My New Triathlete in the Making

This is a view with fingers pointing at the camera

A profile view of the whole body

You'll notice quickly that the pictures I've posted are ultrasounds. Yes, I am excited to say that my beautiful bride is 13 weeks pregnant. I have a child the size of a lime incubating in my wife's belly.

A forward view with fingers from right hand pointing at the camera

 This wonderful blessing will be showing up June 27th. I can't wait to meet this little person who will be at the center of our lives from that date forwards. I like to think that these photos illustrate perfectly that I have a future Ironman in the making. Look at how aerodynamic that head is, though hopefully over the next six months the legs will be a little more proportional.

close up profile of the upper body

profile of the whole body

Right now I hope that these photos do a good job of pointing out that at 13 weeks we have a healthy little baby growing and God willing it will stay that way. This will make some of my future training a little more interesting, but with strong support of family and friends I'm sure there will be enough time for a swim, bike, or run now and again.

If this doesn't work, I have pictured below my plans to start the training of my new protege as soon around the time crawling is achieved. As you can see, instead of a race belt I just attach the bib as an actual bib. Crawling is so close to free style that it will be effortless. I can have six more months to work out the running and cycling. I truly couldn't be more happy and will continue to post more pictures as my little Ironman to be develops.

TORTOISE & HARE SPORTS JINGLE BELL RUN 5km Run/Walk

I needed one more event this year to meet my requirements for the Wheaties Fuel Ambassadorship and the year is drawing to an end. This is only a 5k put on by 4 Peaks racing and not really intended to be competitive with people dressed up in all sorts of holiday outfits. I thought this could be a fun event to do with my wonderful wife and offered it to her. She happily accepted my offer and it was on.

There really was a Santa Running.

We woke up this morning at 6 am and had a normal start to the day. We wanted to get out there by 7:30 so that we could have an opportunity to hand out some Wheaties Fuel Samples. The run was located near our house by 43rd Ave and Pinnacle Peak Rd at the Victory Lane Sports Park. We were lead in to park in a dirt lot and met by smiling volunteers. They were still getting set up when we got there at 7:30 am which was the beginning of packet pick up. I had registered through Active.com and only had to walk up to the M-P sign and tell the volunteer our names to get our bibs and goodie bag. For such a small race they had a very high quality timing chip set up with race bands and real chips intended to be attached to your ankle via a velcro band.

behind me is the toys for tots table

I didn't realize that the event was sponsored by Wheaties Fuel already so this made it harder to hand out product being that everyone already had a box of it in their bag along with a coupon. The registration area also had a place for same day registration that was well run. There was a tent accepting non wrapped toys in return for a raffle ticket. The toys were part of a toys for tots program and the raffle was for various items from sponsors of the race. There was a local women's workout clothing company with cute running shirts my wife looked at and a tent offering free massages pre, or post race. A late arrival was a 5 hour energy tent giving out free samples of 5 hours energy. There were plenty of porta potties and lots of holiday cheer with Christmas music being played over large speakers the whole time.

they are small, but you can see the bells safety pinned to my laces and the corners of my bib

When picking up your bib at the registration tent there were jingle bells to attach to your shoes and bib for the race. This seemed like a wonderful way to do a jingle bell run so both my wife and I participated. I thought before I left that some jingle bells and a santa hat would be good along with all my Wheaties Fuel gear to represent my ambassadorship, but there were some very festive people. I saw several Santas, more elves, a couple abominable snowmen from Rudolph and even a walking Christmas tree. I liked that it was a race more about the spirit of it then the competition. I was also really impressed to see several people wearing couch to 5K shirts. I applaud anyone making the jump to an active lifestyle.

You can see the registration tent in the back ground while I hand out cereal to people

Handing out more product and giving out coupons to festive participants before our grueling 5K

I walked to each participant that left the registration tables holding their bag and offered samples of Wheaties Fuel as well as a coupon. I had a good reception from most and probably handed out samples to half the participants in the race. It is always great to spread the word about a product I eat every day and have already converted most of my immediate family into eating. After handing out everything we went back to the car to drop off everything before the big race. This was a great time to take a picture with our shirt from the event before things started.

The race itself was over trail like terrain as well as gravelly areas. There was almost always at least a person width of well groomed area, but with the amount of people doing this race I ended up in bad areas most of the race. The bad areas had uneven terrain, lots of bigger rocks that would make it easy to twist an ankle and even limbs from plants and trees crossing your path. At the half way point there was one aid station with water, even Santa was helping out with the water distribution. This was enough since 3.1 miles really isn't much of a run anyways.

Taste the Win!!! Wheaties Fuel

The spirit of this race was evident more then anything in the amount of children and families involved. It was awesome to see so many kids dressed up of all ages. The after race provisions were what I would expect for such a short race, water, bananas, oranges and pretzels. 4 Peaks puts on a good race and for them to do such a good job on a race of such a small size was very impressive to me. I left telling my wonderful wife that I would love to do the race again dressing up silly, and even take our kids one day to participate in this kind of event. I would never recommend it for anyone trying to set a new personal record, or meet high levels of competition. On the other hand I would be happy to have my own family run the Jingle Bell Run with me any year.

It's Ok for Guys to Run Together Wearing the Same Shirt

I met the Firefighter this morning for a workout. I have to start this by stating that I am a better swimmer then him. When I got there he had already warmed up since I was running late. I started out with 3 laps of a warm up, he joined me on a couple of them. After that the workout was on. The swim workout was 4 sets of 5 laps each with a 30 second break between each. A normal swim workout for me consists of holding a pace that I can keep for an Ironman (as in 2.4 miles straight). This is not much faster then a minute per lap. I am changing all the rules now and since I am not thirty pounds overweight and already have enough endurance for the race, I've been pushing my limits a little.

this is me in the 200 pound range, where I normally am when I start training... 20 less pounds helps a lot

If you read about our last swim together it was an epic battle with neither of us relenting to the other. This time I started out strong feeling confident after a strong race. I hadn't been in the water in a month after hurting my wrist. Looking to my left there was a 6'4 guy sharing the lane with me, but I didn't worry about him knowing this was only the first set of 4. After the fifth lap of the first set I looked at him (I didn't have a watch on) and asked how we did. 4:10 he tells me, this is ten seconds per lap faster then either of us would normally swim. I was breathing hard, hadn't warmed up quite enough and next thing I know I hear 3, 2, 1 and here goes set two. I started out well, I was finally warmed up and just kept looking to my left (we had to share a lane, it was really busy) seeing someone half a body length behind me. At the end of the set he tells me 4:08 for the set.

On the third set I lost count because though I felt comfortable with our pace being a little faster then normal, every time I took a breath on the right during the return portion of the lap his splash kept hitting me in the mouth. I stopped after the fourth lap of the set just long enough to ask him if we were done and find out we had one more to go. We still finished in 4:07, our fastest set yet. He pretty much told me I was killing him and since I had one more set to go, I contemplated am I pushing too hard, but thought to myself that if I'm tired, then he's exhausted. We had a 6 mile run planned after this and he is a better runner then me. I figured I could run tired, but if I kill him he might not go too fast for me so it was on like Donkey Kong.

Our last set I came and right off the bat I picked it up. I could feel my heart rate increase and my arms begin to tire, wondering once again if this was a good idea. I pushed past all of it and decided the benefits outweighed the negatives. Our last lap I picked it up and he picked it up. This built until he actually got ahead of me on the last length of the pool. I had to at that time go into highschool sprinter mode just to finish first. I know this is petty, but he just smoked me by like 15 minutes a month ago in the Ironman and I am better then him at swimming. Regardless we were both exhausted and had the best swim workout for either of us probably ever finishing the last set in under 4 minutes (even if it was due to being over competitive).

I don't think the fact it's a Disney shirt helped our cause much

The run was no where near as interesting. The highlight was when he told me he wore his long sleeve shirt from the Goofy Challenge at Disney World and I followed by unzipping my jacket to reveal the same shirt. We did look like a same sex couple, but a really fast one. We got a couple weird looks from other people out running. The run was less competitive starting at a 8:40 pace and building to a 7:40 pace all while talking about the movie Forks over Knives. This was just another great reminder why training with a partner can push you to your limits.

Apparently this is a life changing movie, made for good conversation during the run

Where as I was fine during the swim, he was at top speed. He qualified for the Boston marathon, so during the run I don't know if I could of gone much faster, but because I had someone holding me accountable we just kept pushing it. It's great to have those solo workouts, but I rarely walk away with stories that are any where near as interesting as some how choosing the exact same workout shirt to go running together in through the canal. I am happy to be two workouts farther into training then I have ever been in the past half way through December.

Second Ride back, Bouya!!!

It was a cold morning waking up to my wonderful wife about to go to work. I made my way downstairs to feed my wonderful dogs Sweetums the english bulldog and Skittles the cairn terrier. I then took steps to set up my bike for my first ride over an hour and a half in it's whole one month of life on the road. This included adding my aero bottle to the front, putting 2 bottles for ironman perform in my back bottle cages, putting the Garmin 310 XT on it and putting a few powerbar gels in my bento box.

she has gained another 10 pounds, I love it

This is really not that much to accomplish, it was more about the nutrition leading up to my first real workout since the Ironman. I had a decent dinner the night before and a good breakfast. I also wrapped a couple presents for my wife waiting for the Firefighter to get ready. The ride was awesome, 51 miles and it felt like mid season for my usual training instead of the first real workout. I was supposed to meet my usual partner in crime and as we had pre discussed when I got to our meeting location early I continued on. He was discreetly dressed with a long sleeved jersey and dark bike shorts to below his knee's that matched his bike making him mostly invisible. It was a shame I didn't see him because I was 3 miles away when I heard his ringtone (Ironman by Black Sabbath). I pulled over and answered the phone hearing the question where are you? I answered with the same question to find out that I had just ridden down hill with a tail wind away from him and would now be playing catch up into a head wind up hill.

not Toto from Wizard of Ozz, it's our little girl

When I finally caught up to him he set a usual Firefighter I have to stay in shape for a living pace. I am months away from any race though, so instead of slowing down to my pace and making him match I just stepped it up. It was awesome, except for the part where even though neither of us was congested somehow unheard of amounts of snot kept running out of our noses. This is a part of science I will never understand, where does all the snot come from, I even blew my nose before I left. I new we were serious when we pushed harder just to make it to a huge hill that we could go over twice, and I took a different route home just to hit an extra hill.We were both in mid season form. We have intended to do these kinds of workouts during the winter in past years but instead waited 5 months and in my case 30 pounds of extra weight to get started. It was awesome to actually follow through for once, but hopefully this year it won't be the only workout since we're supposed to train again tomorrow.

 When I got back I cleaned my new Cannondale Slice 4 and made my way inside to greet the same two ladies that I started my day with (Sweetums and Skittles). If you are wondering at all where the name Sweetums came from, the name was inspired by a Muppet that she will look like when full grown.

see the connection?

Sweetums the Muppet

Training During the Holidays

The Holidays come just once a year. This is what I'm telling myself as my plans to go for a run today turned into going to a Christmas party and overeating on sweets. I have still put in my time on the bike and running, but with my next race almost six months away it is important to remember to have fun. I would not have changed anything about today.

It is a wonderful idea to take my fitness level from finishing Ironman Arizona in the best shape I've ever been in and expanding that immediately, but not vital. It is December and a time of year where you get to see friends and family. A chance to drink eggnog, give gifts and eat all the holiday treats that are bad for you. I'll take this time of year over Halloween any day of the week for the sweets involved. If I were a sponsored athlete, or one of the many local residents in peak training time for the upcoming PF Changs Marathon here in Phoenix it might be different, but I'm not.

All the literature says the same thing. It is important to let your body rest, giving weeks to build into normal workout shape. I also think it is not a bad time of year to put on a few pounds knowing swimsuit season is far away. I bailed on my training today, but for a good cause. The cause of enjoying the blessing of friends and family. I sacrificed my workout on the alter of correct priorities to help make some good memories. I will sadly be doing the same thing the next couple of weekends.

The important moral of the story is that I have all year to train, but only see some of the people at these gatherings once a year. I'll have the next twelve months to get up in the morning, eat my Wheaties Fuel cereal, get in a strong workout and taste the win. For the next few weeks though, I hope everyone cherishes their time with loved ones and enjoys the Christmas season.

Goals for 2012

2011 Was a good year for Triathlons for me, I only did one and set a new PR by over an hour. I had my fastest swim, transition 1, bike, transition 2, and run I've ever had. This is why I have to set goals for 2012. With 2 Ironmans and a Half Ironman in the upcoming year I want a way to hold myself accountable.

The first thing I am doing for this year is attempting to hold to a schedule. I have set my training for my first Ironman of the year into base, build and taper sections. I also have milestone workouts prepared months ahead of time to accomplish. I used the Triathlon Training Bible to come up with the amounts of hours and what workouts to do. I would love to defeat the FireFighter in Idaho, but just as in our last race together I have to just run my race. If it is good enough to beat him then great, but I can't get caught up in letting one person throw me off when I'm only finishing near 700th place overall.

Their will be other events throughout the year, and training goals that can be seen. The actual goals that I strive to meet though are listed below. I want to keep a focus on improving my bike and swim. I will try to improve my run with lots of speed, but do not have any intention of exercising it on race day. After knowing I could run a marathon in 4:00 for AZ 2011, but only getting a 4:40 I am now taking a more cautious approach to the run portion. I would love to put defeat the Firefighter, but if he can dwarf these times then he will win the day just like Ironman Arizona 2011. If he can't then maybe I'll achieve that goal too.

Ironman Coeur D'Alene
Weight of 175 for the race
A total time of 11:20
Run Split of 4:00 (9:09 per mile)

Ironman Arizona
Weight of 170 for the race
 A total time of 10:30
 Swim of 1:00
 Bike of 5:15 (21.33 mph)
Run of 4:00 (9:09 per mile)

Side note of preparing to do PF Chang Rock N'Roll Marathon
Weight of 170 for the race
3:00 (6:52 per mile)

Ironman Arizona 2011 Run

I set out on the run bloated belly, the sun beginning to shine really bright through dispersing clouds and heard the sound of cheering fans. The fans are screaming for any number of the 2600 participants, but it still lifts your spirits heading into a marathon. I saw my wife and her sister and aunt early running out of transition(so some of the fans were for me I guess) and it built me up enough to start strong.

Giving my big Bro a low five as I ran by

Having my Garmin watch on this race made it all possible to hold myself accountable. I could see an instant pace instead of waiting tell I had already ran a mile too fast. This was important because I had to slow down three times in the first mile to get it into a mid nine minute mile range. I was stupid to run 9:15 in the end for the first mile instead of the warmup I originally intended. I knew I couldn't hold this, but it was better then the 8:30 that I would have ran. My legs felt like spaghetti and it makes it harder to determine speed when you can't feel too much below the waist at first. By the second mile I was able to calm things down to a steady 9:30 pace keeping this until the second aid station where I took a gel pack, a salt tablet, some water and for the only time all race had to use a porta potty(I couldn't bring myself to pee on the bike, not unless I might win the race). I had to have a bit of a gut check in there, as I stood in the porta potty I leaned all my weight into the wall closing my eyes trying to just catch my breathe.

With a high for the day in the 70's it's still easy to overheat. Standing with my eye's closed and now finished doing a number one I waited about five more seconds and got out of the bathroom. I headed out worried whether, or not I would be able to keep the necessary pace now to finish the day holding onto my goal set almost a year prior. I had a heart rate of 160 and anything over 170 would mean game over. I took the warning and the entire first loop walked all the up hill sections and aid stations.

From Left, My Dad, Mom, Brother and Beautiful Wife

I got a good boost of spirits right when I needed it seeing my cheering section of wife sister in law and aunt in law by the Mill avenue bridge on mile 3. That was the end of my woe is me ways for the day. My stomach was still upset, and I had drank too much going through aid stations leading to major stomach cramps, but I was not to be stopped on this day. To fight off the heat each aid station I grabbed a sponge to put in my tri top and one for my visor. On subsequent loops I would just ring out the cold water with three of them, one down my back, one on my head and a third on my face and chest. The cold water evaporating helped keep me cool. Aid stations were every mile, so there was only roughly ten minutes between each one.

For those that don't have a personal cheering section the Ironman volunteers go above and beyond having a theme to each aid station. One mile your running through a bunch of pirates and listening to a song from Muppet Treasure Island (I love the Muppets), the next you see women dressed as sexy cops with guys dressed as policemen with short shorts, or as convicts. These themes help take your mind off of the task at hand when you travel at the speeds I was going. The music can be heard for up to a block leading up to it and the words of encouragement they give can have the same reassuring effect. The aid stations also have whatever a runner could ask for, water, Ironman perform, grapes, gel packs, oranges, chicken broth, coke, pretzels, cookies, vaseline, and any number of unique items that aid station chose to offer to make them stand out. I have even seen massages offered in past years,

About to get a hand shake from my pappa bear around the 13 mile mark of the race

On the second lap I got my heart rate down to 150. This was much better then the 160 of the first one. The sun began to set and the amount of direct sunlight was decreasing drastically. I also was able to get my nutrition under control, settling on a liquid schedule that was sustainable without cramping as well as calming down the amount of gels to take. The second loop I decreased my walking to aid stations and the steepest portion of the big hill. One aid station near the motivational mile by the Mill avenue bridge had a place with muscle cream similar to an icee hot, or bio freeze. I put it on my quads, butt, hamstrings, calves, shins, lower back, neck and shoulders. The numbness held pretty strong to keep me from thinking of the muscles that had begun to ache from hours of stress.

From left my Mother in law, Sister in law and beautiful Wife

This was a very special time in the race for me because my cheering section increased in size in a big way. My wife's aunt had to leave, but my mother in law, brother, mother and father all came out. The next two times I saw everyone. I got to give a row of high fives and hand shakes. I left the first time seeing everyone being kind of emotional with crocodile tears filling up my eyes. This kind of support can make a race and give the motivation in the hardest miles to push harder. The second time I saw them, my brother yelled out "BUDDY!!" as loud as he could and I yelled back "BUDDY!!" from a hundred feet out. My dad had never seen me do any triathlons before, so this being me third Ironman it meant a lot to see him there.

My brother yelling BUDDY, and my dad giving a low five

The third loop my heart rate fell to 140, I could have pushed harder and held the 150 range, but rather then become greedy I just wanted to keep my current pace. The day had held a consistent 10:40 mile. Some were faster when there were more down hills, and others were slower when multiple aid stations fell within the same mile. The sun fully set a third of the way through this last loop and the temperatures fell drastically. My parents and brother had to leave, but with three cheerleaders still staying for me the finish line was closing in fast.

A confident high five to my mother in law with only a few miles to go

Throughout the run several pros passed me in super fast packs. If you look at my overall standings over a hundred age groupers also passed me during this portion of the race. The entire run for me felt nothing like a race. I passed people, but unlike the bike and swim where I pushed myself, this was more about just holding on to the prize. Instead of racing for glory. I stayed consistent, afraid of being a firecracker that would die out too early. The last 3 miles it all changed for me. Instead of drinking sports drink, or water I started drinking coke and running a little stronger between aid stations. 23.2 miles of consistency left me antsy to hear those magic words waiting for me at the end.

Me and my beautiful wife with a random stranger in the background posing for the camera
Below me just before finishing

3 gels, lots of Ironman perform/water, 3 cups of cola, 4 salt tablets, multiple orange slices (only drank the juice didn't eat them) and probably 70 water sponges lead me to my final stretch. This is a mile of constant cheering from all sides. I revved up to a higher gear holding closer to a 9 minute mile and feeling amazing. Nothing was going to stop me from reaching my goal and cutting an hour off my previous best Ironman. I was also on pace to set a new PR for the run. People yell out encouraging words telling everyone how much distance is left so that you'll keep high spirits for the finish. Rounding the corner into the shoot with bleachers on both sides I slowed up and gave a string of high fives running by kids that lined the walls to the course. Seconds were not going to matter at this point so I slowed down to a slow jog. I wanted to savor this race that had gone so much better then I anticipated. I heard the speakers say two airline pilots were coming together (so maybe one of my coworkers was with me, I have no idea) and then he said it,"Justin Peele from Peoria Arizona you are an IRONMAN!" I crossed the finish line arms raised to the heavens in my own personal victory. I never saw my supporters in the bleachers, but knew they were there.

Finisher Shirt and Hat holding up my Wheaties Fuel shirt I wore all day

To add to the local support I had my metal put on by the Firefighters mother in law who had specifically told me to find her at the finish. Some one else handed me my finisher hat and shirt together. Unlike a marathon where you pick up your shirt with registration, Ironman makes you earn it. I quickly had one of those metallic heat blankets on me trying to keep my body temperature from dropping. My beautiful wife found me quickly while I was still in the finisher are just past the finish line. I gave her, my sister in law and mother in law hugs and said my thanks for their support. We took pictures, to capture the moment of me high on victory and them my invaluable cheer squad. I told them I would get food and meet them at my gear area in roughly ten minutes. A new thing for this race I got to pose for a professional picture holding my metal.

My Finisher medal and below a video of the Firefighter Finishing in 11:39

The run was the most calculated part of the entire race. I had checked my splits from my last race knowing 11:13 per mile average would not cut it. I had a plan from the moment my stomach cramped to improve time one mile at a time thirty seconds at a time. That day I got a 4:40 and cut 13 minutes from the previous race. The final time of 11:51:00 was a true achievement for me. I could have shaved a few seconds at the end had I not slowed down, 8 minutes if my bike chip didn't fall off and a few more minutes if I had wanted to keep my heart rate at 150 for the whole race instead of accepting a lower one for the last loop, but it didn't matter. I wanted the first two numbers to be 11 and honestly would have guessed the final result would be more of a 12:15. I messed up nutrition for the run at first, but otherwise was very happy with how the run went as well as the whole race. A big thank you to all the family that came out and the family of the fire fighter who cheered me on, I could not have done it without such incredible people cheering from the swim start, to the finish line.

Ironman Arizona 2011 Bike to Run Transition

I started with a fist pound to my partner in crime the Firefighter. We left our bikes handing them off to volunteers. Before handing off the bike I put the Garmin 210 XT from the bike quick release mount to my wrist mount. Jogging over to the transition bags yelling out our bib numbers we were handed our transition bags and guided into the transition tent. I just dumped mine out on the ground and found my new timing chip in my running shoes. I immediately put the chip on, and changed my socks before putting my running shoes on. I took off the arm warmers, took off my bike helmet and put on my Wheaties Fuel Visor. 

I had a great smooth transition tell it came to nutrition. I took 2 pepto (keep me from pooping on the run), a 5 hour energy(boost energy to finish strong), a gel (for calories), and 2 cups of water. This was too much and I immediately knew that this was overkill. Next time no pepto, or 5 hour energy and I'll explain. I walked out the tent, let complete strangers rub me down with sun screen since I was already completely burnt and headed out a few minutes behind the Firefighter. I never saw him again, though I didn't think I would.

This was a clean transition and quick. Before I even started the run I began to feel bloated, and weird. I wanted to leave knowing my energy level was on the rise, I wouldn't have to poop and I would be fully hydrated. Instead I was bloating, feeling like the combination of caffeine gels with 5 hour energy was making me sick and the 2 waters just made it worse. The only positive that overshadowed this terrible set of choices was that I had a timing chip. I had already made up 51 minutes and now it was just necessary to make up another 3 minutes to guarantee my goal for the day was met.

Ironman Arizona 2011 Bike

Confidence is high, gear is on and the only negatives I can think of at this point of the race is that I lost a bottle full of powerbar gels and forgot to put on my second layer of sun screen. The first third of a mile is a no pass zone through a corridor of screaming onlookers. After it opens up you feel like a rock star ready to face hours of open road. The first 8 miles leading up to the B line highway is slightly up hill, but mostly flat.

This was a great time to begin just staying up on my handle bars for 10 minutes holding a 90 rpm cadence and warm up. I wanted 15 minutes, but I felt so good and had prepared in the aero position with such a high percentage of my training that it seemed alright. Having recently been fit for a new bike I had set up the Velo Vie frame I was riding in a much more comfortable and less stretched out position then normal. This would prove to be a huge asset in allowing me to stay in the aero position for almost 6 hours straight.

Not much to say at first, it is more about holding a pace that on the first lap is easy, second lap a normal exertion, and third lap only an above average. The entire first lap was almost no wind. This made for the easiest overall effort you could ask for. Half way through the first uphill portion I felt like my right ankle was kind of naked. A closer look revealed that there was no timing chip attached. I had lost the entire chip holder. There was nothing that could be done at that time, so I continued intent on finding an answer over the next 9 hours. As I was passed slowly by a group of riders drafting off each other I asked them what they thought I should do and was told to tell the timing chip people at the timing mats. This though obvious, was a brilliant idea.

so glad someone finds my bike for me

It almost paid off at first to be distracted in deep thought over the ramifications of this because it kept me from thinking of the grind of pedaling up hill. Every 15 minutes my watch went off telling me to eat, or drink and it just became a flow. I ate half a marathon bar on the first 15 with water, a gel on the 45 with water and at the top and 30 drank ironman perform. I only ate the marathon bars for the first 3 hours and then went to strictly gels. I also ate a salt tablet on the first 15 minute mark of each hour with water.

As I came to the steepest portion of the course on the hill just prior to Shea avenue I had to leave the aero position briefly to keep the exertion level casual. After conquering the hill for the first of three attempts I came to the timing chip and had to stop. I told the guy what happened. He said he would mark my time manually. I needed a longer term answer though so I had to find out what my best course of action to get a new chip was. This lead to what color their shirt would be, where I should stop and so forth. After five minutes of talking, losing precious momentum I continued on with a plan to stop at the turnaround that begins the second loop. He had told me I might have to go into the transition area, this burst my bubble of ever hoping for a PR on the day, but in aviation we say versatility is key. You never know what the world will throw at you and I would just take it as it happened.

this is the glory of the B line highway

The down hill was awesome. Still no wind and equipped with Zipp wheels, the bike flew. At the aid stations I would drop my Ironman perform, grab a water bottle, fill up my front aero bottle and pick up a new ironman perform. I would finally chuck the empty water bottle and continue on with just the two bottles. I grabbed a gel on every third aid station to make up for my lost gel bottle. The only aid station I skipped was the last one on the third loop.

I stopped at the end of the first loop by the guy manning the timing chip mat. I asked him if he knew I was coming because the guy at the top of the hill told me he would call down. He didn't know who I was, or what I was talking about. I told him my dilemma and he wrote down my number telling me there would be a timing chip waiting for me in my shoe for the run transition. The whole conversation including getting him to manually put my time down took roughly 3 to 4 minutes. At this point my lack of awareness when the chip fell off had cost me about 8 minutes. Now that this entire timing chip issue was clear in my head I was ready to start things over no stress. I yelled at my family as I rode by that I had lost my timing chip, but amongst all the screaming I don't think they heard me.

On the second lap there was now a strong tailwind going up the hill. I had done the first lap in 1:55 even with the 8 minutes lost. I weighed 185 lbs on race day (as far as I could tell) this meant my biggest weakness of hills turned into one of the easier parts of the race. I was moving so much faster then the normal hills I ride that I had to verify by checking my heart rate versus my cadence. At 145 bpm and a cadence of 90 the race was coming to me, and though it was going well I wasn't pushing too hard. This carried me back to the timing mat at the top of the hill where I once again got to yell at the same guy to please put my time in manually. My weight normally hurts me on the uphill, but on the way downhill I enjoyed watching all the skin and bones guys get pushed around by the wind while I let gravity just do it's part.

This is when the race became fun. I was ten minutes into the downhill on pace for another good lap when I for the first time in my race career got tapped on the butt by the Firefighter and told hello. We took some time for small talk in the middle of our side of the road and settled in together for about 5 minutes. This is when he went on a vintage Firefighter zone. This is when like the incredible hulk he rages and I did everything to stay with him tell I decided this was my race. I was going to do good or bad following my plan and sticking to what I wanted. So he road away in his marathon bar top and the view I'm used to during all my training road farther down B line.

This is what all the preparation is for. I settled into my zone and 8 miles later pulled right up behind him, he asked if I was showing off for my family. I laughed at him and yes might have pushed a little more to stay with him through the turnaround at the bottom. I knew he would beat me this race because of the run, but I didn't want to let him have the bike. After the turnaround to begin lap 3 he ditched me again. This was twice, so when I caught him again I just stayed behind him not telling him. I didn't want to play this cat and mouse again. We spent the majority of the last lap together taking turns on who was in front. I for the first time we have ever ridden together took the lead from him only giving it back when I chose. This was pretty strategic as we passed group after group. We only stayed together though because it was working. I would not recommend it for those not racing at a similar pace.

In the almost two hours I was with him I asked him if he would consider peeing on himself during the bike because we both were on pace to set a PR. Since we both make it public knowledge that peeing in our wetsuit isn't a big deal I you'd think this had come up before, but neither of us have ever been fast enough to even consider it. I normally have a tiny bladder and make the two of us stop, but this race I didn't use it once. Needless to say, the Firefighter laughed at me letting me know that he hadn't stopped to pee either, but I hadn't caught him so many times just because I was riding fast.

Each lap was an even 1:55 for me and would have been closer to a 5:33 if not for my timing chip issues. Either way a posted 5:48 was a PR for me by 42 minutes. We stayed together pushing past many competitors that were on their second lap riding hard all the way to the transition area. I gave him a pound told him to have a great race and that I would see him at the end. This was probably the most special part of a race for me I've had because for how many hours we spend training together to make the Ironman a shared event even for one lap was awesome. This was much less about competing, and more about doing what we had practiced for months on Carefree Highway together.

There is another twist to the race though. My beautiful wife could not find my updates on line and chose to do something about it. She thought I had no idea, but she moved mountains to make sure that they would fix the situation. It took her many conversations and phone calls coordinating other family to help make sure my race went well. On the third lap they told me that there would be a timing chip in my shoe for the run. I already had been told this by the guy at the timing mat and thought nothing of it. There is no way to know what would have happened without their hard work and determination, but it was a selfless thing only meant to make my race day better. I am eternally grateful for the time taken just to make sure I was ok.

The recap of the bike is that practice helped me hold the aero position for the entire time except for planned portions during the steepest part by Shea. This was a great help on a windy day. Riding with the Firefighter was probably the highlight of my race, and made it go by very fast. Having the information from my Garmin 310XT for cadence and heart rate during the bike was invaluable in staying within heart rate zones.  Having an aero helmet was great keeping my warm during the cooler parts and as the day heated up being well vented . I will definitely look into buying one. I raced my race, stuck to the plan and even though I was scared I couldn't even do a 6:30 I cut 43 minutes off my previous best.

Ironman Arizona 2011 Swim to Bike Transition

The crowd is screaming, I'm dripping wet, holding a wet suit and running bare foot. This is what the transition is like as you run roughly 2/3rds of a block to reach the tent area. There is a spotter yelling out bib numbers to volunteers near the bike transition bags so that when you run by the bag is being handed to you. My bike bag was in the farthest corner of the bike transition bags so this saved several seconds of searching amongst the rows. I took my stuff to a bench outside the changing tent and immediately had a nice lady assist me in the transition.

I dumped out the bag immediately stuffing the wetsuit into it with my goggles and swim cap. I had a towel from the Hyatt that I put down attempting to clean my feet off before putting on socks. I needed help to put on my CEP compression sleeves holding out my feet one at a time while the lady pushed them up my calf. This is where I think the velcro attachment to my timing chip was loosened. I next needed help putting on my pearl izumi arm warmers and reattaching my garmin to it's watch mount. I needed assistance putting on the tight garments because not only am I soaking wet at this time, but also fairly cold leaving my fingers/toes much less affective. A few more good wipe downs on my feet to get the grass off and I was putting my socks on. Shoes came next, gloves and next thing I knew I was wearing sunglasses as well as my bike helmet. The last item to don was a race belt. I wore one that already contained my salt pills and a bottle of extra chamois cream in pockets.

In the future I would consider doing the swim wearing my compression sleeves because they would dry off fairly quick and it about a minute just to get them on. By bypassing the changing tent I also accidentally bypassed the sun screen people. I had already put on a coat during the morning so I took the risk of heading out on the bike without it. When you tell the volunteer aiding you they will take your transition bag off your hands letting you just walk away. As with the bags someone yells out your bib number and as you walk through the rows of bikes, your chariot appears out of no where being handed to you in stride. The last leg of this transition journey is to simply walk, or jog with your bike to the end of the transition area and mount up to begin the bike leg. This jog is across an uneven grassy area and running with shoes that contain bike cleats makes everything interesting.

Approaching the line to mount the bike I make sure I cross directly over the timing chip matt. Crossing it with several other athletes I assumed that one of the beeps going off was to hack my start to the bike leg. This was not the case. I don't know still where the timing chip went, but do know that it never left the transition area. I also looked down when straddling the bike to clip in and begin pedaling to see that an entire bottle of 4 power bar gels fell out off my bike. All I could do at that time was curse and begin thinking about how to adjust my nutrition plan. I thought no sun screen and the loss of my bottle were the only pit falls on this transition, but with the loss of my timing chip I just can't give myself a very good grade. I did set a new PR for timing, getting everything done quicker, but now I need to do the same thing more effectively.

It was good to have a plan, but also worth taking a couple extra seconds to just calm down and breathe if thats what it takes to not miss such big things.

Ironman Arizona 2011 Swim

The swim starts with a giant line that looks like something from the day after Thanksgiving. We are all hanging out in wetsuits and since they lined us up roughly twenty minutes before the race starts, not everyone got to get that last bathroom break in. Apparently there are some overly competitive athletes out there because a man in a mega phone stands near the water entrance yelling to everyone not to jump in head first diving into the water. That thought hadn't even entered my mind. I had a cocktail in my belly of 5 hour energy, pepto bismol, berry blast gel, ironman perform lemon flavored and a sudafed.  This was not really giving me confidence at the time in my choice of pre race ritual, but as the throngs in front of me leaped into the water like lemmings off a cliff I had to just go with it. Since we're all bare foot in neoprene the course director thought it would be funny to watch half of us climb over a guard rail intended to keep the non crazy people from getting into the water that is only safe to swim in a few times a year.

I had still stayed with the Firefighter at this time and we took the plunge. As you enter the water everything goes dark and green for a bit while you sink, until the buoyancy of your wetsuit pops you right back out of the water. It was cold, but that was soon to be remedied. The water entrance is on the west side of Mill avenue bridge so it takes 5 minutes of swimming just to get to the starting line. This is a good warmup and a chance to get used to the water. We swam tell just on the east side of the bride and looked up seeing the whole family of the Firefighter. It was the easiest we have ever found those supporting us on the bridge before the start. We all look like pink and green caps bobbing up and down treading water. This was a welcome show of support for us both because there is just not that much to talk about in the 61 degree water waiting for the day of pain to begin.

This is where a highly practiced procedure is done to help improve the cold as well as distract you. For the faint of heart you might want to stop reading now. Ok, if you are still here I warned you.... I pee in my wetsuit. This not only relieves a full bladder making swimming much easier, but it is warm. I will open up spots in the neck ankles and sleeves to allow water in before and after, but it still gets the job done. It is kind of a funny joke that you realize looks of contentment on the faces of all those around you aren't the calm before the storm, but the bathroom break before the storm. The water between you and the wetsuit will warm up from your body heat and as strokes are taken it circulates out of the ankles a little at a time while more water can enter via your wrist area.

this is what the beginning looks like, people everywhere you turn

With that out of the way I began a slow side stroke towards the front and ended up roughly 25 yards from the start. I was with all the people I knew doing the race before the gun went, but then it was on like donkey kong. Every one is in each others space bubble making what ever your time was doing laps in that nice pool impossible. Just like driving in traffic, you don't want to be stuck in a lane moving too slow. I lost all thought of staying with those I know and the race had begun. I will take long strokes using my left hand down stroke to pop my face up forwards and see where everyone is. I set my watch to go off every ten minutes to roughly simulate swimming 500 yards. By the first buzz of the watch things had settled to allow small pockets of unused water. This water is so unclear that it is hard to see the hand in front of your face. This makes making decisions on course under the water impossible. As opposed to a clearer water swim your head has to always pop up out of the water to sight. I swim open water breathing on an every other stroke sequence always breathing on the right side. I practice in a pool keeping left and right sides even, just not on race day because of the dark water and the need to be more aware of where I am.

This was a great swim, water was wonderful and it was noticeable that there were more people in it. This years list of participants was 2565, meaning one crowded Tempe Town Lake. For those doing the race in the future I would recommend that if you are a strong swimmer then go to the front. It would be preferable to have people swimming up your feet where you can kick then navigating from behind. I used a lot of energy to site every other stroke during the first 8 minutes or so. The buoys are easy to see and in between the larger markers are smaller ones to keep you on track. The race begins into a rising sun, but this is not as big a deal as others make it out to be. If you sight out the side and only from the front every few minutes it doesn't matter how bright the glare is.

The race kind of enters cruise control at this point. I would find people to draft off of to rest in the swim for a couple minutes and then pass them as I moved up the pack. People would come at you from crazy angles on a collision path from far to your side with no attempt to let up before running into you. This lack of direction can't be explained well, but it made for strategic speed ups and a couple times literally swinging my body over someones legs to keep from getting punched in the face. It almost feels like an old nintendo game is enemies coming in from the side while you look down on your yourself from above. Each encounter pulls energy, as does speeding up in spurts. It is important to be aware of yourself when you can't just look down to see a heart rate. I hit my stride crossing the northeast corner of the course. This is the point where it is all about holding a rhythm. Find those with similar speeds to stay with, and just bullet towards the west. Before crossing under the Mill avenue bride going west I started a very light flutter kick to use the bathroom again. This is kind of gross, but by emptying your bladder now it can save precious time on the bike. I also did this one more time turning south.

an example of wet suit stripper

As you get closer to the swim finish it is about calming your heat rate before the crowds and transition so that you won't get too excited. The steps are swim up steps leading into the water. You grab one that is out of the water and then carefully put your knee or butt onto the next one down. It would be easy to slips at this time, or put a shin right into the front of a step. There are people there helping offer a hand. I got my bearings climbed out taking the hand of a volunteer and he nicely unzipped the back of my wet suit. The next stage are the strippers. I came to the first one I saw she pulled my sleeves down off my arms, I sat on my butt and she pulled it off my feet handing me my suit. I had already pulled the cap and goggles off before the stripper to hold onto. The crowds are yelling, my watch said 1:11 (a new PR for me), my bladder was empty and adrenaline pumping. I crossed the timing mat into transition and held a steady jog so as not to get too caught up in the moment and began the dry land portion of the race knowing the first segment of this triathlon was over.

Ironman Arizona 2011 Morning

The day truly started waking up at 1:24 in the morning to have half of my breakfast. Nothing like hearing the buzz of your phone from across the room knowing 140.6 miles is awaiting you. The first half was a bagel, a 28 ounce Gatorade endurance and a marathon bar. I went right back to bed until a quick 2 am alarm went off. My second breakfast was just as exciting, another bagel, Gatorade endurance and a banana. This time I actually got to stay asleep tell 4:15 am.

you have to make things easy when planning to get up at 1am to eat

I awoke with 8 hours of sleep including adjustments for my breakfast ready to face the day. I threw on my contacts, covered all the sensitive areas with body glide and began putting on my race clothes for the day. I stretched for ten minutes and coated almost all muscles that would be used during the three disciplines with a thick layer of icee hot(it's an addiction right about now). I made sure the fake Wheaties Fuel tatoos on my shoulders were in place and donned my dry clothes to fight off the cold morning as well as be warm post race. We took some pictures. There really isn't that much that is needed to be done at the hotel so it makes for a quick start to the day.

I drove with my beautiful wife to the athlete parking garage stopping by the ice machine to fill up a cooler so that my family could have cold drinks for the day. It's an easy drive into the athlete parking garage, I walked out and met the Firefighter outside the garage to start the day. First thing after getting into the transition area I put nutrition on my bike. For this race 3 marathon bars cut in half, a little plastic zip lock with 14 salt tablets, 4 tums and 2 gel bottles with 8 power bar gels in them. With that out of the way I walked out of transition to drop off special needs bags. This is pretty easy being that they put both of the drop offs just on the other side of the Mill avenue bridge. After this it was off to my bike bag to add a hotel towel for drying my feet (sorry Hyatt, I never returned it). The run bag was next, I ran out of icee hot in the room and needed to complete the job so i grabbed a little from the run bag.

picture is out of place, it's vitamins icee hot and chapstick... all essentials

Feeling the tingling sensation that was my muscles being calmed down I grabbed my bike and waited in line to get my bike tires pumped up. This was nice, I just waited tell the front of the line and without any questions the guy pumped up the tires to a pressure setting I still don't know. I wish I had asked because it was the fastest bike time I've ever had. To keep up with the face the Firefighter and I are slightly ambiguously gay I called him to see if he wanted to hang out with me in the bathroom line. I know it's like something off a Miller light commercial. We did pretty good waiting in a line behind the transition tent (hidden bathrooms are usually better), and took one more visit to the bike.

One the way back we ran into a couple friends also doing the race and chatted, this is when our wives called to let us know we needed to come take cute pictures. Yes, we did come and the pictures do a good job of capturing how naive we were to the pain about to be endured for the next 12 hours. We do have the best support any Ironman could ask for in two wonderful wives we probably don't deserve, which might be another reason for the goofy smiles at 6 in the morning. We could only hang out for a few minutes because transition was closing soon and they had to get in position for the big start. We left them with a kiss for good luck (we only kissed our own wife), and then the fun began.

pointing to the only reason I can do these, my Lord and Savior

My wetsuit had been expertly hung up in the hotel room by myself in a way that kept the inside of it wet and cold which was wonderful with the temperature outside being in the fifties. I put the wetsuit on, then immediately took it off realizing I had forgotten to put on sun screen. Now with sunscreen on I put the suit back on and began prep work for the nutrition.  I took a sudafed to not have any congestion during the race (it worked I snotted all over myself throughout the entire bike) and can now tell you it was a terrible idea. I next took 2 pepto bismol tablets to calm my stomach (it also helps keep you from having to poop because of nerves). The last part of this wonderful cocktail would come later.

notice woman in sweatshirt, this water is COLD

You take everything that isn't in a transition bag at this time and not going in the water with you and leave them in a dry clothes back. This last sentence is important because I thought I did this until 5 minutes before jumping in the water I was reminded that I was still wearing sandals. Sandals are not very aerodynamic and cause lots of drag in the water so I had to return to the dry clothes drop off and have them create a second bag for me to put my sandals in. Running back to find the Firefighter and two other friends doing the race I chugged a 5 hour energy to give a boost of caffeine for starting things off. This was followed immediately by a berry blast power bar gel and an entire Ironman perform lemon lime sports drink. Armed with that wonderful mix of chemicals swishing around in my stomach we made our way towards the lake to the sound volunteers with megaphones yelling at us to get in the water.