dead black cat that appeared in the road in front of me that I had to run around. "I'm glad I'm not superstitious" I said, getting laughs from none of the runners around me. I managed to pick up the pace and someone in the crowd cheering said "ninty minutes!" I looked at my GPS and had three miles to go. As I did the math in my head I knew it would be close if I wanted to P.R. WARNING TO THOSE USING GPS! Don't rely on your mile readings! Make sure you validate your running time. I have this habit of looking at the mile time on my GPS and calculating where I'm at with my goal pace in my head. I do this just to preoccupy myself while running. Anyhow, I had myself running an 8:44 pace according to Mr. GPS, the reality was I was running an 8:51. A big difference in time. Fortunately I realized this at mile 12 and kicked in to my reserves and finished at a personal best of 1:56:06. The best part was I beat Liz by one second! ;-) Actually Liz and I crossed the line holding hands. I must have put my foot on the timing mat just ahead of her. It will probably be the last time I ever finish ahead of her in a running race. The race was a success and setting a P.R. while training for IM is icing on the cake.
I just want to thank my heavenly Father who made all of this possible including blessing me with a wife that will run with me for 13.1 miles. Lord, you are so loving and gracious. I thank you and praise your name.

Pre-race nutrition - One banana and small muffin.
During race nutrition - GU drink from water stops. (I've decide I'm not using a fuel belt or carrying a bottle for IM)