Ironman Louisville

Wow...I'm sitting here with Matt at the swim start of Ironman Louisville less than an hour before race time. Ironman gives normal people a chance to do an amazing thing and be a rockstar for a day. I'm extremely happy to be here with Matt to support him in his debut ironman. He came to watch me in Coeur d'Alene and as I recall was the first person I saw when I came out of the finishing area. I already have an appreciation for those who support an ironman and the race hasn't started yet. 12 or so hours from now I'm sure I'll have an even bigger appreciation. Ironman is so cool and so amazing and I love it. The buzz around transition, the quiet focus, the adrenaline, the beautiful bodies, and let's not forget the voice of Ironman. All of those things make Ironman what it is...So kick some ass Matt and you will be an Ironman tonight!!
Don

The Race Report - Finally...

Ok...3 weeks after Coeur d'Alene and finally my race report. I've had a lot of time to think about and pick apart the race so here goes. I awoke around 4 that morning and ate my bagel with peanut butter and took in some coffee as well. Same as I eat and drink before every training day and race. I went through my usual race morning routine and was out the door around 5. We made our way down to the lake and found a parking spot, relatively close actually. Then we made the very quiet tense walk toward where it all happens. I got there, got body marked, then headed to transition to set up my fluids and my nutrition, do one last checkover of my bike and air up the tires. After this there was nothing really left to do, so I made my way out of transition and found Leah, and the only thing left was portapotty line, waiting and getting the wetsuit on and getting ready for the swim. So after about another 45 minutes, I had the wetsuit on, hugged and kissed my number one fan and made my way across the timing mat down to the beach, right in front, just like last time. About 5 minutes before the race the voice of ironman Mike Reilly shouts out "who's gonna be an ironman today!!??" and every one gets excited. Before I knew it the cannon went off and off I went. The swim is always rough for the first bit until I got clear of the slow people :-). After a while my heartrate came down and I settled in to a good pace. I managed to keep a fairly straight line, even more so on the 2nd lap. I came outa the water right under 59 minutes, about the same as last time. I went through my transition much quicker than Florida, and was off on the bike. The bike... The first section of the bike course is pretty flat and fast and so I was feeling relatively good after my heart rate settled down and I found a good rhythm. After a while I started to feel the knee issue I have been experiencing creep up on me so that was a bit annoying. The second or "back" half of the course is where the hills are found. There is nothing that I would really call a monster climb, but some pretty good rollers. My fluids and nutrition went well. I did have to improvise bit when I dropped one of my own bottles and was without any fluids for around 20 minutes. I did stop at the porta potty once and I also grabbed my special needs bag as well. Coming to the end of the bike I was worried that my knee was going to be a problem on the run. Lets just say that it wasn't my knee that was the "problem" on the run. The run... After I got off the bike I discovered that I had a very annoying pain on the bottom of my right foot. It was very difficult for me to run for any significant time or distance without walking. Nutrition and fluids were ok on the run. I just shoved water, gel, cola, gatorade and salt down and it kept me going. I knew I was going to finish. That was never in doubt. I was not going to stop just cuz my foot hurt. I did take a few advil throughout the day as well for my knee and my foot. I ended up finishing in 12:43 which is around 45 minutes slower than Florida. Much of that is due to the bike which is significantly less flat than Florida. I was disappointed with the run. I felt like I could have run much more of the time and faster as well had my foot not been bothering me. All I can do is train harder and try and correct the problem, whatever it was. I was very blessed to have 15 people there supporting me and it felt amazing that they all came that way to watch me do this. It wouldn't mean as much without them there.

As of right now, my recovery is coming along well and I am training for an olympic distance race in Detroit Lakes, on August 21. I will be done with racing for the summer after that. The week after that I am going to Louisville to watch and support Matt as he competes in his first Ironman. He and his family were in Coeur d'Alene to support me. And then the second week in september I am going to Madison, WI to volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin and then sign up to do the race in September, 2011. That is all I have for now. Thanks for the love and support everyone!!

Night before the race...

Alright...
So..the night before Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Sitting in the hotel room, everything that possibly can be done right now is done. Today I checked my bike, dropped off gear bags, and relaxed with friends and family who are here supporting me. Got back from dinner about an hour ago, and I just finished mixing my drinks for tomorrow, and getting my nutrition and last minute stuff ready...

So I just wanted to thank everyone who has supported me on my way to this my 2nd Ironman. It takes a lot of time, money, and patience to train for an Ironman and to live with one :-) And in many cases even to be related to or be friends with one for that matter. So thank you all so much for your support, patience, and encouragement, it means a lot to me to have every single one of you as a supporter. Thank you to those of you who drove 30 miles one way to watch me swim "open water" for an hour in circles around a dam. Thank you also to the person who joined me on a few runs on her bike along beside me. It means so much to me to have your support. Thank you most especially to the person who sat at home for many hours alone while I did 2 hour runs and 5 hour bike rides. It meant the world to see you sitting there waiting for me when I got back...

So tomorrow the alarm goes off at 3:45. Get up, quick wake up shower, bagel and coffee, get my stuff together and head out the door to the race. Once there I'll drop off my special needs bags, set up my bike with nutrition and fluids, air up the tires, wait in the porta potty line a couple times probably, sit and contemplate why I am doing this again, then go stand on the beach with 2000 + other people, then swim bike and run for a very long time.. Thats about how tomorrow will go. I am racer number 277 if you want to follow on ironman.com. Well I guess thats all I have to say. Once more huge thank you to everyone for everything, you know who you are, and I love you all very much!! Next entry will be my race report. Have a good night everyone, its a good day to be an Ironman tomorrow...

Less than 5 days to go...oh my...

Well,
Here I am in my hotel in Butte, MT after driving about 13 hours to get here. We are staying the night here and finishing the relatively short journey to Coeur d'Alene tomorrow. We got checked into our hotel and I got changed and headed out on a very easy 30 minute run just up and down the street outside the hotel - it was actually nice and scenic, near a golf course I believe, and it felt good to loosen up. My awesomest sherpa / fan had ordered pizza and so I ate a bit when I got back from the run. Just got back from sitting in the hot tub for a bit and that felt great. Tomorrow is a short ride once we get settled in in CDA. Then its time to drive everyone nuts and be very impersonable until Sunday morning at 7 when the cannon goes off for Ironman Coeur d'Alene :-) I feel good, taper feels good, and I feel very fit and very strong.

Also, a shoutout to one of my biggest fans in GF...you know who you are..

1 hour 35 into my last ride before Ironman CDA next weekend. Feeling great. Tasty average speed of 21.1 mph - tail wind! hour and a half to go...ltr race fans!!

Just passed 100 miles...less than 15 to go...not gonna lie...ready to get off this bike...feeling as good as can be expected...nutrition and hydration good..

Stop in Thompson for a coke at the cenex...3 hours 40...72 miles in...avg speed 20.2 mph...hope coke will wake me up a bit...still feeling good though!!

Hi!! Just stopped in Hatton to fill up bottles...2 hours 25 in...48 miles....feeling good!!

About an hour and 20 in to my ride...feeling good...about 70 degrees and little wind...this is more like it!!

Monster weekend

Ok folks...tomorrow is an hour open water, 6 on the bike, and an hour run. So tonight is carbs for dinner!! Weather looks like it'l hold with very little wind and not 90 + degrees. Hopefully this weather will better simulate CDA... I will update soon, or maybe even while I ride...you'll have to wait and find out. Happy Friday!!
Don

26 days to go...

Alright people, almost a month since my last entry and only 26 days til the big race so lemme fill u in. Overall, I would have to say I am feeling prepared and fit. I have one big weekend out of the way, which consisted of an hour open water, 4.5 on the bike, followed by a :40 minute brick run on Saturday. And a 2 hour run on Sunday. Saturday was very hot - mid 90s and windy. I started out riding into the wind and it kinda sucked... I had 5 bottles of fluids with me, and I filled them all once, and drank them all. So I went through 10 bottles of fluids in around 4.5 hours. Plus 2 powerbars, 2 uncrustables, and 2 salt tablets. Kinda felt like hell when I got off the bike, but I'm guessing thats due to the fact that I'm not used to training when it's 90 + degrees. I cooled off for around 20 minutes after the ride, and then did my :40 at a very slow pace... The run on Sunday went very well and I felt strong. I did one gel halfway, 2 salt tablets at about :45 and 1:30, and hydrated with water and I felt good. I was very happy at being able to hold around a 10 minute mile pace. As for Saturday, I don't think it's going to be 95 in Coeur d'Alene, so I think I may have "acclimated" just fine. And I feel good and strong on the run, with the longest weekend still to go.

As always, there are little aches and pains I am working through, the most persistent of which is the calf tendon on my left leg. After trying the prolotherapy, and then a cortisone injection with some but limited success, my doctor suggested I try a course of prednisone to try and get the body to heal. It has been a week and I do feel it working. The idea behind taking prednisone is that it is systemic and will suppress the inflamation long enough that the body heals. I have a week left of taking it and then we'll see. I trust this doctor very much and he really goes the distance to make sure I'm taken care of...

Ok... So thats what's going on. This weekend on Saturday is an hour open water, 6 on the bike, followed by a :50 minute run. And on Sunday is a 2.5 hour run. Then I start my taper. I will be sure to post more frequent updates about training and as the date draws closer. As always, thanks to my readers for your support. Keep reading!!

Napa Half Iron Race Report

Ok ladies and gentlemen...here is my official race report from last Saturday's race at Lake Berryessa near Napa, CA. Flew in on Friday with my father, who was kind enough to accompany me to this race. Made our way to Fairfield in our rental minivan, and got checked into our hotel. I got my bike put together with relative ease and then found a local bike shop to pick up CO2 cartridges. Then we made our way back to near the hotel and ate dinner. After dinner, I got my bike and nutrition and fluids all ready to go for the morning. Woke up at about 4:45 on Saturday morning, ate a bagel with peanut butter and had a cup of coffee and made our way to the race site. It was about an hour drive on some windy and narrow roads. Once there and parked I got my transition all set up, got checked in, did a little warmup jog, put the wetsuit on, and then made my way down to the swim start.

THE SWIM - The swim was relatively uneventful, maybe coulda been a little faster cuz I stopped a couple times to adjust goggles and unfog them. Water was a chilly 62 degrees, but I adapted to that quickly. Overall I came out of the swim in about 10th position. Transition was ok. Always a little wobbly going from horizontal to vertical and then running...

THE BIKE - Out on the bike now...The course was definitely hillier than I was used to. Had some good climbs and some good descents. The course was very beautiful and I did admire the scenery as I rode by. Nutrition and fluid intake was on. Although I was getting sick of my energy bar and didn't quite finish it as I was starting to feel a little "iffy". I did have gel and sports drink too...so it all worked out. Got off the bike with a little less than a 3 hour bike split...around 19 mph, which I was happy with, considering the course profile and the effort I was putting forth - I tried to ride somewhat conservatively so I didn't completely explode on the run. So I made it into transition sitting at around 3:30 cumulative time.

THE RUN - I went out on the run which started with a nice little hill right out of the park. Seems like every time the run starts with a hill. Oh well... So the run was a double out and back of about 3.3 miles on the same road as the beginning of the bike course. The run was not all together as bad as it could have been. Took some gatorade and water at the aid stations, as well as hits from the gel flask I was carrying. I used the downhills to my advantage and did what I could on the uphills. That is to say that I ran on the hills til my heartrate hit about 170 and then walked til it went back down - again, I did that to avoid blowing up...blowing up is bad. I was doing well until about a mile before I hit the aid station at about 9.5 miles. I was getting very thirsty... So naturally when I hit the aid station I grabbed an entire bottle of water in addition to some gatorade. I probably took in a bit too much fluid at this aid station when in reality I shouldn't have taken any more than I had been before. I felt a little full the last 3 miles...oops...so I made sure to take only gatorade from then on and only use the water to cool off and wet my mouth when I felt thirsty. My half marathon split was around 2:20...which is not all together terrible actually - around a 10:45 pace, which I was happy with considering the hills - damn hills...

Crossed the finish line around a 5:50... I guess the only thing I would have done differently is not grabbed all that water around 10 miles and shoved it down my throat. It might have saved me a few minutes and enabled me to run a little more effectively the last 3 miles... But all in all I was happy with the race and it was a great experience.

A special thank you very much to my dad who traveled and watched me. Couldnt have done it without you dad... Thanks!!

Race week

Hello all!
It's been a significant amount of time since my last entry so here goes. First off, the knee/leg issue...I haven't really seen a whole lot of improvement along those lines. The good news is that it does get better with rest and it never really seems to get any worse. I did visit the doctor last week and had what is called prolotherapy. It is a dextrose injection into the area in an attempt to stimulate bleeding which theoretically in turn will stimulate the body to heal iteself. I haven't noticed a marked difference but it has only been about a week, so we'll see how that progresses.

Next... I am going to California on Friday to race the Napa Valley Vintage 70.3 distance race on Saturday. I feel well prepared, and well rested these last few weeks with my little mini taper. My dad is coming with me because my wife used up all her time to go to some Ironman in Florida in November :-) I am excited for the trip and for the race, hopefully I can pull a decent performance out of myself. My bike...I do love my new bike. I threw the race wheels on a few days ago and it just looks sweet. So even if I don't go fast, at least I'll look like I did.

I also did some metabolic testing a few weeks ago. I found out that my VO2 max is 59, which is apparently very good. I also did lactate threshold testing, for which I have not received results yet. I am going to check on that. All in all, it was a valuable experience and I am glad I did it. It will be a useful training tool once I finally get the numbers. On this same trip I also met with my coach and completed another power/weight test. I saw a 10% increase in my average watts over a 6 minute all out effort, which coach said was amazing, so both of us must be doing something right. After the test, I got to do a beautiful ride following the Liberty Half Iron distance bike course. Very beautiful ride.

My run feels solid, so does my swim. Little worried about the cold water temps in lake Berryessa, but it's the same for us all so I'll have to deal I guess. Anyway...I'll for sure post a race report next week. Wish me luck all, and thanks for reading!!

Long time no update :-)

Ok...3 months since my last post, so here we go. Why don't I start with whats current. Its about 5 weeks until I race the half iron distance race in Napa, CA on May 1. My training is progressing nicely and I am feeling my fitness progress right along with it. I have been outside for a handful of rides, my last one being 3 hours last Sunday. It was mostly sunny with 15-20 mph winds and about 30 degrees. But damnit it was outside and it felt awesome. I love my new ride very much!! I threw my neuvation wheels on that I had as training wheels on my last bike. It was about a 300gram weight difference compared to the shimano wheels that came with it. I realize there are only a handful of people that give a shit about that particular detail :-)
I also put a set of the Ceegee's cushies aerobar armrest pads on. They're so much nicer than the stock ones, very soft... I also ordered an x-lab rear hyrdation seatpost mount device. I think I'm going to be satisfied for a while after that... I love having a coach. I get feedback on my workouts when needed, and I can e-mail or even call him most of the time and he's available to answer me. The workouts are much more specific and personalized and I feel like I am more fit now than at this point in my previous training cycle. To this point my longest run has been 1 hour with speed / recovery intervals in the middle. I have a feeling my running volume is going to get upped here very soon cuz of my race in a little over a month. My swimming feels as good as ever. And my strength training program is really toning me up and...here's a shock...increasing my strength :-) As for my injury situation - the issue that crept up during the race and resulted in the MRI and the PT is still sort of there but does not seem to be getting worse and at times is not even very noticeable. However...after my long ride of 2.5 hours last weekend, the knee issue that hit me right before the Florida ironman crept back up again. That was resolved with cortisone. I'm hoping with ice and proper treatment I can avoid more cortisone in the same area. If its still bugging me right before I go to CA then I'll go and get shot up some more - the medial retinaculum I believe it is. It feels good now, also hardly noticeable. Well thats about all I got for the time being. It was good to catch up - I promise to be more frequent from now until the next big dance. Take care all!!