Ironman Texas: A Volunteer Story, Part III

After a couple days, the inspiration is still alive and well inside me. I think about heat and the humidity and the effort both the athletes and volunteers put into making such an amazing event. I must have drank the kool-aid though because now I'M REGISTERED TO COMPETE IN 2012!!!

It's going to be  a great year!

Ironman Texas: A Volunteer Story, Part II

Even though I wasn't racing today, I felt every bit a part of the inagural Ironman Texas and had an amazing time. I wasn't scheduled to work my shift until 5:30pm, so I had planned to get up early and go see the swim start. Unfortunately I overslept, but made it to the transition area before athletes started coming back in off the bike. Just for a visual comparison of how many athletes were competing, check this out:

       

A total of 2164 athletes finished the swim and headed out on the bike course. Later in the day, I heard from a lot of IM veterans that the swim start was even more ridiculously crowded than any they've ever had before. The general consensus was that it took at least 1/4 - 1/2 mile before anyone could find open water to swim in where they werent on top of each other like sardines. 

The weather was surprisingly predictable today in that it was hot and humid. When the wind would come through, the 89F temp and 80% humidity were bearable. When there was no wind, it might have well have been a sauna. Just standing still, I was soaking wet with sweat. I could only imagine that the athletes were a little cooler since they were moving on the bike.

Just before noon, the men's leader on the bike, Chris Lieto, came back into transition to a pretty raucous crowd for so early in the day. He had a monster ride finishing in about 4:10. Crazy!

After Chris came in I headed toward the finish line to the volunteer check-in, and then went back to my car to cool off for a while before beginning a 10.5 hour shift at the finish line. Volunteer shirts were color coded: swim = gray, bike handlers = pink, iron team/general staff = green, finish line = purple, medical = red, and security = black. Quantity of purple shirts I now own that I will probably wear again? One.

A lof of people know The Voice of the Ironman, Mike Reilly. His brother Pat was the captain of our finish line volunteer group and did a great job leading his purple army of volunteers. With 75 signed up for each of the 3 shifts, he was responsible for making sure everyone knew what to do and was trained properly.

The first runner wasn't expected to come in to the finish until after 3pm, so there was still alot to set up at the finish line. I spent 30 minutes filling coolers with ice and water bottles, another 30 setting up finishers' hats and shirts, and another 30 getting medals ready to be handed out. The most active volunteer position is the line of "catchers." The job is exactly what it sounds like: when a runner crosses the line, you catch them before they fall to the ground and help them through the finisher's chute on their way to the medical tent or release them to family members. Once you're done, you run back in line and wait your turn to do it again.

  





Somehow, I was the first volunteer in line when the winner came through: Eneko Llanos from Spain. He finished in just over 8 hours and looked like he could've gone back out for more when he was done. I was paired with another volunteer and we escorted Eneko to the media trailer where he was interviewed by Greg Welch for IronmanLive.com, then to a media table where he gave interview after interview, signed autographs, and basically was the opposite of what you'd think the winner of an Ironman would be like. Imagine you just swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles, and ran 26.2 miles. Are you going to want to talk to hundreds of people and be charming and humble and high five kids and sign autographs? Me neither. This man definitely earned my respect.

While on the "media circuit," I snapped a couple pics of the top 3 male finishers: Eneko Llanos (ESP), Tim O'Donnel (USA), Luke Bell (NZD)



  

After the pros stopped coming in, my phone died and I wasn't able to take any more pictures. But the memories of the day are sure to last a long long time. I was at the finish line for the very first finisher just after 3pm all the way to the last finisher just before midnight. I helped about 50 people over the course of the day; some still walking under their own power, some collapsing the second after they crossed the finish line and whisked off in a wheelchair to the medical tent, some first time Ironmen, some that have done over 25. Though every one was different, all of them were appreciative and friendly.

The feeling of crossing a finish line is indescribable. The feeling of being on the other side of it and watching people achieve their dreams: inspiring.

Ironman Texas: A Volunteer Story, Part 1

I've been in a little training funk lately. It used to be that I would get pumped before every workout. I knew it would be tough, but I knew it would be worth it. Lately, it hasn't felt worth it. I need something new. I need inspiration.

Not coincidentally, I'll be surrounded by Ironmen (and Ironwomen) from 2pm - Midnight on Saturday as I volunteer at the finish line for the inagural Ironman Texas or IMTX. Some will be 1st timers. Some will be veterans. All will be something that I want to be. An Ironman.

I got to The Woodlands a little later than I'd liked and don't work until tomorrow, but I was still able to check out the event set up. Making perfect sense, the swim and bike sections are a lot more finalized than the finish area. I mean, they've still got about 8 hours after the start of the race before the finish line needs to be up and running. You win this round, Logistics.

The swim starts out across the lake and funnels into a channel that snakes through a residential area and is bordered by apartment buildings and a mall, the heart of the race and where the finish line is located. The channel looks to be about only 20yds across and, with an unblocked shoreline, you can get a great vantage point as the athletes swim by and finish their 2.4 mile swim (Very spectator friendly!). A 90 degree turn around the last buoy brings you to 10 sets of stairs you can pick from to climb out.



A 100yd run takes you from the swim to your bike gear bag and the changing tent. I couldn't tell where the wet suit strippers will be stationed, but they'll be there and it's always fun to see. I don't know if all IM organizers do this, but the gear bags are color coded so the athletes don't put the bike gear in their run bag and vice versa. Blue = bike. Red = run. Smart.

Looming high overhead like Walt Disney's Matternhorn, the giant white circus tent where athletes will grab some fuel, strip down, lube up, add sunscreen, and gear up for the bike now lies dormant and barren. I poked my head in. It's pretty bare with a couple rows of metal folding chairs and a curtain running lengthwise separating the guys from the girls. 8 port-o-johns sit untouched nearby...for now. 

Next to the tent is the bike rack area. It's the size of a football field and completely full of rack after rack of bikes. Another spectator commented that there were millions of dollars worth of bikes in there. With about 2500 athletes and the average tri bike running $3000, he was exactly right. It's pretty cool how the volunteers work here. When you get up to get your gear bag and run into the changing tent, someone else is running into the sea of bikes, finds yours and has it ready when you're set to go. Bike valet. What a great concept.

After riding 112 miles, you bring your bike back to where you got it, drop it off with the valet and run to your run gear bag and back into the changing tent. It's usually just a reapplication of sunscreen in here, maybe some compression socks, throw on the running shoes, and head on out. The course winds through the neighborhood area and goes off somewhere before heading back into the center of the mall area. A couple tight turns through the shopping areas, and then you make that last turn...It's such a huge psychological pick me up when you turn that final corner and see the arch over the finish line. I'm very excited to be there at the end when these amazing athletes finish the course and begin to realize what they've just accomplished.

From what I'm told, my job will be to "catch" the athletes as they cross the line. Basically I'm one of their escorts through the finish chute (get your medal, get your water, get your hat, get your shirt, hold your stuff while you take your photo)  until you can leave on your own or need to go to the medical tent. I can't wait to hear some great stories about the race. It's going to be incredible.

So now I'm back in my hotel, hydrating like an athlete, so I can withstand the 11 hours in 85F temps and 80% humidity. It's been pouring rain on and off over the last 12 hours so I'm sure we'll have some of that too. Can't forget about the gusty winds either. Gee, what kind of person would want to be out in this kind of weather for so long?

Easy. An Ironman.

Tomorrow, my shift doesn't start until 2, but I'm going to try and see how many different volunteer activities I can learn about...starting with opening the transition area at 4:30am. Who knows, they may not let me in. But what are they going to do, turn me away for wanting to help?

Stay tuned for Part 2!



The Washing Machine

A mass swim start to a triathlon is pretty intense. Everyone is packed in close, vertical in the water...and then the gun goes off. Now everyone tries to get horizontal so they can start swimming. It's at this point that I'm reminded of Someone's Law of Something Physics Related that says 2 solid bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time.  With everyone trying to occupy the same space, people end up on top of, under, next to, and inside (so I've heard) each other. The peaceful serenity of a calm lake turns to old school WWE wrestling in a washing machine at the sound of the gun.

A new triathlete practices their swim, bike, and run. A good triathlete practices their transitions. An awesome triathlete practices... the swim start.

I hear Lubbock is nice in June

So my 3 weekends of back to back to back events are over. It was actually pretty successful and means my training is working. Thank goodness! Because I don't have a coach, I've been trying to research and create a training plan on my own that works around my schedule. The miles have been building up and up and I think I've got a solid base for the next step. I've got Sunday, October 23rd circled on my calendar as my A-race this year (Ironman 70.3 Austin) and want to do well. I'm shooting for a sub 5:30 and know that if I can improve my cycling, I'll be able to get there.

October is a long way away. A little too long for my taste. So today I signed up for Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake.

Buffalo Springs Lake is supposedly one of the harder 70.3 events with tough climbs on the bike and run, but it'll be my first one, so I won't know any better :D

I'm going to use it as a "practice" 70.3 race with the goal of understanding the difference between an endurance event and an Endurance event. For me, the gap between a sprint tri and an olympic tri isn't really that much from a time perspective. It's about 90 minutes. But the gap between an olympic triathlon and half IM is going to be at least 3 hours. That's a lot more biking and running in usually warmer temperatures, not to mention how much more important proper nutrition training will be.

All that being said, even though I'm treating this race like a "practice" run for my A-race, in 10 weeks I'm going to be a real half Ironman. And that makes it worth it.

Big D 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

For as big as Dallas is, there wasn't a lot of pomp and circumstance to the Big D Marathon this past weekend.

While I'm sure it boosted sales, the packet pickups at Run On store locations didn't create the "event" vibe I've come to expect from pre-race expos. In fact, compared to the Rock N Roll Dallas 1/2 marathon expo at the Dallas Convention Center 2 weeks ago with row after row of exhibitors and a circus/Atlantic City boardwalk Brooks Running experience, I felt completely un-pumped up.

The full and half marathons started together at 8am, with the temperature above 70F, humidity above 90%, and a mass start. Kill me now. Actually, it's kind of fun playing Frogger amongst the fast runners, slow walkers, and in betweeners all squashed together going through the maze that is Fair Park. Just don't trip, because I'm pretty sure people will just keep running over you like it's Black Friday and Walmart is selling toasters for $3.99.

By mile 2 I was dripping with sweat. The humidity was unrelenting and I pushed aside my plans to officially match my 1:45 PR I got at RnR Dallas. My heart rate was up about 10bpm more than usual and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to hang onto an 8:30 pace. I answered my own question 1:50 later when I crossed the finish line.

I've only done 3 Dallas runs (White Rock Marathon, RnR Dallas, and this one), and while I'm a little tired of finishing a race at Fair Park, this one made up for the lack of expo by having a quarter mile finish chute. It's so fun seeing everyone yelling and cheering and totally motivating when you're tired and just want the run to be over. My favorite sign: Go, Complete Stranger, Go!

Click to enlarge

I didn't match my 1:45 PR, but, given the tough conditions of today, finishing 19th out of 128 in my age group is still something to be proud of. A year ago I probably wouldn't have been able to run the whole thing, succumbing to the heat and humidity and unexpected rolling hills. It's always self-motivating to see results when you don't expect them and I'm loving it!

2011 Kemah Triathlon Race Recap

Sunday morning I woke up at 4am, ate a Clif Bar, hopped in the shower and got dressed. For some reason my legs usually feel tired the morning of a race, but today they didnt. Maybe I've finally figured out how to do this whole taper thing. The Passport Inn I was staying at was right next door to the finish line and transition area, so I grabbed my prepacked transition bag and bike and headed out.

It hit me as soon as I opened the door to my hotel room. For someone who's never raced in really humid weather (80%+), I never really appreciated how much it affects the body. I asked myself "If it feels like this at 5am, what's it going to feel like in 4 hours on the run?" Nerves started settling in and I more or less reminded myself I know how to swim, bike, and run. My training program hadn't let me down yet. What was I getting so worked up about?



Chris Lieto's transition area

 The transition area was buzzing at 5am. The boat taking us out to the swim start would be leaving in 30 minutes, so everyone had to get set up quicker than usual. I had a great rack location, 2 rows from the bike in/out and about 20 feet from the pro rack. I walked over to check out Chris Lieto and Terenzo Bozzone's set ups. Right then it was easy to see one of the differences between a pro and a beginning age grouper. Yes, the bike probably costs 5x as much, but what surprised me the most was the lack of "stuff" in a pro's transition. It was practically empty. Mine on the other hand had a towel on the ground, extra towel to wipe off my feet, water bottle, bike shoes, running shoes, hat, race belt, etc. Lesson learned: stick to what you need. Dump the rest.

View from the beach

The boat ride out was about 35 minutes once we got going. Pro men led off first, followed by the pro women, then elite age groupers before the rest of us started our time trial starts. 3x3 we jumped the 5 feet into the murky bay and began our mile swim. We had about 1-11/2ft chop and a slight cross current. The water tasted like a mix of salt water and diesel fuel, and for my first open water swim in about 6 months, I think I handled myself ok. I had forgotten my Body Glide at home, but a trip to Target for some Aquaphor Healing Ointment saved my neck from any wetsuit chafing. I climbed up the ramp and was out of the water in 29:57 with the 2nd fastest swim in my division.

It was about a quarter mile run from the beach to transition and I ran past the wetsuit strippers. T1 time was longer than I'd like at 4:06 probably because I took my time catching my breath, putting on my socks and shoes, grabbing a drink, and making sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Eh, this will improve with practice.

The bike ride was nice and flat with a couple out and back sections. The outs tended to be into a headwind and the backs were rewarded with a strong tailwind. It took me a little bit to settle into a comfortable cadence but I started passing people from the waves that took off before me. On the last 6 mile stretch with the wind at my back I got up to the fastest I'd ever gone on a flat road before. I'm still not 100% comfortable with my road handling ability at high(ish) speeds, but I felt good getting up to 27.5mph. It's all about achieving small goals. I dropped into a smaller gear about 5 minutes from the bike finish just to get my legs ready to run, had an uneventful dismount, and finished my bike 3rd in my division with a 1:14:52. My average pace over the 24.85 mile course was 19.9mph.

T2 was short and sweet. Drop the bike and helmet, switch out the shoes, pick up the hat and race number and run out. I was out in 49 seconds including 5 seconds of running the wrong way because I didnt check earlier where the Run Out gate was located. Another newbie mistake.

I've always had a pace/heart rate monitor when I ran, but I didnt bring it with me for some reason this race. Instead I just wore my trusty timex digital watch and ran the stopwatch function beginning at mile marker 1. Right out of transition I felt tired. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike. Maybe I didnt hydrate enough earlier in the race. Whatever the reason, I eased up a little and found a perceived effort that I could sustain. As the miles ticked by, I checked the lap function on my watch and was usually around the 9:00 mark. It was a little upsetting considering I was running 7:30's a couple weeks earlier, but if I tried to run that at this point, I never would've finished.



Kemah bridge



Around mile 4, we had to go over a 10% grade bridge. Slow and steady, I picked out guys ahead of me that were walking and challenged myself to beat them to the top. Eased down the other side, turned around at the bottom and went right back up picking off more walkers. Nothing helps you forget your own pains more than out-toughing the guy next to you. Mental toughness is a key aspect in triathlon training and it shows itself at the end of every race.  

At the bottom of the bridge I knew I had less than a quarter mile left so I kicked into a higher gear and pushed as much as I could. Making the final turn into the finish chute, I saw that it was about 100 yards long and there was a guy about halfway down ahead of me. I am going to beat this guy. I used whatever I had left, probably even borrowing some from the crowd as they started cheering for me, and outsprinted him to the finish. When I looked at my run splits later, the last 0.2 miles was run at a 6:00 pace and I've never gone that fast before. Totally pumped and exhausted and covered in sweat, my race was over in 2:44:05. Beat my goal of 2:45:00, so I considered today a success no matter how the results ended up.

I grabbed a bottle of water and some HoneyMilk (which is now my favorite protein drink) and headed next door to my hotel for a shower before checking out the results. With a time trial start, you don't really know how you finish until more people cross the line, so I was in no hurry. When I got back, I looked at the board...Clydesdales Under 40...2nd place. Wait...WHAT?!? There were 16 guys racing in my division. Surely my slow T1 time, my inexperience on the bike, or my slow run had me finishing in the middle of the pack. I had to check this out. Ran over to the awards table and found out there was a timing mistake in my category. Oh, ok...that makes sense. And then:

"Sir, you're 3rd place. Here's your award."

To see the race from the eyes of the pros, Terenzo Bozzone (2nd place) posted this vid:

Preview: Kemah Triathlon - International distance

I'm heading down to Kemah, TX for an international distance triathlon this weekend. Like a lot of Texas cities, I didn't know Kemah existed until I signed up for this event. Here's what I know: 1) It's just southwest of Houston, and with the Final Four in town, I'm sure it will make for some fun traffic. That's all.

The main reason I signed up for this event was that the international distance race, also called an olympic distance, is a qualifier for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco this summer. I had heard of the Alcatraz tri when I was younger living and living in Orange County, but always thought those people were crazy. I mean who'd want to do that? Turns out, I do.

I'm racing in the Clydesdale division for what I hope is the last time. I'm sitting right now at 204lbs and have been dropping about 1-2 pounds per week with all the training I've been doing since the end of January.

The swim course is kind of interesting. Instead of a beach start or rectangle course, the race organizers herd all of us onto a paddleboat, cruise a mile out into Galveston Bay, drop anchor, and then we jump off. From there, it's a straight line into shore. Kind of boring without any turns, but hey...free boat ride!

The bike course is pretty flat 25 miles and consists of 3 out and backs with turns, so there's plenty of opportunities to see your competition. I hear it gets windy because of how close it is to the water, and with the bike being my weakest discipline, I'm not really looking forward to it. We'll see.

The 6.2 mile run winds through a Kemah neighborhood before sending us past the roller coaster and games on the boardwalk, and finally over and back on a 10% grade bridge. With the bridge sitting at miles 4-6, this could be mentally challenging.

I've raced the International distance once before, so at least I have something to compare it to.  My goal is to beat 2 hrs 45 mins with a 30 min swim, 1 hr 20 min bike, and 50 min run. I'm a little concerned with the heat and humidity. It's supposed to be 80F and 85% humidity at the race start. Yuck.

Also of note, is the fact that there are several pro triathletes competing with me. There's no better way to measure your abilities than seeing how you stack up with Ironman winners and world champions. They'll probably be starting their run by the time I finish my swim, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys, if only in transition before the race starts.

Rock N Roll Dallas 1/2 Marathon

I wasn't planning on running this race, but thanks to Al Gore and the internet, I was able to get in at the last minute.

With a perfectly fantastic starting temperature of 50F and cloudy race day morning, there was no heat or sun to deal with. And leading up to the race, I haven't really done any tempo runs or pace training, just working on maintaining my heart rate at 150 beats per minute. Being that this was a race, I jumped up a zone and tried to stick at 165 the whole time.

It was pretty packed in each corral and took a little while for the crowd to spread out. The long uphill soon thinned the running masses and I found a nice groove. I don't know why exactly, but things just seemed to click for me. No pain, no random sweat drop stinging my eye, no blisters. Things just...worked.

I forgot my timing chip, so checked my watch at the end. 1hr 45 mins! It's a new PR for me at this distance and is just another reminder that if you have a training plan and stick to it, things generally work out how they're supposed to.

Splits: 8:41, 8:00, 8:05, 7:59, 8:09, 7:59, 8:11, 8:00, 7:36, 7:37, 7:50, 7:45, 7:43, 6:47. The course was a gradual uphill and then downhill. Easy to see where the downhill starts.

Athens Triathlon Race Recap

We'll start with some crazy news: The race started on time.

My Super 8 Motel alarm clock woke me up at 4:30am and the howling winds creeping through the cracks in my door made sure I didn't fall back asleep. The forecast had called for rain overnight so I was a little concerned about the road conditions. I threw on some clothes and went for a 20 minute jog to get a sense of the weather and wake my legs up. The air temp was high 40's, there was a decent wind with strong gusts, and puddles/gravel blanketed the roads: damn.

I showed up at the Cain Center at 6:45, took my bike in to get inspected, and got body marked. Go #44!

The transition area was a parking lot, and though the ground was damp, I was thankful it wasn't soaking. Had the transition area been in a grass field, it would've just been a huge mud pit. Point, race organizers!

As the racks filled with bikes I started talking with neighboring athletes. For the most part, those competing in this sprint event were somewhere on the "first time" to "completed a Half Ironman" end of the spectrum, but I did spy a couple M-dot calf tattoos.

At the pre-race meeting, the race directors were incredibly thorough going over key points for each leg of the event. The swim was a time trial start where we would go off in 10 second intervals and were seeded by our race number (my 5:00 estimate for 300 yds ranked me 44th out of 250). But they were quick to remind everyone "that meant there would be some people flying by you when it got to the bike leg, so please stay to the right. Also, the pool is 78 degrees. The outside air temperature is 48 degrees. A wet body on a bike in 25+ mph wind gusts would freeze. Check your ego and dress warm."

I didn't get in the pool to warm up, because I didn't want to stand around freezing for 7:20 before my start. Once I jumped in I fell into an easy groove and started snaking through the pool. I ended up catching the guy in front of my by the first 75 and passed a total of 5 guys before finishing the 300yd in 5:10. I didn't push hard at any part of this swim thinking I'd save my energy for my weakest leg - the bike.

Running out of the indoor pool area to transition was ok and it wasn't quite as cold outside as I expected. I made it past the uneven brick path without stubbing a toe and the parking lot was mostly rock/pebble-free. Remembering what the race director said about staying warm, I quickly toweled off my legs, put on my running jacket, grabbed the rest of my bike stuff and walked 20 yds to the bike mount. No way was I going to slip in my cleats on the wet parking lot. 3:35...whoops!

The hilly bike leg had its ups and downs. No pun intended. We started going south on 19 with the wind at our back, but for some reason I didn't think what that meant for the ride back. Turning onto Loop 7 the fun begins. Enter the 25+mph gusting crosswinds. Trying to stay aero on the shoulder of the road in gusty conditions made for tough handling, but I just focused on keeping the legs going. The "long" hill after the turnaround that I was worried about wasn't so bad because the wind at my back basically pushed me all the way up. Use it if you've got it. Enter the crosswinds again after a sweeping turn and then headwinds to finish. Ended up holding 17.4mph and was mildly happy considering the limited time I've spent on the bike.

T2 was nondescript. In, switch out the bike stuff for run stuff, out.

I couldn't really feel my feet for the first mile of the 5K. Later, I learned I wasn't alone. The winds took a lot out of a lot of people on the bike. My heart rate was up and I was tired, but I tried to keep pushing. A guy in my age group passed me at mile 2 and I tried to keep up, but he had a good kick at the end. I was hoping to keep my pace from the 10K last week, but I ended up running a 7:52 pace and finished in 24:33.

Because of the time trial start, I didn't know how my 1:21:54 time would hold up, so I enjoyed some pizza and Gatorade and talked to a couple other guys about their upcoming races. When the final results were posted, I finished 5th in my age group (would've finished 2nd in Clydes). Looking closer, I missed out on 4th by :04 and 3rd by 1:14. I think actually racing on the swim next time might help as would training time on the bike. The minute I gave up to the 3rd place guy in T1 sure didn't help either. Ahhh...things you learn.

How good are small town events?

In about 10 hours I'll be starting the 26th Annual Athens, TX triathlon. If you didn't know there was an Athens, TX you wouldn't be alone...and that's exactly why I picked this race.

Having moved to Dallas from Los Angeles last November, I haven't really explored much outside of Uptown, White Rock Lake, or Addison where I work. It took me a long time to branch out when I first moved to California, so I'm trying to do what I can to not repeat that.

Athens, TX is about 90 miles of rolling hills and farmland southeast of Dallas and has a population just shy of 12,000. From what I hear, there are about 250 total competitors in this sprint event (300yd pool swim, 13.8mi bike ride, and 5K run) with the majority being from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. For the time trial start with 10 second intervals, I'm seeded 44th. Seedings are based on an estimated swim time. I expect to swim about :30 faster than what I signed up for so I hope to be passing people as we snake through the 6 lane pool.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the event is run and how I do in a small(er) field. It's supposed to rain tonight and maybe continue into the morning. That should make things interesting.

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Post-Race Update

Tech shirts in the swag bag. Cervelo. Felt. Trek. Specialized. Quintana Roo. Cannondale. Pinnarello. Shimano. Gatorade. Nuun. Honey Stinger. Gu. Powerbar. Pearl Izumi. 2XU. DeSoto. Zoot. Brooks. K-Swiss. USAT officials. Timing chips. Volunteers. Police closing traffic. Medal ceremony. Veterans. First timers. Overly competitive athletes. People just out for a good workout.

They were all there. As was a place to swim, a course to bike, and a road to run. It was a triathlon. I sweat just as much in Athens as I have in Los Angeles or Dallas. I saw the results of my training. I joked with strangers. I learned some things to do next time. Big city, small town...it doesn't matter. A successful event is a successful event.

Truth be told, I think the race directors did a great job. Like the ratio of students to teachers, there is an optimal number of race volunteers to participants. Whatever it is, Ironhead Race Productions knows it and also ensured everyone's safety through bike/helmet inspections, clean roads, and excellent course markings.

As multisport events become more mainstream, small town races will continue to pop up across the country, and if you ever get tired of feeling like runner #429 out of 20,000, I suggest you check one out.

Cowtown 10K Race Report

I haven't run in a 10K race since the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Fun Run in February 2007 (1:00:29), but I wanted a good start to the 2011 racing season. Boy was it!

The Expo:

The weekend started with me battling rush hour traffic on I-635 and I-30 from Dallas to Fort Worth to get to the expo on Friday night, and like most other race expos, I grabbed my number, non-technical T-shirt and headed towards the door to leave. But for some reason I decided to cruise the endless maze of booth after booth. I've put my fair share of miles on my Zoot Ultra TT 2.0's and was in the market for another pair of racing flats/tri shoes. I talked for a while with a knowledgeable guy at the Pearl Izumi booth who sent me towards a New Balance rep on the other side of the exhibition hall, but about halfway in between, I ran into the sprawling walled-in empire of Luke's Locker. I swear it was as big as one of their regular stores!

I poked my head in and saw the K-Swiss Blade Light Run sitting there. I've been rotating through 3 pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7's since they were on closeout 2 years ago, so I figured I'd try something new. Put them on and they felt great! Jumped around like and idiot for a little bit. Still good! Looking closer, I saw they also had the K-Swiss Blade Light Race shoe as well. Light, comfortable, no laces to tie -- great shoe for T2. I'm sold! Ended up getting a pair of each at a pretty good deal. Looks like my Zoots will be officially retired once I break in these bad boys.

Race Day:

Got up at 4:30a, had a Clif Builder Bar (I am addicted to the Peanut Butter ones!), and headed out the door around 5:15a. 45 minutes later I was in Fort Worth at the Start/Finish/Expo area. I set my Forerunner 305 alert to a max heart rate of 148bpm and did an easy 2 mile warm up including the first mile of the course. All set for the 7:00am start.

The weather was dry and a crisp 48 degrees F. The sunrise started painting the sky in hues of pink and gold. People were friendly with a healthy buzz of excitement in the race chute. Not a bad way to start a morning.

I think there were about 5000 people running the event, and they didn't set up any corrals so there were people up at the front who probably shouldn't have been. Needless to say there was a lot of bobbing and weaving over the first mile. There were also several 90 degree turns forcing everyone to slow down and pinch into a tight corner. On the other hand, the rolling hills helped spread out the crowd and I was able to find some open space to run.

My goal was to break the 50 minute mark so I needed to hold close to 8:05 even though I've never held anything faster than 8:15 over 3 miles and this was 6.2. After that first mile, I found a great groove and got lost in my own metronome breathing -- 2 steps in, 2 steps out -- over and over again.

Around mile 3 I was awakened from my trance by a guy running up behind me and had the following exchange:

"Sir! Excuse me!" he said. I stepped to my left to let him through thinking he wanted to pass.

"Sir, I think...this is yours!" he yelled. Still chugging away, I turn back and look at him and see him start to hand me something. I automatically put my hand out and with Olympic-like precision we do a handoff of...my car key that had fallen out of my pocket (!!!).

"Oh man! Thanks dude! That would have been a bummer!" I said.

"No...the bummer is...that I had to run...this fast to...catch up to you!" he said choking for breath as he immediately dropped back into the massive swell of runners behind me and disappeared.

I have never NEVER experienced anything as amazing as this. Forgetting for a moment that you're in a race, how often has someone dropped something and you reached down to pick it up for them as they walk away? Now put yourself in his shoes, a guy ahead of you in a race drops a key. You stop and pick it up as he continues to run away from you. Now you have to not only run his speed, but actually go faster to catch up to him. At mile 3 I was running about 7:20/mile and who knows how long he was playing catch up. It was an awesome sacrifice on his part and I am completely grateful! Thank you!

At this point I was halfway, glanced at my watch and saw that I was ahead of my pace. Not expecting to be going this fast, I'd unassumingly given myself a buffer and backed off a little for the 2nd half just so I could finish strong. Final splits were 8:00, 7:27, 7:19, 7:39, 7:37, 7:49, 7:22 and an unofficial time of 48:05. A new PR!

Crossing the line I almost felt like throwing up, so I knew I pushed about as hard as I could go. I think that's all you can really ask for. Can't wait to see my results as I continue training and watch my times drop even further!

Honey Stinger Hive

Just wanted to send a huge shout out to the guys at Honey Stinger for selecting me to be part of the Hive, their new grassroots sponsorship program. Thanks!

Policemen dunk donuts in coffee. Kids dunk chocolate chip cookies in milk. Athletes dunk energy waffles in tea?

Seriously, these things are addictive and everyone needs to try a Honey Stinger waffle. I'm going to start handing them out randomly to people I see on runs and bike rides. I think they're that good. Challenge...accepted!

Bricks and Books...

Happy Presidents Day!

I enjoyed my day off doing a little work from home in the morning and followed it up with a great brick workout. If you check out the details of my workouts on Daily Mile, you'll see I'm trying something a little different for a while...going slow. Well, I already go slow so maybe just slower. I've been reading a lot about Low Heart Rate training and am waiting for a book from Amazon to arrive in my mailbox.


From what I've heard, The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing is to physical fitness as Think and Grow Rich is to entrepreneurs. It creates a foundation and basically explains in no uncertain terms what you need to do to accomplish your goals. It makes it seem simple. The hard part, as anyone knows who's ever tried to do anything, is that you've actually got to start and, more importantly, be determined to stick it out through the tough times.


The author, Philip Maffetone, doesn't make grandiose claims to help you create a beach body or give you a secret to run a 5 minute mile. Instead his methods to make you go faster are to actually go slower. The goal for each training session, whether it's running, biking, swimming, pogo sticking, or skipping to your lou, is to keep your heart rate as close to a certain number without going over. Welcome to The Price is Right...For Faster Run Times.


Take 180 and subtract your age. This is your new favorite number. The idea is that your body will become more efficient at this "low" heart rate and over the next couple months of training you'll actually see improvements and run faster while maintaining this rate. You become aerobically fit.


My first experience at maintaining this heart rate (on the run today) dropped my pace from my usual 8:45 pace to a molasses-like 12:30 pace. I honestly felt like I could walk faster. In preparation for Ironman 70.3 Austin in October, I expect to see my pace at 149 beats per minute drop from 12:30 to around the 7:00 minute mark. Maybe I'm just being optimistic. After all, the book is still on its way to my mailbox.

It Takes Two To Tradition

"If you do something once, it's a happening. It takes two to tradition." -- Me

Last year for my 30th birthday I thought it'd be a good idea to commemorate a milestone birthday with a milestone event: run 30 miles. Yeah...seriously. I wasn't going for time. I just wanted to finish, and I did -- barely -- in 6 hours and 30 minutes. Wanting to create a lasting tradition where every year I'll run my age in miles*, this year I set out to do 31. The * being that I want to run each year's distance faster than the overall time from the previous year.

Compared to last year's 10 day training program (4 mile run 10 days out, 18 mile run 4 days out), this year I took 3 solid weeks to train. It's still waaaaaay less preparation than I should do, and could easily lead to injury, but at least it was better than last year.

End result: 5 hours, 20 minutes.

To say I was ecstatic afterwards was an understatement. I mean, really...who drops 70 minutes? Me, that's who! There were definitely times during the run that I wanted to quit or told myself I wouldn't do this next year. I didn't and I will.

If you feel like running 31 miles and haven't properly trained:

• Plan your route. The southern side of White Rock Lake is the only part of the lake with noticeable hills. I cut them out. Instead of running 3+ 9.3 mile loops including the hills, I decided I'd do 5 mile "out and backs" 3 times on the flat part of the lake. This was by far the most important decision I made regarding my run.
• Start slow. I went out way too fast last year and had to walk the last 4 miles. I wasn't going to let that happen again. I kept my heart rate around 150 for the first 10 miles, 160 for the second 10, and 165 for the last 11. Never walked.
• Hydrate effectively. Nuun hydration tabs are awesome. They're little dissolving tabs that you put in your water bottle and are full of electrolytes. I used to get calf cramps every time I ran over 15 miles, but since I started using these last year in various runs and bike rides, I haven't cramped once. I drank 3 20oz bottles of Nuun/water on my run and another 12oz of water every 2 hours after until I went to bed.
• Make sure you can see. If you start a run at 4:26am, odds are the Sun won't be up for a couple hours. Take a headlamp. It's better than a flashlight because it keeps your hands free. I thought to take my headlamp that morning, and it was definitely the right thing to do.
• Check the weather the day before. I wasn't sure if I was going to run in the morning or the afternoon, but when I realized it was going to be 15 degrees warmer at 2pm than 6am, it was an easy decision to run in the morning. I also knew I wasn't going to need my jacket.
• Entertain yourself. You'll be running a while. My iPod playlist was great. The first hour was the All Day album by Girl Talk, a DJ who does amazing mashups of top 40 hip hop and 80's tracks. The artist posted the album online for free download. Get it here.

Traveling and Training

I've never been very good at maintaining my training regiment when I travel. Whether for business or just a vacation, it's as like the "need to workout" switch in my brain gets turned off. I think I'll try a little harder to change that this year...that's all it takes, right?

I'm currently 3 days in on a 17 day trip to China for work. In the summer, the weather is ridiculously hot and humid and the smell is often less than pleasant. Luckily, it's mid 60's outside and recent rain has kept the air quality at a tolerable level.

The first day I gave myself a pass and skipped the gym -- I had spent the last 27 hours travelling from Dallas to Chicago to Shanghai to Hong Kong -- and was completely exhausted and nonfunctioning.

Yesterday morning I only hit my 6am snooze button twice before getting up and checking out the hotel gym at the Mira hotel where I'm staying. It's pretty nice, very clean, and you usually have it all to yourself. They also have a pool, but I think it's only 20m long. Weird.

Today was better: no snooze, just get up out of bed. I don't know why, but I always feel better when I just get up instead of falling back asleep and being woken up by an obnoxious alarm every 7 minutes. Ran 5k on the treadmill and then did some squats and ab work. Wait. What? I know, I know...you're saying to yourself "Steve you don't have abs." Well my response is "They're in there somewhere. I'm just looking for them."

Here's to hoping I can keep this up for 2 more weeks. It'll get harder when we go into Shenzhen this weekend and the hotels are, um, lacking. If anything, it'll make me try even harder to find a way to make it work.