I did it. No, we did it. I am an Ironman....forever. In my life, I may lose a lot of things, but this is something that cannot be taken away and will remain with me forever. I am an Ironman.
On Thursday, Kenny (the camera man!) and I got up to start our journey to Louisville, Kentucky. The bags were packed, and I said goodbye to my roommate Arin as he wished me luck. Kenny and I got in the car and headed to the cemetery. I got there and I wasn't sad at all, as I normally am when I go there. I said a few words to Jared and asked him to help me during what would become the hardest challenge I'd ever encounter. I felt very content leaving the cemetery.
We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and at no point were we rushing. This was really good and helped with the nerves. Our flight had a stopover in Chicago, and we finally got to Louisville around 5 PM on Thursday. All we did that night was go over the schedule of what we had to do on Friday and we got to bed at a decent hour. Slept very well on Thursday night, which was great. Friday, we got up bright and early and I went to athlete check-in where I got weighed in, got my body fat reading and my hydration level reading. I tried to gain a bit of weight for this race knowing that my fat stores would be tapped after my carbohydrate and protein stores were tapped out late in the race, and therefore i was 4 pounds heavier than I was when I raced the half Ironman at Providence a month and a half ago. My body fat was at 10%, which was very good...anything less would be too little for this race, for me at least. My hydration level was at 61% which was extremely good according to the nurse. That was very relieving because that told me that I hydrated properly and took in plenty of sodium prior to getting the reading. After I got checked in, Kenny and I went to the Media Center where Kenny received his credentials for race day. He got his official media pass and shirt, and he was one of about only 10 media people there. They ranged from ESPN, to local TV stations, to someone covering the Mexican triathlon team here. I think I should take this opportunity to say Thank You to Kenny for what he did. I want everyone to know that Kenny sacrificed a lot to be here, and it seemed like every move I made this past week, he was there with the camera and he captured the essence of this effort. I can't wait to see the video. Thank you Kenny. After we got finished with that, I attended the athlete race briefing where all the rules were made clear. If anything, it helped to answer many questions about where i had to be at what time on race day. For the remainder of the afternoon, I rested up in bed before waiting for Jared's parents and my family to get here in time for the Welcome dinner. They all finally got here around 4:30 PM, and we all met up before heading over to the Kentucky International Convention Center, where the dinner was held. We got there, and it was HUGE. Picture 2000 athletes and their friends and family in one room, with a huge stage set up, with an Ironman backdrop and huge video screens to the sides of the stage. We ate and chatted as we listened to the speakers. They showed a video and the words will resonate in my heart for the rest of my life. The speaker on the video said, as Jim Collins did in 1978, "Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112, run 26.2....brag for the rest of your life." After we were done eating and the speakers finished up, we took some photos of all of us and we called it a night. We headed back to the hotel and waited for my friend Kelly to get into town, as her flight was a later flight. She got in around 10 and she went with my brother to Fourth Street Live! where all the bars and restaurants are. Kenny and I hit the hay, as I would have to check in my bike and gear bags the next day.
We had breakfast in the morning and I made sure all of my gear bags were properly packed with all the right things. After that, I met up with a teammate, CJ, from HEAT and we went for a light 13 mile bike ride at a very slow pace. We rode the marathon course (which was a two loop course). I noticed that it was very flat, which would be good. When we finished that, we rode to the tranistion area where I checked in my bike and CJ dropped me off back at the hotel. We wished each other luck. That evening, we all went and got dinner at The Spaghetti Factory and I downed as much pasta as my body could take in. I felt like I was ready to go and i was properly fueled for the next day. I made my way back to the hotel, and tried to sleep - the day would undoubtedly be the biggest and greatest day of my life.
I got up at 4:30 AM, and had 1.5 cups of oatmeal before heading to the transition area with my father, Jared's father, and Kenny. I put my iPod on and zoned out, trying not to think about the task ahead. I pumped my tires up to 115 psi, which is 5 pounds less than the max. I did that because of the heat and humidity and did not want to risk a blown tire because of the air inside the tires expanding as the day got warmer. Did my final check on my bike and everything seemed to be in order. I then was driven over to the swim start which was about 1.5 miles away from the transition area. There I got my body marking. A volunteer wrote my race number on both my biceps and then asked me "Who are you racing for today?" and I said "my friends" and he asked their names. He wrote "Jared" in big letters on my right arm, and wrote "Mike, Muff, Kush, Tyler" on my left arm. At that point, I knew I was ready to go.
I then got in line for the swim start. It was a time trial start, so athletes started the race in the order they were lined up. There was a few hundred people in front of me, so I wouldn't start until about 7:20 AM. Right before the cannon went off, I saw all my friends, who had gotten there at 3 AM that morning. They ran down to where I was in line and wished me luck. It was incredible seeing them. Muff, Mike, Kush, Kelly, Jeff, Kristin, Ashley, Jared's parents and my family were there. Then the line started moving and athletes were entering the water about every second. As I made my way down to the pier, all the sudden there was only about 20 athletes ahead of me, and a volunteer said in a stern voice to me "Goggles on" and I dropped my goggles over my eyes and I was at the timing chip mat (which would mark my personal start time, which was about 7:20) and the chip mat beeped and I was jumping in the water. I was officially starting my Ironman.
As I started my swim, I just thought, "My God, here I am, doing an Ironman. I have sacrificed so much and worked so hard and it's here." I was really settling in and my swim stroke felt great, even going against the current at that point. I wasn't worried about going fast, just being efficient, after all, this was 2.4 miles, this isn't just a half mile swim. You would think it would be pretty spread out, but it was packed in the water. I got kicked and punched and did some inadvertant kicking and punching myself. With that being said, once I hit the turnaround about 3/4 mile upriver, it spread out much more, and then all of a sudden I was swimming with the current. At that point, i think i was going into a swimming daze, everything felt very calm and relaxed and I was really enjoying myself. Before I knew it, I could see the swim finish, and then i was about 100 yards away. At that point, I started to kick (which I don't do during the whole swim to save my legs) to get the bloodflow back to my legs and to get them ready for the transition. All of a sudden, I was there, with a volunteer helping me out of the water. I just swam 2.4 miles! My swim split: 1 hour, 20 minutes. So fast compared to what I would have done had I not hired a swim coach for the past month and a half. Fans were everywhere and the roar of the crowd got my adrenaline going. I ran into transition and got my bike bag and headed into the changing tent. I methodically got all my bike gear in order and then ran to my bike. My fans were screaming "Go Tony!" "Great swim!" as I put on my sunglasses and cycling shoes. I grabbed my bike and ran to the bike out Ironman arch where I mounted my bike. I was off on a 112 mile ride. About 200 yards into the ride, there was my cheering section again! I cannot tell you what it feels like to see those people. Lifted my spirits.
The first 10-12 miles were very flat with some slight downhills. I knew I had to be smart and had to take the advice of my teammates Dave and Doug, and my father. I would not push it at all and would not "eat the paste." I relaxed and went easy. At about mile 7 or 8, a motorcycle pulls up next to me, and Kenny is on the back, filming away. I said some words to the camera. I think after Kenny pulled away, I got into my bike daze state. The course was a lot tougher than I thought, a lot of rolling hills. The scenery was amazing though. The countryside was incredibly beautiful. All the while I was enjoying the scenery I was sticking to my nutrition plan as well as I could, eating a half powerbar every, taking 3 electrolyte pills every half hour, while taking in 5 oz of Accelerade every 5-10 minutes. Before long, I noticed my nutrtion strategy was failing. I developed a stitch pain in my side and I concluded that it was because of the solid food and the accelerade. I had to make a quick decision to go to my backup nutrtition strategy, or my race would be going down the tubes. I switched to all water, electrolyte pills and PowerGel only. My body was rejecting any solid food I was putting in it, and clearly telling me "No" to solids. That's ok, as there were so many aid stations with gel and water. I knew that I'd have to take in a lot of gel to replace the calories that would have been in the solid food. But it seemed to be working, as the cramps subsided and I felt pretty good. All of a sudden it was about noon, and the summer Kentucky heat started to kick in. It was getting very hot. Already it was in the mid-90's, although I did not feel like it was bothering me at all at that point, even with the fact that I wore an Aero helmet rather than my standard highly vented road helmet. At mile 38, I passed through the town of LaGrange which held a huge Ironman festival. The streets were lined with spectators and fans, both from that town, and people that came from Louisville on the free shuttle that was provided by Ironman. I looked around for my cheering section, all the while going over 25 mph (as it was a downhill for that whole stretch) but I didnt' see anyone. That was ok because my spirits were still high, and I was ok mentally. The bike course again took me through LaGrange at mile 68 and I was desperately hoping to see my cheering section. I slowed down a bit on the main strip to look for them, but no luck, didnt' see anyone. I was feeling a bit down because of that. Why didn't I see them? All of a sudden about a half mile up the road, I saw Jeff and Kristin. SOOO awesome to see them! It was literally touching to see Jeff out there, as he used to go see his father race in Ironmans before he passed away in 2005. I slowed down so I could hear him, he asked me how I was doing, and I said good, and gave him a thumbs up. All of a sudden I felt good again. I continued on and continued to race within myself to save as much energy as possible for the marathon that lay ahead. I kept seeing the mile markers get higher and higher..."mile 80....mile 90....mile 100." All of a sudden, I was thinking about my transition to run! I saw the river and at that point, I think I got a little excited. I picked up the pace for the last 12 miles and then I was on the cusp of the tranistion area when I saw my fans AGAIN! I dismounted my bike and handed it to a volunteer and ran down the transition chute to get my run gear bag. Back into the changing tent I went, a volunteer grabbed me, emptied my bag, put on my running shoes for me while another volunteer sprayed sunblock all over me. I felt like royalty. I must have thanked them about 30 times before I headed out onto the marathon course. I started running down the chute again when I saw Kush and Stasiuk to my right. I stopped and gave Mike a hug and gave Kush a high five and then took off. i saw the rest of my fans a few hundred yards up. I then took a right over the bridge to a turn around and hit the Mile 1 marker. I remember thinking "wow, I have 25 more of those signs to see before I can call myself an Ironman." I looped back into town and there was my cheering section again. I was so glad that I was running at a good pace. I hit the marathon course like I was possessed, running an 8:28 pace for the first 4 miles. I was running through the aid stations, taking in Gatorade endurance formula and water. Then the heat started to wear on me. This heat was like nothing I've ever come across. Debilitating I think is the correct word for it. At mile 5, I decided to start walking the aid stations and decided on the strategy of making it a race to each aid station, where I would enjoy the small victory of getting ice cold sponges to put down my shirt, ice cubes in my hat, and cold water and gatorade to take in. I was diligent about taking in fluids because i knew how dangerous this heat was, as I constantly heard the ring of sirens and saw the sights of countless competitors on the side of the road, being put on a stretcher and being taken away by ambulances. I refused to let myself become one of them. The pain started, and my legs were hurting like they've never hurt before. It was excruciating. Somewhere between mile 10 and 12, one of my worst fears were realized. I stopped sweating. This could mean certain failure had I not been taking in as much fluids as I was. I refused to stop. Around the same time, I started running with another guy, Andy. He was 40 years old from Allentown, PA, and he was pretty much in the same condition as I was. I would say about 70% of the field was walking at this point. I chatted with Andy and we decided that we would pull each other through. We would pick landmarks and say 'Ok, let's run from this fire hydrant to that yellow sign 200 yards up the road.' And so that's what we did, we'd walk for about a minute, and then run for about 3 minutes. This seemed to be working! All of a sudden, we hit the halfway point, which was right near the finish line, and that's where i saw my fans! I remember seeing Ashley and she was recording me on her videocamera and i said 'Next time you see me, I will be an Ironman!" Seeing the thousands of people waiting at the finish line was enough motivation to start running again. I think me and Andy actually ran from mile 13 to 14, which was a small victory in and of itself. I just could not wait for that crowd to cheer for me. Andy and I continued on and on and on, all the while both of our conditions worsening. At mile 19, I went under a bridge which was not well lit and I got very dizzy, I almost fell over. At that point, I said to myself "You can't give up, no matter what, keep taking in as much fluids as possible." I did not fall down and made it to the other side of the bridge where i felt a little better. I think at that point, as if it was a sign or something, I had to pee, which was another small victory. That sounds very gross and weird, but having to pee is a good sign when it's that hot. That meant I was taking in enough fluids to have and stop at a porta potty. I finally made turn around at mile 20 and said to Andy, hey, I might still make my 13 hour goal! He really picked me up, and at times when I said I had to walk, he would say "No, you have it in you to run to that next street!" We pushed each other so much. He told me that I was getting heat stroke, but that I could probably still finish the race in OK shape if i kept drinking. I did that, but then I felt my toenail on my right big toe starting to fall off and peel away from the foot. It hurt like hell. I just had to focus on the finish line, I had to. At mile 23, we hit the Ford Motivational Mile. This was where an athlete's fans leave a message that is displayed on a huge electronic billboard, and the message is displayed as your timing chip passes over a timing mat. I passed over the mat and looked up, the message to me was "Tony, I am here. Love, Jared." I lost it at that point, started to cry. I get teary eyed even thinking about that. I was reminded at that point of the whole reason why I was there. I had to get to the finish line, I could not quit, I had to realize this was about something bigger.
As Andy and I made our way back into town, Andy told me (and I'm paraphrasing, but this is almost dead on, we had a conversation for about 5 minutes) "listen bro, when we get a half mile away from the finish line, I want you to go ahead of me, I'm going to hang back. I want you to cherish this moment. Think of your friends and family. Look in the eyes of the people in the crowd. Think about your life. There are so many things that can go wrong in life - marriages go bad, people screw you over, sometimes things just suck, but this moment will make you a new person altogether. This will be the beginning of your new life as an Ironman. Please take it all in, and never, ever forget this." About 10 minutes later, I turned a corner of a street that was about 1/4 mile from the finish line and saw muff, stasiuk, kush, my brother and ashley. They were going crazy. They started running with me, my brother handed me a shirt that they were all wearing with jared's picture on the front. Muff was screaming louder than I ever heard him scream, my brother was running and yelling in his cell phone "He's coming! He's going to finish in the next 2 minutes! Get ready" It was surreal. I turned the last corner and saw the thousands of people, cheering for me. I raised the shirt to my chest and showed Jared's picture to the crowd. I started to bawl my eyes out, I cried and cried and cried as I ran down the chute. The finish line was just hundreds of feet in front me. I couldn't take any more, I got to the finish line, raised the shirt above my head, and collapsed at the line. I cried uncontrollably for about 30 seconds as a volunteer picked me up off the ground and put the medal around my neck and looked me in the eye and said "Congratulations Anthony, You're an Ironman." Those words, from a total stranger, will stay in my heart forever.
I got my picture taken with the shirt with the Ironman backdrop, and could barely walk. Made my way to the end of the finish line corrale where I saw all my fans. I gave them all big hugs. That moment was incredible. After i settled down, I realized again the type of pain I was in. Walking was a chore, to say the least. Beyond that, the heat stroke was realized. I was freezing, and it was still 90 degrees out. The volunteer brought me and my fans to the convention center where I got a massage and got more fluids. I felt terrible physically but was the definition of happy emotionally. I got a chance to talk to everyone there after the massage, and I told Jared's parents "We did it! The last mile wasn't just me, Jared was carrying me. My body was almost completely shut down at mile 24, but Jared got me through" and Susan said "I know." I hugged all my friends, and Jeff came up to me and I told him that I talked to his father during the marathon and that I'm sure he was also watching over me. At that point, there was nothing left to do except smile and head back to the hotel room for a shower. I got in the shower and cried again. I was overwhelmed with emotion. More than a year of my life was dedicated to just cross that finish line, and I had done it. I had done something that was once considered humanly impossible.
I then checked my phone and computer. I had countless messages from people tracking me online throughout the day. I can't believe how much support I got. People were telling me that I am an inspiration to everyone and that they were so proud to call me a friend. I guess I can't really understand it as much as I wish I could. To be called an inspiration and to say that I inspire people blows my mind. I just see myself as an ordinary guy with an extraordinary group of people around me.
I will be posting pictures when I get home, as I'm still in Louisville now. But for now, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you...first and foremost to my friends and family. Paul, Sue, Tom, Mom and Dad....you guys are the best. Secondly, Muff, Stasiuk, Tyler and Kush....you are the best friends I could ever ask for. Without you, I would not be the man I am today and I surely would not be an Ironman without you guys. Friends forever boys. Kelly, Ashley, Jeff and Kristin....words cannot thank you enough for coming to Kentucky to support me. Driving 14 hours overnight to watch my race start speaks volumes about what kind of people you are and for that alone, I will always have a place in my heart for you. Lastly, to my other awesome friends, Gary, Godard, PJ, Kev, Ally, Jess, Mary, Nicole, Carly and anyone else I may have missed, thank you for believing that I can do this, thanks for being such good friends. To Kristin and Jon, thanks for always reminding me to smile. To Rohan - my Mount Everest-climbing freak training partner - thanks for pushing me harder than I thought I could go on those long 100 mile bike rides and those tough runs afterwards, you helped me more than anyone else when it came to physical preparation. To Team Heat, thank you for giving me the resources and advice that I desparately needed. To Dave Couture, thank you for calming my nerves about this race and believing in me. To Doug Lord, thanks for all the advice. Thank you all so much.
WE DID IT! I am an IRONMAN!!!!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Last Post Before Ironman
As the title eludes to, this will be my last post before Ironman. It's Monday evening, and the race is on Sunday. I wanted to post early in the week because of how hectic all the traveling, organizing, and coordinating will be, in addition to the nervousness that has already hit me.
The past year has been incredible. I've seen a side of myself that I'm so proud of, and I believe that it is my true self. Beyond that, I've seen people really come out and support me, especially my best friends. Just the other night, Tyler said to me, "dude, I wish I could be there, but going to Italy real soon, I just don't think I can make it" and I responded "Ty, don't worry about it, you saw me race in Providence" and he says "Yeah, but I just want to be there for you." I know he can't make it down to Louisville, but that's just an example of someone saying something to me that will stay with me forever. I'll never forget him saying that, and he probably thought it was no big deal.
Beyond the realm of my friends, other people, from total strangers to some of my not so close friends have reached out. I mentioned about how random Southington residents have been sending me cards with donations and kind words, but today, a co-worker of mine came down to my desk and hand delivered a card. Stuff like that is not necessary, but it is so appreciated. It's just overwhelming at times.
Apart from all that, as my own person, this attempt at becoming an Ironman has changed me. I cannot put into words what it is, but this effort, and this race has become a microcosm of life in general. It's about knowing that what we have today, we may not have tomorrow. It's about seizing the moment (pardon the cliche) and realizing there's so much more to life. It's about dealing with adversity, whether physical or emotional, bottling it up, and channeling it into something that is indescribably good. It's about sacrifice....giving up on what's past, and enjoying the exact moment that is the present. As I go on I've realized the older I get, the more things I have to leave behind, but as some doors close and some chapters come to an end, we're presented with an opportunity to write a whole new book. This journey has been about so much more than a fast swim, a strong bike and a quick run....it's been about bouncing back. I think I speak for all my friends when I say we've lived priviledged lives and we appreciate it to no end, but we've also seen the lowest of lows, and somehow and some way we've always stuck together. If nothing else, it is so unbelievably obvious that true and loyal friends are forever and if and when we're lucky to experience that, we should hold onto that and never take that for granted. We all know how important it is to do that and how important it is to appreciate today.
Lastly, I just wish everyone could experience what I have experienced during my preparations for this race. It doesn't have to be about 140.6 miles, all it has to be is to pick up something that you always wanted to do and do it. Don't hold back. Truth of the matter is, yes, I probably would have done an Ironman if Jared was still here today. I say that with confidence although it means a lot more to dedicate this effort to him and my friends. But that being said, I remember watching the Ironman on ABC Wide World of Sports as a kid with my father and being amazed, even from that young age. The first time I thought about actually doing it, I think I was a freshman in college, but I never really had the clout to sacrifice so much. Now I do, now as I honor my friends, I chase my own dream and I pray this dream comes true.
To track me on Sunday, go to http://ironman.com/events/ironman/louisville/?show=tracker&rid=164&year=2008 and type in the number 297 in the search box.
Please pray for me on Sunday. Thanks for all the support, once again.
The past year has been incredible. I've seen a side of myself that I'm so proud of, and I believe that it is my true self. Beyond that, I've seen people really come out and support me, especially my best friends. Just the other night, Tyler said to me, "dude, I wish I could be there, but going to Italy real soon, I just don't think I can make it" and I responded "Ty, don't worry about it, you saw me race in Providence" and he says "Yeah, but I just want to be there for you." I know he can't make it down to Louisville, but that's just an example of someone saying something to me that will stay with me forever. I'll never forget him saying that, and he probably thought it was no big deal.
Beyond the realm of my friends, other people, from total strangers to some of my not so close friends have reached out. I mentioned about how random Southington residents have been sending me cards with donations and kind words, but today, a co-worker of mine came down to my desk and hand delivered a card. Stuff like that is not necessary, but it is so appreciated. It's just overwhelming at times.
Apart from all that, as my own person, this attempt at becoming an Ironman has changed me. I cannot put into words what it is, but this effort, and this race has become a microcosm of life in general. It's about knowing that what we have today, we may not have tomorrow. It's about seizing the moment (pardon the cliche) and realizing there's so much more to life. It's about dealing with adversity, whether physical or emotional, bottling it up, and channeling it into something that is indescribably good. It's about sacrifice....giving up on what's past, and enjoying the exact moment that is the present. As I go on I've realized the older I get, the more things I have to leave behind, but as some doors close and some chapters come to an end, we're presented with an opportunity to write a whole new book. This journey has been about so much more than a fast swim, a strong bike and a quick run....it's been about bouncing back. I think I speak for all my friends when I say we've lived priviledged lives and we appreciate it to no end, but we've also seen the lowest of lows, and somehow and some way we've always stuck together. If nothing else, it is so unbelievably obvious that true and loyal friends are forever and if and when we're lucky to experience that, we should hold onto that and never take that for granted. We all know how important it is to do that and how important it is to appreciate today.
Lastly, I just wish everyone could experience what I have experienced during my preparations for this race. It doesn't have to be about 140.6 miles, all it has to be is to pick up something that you always wanted to do and do it. Don't hold back. Truth of the matter is, yes, I probably would have done an Ironman if Jared was still here today. I say that with confidence although it means a lot more to dedicate this effort to him and my friends. But that being said, I remember watching the Ironman on ABC Wide World of Sports as a kid with my father and being amazed, even from that young age. The first time I thought about actually doing it, I think I was a freshman in college, but I never really had the clout to sacrifice so much. Now I do, now as I honor my friends, I chase my own dream and I pray this dream comes true.
To track me on Sunday, go to http://ironman.com/events/
Please pray for me on Sunday. Thanks for all the support, once again.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Closer and Closer
As I write this, I'm in the midst of nervousness/excitement/overall anticipation. The race is now only 15 days away and I am getting into the real grind of not being able to train as I'm used to. I have been sending constant emails to my teammates/mentors about any advice I may have missed. Additionally, I've finalized my nutrition plan for the race and I am confident that I can eat and drink as much as I plan to. Apart from all the due diligence I believe I have done, I'm still nervous. It has been harder and harder to get a good night's rest. All I keep thinking about is the finish line, seeing Kush, Muff, Mike, feeling Jared with me, and thanking God that I was given that opportunity. Furthermore, I joined iAmTri.com and I am one of their featured members. Because of that, I've received many comments/messages wishing me good luck, from complete strangers! Here is an excerpt I received from someone two days ago:
"Ironman athletes often dedicate races to those they care about. My first Ironman was dedicated to my mentor who, like your friend, had passed away while I was training for it. I had his name on my hat.
Keep in mind that the act of just dedicating this endeavor to your friend's memory is success alone and with that, you can't fail. You may not cross the finish line because only God controls that outcome. Your dedication and offering of doing your best is all that you can do. Leave the rest up to God.
I have no doubt that you'll cross the finish line. Your friend will be with you all the way......so will I.
May the Lord be with you,
Michael"
Sounds very religious I know, but that's been something that's been in the back of my mind. I haven't forgotten that there is someone up there who's watching over me and will be my guide throughout the 140.6 miles, at least that's what I believe.
This whole journey has been all consuming. It wasn't quite this way at the beginning of the season, but now that this race is so damn close, I am beyond focused. These are life changing moments, and if and when I cross that finish line, I will be a changed person.....forever. The sacrifices that I have made to come this far are even unbelievable to myself. Again, I go back to my support and the strength that my friends have lent me throughout the past year. Never once did someone say "I don't think you can do that" It has always been "how's training? How are you feeling? Where can I get a hotel in Louisville?"
Apart from Ironman, and whether I finish or not, I know that I have accomplished so much in my life. I have been through the best of times and the worst of times. This race will magnify those good times and trivialize those hard times. Knowing what I have been through in my life, this is just a transition of drive into something completely tangible, something that will remain with me and my friends forever. So in essence, this race is more than a race to me.....it has become my life. I have felt myself change during this past year, into a person that I never thought I'd become. I can't really explain that, it's too tough. There is just something different about taking on 140.6 miles and the willingness to offer the utmost respect to that distance, because in all reality, this distance has killed people before.....but it's also made dreams come true. It's not about the race as much as its about the sacrifice, the pain, the drive.....and hopefully the reward. I will try to post another blog entry before I leave for Louisville, but if you don't check back, please say a prayer for me and/or keep me in your thoughts on the 31st. I would really appreciate that. Thanks again.
15. (I remember when this number was 365 like it was yesterday)
"Ironman athletes often dedicate races to those they care about. My first Ironman was dedicated to my mentor who, like your friend, had passed away while I was training for it. I had his name on my hat.
Keep in mind that the act of just dedicating this endeavor to your friend's memory is success alone and with that, you can't fail. You may not cross the finish line because only God controls that outcome. Your dedication and offering of doing your best is all that you can do. Leave the rest up to God.
I have no doubt that you'll cross the finish line. Your friend will be with you all the way......so will I.
May the Lord be with you,
Michael"
Sounds very religious I know, but that's been something that's been in the back of my mind. I haven't forgotten that there is someone up there who's watching over me and will be my guide throughout the 140.6 miles, at least that's what I believe.
This whole journey has been all consuming. It wasn't quite this way at the beginning of the season, but now that this race is so damn close, I am beyond focused. These are life changing moments, and if and when I cross that finish line, I will be a changed person.....forever. The sacrifices that I have made to come this far are even unbelievable to myself. Again, I go back to my support and the strength that my friends have lent me throughout the past year. Never once did someone say "I don't think you can do that" It has always been "how's training? How are you feeling? Where can I get a hotel in Louisville?"
Apart from Ironman, and whether I finish or not, I know that I have accomplished so much in my life. I have been through the best of times and the worst of times. This race will magnify those good times and trivialize those hard times. Knowing what I have been through in my life, this is just a transition of drive into something completely tangible, something that will remain with me and my friends forever. So in essence, this race is more than a race to me.....it has become my life. I have felt myself change during this past year, into a person that I never thought I'd become. I can't really explain that, it's too tough. There is just something different about taking on 140.6 miles and the willingness to offer the utmost respect to that distance, because in all reality, this distance has killed people before.....but it's also made dreams come true. It's not about the race as much as its about the sacrifice, the pain, the drive.....and hopefully the reward. I will try to post another blog entry before I leave for Louisville, but if you don't check back, please say a prayer for me and/or keep me in your thoughts on the 31st. I would really appreciate that. Thanks again.
15. (I remember when this number was 365 like it was yesterday)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Freaking out
So my training is pretty much complete. My fitness is at it's peak and the only thing I can do now is maintain what I have. That means no more long rides, no more long runs, no more putting my body through pain until race day. On that note, I wanted to get a feel for what my teammates that have done Ironman went through during their taper phase and so I sent out an email to them, this is what I received from Gabe (a four time Ironman, who consistently places in the top 5 overall in his races):
"I have made some major IM mistakes, so I have some thoughts that might help. If your goal is to finish, rather than do some particular time, keep that in mind through the race. My best performance, and my most enjoyable IM, was in Wisconsin when I just told myself not to worry about the clock and to try and enjoy the event. I talked to other competitors, made jokes, tried to thank spectators and volunteers. I found this kept me loose. There is a tendency to focus intensely on the road in front of you and to think about heart rate, lactic acid, etc., but I found that by focusing so much on those things in past races that I suffered much more and missed the really entertaining parts of the race. I self-destructed in a Lake Placid race because I was so intense during the whole race that I eventually had a major break down physically and mentally at mile 13 of the marathon, and ended up sitting down and crying on the side of the road. I eventually got up and managed to finish, but I learned a valuable lesson. I viewed Wisconsin as more of a mini-adventure than a race, and kept a great mental attitude all day even in pouring rain, wind, and cold. I also like to pack a little treat in my special needs bags or in the bike-to-run transition bag. My favorite was a ball of Stove Top Stuffing. Great source of sodium and carbs, and tastes great even cold. I have also used Altoid mints--kind of weird but a shot of peppermint is pretty refreshing mid-race. A buddy of mine would put caffeinated gum in his bags, but don't try that unless you have done it before.
From a nutrition standpoint, remember to consume food and liquids in a manner similar to the way that you have trained. This is IM 101, but I have fallen victim to this problem on the run several times. I almost never take in water on long training runs, but I would get into the race and drink every single mile. This led to stomach issues because I just was not used to having that much liquid intake while running. In Wisconsin, I drank every mile, but only a sip or two. This seemed to work out fine and kept me hydrated. Of course, the key to that strategy is to make sure you drink enough on the bike so that you start out well hydrated. Same with food: I only took in food every few miles, and then only took things that I knew would digest well (bananas and fig bars for me). That's another tip: if you use a lot of gels and other sweet things and start to get nauseous during the race, try switching to more natural foods. This worked for me in a Lake Placid race where I literally threw away my fuel belt mid-marathon and started eating grapes and oranges. The soda also works pretty well, but I always wait to go there as a last resort and hopefully when there is not much left in the race.
As a final note on the run (where the race really becomes interesting), I have found myself walking through aid stations even if I felt like I did not need to. This strategy of walking when I wanted to, rather than when I had to, resulted in walking much less often and for shorter distances. (almost everyone walks at some point unless they are a pro, so no shame is involved).
The best advice is to do your own thing, race your own race, and never stop moving forward. We'll be tracking you on the internet. Go get 'em!"
"I have made some major IM mistakes, so I have some thoughts that might help. If your goal is to finish, rather than do some particular time, keep that in mind through the race. My best performance, and my most enjoyable IM, was in Wisconsin when I just told myself not to worry about the clock and to try and enjoy the event. I talked to other competitors, made jokes, tried to thank spectators and volunteers. I found this kept me loose. There is a tendency to focus intensely on the road in front of you and to think about heart rate, lactic acid, etc., but I found that by focusing so much on those things in past races that I suffered much more and missed the really entertaining parts of the race. I self-destructed in a Lake Placid race because I was so intense during the whole race that I eventually had a major break down physically and mentally at mile 13 of the marathon, and ended up sitting down and crying on the side of the road. I eventually got up and managed to finish, but I learned a valuable lesson. I viewed Wisconsin as more of a mini-adventure than a race, and kept a great mental attitude all day even in pouring rain, wind, and cold. I also like to pack a little treat in my special needs bags or in the bike-to-run transition bag. My favorite was a ball of Stove Top Stuffing. Great source of sodium and carbs, and tastes great even cold. I have also used Altoid mints--kind of weird but a shot of peppermint is pretty refreshing mid-race. A buddy of mine would put caffeinated gum in his bags, but don't try that unless you have done it before.
From a nutrition standpoint, remember to consume food and liquids in a manner similar to the way that you have trained. This is IM 101, but I have fallen victim to this problem on the run several times. I almost never take in water on long training runs, but I would get into the race and drink every single mile. This led to stomach issues because I just was not used to having that much liquid intake while running. In Wisconsin, I drank every mile, but only a sip or two. This seemed to work out fine and kept me hydrated. Of course, the key to that strategy is to make sure you drink enough on the bike so that you start out well hydrated. Same with food: I only took in food every few miles, and then only took things that I knew would digest well (bananas and fig bars for me). That's another tip: if you use a lot of gels and other sweet things and start to get nauseous during the race, try switching to more natural foods. This worked for me in a Lake Placid race where I literally threw away my fuel belt mid-marathon and started eating grapes and oranges. The soda also works pretty well, but I always wait to go there as a last resort and hopefully when there is not much left in the race.
As a final note on the run (where the race really becomes interesting), I have found myself walking through aid stations even if I felt like I did not need to. This strategy of walking when I wanted to, rather than when I had to, resulted in walking much less often and for shorter distances. (almost everyone walks at some point unless they are a pro, so no shame is involved).
The best advice is to do your own thing, race your own race, and never stop moving forward. We'll be tracking you on the internet. Go get 'em!"
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Almost done with one year of training
I can't believe race day is just over 3 weeks away. It seems like 3 weeks would be a lot, but that's going to go by so fast. The whole year has gone by so fast. I'm putting the final touches on my training now. Did an easy paced 15 mile run today pretty effortlessly and have been having swim practice everyday in Hartford. Cycling, I'm just ready, plain and simple. This is not a joke or anything, but I woke up at 11 AM on Sunday morning, and got bored almost immediately. I decided to head out on my bike for a fast paced 30 mile ride, and already had a route planned. Well that 30 mile ride turned into a 120 mile ride around Connecticut. Did that in 6 hours and 30 minutes. Total peace of mind. I could get a flat on the course in Louisville and still be able to finish under 6:30, which leads me into my next topic, race day strategy.
I will try and just enjoy the swim, and not kill myself. Anything under 1 hour 30 minutes will be fine with me. My coach wants me to go 1:05, but I seriously highly doubt that. On the bike, I'm "not going to eat the paste." That's an Ironman saying for the kid in preschool that eats the paste in the corner of the room and then other kids follow him or her. Then they puke a half hour later. Well the same thing happens during an Ironman, some people "eat the paste" and hammer the bike, and set a personal record, with times like 5:45 off the bike, averaging almost 20 mph. Then they realize they have a marathon to run. Then the puking starts. Then the ambulance picks them up. And for the ones that aren't on their way to the hospital, I run by them at mile 10 while they're walking at a 20 minute pace and I'm running at a 10 minute pace. Do the math....for them to beat me by 45 minutes off the bike, I make up a total of 100-300 minutes on them on the marathon. I'm not using this strategy to beat these people at all, I'm using this strategy to stay in the race. I predict my finish time to be well within my goal of 13 hours if I do this.
On another note, I have a teammate that just did Ironman Lake Placid, and we've been talking about what it's going to be like to be an Ironman throughout the year. This was his first. This is him on the JumboTron getting a little emotional after he crossed the finish line.
I want to give him a shout out and say that "Doug - You're an Ironman." Be proud my friend, you put in so much work and I'm glad to call you my teammate. Please take a minute to read his blog and his race report: http://jackandrachelland.pbwiki.com/IMLP%20report
I will try and just enjoy the swim, and not kill myself. Anything under 1 hour 30 minutes will be fine with me. My coach wants me to go 1:05, but I seriously highly doubt that. On the bike, I'm "not going to eat the paste." That's an Ironman saying for the kid in preschool that eats the paste in the corner of the room and then other kids follow him or her. Then they puke a half hour later. Well the same thing happens during an Ironman, some people "eat the paste" and hammer the bike, and set a personal record, with times like 5:45 off the bike, averaging almost 20 mph. Then they realize they have a marathon to run. Then the puking starts. Then the ambulance picks them up. And for the ones that aren't on their way to the hospital, I run by them at mile 10 while they're walking at a 20 minute pace and I'm running at a 10 minute pace. Do the math....for them to beat me by 45 minutes off the bike, I make up a total of 100-300 minutes on them on the marathon. I'm not using this strategy to beat these people at all, I'm using this strategy to stay in the race. I predict my finish time to be well within my goal of 13 hours if I do this.
On another note, I have a teammate that just did Ironman Lake Placid, and we've been talking about what it's going to be like to be an Ironman throughout the year. This was his first. This is him on the JumboTron getting a little emotional after he crossed the finish line.
I want to give him a shout out and say that "Doug - You're an Ironman." Be proud my friend, you put in so much work and I'm glad to call you my teammate. Please take a minute to read his blog and his race report: http://jackandrachelland.pbwiki.com/IMLP%20report
Monday, July 28, 2008
33 Days and Counting......
Almost a month away. Almost 11 months since I decided to change my life forever.
Training isn't that monotnous lately, and I've gotten to the point where I'm satisfied with my cycling. Swimming- I finally took the "plunge" and hired a coach. I have 3 weeks to work in the pool and that should be enough time to make small tweaks. To be honest, whether I go 1:15 or 1:35 in the water, I don't really care too much. The running side is the only part that is a little concerning. I have somewhat neglected that lately, and I only have time for 1 to 2 more long runs before I start to shut it down to rest.
Today I worked out with my friend Rohan, the guy that climbed Mount Everest earlier this year. We started with a 20 mile ride, which is not long in distance relative to what I'm used to, but we had a serious climb up to Castle Craig in Meriden. It was tough, and I won't face anything like that in Louisville, but because of time constraints (sunlight) climbing is the most bang for my buck. After that, we did a 5-6 mile run, and that felt fine, no worries there. Only worried after the 20 mile mark. I will be doing a 12 mile trail run wednesday or thursday, and a 18-20 mile trail run on Saturday or Sunday. That will probably be the last of my running before Ironman.
In other news, and big news at that, Muff is switching his flight to come home from London to get to Louisville in time for the race start. Insane. I am ecstatic about that. I have pictured the finish line for almost a year, at least a few times a day, but the only thing I've pictured more was seeing my friends out there cheering me on. I had a taste when Ty and Melissa came to Providence, and the feeling is overwhelming, for lack of a better word. I can't describe it. Additionally, I talked to my teammate Dave Couture who just completed Ironman Lake Placid on July 20th in under 13 hours (You rock Dave!) and he said that there's nothing like seeing your friends and family cheering you on at Ironman, and then hearing your name at the finish line, in his words, it changes your life forever. I also received another handwritten card in the mail today with some amazing words of support, telling me how honorable a thing this is. It's amazing to hear, and I cannot say how much I appreciate reading it, but at the same time, and with all these words of support, I just know that my true support is my friends. I wish I could have everyone that means so much to me out on the course with me that day, but I know that's not possible. I just want everyone to know that this Ironman effort would have never been born without losing a friend, and without having the best friends anyone could ask for. We will all be Ironmen that day in Louisville, not just me. I would have never gotten this far without them....
33 more days.
Training isn't that monotnous lately, and I've gotten to the point where I'm satisfied with my cycling. Swimming- I finally took the "plunge" and hired a coach. I have 3 weeks to work in the pool and that should be enough time to make small tweaks. To be honest, whether I go 1:15 or 1:35 in the water, I don't really care too much. The running side is the only part that is a little concerning. I have somewhat neglected that lately, and I only have time for 1 to 2 more long runs before I start to shut it down to rest.
Today I worked out with my friend Rohan, the guy that climbed Mount Everest earlier this year. We started with a 20 mile ride, which is not long in distance relative to what I'm used to, but we had a serious climb up to Castle Craig in Meriden. It was tough, and I won't face anything like that in Louisville, but because of time constraints (sunlight) climbing is the most bang for my buck. After that, we did a 5-6 mile run, and that felt fine, no worries there. Only worried after the 20 mile mark. I will be doing a 12 mile trail run wednesday or thursday, and a 18-20 mile trail run on Saturday or Sunday. That will probably be the last of my running before Ironman.
In other news, and big news at that, Muff is switching his flight to come home from London to get to Louisville in time for the race start. Insane. I am ecstatic about that. I have pictured the finish line for almost a year, at least a few times a day, but the only thing I've pictured more was seeing my friends out there cheering me on. I had a taste when Ty and Melissa came to Providence, and the feeling is overwhelming, for lack of a better word. I can't describe it. Additionally, I talked to my teammate Dave Couture who just completed Ironman Lake Placid on July 20th in under 13 hours (You rock Dave!) and he said that there's nothing like seeing your friends and family cheering you on at Ironman, and then hearing your name at the finish line, in his words, it changes your life forever. I also received another handwritten card in the mail today with some amazing words of support, telling me how honorable a thing this is. It's amazing to hear, and I cannot say how much I appreciate reading it, but at the same time, and with all these words of support, I just know that my true support is my friends. I wish I could have everyone that means so much to me out on the course with me that day, but I know that's not possible. I just want everyone to know that this Ironman effort would have never been born without losing a friend, and without having the best friends anyone could ask for. We will all be Ironmen that day in Louisville, not just me. I would have never gotten this far without them....
33 more days.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Choices
After the high of the 70.3, I've decided that it's probably best if I not race before Ironman. The risk of injury is too high, and more importantly, I want to keep the long course triathlon memory fresh in my mind. So I think it's a good decision to not race until August 31st, although this will probably drive me crazy.
Training's going as planned, or I hope. Did a 16.5 mile run on Monday, and that went ok. I wore my heart monitor to make it easier to judge my effort, and am considering wearing that during the race, although it was sort of digging into my chest at times. Interestingly enough, my local pool will be closed for the next two months leaving me without a pool to train in. This is a blessing in disguise because I am going to join the gym in Hartford and hire a swim coach (who is also a member of Team Heat). I definitely think it's one of those situations where I'll be paying for pain, but worth every penny. Furthermore, I will finish my swim training on the weekend of August 10th with a super long open water swim in Maine. After I complete that swim, I'll start my taper and try and rest up. It's crazy to even think that I have about 2 weeks left of building on my fitness and then the work is pretty much over....I will have completed all my real training. That's the point where I look in the mirror and tell myself "you did everything you can for a year, now it's time to rest up." That scares me. On that note, I don't think my running is where it needs to be. I still need some long distance runs and that will be my focus for the final two weeks. In terms of the bike, I'll be doing another 100 mile ride this Friday with Rohan, and this route will be different than last time, supposedly with more hills. I'm looking forward to it. Literally, I'm looking forward to everything. The seconds are going by like hours now. I committed to this race almost a year ago, and it's been the first thing I've thought about when I've woken up, and the last before I fall asleep. It really has been life changing so far, but I feel like I need to cross that finish line before it's complete.
In the words of Chris McCormack: "Ironman is a test of what you've been blessed with, everyone's got two legs, two arms, but Ironman tests what you're really made of - your will. That's immeasurable until you do one of these. I went into my first Ironman as Chris McCormack and I came out a different person; only an Ironman knows the feeling...it's an incredible challenge, an incredible event.....and it changes ya. Being an Ironman is just cool."
Training's going as planned, or I hope. Did a 16.5 mile run on Monday, and that went ok. I wore my heart monitor to make it easier to judge my effort, and am considering wearing that during the race, although it was sort of digging into my chest at times. Interestingly enough, my local pool will be closed for the next two months leaving me without a pool to train in. This is a blessing in disguise because I am going to join the gym in Hartford and hire a swim coach (who is also a member of Team Heat). I definitely think it's one of those situations where I'll be paying for pain, but worth every penny. Furthermore, I will finish my swim training on the weekend of August 10th with a super long open water swim in Maine. After I complete that swim, I'll start my taper and try and rest up. It's crazy to even think that I have about 2 weeks left of building on my fitness and then the work is pretty much over....I will have completed all my real training. That's the point where I look in the mirror and tell myself "you did everything you can for a year, now it's time to rest up." That scares me. On that note, I don't think my running is where it needs to be. I still need some long distance runs and that will be my focus for the final two weeks. In terms of the bike, I'll be doing another 100 mile ride this Friday with Rohan, and this route will be different than last time, supposedly with more hills. I'm looking forward to it. Literally, I'm looking forward to everything. The seconds are going by like hours now. I committed to this race almost a year ago, and it's been the first thing I've thought about when I've woken up, and the last before I fall asleep. It really has been life changing so far, but I feel like I need to cross that finish line before it's complete.
In the words of Chris McCormack: "Ironman is a test of what you've been blessed with, everyone's got two legs, two arms, but Ironman tests what you're really made of - your will. That's immeasurable until you do one of these. I went into my first Ironman as Chris McCormack and I came out a different person; only an Ironman knows the feeling...it's an incredible challenge, an incredible event.....and it changes ya. Being an Ironman is just cool."
Monday, July 14, 2008
My First Taste of Ironman - Providence Race Report
As you may or may not know, I raced in Providence this past weekend at Ironman Providence 70.3. Just to clear it up, this was a HALF Ironman, which consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and then a half marathon run (13.1 miles). This and the full Ironman distance are considered "long course" triathlon. It was put on by the Ironman organization.
I arrived at my parents' beach house at about 10 AM Saturday morning and quickly left for Providence, where I had to check-in, get weighed in, pick up my race packet, and also drop off my run bag with all my run gear in it. The registration took a long time, as there were almost 2000 competitors so you can imagine the lines. Finally, after about two hours, I met with one of the officials, and he checked me in, gave me my race packet, put on my athlete wrist band, and then I had to go to medical to get weighed in. They do this because if you lose a certain amount of body weight by the end of the race, you are required to go to the medical tent for an IV drip following the race. When that was finished, I walked about a half mile to where transition two was to drop off my run gear. I did that, and then I was off to the swim start, which was in Narragannsett, about 50-60 miles southeast. I got to the swim start and checked my bike in at my designated spot in the transition area, and I was finally all set and ready for the following day. At that point, I headed back to the beach house and tested out a long sleeved wetsuit and went for a practice swim at the beach near my parents' house. At that point, it was time to start fueling up for the race, and I threw down about 3000 calories, mostly through pasta and pretzels (for sodium). And I should mention I was excitedly nervous, never have been in a race this long before.
I got up at 3:45 AM, and headed to Narragansett to where the swim start was. I got there, made last minute adjustments on my bike, made sure my tire pressure was perfect, and double checked all my nutrition. It's not an understatement to say if you mess up on your nutrition in long course, your race might as well be over by midway through the bike leg. At that point I checked when my swim wave would go out, and my start was at 7:05, more than hour after the first wave went out. This meant I had some time to really gather myself, listen to my music, and watch 40 minutes of the race before I became a part of it. Finally, 7:00 rolled around and I headed to the water. 3...2...1....and the cannon (yes, cannon) blew and I was off. It was underway, i was really doing this. Seeing how far 1.2 miles looks like in the open ocean is extremely intimidating, but I actually felt great. In the past, it's taken me a good quarter to half mile to get settled into my stroke, but this day, I just felt that I was doing everything I should be doing, all the while pretending nobody was around me (even though it was a human washing machine in there). About halfway through, I knew this swim was special. I exited the water, saw my mother, said 'How am I doing?" and she said "awesome, you're ahead of more than half of the wave." I checked my watch: 36 minutes. 1.2 miles in 36 minutes. To put this in perspective, at Griskus Olympic, I swam 1 mile in 37 minutes. It was great. So then I ditched the original plan of walking at the transition areas and I ran up the beach to the race officials that help you get your wetsuit off. If you've never put on a long sleeve wetsuit, it's not easy to get off by yourself. Found the biggest, strongest volunteer I could find. Ran up to him and he yelled "Down!" I sat down, and he literally peeled the wetsuit off of me in 3 seconds. They need that at all my races! Just like that I was running to my bike. Dumped my bike gear back out, threw on socks, my cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses. I also packed three extra tubes and extra CO2 cartridges. Finally, put 3 PowerBars in my back pocket, a gel flask, and 25 electrolyte pills. And I was off on my 56 mile trek to Providence....
During the first 5 miles, it was pretty flat along the coast line and I'm thinking "do I push it now, or save a lot of gas for the run?" I decided on pushing it a bit, but not to overly extend myself. I started passing people in the waves that started before me, which meant I was making up a good amount of time, and I just felt on. I was down in my aero bars for 90% of the time, and the hills that were thrown at me were nothing I couldn't handle comfortably. Nutritionally, I tried to drink 3-4 ounces of Accelerade every 15 minutes, eat half a PowerBar every 30 minutes, and 3 electrolyte pills every half hour. I took gel sporadically and didn't seem to really need it since I was easily handling solid food. There were 3 aid stations on the course, and the volunteers were amazing. I guess that's part of the Ironman experience. I really thought that if I ran out of any nutrition that I brought myself, I could easily replace it at the next aid station. We finally rolled into Providence, and I was pretty ready to get off that bike. My lower back and hamstrings were feeling it a bit. I rolled into T2, dismounted the bike and ran with it to my transition spot to put on my run gear. It was seamless. All of a sudden, it hits me.....I have a 13.1 mile run ahead of me in this heat and humidity.
I was off on the run, and my legs were there. I did not feel like I rode 56 miles at all, maybe felt as if I rode 15. Then all of a sudden, I hit the first aid station. I felt good at that point and only took water, and three sponges soaked in ice water. That cooled my core right down. Then I turn a corner on the first mile and my god, I see a hill like i've never seen before. If you're from Southington, and you know Southington Mountain, or Winding Ridge, that area....this hill made Southington Mountain look like a bump. It was more like San Francisco. I had no idea how long it was, but I decided to run up it, while everyone else was walking. Finally after about a half mile, the hill leveled out, and then I saw the reality of this run. With so many waves going out before me, there was a ton of people already on the course. To put it lightly, it looked like hundreds of living dead people: people down on the ground puking, saw one lady crying, others just wanting to finish and choosing to walk. And I'm thinking at this point "wow, I still feel half way decent, I'm gonna pick as many people off as I can right now." So I pushed the pace. It was a two lap course, and running down that huge hill at mile 6 was rough on my knees and quads! Hurt like hell, but I pressed on. At that point, I had switched to gatorade for me, ice and water for throwing over my head, and sponges for inside my shirt. I circled at the turnaround, and I look up and there's my mother, my brother, Tyler and Melissa cheering me on, screaming like they were in the race themselves. Seeing them brightened my outlook like I never would have thought, all of a sudden I had some extra energy. About 100 yards later, I saw another guy in my age group, we chatted while we ran, and I told him this was my first half Ironman, and he said he couldnt' believe I was doing so well, and he told me to get right behind him to draft him, so that I could "hide" under him from any wind that would slow me down. I couldn't believe he did that; here's a guy that's competing against me in my age group, and he's telling me to draft him so that I could be faster and save more energy. I guess that just explains a lot of people in this sport. After about 3 miles of doing that, he told me to "just go" he couldn't hold my pace anymore, he wished me luck and I took off, probably going about 7:30 pace per mile at that point. Then I started to break down a little bit, and that's when I made the decision to switch from Gatorade to Coca-Cola. This is a big move and you're only supposed to do it when you're desparate for more energy because it's a huge sugar high and if you don't keep drinking it, you'll crash fast. But aid stations were every mile and I figured if i stuck with Coke, then I could just take more in at the next aid station. My god, I never tasted anything so good in my life. The elixir of the gods. About 30 seconds after my first Coke, I felt fresh again! Now....where can I get another Coke??? Next aid station I go! Then I saw mile 11 marker, and I knew I had to push it. I had enough energy to push it. Down the hill I went, bam, bam, bam....could feel every step in every bone in my body down that hill. Pain is not the right word for that. Finally got to the bottom, hit the final aid station, got two more cups of coke to fuel me for the last mile. At that point, i saw the state capitol building and I knew I was almost there. And then I heard the roar of the thousands of people at the finish line....I was so close, but my legs hurt like hell. At that point, I just talked to Jared out loud for about 15 seconds, just asked him to help me out for this last stretch if he could. I started down the finish line chute with people screaming....somehow saw my "fans," threw up a fist pump and headed for the finish! I didn't cross the finish line, I jumped up in the air and threw up a haymaker fist pump. I cannot describe that feeling. I had just crossed the finish line at a half Ironman in 5 hours and 9 minutes, 21 minutes faster than my goal. I then was still on cloud 9, and saw my buddy Rob. He's the guy that just did Ironman New Zealand in under 12 hours, and he's an absolute animal. He only beat me by 2 minutes. He was going crazier for me than I was, he was so glad for me. Huge hug from him and then I turn to my left, and I couldn't believe it, but it was Jon Blais' father. Jon Blais is a household name in triathlon. Sadly he passed away last May from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His final goal in life, after he was handed this death sentence, was to complete Ironman. He was featured on NBC during the Ironman Hawaii coverage, and if you ever get the chance, look up his story on YouTube, it's very sad, but very inspiring. I took that chance to introduce myself to Jon's dad and said "Your son is one of the most inspiring people ever" and he appreciated it and gave me a congrats high five. Then about 30 seconds later, who's there to meet me but one of my best friends Tyler. Seeing him was amazing, this was such a great day in my life and he was there to witness it. Then the pain kicked in and I considered heading to medical to get an IV, but thought maybe a massage would do ok instead. Stood in line to get a massage and it felt outstanding. Also gave me some time to reflect on what just transpired. Unbelievable. I later found out that I missed qualifying for the Half Ironman World Championships in Clearwater, FL by a bit more than 5 minutes, but I didn't care. Just to say that in my first Half Ironman, I did better than most guys that have been doing this distance for years. I came in #29 in my age group out of a field of about #200 and came in #250 overall out of almost 2000 competitors. Very respectable. I now have a few days off from training, and it's time to start thinking about the BIG ONE - Ironman Louisville, double the distance, double the pain, but double the glory - if and when I finish. Just 6 weeks away.......
Thank you all.
I arrived at my parents' beach house at about 10 AM Saturday morning and quickly left for Providence, where I had to check-in, get weighed in, pick up my race packet, and also drop off my run bag with all my run gear in it. The registration took a long time, as there were almost 2000 competitors so you can imagine the lines. Finally, after about two hours, I met with one of the officials, and he checked me in, gave me my race packet, put on my athlete wrist band, and then I had to go to medical to get weighed in. They do this because if you lose a certain amount of body weight by the end of the race, you are required to go to the medical tent for an IV drip following the race. When that was finished, I walked about a half mile to where transition two was to drop off my run gear. I did that, and then I was off to the swim start, which was in Narragannsett, about 50-60 miles southeast. I got to the swim start and checked my bike in at my designated spot in the transition area, and I was finally all set and ready for the following day. At that point, I headed back to the beach house and tested out a long sleeved wetsuit and went for a practice swim at the beach near my parents' house. At that point, it was time to start fueling up for the race, and I threw down about 3000 calories, mostly through pasta and pretzels (for sodium). And I should mention I was excitedly nervous, never have been in a race this long before.
I got up at 3:45 AM, and headed to Narragansett to where the swim start was. I got there, made last minute adjustments on my bike, made sure my tire pressure was perfect, and double checked all my nutrition. It's not an understatement to say if you mess up on your nutrition in long course, your race might as well be over by midway through the bike leg. At that point I checked when my swim wave would go out, and my start was at 7:05, more than hour after the first wave went out. This meant I had some time to really gather myself, listen to my music, and watch 40 minutes of the race before I became a part of it. Finally, 7:00 rolled around and I headed to the water. 3...2...1....and the cannon (yes, cannon) blew and I was off. It was underway, i was really doing this. Seeing how far 1.2 miles looks like in the open ocean is extremely intimidating, but I actually felt great. In the past, it's taken me a good quarter to half mile to get settled into my stroke, but this day, I just felt that I was doing everything I should be doing, all the while pretending nobody was around me (even though it was a human washing machine in there). About halfway through, I knew this swim was special. I exited the water, saw my mother, said 'How am I doing?" and she said "awesome, you're ahead of more than half of the wave." I checked my watch: 36 minutes. 1.2 miles in 36 minutes. To put this in perspective, at Griskus Olympic, I swam 1 mile in 37 minutes. It was great. So then I ditched the original plan of walking at the transition areas and I ran up the beach to the race officials that help you get your wetsuit off. If you've never put on a long sleeve wetsuit, it's not easy to get off by yourself. Found the biggest, strongest volunteer I could find. Ran up to him and he yelled "Down!" I sat down, and he literally peeled the wetsuit off of me in 3 seconds. They need that at all my races! Just like that I was running to my bike. Dumped my bike gear back out, threw on socks, my cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses. I also packed three extra tubes and extra CO2 cartridges. Finally, put 3 PowerBars in my back pocket, a gel flask, and 25 electrolyte pills. And I was off on my 56 mile trek to Providence....
During the first 5 miles, it was pretty flat along the coast line and I'm thinking "do I push it now, or save a lot of gas for the run?" I decided on pushing it a bit, but not to overly extend myself. I started passing people in the waves that started before me, which meant I was making up a good amount of time, and I just felt on. I was down in my aero bars for 90% of the time, and the hills that were thrown at me were nothing I couldn't handle comfortably. Nutritionally, I tried to drink 3-4 ounces of Accelerade every 15 minutes, eat half a PowerBar every 30 minutes, and 3 electrolyte pills every half hour. I took gel sporadically and didn't seem to really need it since I was easily handling solid food. There were 3 aid stations on the course, and the volunteers were amazing. I guess that's part of the Ironman experience. I really thought that if I ran out of any nutrition that I brought myself, I could easily replace it at the next aid station. We finally rolled into Providence, and I was pretty ready to get off that bike. My lower back and hamstrings were feeling it a bit. I rolled into T2, dismounted the bike and ran with it to my transition spot to put on my run gear. It was seamless. All of a sudden, it hits me.....I have a 13.1 mile run ahead of me in this heat and humidity.
I was off on the run, and my legs were there. I did not feel like I rode 56 miles at all, maybe felt as if I rode 15. Then all of a sudden, I hit the first aid station. I felt good at that point and only took water, and three sponges soaked in ice water. That cooled my core right down. Then I turn a corner on the first mile and my god, I see a hill like i've never seen before. If you're from Southington, and you know Southington Mountain, or Winding Ridge, that area....this hill made Southington Mountain look like a bump. It was more like San Francisco. I had no idea how long it was, but I decided to run up it, while everyone else was walking. Finally after about a half mile, the hill leveled out, and then I saw the reality of this run. With so many waves going out before me, there was a ton of people already on the course. To put it lightly, it looked like hundreds of living dead people: people down on the ground puking, saw one lady crying, others just wanting to finish and choosing to walk. And I'm thinking at this point "wow, I still feel half way decent, I'm gonna pick as many people off as I can right now." So I pushed the pace. It was a two lap course, and running down that huge hill at mile 6 was rough on my knees and quads! Hurt like hell, but I pressed on. At that point, I had switched to gatorade for me, ice and water for throwing over my head, and sponges for inside my shirt. I circled at the turnaround, and I look up and there's my mother, my brother, Tyler and Melissa cheering me on, screaming like they were in the race themselves. Seeing them brightened my outlook like I never would have thought, all of a sudden I had some extra energy. About 100 yards later, I saw another guy in my age group, we chatted while we ran, and I told him this was my first half Ironman, and he said he couldnt' believe I was doing so well, and he told me to get right behind him to draft him, so that I could "hide" under him from any wind that would slow me down. I couldn't believe he did that; here's a guy that's competing against me in my age group, and he's telling me to draft him so that I could be faster and save more energy. I guess that just explains a lot of people in this sport. After about 3 miles of doing that, he told me to "just go" he couldn't hold my pace anymore, he wished me luck and I took off, probably going about 7:30 pace per mile at that point. Then I started to break down a little bit, and that's when I made the decision to switch from Gatorade to Coca-Cola. This is a big move and you're only supposed to do it when you're desparate for more energy because it's a huge sugar high and if you don't keep drinking it, you'll crash fast. But aid stations were every mile and I figured if i stuck with Coke, then I could just take more in at the next aid station. My god, I never tasted anything so good in my life. The elixir of the gods. About 30 seconds after my first Coke, I felt fresh again! Now....where can I get another Coke??? Next aid station I go! Then I saw mile 11 marker, and I knew I had to push it. I had enough energy to push it. Down the hill I went, bam, bam, bam....could feel every step in every bone in my body down that hill. Pain is not the right word for that. Finally got to the bottom, hit the final aid station, got two more cups of coke to fuel me for the last mile. At that point, i saw the state capitol building and I knew I was almost there. And then I heard the roar of the thousands of people at the finish line....I was so close, but my legs hurt like hell. At that point, I just talked to Jared out loud for about 15 seconds, just asked him to help me out for this last stretch if he could. I started down the finish line chute with people screaming....somehow saw my "fans," threw up a fist pump and headed for the finish! I didn't cross the finish line, I jumped up in the air and threw up a haymaker fist pump. I cannot describe that feeling. I had just crossed the finish line at a half Ironman in 5 hours and 9 minutes, 21 minutes faster than my goal. I then was still on cloud 9, and saw my buddy Rob. He's the guy that just did Ironman New Zealand in under 12 hours, and he's an absolute animal. He only beat me by 2 minutes. He was going crazier for me than I was, he was so glad for me. Huge hug from him and then I turn to my left, and I couldn't believe it, but it was Jon Blais' father. Jon Blais is a household name in triathlon. Sadly he passed away last May from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His final goal in life, after he was handed this death sentence, was to complete Ironman. He was featured on NBC during the Ironman Hawaii coverage, and if you ever get the chance, look up his story on YouTube, it's very sad, but very inspiring. I took that chance to introduce myself to Jon's dad and said "Your son is one of the most inspiring people ever" and he appreciated it and gave me a congrats high five. Then about 30 seconds later, who's there to meet me but one of my best friends Tyler. Seeing him was amazing, this was such a great day in my life and he was there to witness it. Then the pain kicked in and I considered heading to medical to get an IV, but thought maybe a massage would do ok instead. Stood in line to get a massage and it felt outstanding. Also gave me some time to reflect on what just transpired. Unbelievable. I later found out that I missed qualifying for the Half Ironman World Championships in Clearwater, FL by a bit more than 5 minutes, but I didn't care. Just to say that in my first Half Ironman, I did better than most guys that have been doing this distance for years. I came in #29 in my age group out of a field of about #200 and came in #250 overall out of almost 2000 competitors. Very respectable. I now have a few days off from training, and it's time to start thinking about the BIG ONE - Ironman Louisville, double the distance, double the pain, but double the glory - if and when I finish. Just 6 weeks away.......
Thank you all.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Ironman Providence 70.3 is here....
So it's here, my first long course triathlon. I'm writing this in Southington, and I will leave for Providence tomorrow, with the race starting at 6 AM on Sunday morning. I'm a bit nervous, this is the longest triathlon I've attempted and it's an Ironman-branded race, which are the biggest triathlons. There will be close to 2,000 competitors and thousands of spectators. The distances are as follows (exactly one half of what I will attempt in Louisville on August 31st): 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and then a half marathon.
Tomorrow, I plan on leaving at 7 AM. The day is packed with different mandatory and voluntary events for the athletes. Mandatory things: bike check-in, fill all my transition bags, pick up my race packet, and go to the race briefing(s). I will also go to the Ironman Expo and drive the bike course. In terms of the course, the swim is in Narragansett Bay, ocean water obviously, the bike is from Narragansett to Providence, and it's somewhat hilly, but rolling hills. The half marathon is supposed to be borderline-brutal, but I think I can handle it considering I ran a 1:31 at Fairfield and that course was extremely tough. Of course I have no plans of running that fast after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56, but hopefully I'll have my nutrition spot on and I'll be ready to go.
I'm pretty nervous at this point. I'm about to start packing and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the task at hand. I've been looking forward to this race for a long time now, and this is a true test for Ironman. If you'd like to track my progress on Sunday, you can visit http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/rhodeisland70.3 and click on the Athlete Tracker link. I don't know my bib number until tomorrow, so you'll have to search by name. Time to get it done!
Tomorrow, I plan on leaving at 7 AM. The day is packed with different mandatory and voluntary events for the athletes. Mandatory things: bike check-in, fill all my transition bags, pick up my race packet, and go to the race briefing(s). I will also go to the Ironman Expo and drive the bike course. In terms of the course, the swim is in Narragansett Bay, ocean water obviously, the bike is from Narragansett to Providence, and it's somewhat hilly, but rolling hills. The half marathon is supposed to be borderline-brutal, but I think I can handle it considering I ran a 1:31 at Fairfield and that course was extremely tough. Of course I have no plans of running that fast after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56, but hopefully I'll have my nutrition spot on and I'll be ready to go.
I'm pretty nervous at this point. I'm about to start packing and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the task at hand. I've been looking forward to this race for a long time now, and this is a true test for Ironman. If you'd like to track my progress on Sunday, you can visit http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/rhodeisland70.3 and click on the Athlete Tracker link. I don't know my bib number until tomorrow, so you'll have to search by name. Time to get it done!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Countdown's on to "Long Course"
This week I have two races, the first is Wednesday. It's a sprint, in Middlebury. It's one of the best races in CT, and that's one of the reasons why I'm doing it. Additionally, one of my good friends, Kristin Paradis, is also doing it, and this is her first race, so I wanted to be there to support her. I wouldn't be able to stand on the sidelines and cheer, so I registered last week. On Sunday, the real test is on, Ironman Providence 70.3. This is exactly half the distance of Louisville, although it is a very long and grueling race. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and then a half marathon run. To make this even better, a lot of my friends are coming to watch the race, and that makes the whole effort so much sweeter. My time goal is 5 hours and 30 minutes, but my real goal is to be comfortable the whole time.
Training wise, did an 11 mile run in the heat today, and it's not exactly effortless, but it's much less difficult than it used to be. 11 miles now feels like 3 miles used to feel to me. A half marathon feels like a 5k now. Also, this past Thursday, July 3rd, I did my first 100 mile bicycle ride with my friend Rohan, who recently climbed Mt. Everest. We started in Rocky Hill, went through Middletown, and took the back roads to the beach, Hammonasset State Park in Madison. From there, we went past the Clinton Crossings shopping outlets, and then through Killingworth, Haddam, Chester, and then back through Middletown, Cromwell, and then a full loop around Rocky Hill. It took us just over 6 hours, and I feel like I could have done it faster. Rohan had some hard workouts the day before, and he was struggling a bit to keep up with me, but I'm so glad I didn't do it alone. Nutritionally, I was spot on, I took in a total of 6 Powerbars, 4 bottles of Accelerade, a flask of Hammer gel, and one bottle of Gatorade Endurance formula. I made it a point to eat and drink every 20 minutes, and my body felt sufficiently fueled the whole time. We finished up around 12:30 PM, and I literally felt fine. This ride was easier than some of my 50 mile rides, and we averaged over 18 mph. I have to say, before the ride, I was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect, but I'm not afraid of that distance anymore, and I do think I can run/walk the marathon after the ride in Ironman. If I can do the 112 miles in less than 7 hours, that will give me at least 8 hours to finish the marathon, and I can do that, I know I can. I've run a straight marathon before, and did that in 3:42, so even if I run a 16 minute per mile pace, I will finish the Marathon in Ironman. I feel like I'm on track and I'm not slacking. Mentally, there have been days when I dont' feel like training, but they're few and far between.
We've still been getting random donations in the mail, and it's crazy to me. The director of the soccer league I used to play in, The Hartford Industrial and Insurance League sent out a mass communication to all its players and coaches with our story. It's incredible people that don't know me or anything about Jared are caring so much. I even got an email from someone that went to prom with Jared's cousin like 10 years ago, saying that he wanted to donate, and he actually even met Jared once, about 8 years ago! What a small world. We will be sending out a communication via email and US Mail very soon, so be on the look out for that, and if you'd like to be added to the distribution list, please send us an email at jpgscholarship@gmail.com. Thanks again everyone!
Training wise, did an 11 mile run in the heat today, and it's not exactly effortless, but it's much less difficult than it used to be. 11 miles now feels like 3 miles used to feel to me. A half marathon feels like a 5k now. Also, this past Thursday, July 3rd, I did my first 100 mile bicycle ride with my friend Rohan, who recently climbed Mt. Everest. We started in Rocky Hill, went through Middletown, and took the back roads to the beach, Hammonasset State Park in Madison. From there, we went past the Clinton Crossings shopping outlets, and then through Killingworth, Haddam, Chester, and then back through Middletown, Cromwell, and then a full loop around Rocky Hill. It took us just over 6 hours, and I feel like I could have done it faster. Rohan had some hard workouts the day before, and he was struggling a bit to keep up with me, but I'm so glad I didn't do it alone. Nutritionally, I was spot on, I took in a total of 6 Powerbars, 4 bottles of Accelerade, a flask of Hammer gel, and one bottle of Gatorade Endurance formula. I made it a point to eat and drink every 20 minutes, and my body felt sufficiently fueled the whole time. We finished up around 12:30 PM, and I literally felt fine. This ride was easier than some of my 50 mile rides, and we averaged over 18 mph. I have to say, before the ride, I was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect, but I'm not afraid of that distance anymore, and I do think I can run/walk the marathon after the ride in Ironman. If I can do the 112 miles in less than 7 hours, that will give me at least 8 hours to finish the marathon, and I can do that, I know I can. I've run a straight marathon before, and did that in 3:42, so even if I run a 16 minute per mile pace, I will finish the Marathon in Ironman. I feel like I'm on track and I'm not slacking. Mentally, there have been days when I dont' feel like training, but they're few and far between.
We've still been getting random donations in the mail, and it's crazy to me. The director of the soccer league I used to play in, The Hartford Industrial and Insurance League sent out a mass communication to all its players and coaches with our story. It's incredible people that don't know me or anything about Jared are caring so much. I even got an email from someone that went to prom with Jared's cousin like 10 years ago, saying that he wanted to donate, and he actually even met Jared once, about 8 years ago! What a small world. We will be sending out a communication via email and US Mail very soon, so be on the look out for that, and if you'd like to be added to the distribution list, please send us an email at jpgscholarship@gmail.com. Thanks again everyone!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Great Response
First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate Matt Riccio once again for receiving this year's Friendship Scholarship award. He's a top-notch guy. He really portrayed the qualities we look for and the qualities I personally hold dear: honesty, humor, generosity, loyalty and kindness. If you can model yourself after those qualities, you've really got something. It's not easy to do that, but people that are able to live their life in that way, at least I can say, I'd like to surround myself with them. Please check out the blurb in the June 27th edition of The Southington Citizen, which can be viewed online by clicking here.
The past week has been great and we've received a good deal of support due to last week's article about the scholarship in The Citizen. I got a card in the mail, along with a donation, from a local resident and her words were extremely nice and made us realize that we are doing something that really matters. She said that she was touched by the article and our effort, and that friendship should never be taken for granted. I was literally taken aback by her words, so much so that I personally called her to thank her for her donation. This was the first time that we've received a "random" donation and it was not only groundbreaking, but also a bit special, just to know that people can relate to our cause.
This past weekend, I was in New Jersey, on Long Beach Island. I met the producer of the movie, Kenny Kohler, and his girlfriend there. The island was beautiful. Nothing against New Jersey, but I didn't ever expect to see such nice places in Jersey. I got there on Thursday night, slept well, and got up around 8 AM on Friday to start filming. I guess this is an appropriate point to give a shout out to Kenny. The guy is extremely talented and knows how to throw an artistic spin on something so bland as riding a bike. Furthermore, his girlfriend, and my friend, Barb helped us out also. I cannot say enough about her either, such a selfless, happy person. Kenny and Barb are just great people, the type of people you just want to surround yourself with because they literally just overflow with positivity. But back to the task at hand, did some riding, got some great shots around the island, and then went for a 9 mile run in the heat. Tough....it's like a different ballgame in the heat and humidity.
Saturday morning, Kenny and I got up at 5 AM to get some shots while the sun came up. It's so nice to be up before anyone else and to be on the beach before anyone. I did some running and Kenny did his thing, never failing to impress. I'm telling ya, you're going to want to see this movie, it's going to be special. Later in the day, we got some more running shots in the hottest part of the day, and it sure was tough, but (knock on wood), I think I'm getting more accustomed to training in otherwise dangerous heat, and I'm learning different things that work in order to keep my core temperature down. Lots of salt, electrolytes, and water.
It was a great weekend, and it really got me thinking about all of these great places I've gone to in order to train. I've trained in Connecticut (obviously), Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. I've seen so many great things already, and I'm still two months away from the big race! This journey so far has been the best experience of my life, on so many different levels.
This week will be tough in terms of training. I will stay true to the pool, and also try to get some good rides in during the first few days of the week. On Thursday, I will be going on my first "Century ride", which is 100 miles. I've never gone that long and i'm curious to see how I do. To make matters tougher, I'll be going with my buddy Rohan, who just got back from climbing Mount Everest (yes, Mount Everest!) a month ago. He did that with no help of oxygen tanks, so needless to say, his lung capacity is insane and his fitness level probably makes me seem like a little leaguer. I'm glad to be going with him though, because I know it'll be tougher than if I went with anyone else. I'm really looking forward to that, especially since I have Ironman Providence 70.3 in less than two weeks.
I can't say thank you enough. I really can't. Thank you all for wanting to be a part of my journey, it's super special.
The past week has been great and we've received a good deal of support due to last week's article about the scholarship in The Citizen. I got a card in the mail, along with a donation, from a local resident and her words were extremely nice and made us realize that we are doing something that really matters. She said that she was touched by the article and our effort, and that friendship should never be taken for granted. I was literally taken aback by her words, so much so that I personally called her to thank her for her donation. This was the first time that we've received a "random" donation and it was not only groundbreaking, but also a bit special, just to know that people can relate to our cause.
This past weekend, I was in New Jersey, on Long Beach Island. I met the producer of the movie, Kenny Kohler, and his girlfriend there. The island was beautiful. Nothing against New Jersey, but I didn't ever expect to see such nice places in Jersey. I got there on Thursday night, slept well, and got up around 8 AM on Friday to start filming. I guess this is an appropriate point to give a shout out to Kenny. The guy is extremely talented and knows how to throw an artistic spin on something so bland as riding a bike. Furthermore, his girlfriend, and my friend, Barb helped us out also. I cannot say enough about her either, such a selfless, happy person. Kenny and Barb are just great people, the type of people you just want to surround yourself with because they literally just overflow with positivity. But back to the task at hand, did some riding, got some great shots around the island, and then went for a 9 mile run in the heat. Tough....it's like a different ballgame in the heat and humidity.
Saturday morning, Kenny and I got up at 5 AM to get some shots while the sun came up. It's so nice to be up before anyone else and to be on the beach before anyone. I did some running and Kenny did his thing, never failing to impress. I'm telling ya, you're going to want to see this movie, it's going to be special. Later in the day, we got some more running shots in the hottest part of the day, and it sure was tough, but (knock on wood), I think I'm getting more accustomed to training in otherwise dangerous heat, and I'm learning different things that work in order to keep my core temperature down. Lots of salt, electrolytes, and water.
It was a great weekend, and it really got me thinking about all of these great places I've gone to in order to train. I've trained in Connecticut (obviously), Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. I've seen so many great things already, and I'm still two months away from the big race! This journey so far has been the best experience of my life, on so many different levels.
This week will be tough in terms of training. I will stay true to the pool, and also try to get some good rides in during the first few days of the week. On Thursday, I will be going on my first "Century ride", which is 100 miles. I've never gone that long and i'm curious to see how I do. To make matters tougher, I'll be going with my buddy Rohan, who just got back from climbing Mount Everest (yes, Mount Everest!) a month ago. He did that with no help of oxygen tanks, so needless to say, his lung capacity is insane and his fitness level probably makes me seem like a little leaguer. I'm glad to be going with him though, because I know it'll be tougher than if I went with anyone else. I'm really looking forward to that, especially since I have Ironman Providence 70.3 in less than two weeks.
I can't say thank you enough. I really can't. Thank you all for wanting to be a part of my journey, it's super special.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Two Races in 24 hours
I hope you all got a chance to read the article, and if not, it can be found here (page 1) and here (page 2). Thank you for all the kind words and support, it's much appreciated.
This weekend I did something I've never done before, attempted to do two races in one day. Saturday I competed in the USAT CT Club Championship triathlon in Shelton and Sunday I did the Fairfield Half Marathon. The weekend's now over, both races completed, and no injuries to speak of, so I'd say it was a great weekend.
Saturday morning, I got up around 4:30 AM and got all my gear packed and headed to the race. As soon as I got there, I could tell it was going to be a battle and on the drive, I was noticing all the hills. I got to Indian Well State Park and set up in the transition area, got my race packet, got my number, and then headed to the Heat tent. There was a good bunch of us, about 12 or so. At around 6:45, I headed down to the lake, and it was a little chilly, probably around the high 60's. The horn blew and the frenzy began. Again, I felt awful during the first half of the swim, was mentally not right, and was overall just struggling to stay in the middle of the pack. Luckily, this weekend, i didn't get punched in the face and didn't have to scramble for my goggles in the water. And once again, about halfway through the swim, i finally got comfortable and started thinking about my form. I don't know why it takes me a half mile to start thinking about my form, but even so, I finally got into a decent groove. I exited on the beach at 31 minutes, 6 minutes faster than last weekend, probably due to the swim stroke tweaks I worked on in the pool this past week. I got to T1 and was fumbling around trying to get my cycling shoes on. My transition time was over a minute which is not good, but I knew I could make up that time. The bike course surprisingly had only two hills that were painful, but otherwise was pretty flat, with only some inclination. The woman that was leading the woman's race was side by side with me the whole time, and she was pushing pretty hard, but nothing I couldn't handle, so i decided to stick with her to keep a good pace. I did so and had a great bike time, averaging 20.5 mph the entire bike. I got into T2 with my legs feeling fairly fresh, put on my running shoes and I was off on the 6.2 mile run course. I decided early to try and push it, and I did that. My breathing was spot on and had no problems, other than the steep inclines and declines. Not that they were problematic, but they were painful. Luckily, most of the run course was shaded so staying cool was pretty easy, grabbing two cups of cold water at every aid station, one for pouring over my head and one to drink. To make matters a bit harder, it was a two loop course, and so I'd see the hills twice. But all and all, it was a good run, averaged a 6:47 pace. When the day was done, Team Heat won the championship, and the third place finisher overall was Bill Schuman who is a longtime Heat member, so it was a great day. Not to mention Outback Steakhouse and Massage Envy at the finish line waiting for us! It was a lot of fun, and a bit bittersweet, knowing that would be the last Olympic distance (aka "short course") triathlon I would be doing this season.
Saturday night, I got some good rest, knowing the next morning a half marathon would lie ahead. I was a bit on the fence on whether or not I wanted to try and set a personal record at that distance or not, doing an triathlon the day before, and I really wasn't decided until this morning. I got up at 4:30 AM again, and my legs felt good, so I knew right then that I'd try and go for it. The time I had to beat was 1:34, or 7:07 mile pace for 13.1 miles. I was meeting up with Kristin Paradis and Mike Stasiuk for this race, and we met up and drove down together. It's just great to be able to do a race with some good friends, and it makes it that much more fun. We got to the beach at 6:45 AM, with plenty of time to spare. We used the bathroom, stretched, talked, ate. And then all of a sudden, it was race time, 8:30. There were over 3000 runners there, so it was tough to get comfortable for the first mile or so, elbow to elbow. I finally broke free at about the half mile mark, and running being my go-to event, started passing people. I did the first mile in just over 6 minutes and my legs felt great, although my breathing wasn't perfect. I had made the decision to push the pace hard, and did so throughout. There were plenty of aid stations, and the fire department was on the course, opening fire hydrants for the runners to stay cool. That was great, i had no heat issues at all, even though it was extremely humid out. It seemed like at no point during the race was my jersey not soaked with water. Nutritionally, I only took one gel at mile 8, and drank mostly water, taking GU2o (comparable to Gatorade Endurance Formula) twice, just to get some salt in me. For the second day in a row, I was pacing myself with another female runner, and we battled the entire time - I'd surge a bit, she'd surge head right with me, I'd drop back a bit, she'd drop back and get her breathing right also. From mile 8 until the finish line, we were shoulder to shoulder. We didn't talk much other than when I said to her "You rock girl" and she said back "No, you rock." That was great knowing that we were in this together. The last two miles were tough, and it seemed never ending, but I finally crossed the finish line at 1:13:31, and gave my pacing partner a big hug. It worked out to 6:57 per mile for 13.2 miles, which was a personal best. I was satisfied with that, especially knowing I wasn't full strength due to the race the day before. I think that after today, I could run an 8 - 8:30 pace at Ironman Providence 70.3, having to run that half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. I believe that I'm ready for that race, and that's next up on the list. That's on July 13th, so I have some time to put in some training time. Although i will be doing the full Ironman just to finish, I'm going to try and compete and be a factor in Providence. I think that's a great distance to me, because it seems like at the Olympic distance, I always run out of race, and I get faster as the race goes on. So I'm really excited to take the next step to "long course" triathlon.
Again, thank you all so much for all the support, there's nothing like coming home from a race and having someone say "Good job today." Thank you.
This weekend I did something I've never done before, attempted to do two races in one day. Saturday I competed in the USAT CT Club Championship triathlon in Shelton and Sunday I did the Fairfield Half Marathon. The weekend's now over, both races completed, and no injuries to speak of, so I'd say it was a great weekend.
Saturday morning, I got up around 4:30 AM and got all my gear packed and headed to the race. As soon as I got there, I could tell it was going to be a battle and on the drive, I was noticing all the hills. I got to Indian Well State Park and set up in the transition area, got my race packet, got my number, and then headed to the Heat tent. There was a good bunch of us, about 12 or so. At around 6:45, I headed down to the lake, and it was a little chilly, probably around the high 60's. The horn blew and the frenzy began. Again, I felt awful during the first half of the swim, was mentally not right, and was overall just struggling to stay in the middle of the pack. Luckily, this weekend, i didn't get punched in the face and didn't have to scramble for my goggles in the water. And once again, about halfway through the swim, i finally got comfortable and started thinking about my form. I don't know why it takes me a half mile to start thinking about my form, but even so, I finally got into a decent groove. I exited on the beach at 31 minutes, 6 minutes faster than last weekend, probably due to the swim stroke tweaks I worked on in the pool this past week. I got to T1 and was fumbling around trying to get my cycling shoes on. My transition time was over a minute which is not good, but I knew I could make up that time. The bike course surprisingly had only two hills that were painful, but otherwise was pretty flat, with only some inclination. The woman that was leading the woman's race was side by side with me the whole time, and she was pushing pretty hard, but nothing I couldn't handle, so i decided to stick with her to keep a good pace. I did so and had a great bike time, averaging 20.5 mph the entire bike. I got into T2 with my legs feeling fairly fresh, put on my running shoes and I was off on the 6.2 mile run course. I decided early to try and push it, and I did that. My breathing was spot on and had no problems, other than the steep inclines and declines. Not that they were problematic, but they were painful. Luckily, most of the run course was shaded so staying cool was pretty easy, grabbing two cups of cold water at every aid station, one for pouring over my head and one to drink. To make matters a bit harder, it was a two loop course, and so I'd see the hills twice. But all and all, it was a good run, averaged a 6:47 pace. When the day was done, Team Heat won the championship, and the third place finisher overall was Bill Schuman who is a longtime Heat member, so it was a great day. Not to mention Outback Steakhouse and Massage Envy at the finish line waiting for us! It was a lot of fun, and a bit bittersweet, knowing that would be the last Olympic distance (aka "short course") triathlon I would be doing this season.
Saturday night, I got some good rest, knowing the next morning a half marathon would lie ahead. I was a bit on the fence on whether or not I wanted to try and set a personal record at that distance or not, doing an triathlon the day before, and I really wasn't decided until this morning. I got up at 4:30 AM again, and my legs felt good, so I knew right then that I'd try and go for it. The time I had to beat was 1:34, or 7:07 mile pace for 13.1 miles. I was meeting up with Kristin Paradis and Mike Stasiuk for this race, and we met up and drove down together. It's just great to be able to do a race with some good friends, and it makes it that much more fun. We got to the beach at 6:45 AM, with plenty of time to spare. We used the bathroom, stretched, talked, ate. And then all of a sudden, it was race time, 8:30. There were over 3000 runners there, so it was tough to get comfortable for the first mile or so, elbow to elbow. I finally broke free at about the half mile mark, and running being my go-to event, started passing people. I did the first mile in just over 6 minutes and my legs felt great, although my breathing wasn't perfect. I had made the decision to push the pace hard, and did so throughout. There were plenty of aid stations, and the fire department was on the course, opening fire hydrants for the runners to stay cool. That was great, i had no heat issues at all, even though it was extremely humid out. It seemed like at no point during the race was my jersey not soaked with water. Nutritionally, I only took one gel at mile 8, and drank mostly water, taking GU2o (comparable to Gatorade Endurance Formula) twice, just to get some salt in me. For the second day in a row, I was pacing myself with another female runner, and we battled the entire time - I'd surge a bit, she'd surge head right with me, I'd drop back a bit, she'd drop back and get her breathing right also. From mile 8 until the finish line, we were shoulder to shoulder. We didn't talk much other than when I said to her "You rock girl" and she said back "No, you rock." That was great knowing that we were in this together. The last two miles were tough, and it seemed never ending, but I finally crossed the finish line at 1:13:31, and gave my pacing partner a big hug. It worked out to 6:57 per mile for 13.2 miles, which was a personal best. I was satisfied with that, especially knowing I wasn't full strength due to the race the day before. I think that after today, I could run an 8 - 8:30 pace at Ironman Providence 70.3, having to run that half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. I believe that I'm ready for that race, and that's next up on the list. That's on July 13th, so I have some time to put in some training time. Although i will be doing the full Ironman just to finish, I'm going to try and compete and be a factor in Providence. I think that's a great distance to me, because it seems like at the Olympic distance, I always run out of race, and I get faster as the race goes on. So I'm really excited to take the next step to "long course" triathlon.
Again, thank you all so much for all the support, there's nothing like coming home from a race and having someone say "Good job today." Thank you.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Southington Citizen Article - June 20, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon Race Report
If you're reading this, you've most likely seen the article on our effort in the Friday, June 20th edition of The Southington Citizen, so first and foremost, thanks for visiting. Please sign my guestbook. I will be updating this blog on a regular basis. Jared's parents asked that I document this whole process: race reports, training days, Ironman preparations....the whole gamut, and I am happy to do that. You can scroll down and read about how this idea was born in my first post.
This past Saturday, I competed in my first triathlon of the season, the Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon in Middlebury, at Lake Quassapaug. It was at Quassy Amusement park. The swim was one mile, the bike was 25 miles and the run was a 10k (6.2 miles). I got up at about 5 AM, and my father picked me up soon after. I put my ipod on and got my bike and gear to the transition area, set up all my stuff, ate, and pretty much just focused on the task at hand. The water was a warm 75 degrees, but the race was wetsuit legal, and I wore a sleeveless wetsuit. Seeing how far a mile is in open water is quite intimidating and I had never swam that long a distance in a race, but the horn went off and off I went. I tried to settle into my stroke early, but I was getting kicked, punched and overall, just annoyed with the hundred or so other swimmers in my wave. I finally got halfway through and got dialed in and comfortable. It was a bit disheartening to take about 15 minutes to finally get comfortable, but when I did, it felt good. 37 minutes and change after the horn blew, I was out of the water, peeling my wetsuit off and running to the transition. I sat down, put on socks, and my cycling shoes, put my sunglasses on, and finally my helmet. I was wearing my tri suit under my wetsuit so that was convenient. I took off like a bat out of hell, and strapped on my gloves during the first mile, and then settled into the aero position. The first 7 miles or so were fast, lots of flats and downhills. I must have been averaging well over 21 mph when the hills hit. The rest of the bike course was a lot of climbing and not many flats or downhills. With about 5 miles left on the bike, I caught up to one of my teammates, and when i saw him, I knew I was killin' it on the bike. Come to find out, Rob was 4th overall out of the water, and over 10 minutes ahead of me, which meant I had made up over 10 minutes on the bike. He saw me and pulled away, but not a big deal, he's in the age group under me. This was a great thing though, because Rob is an absolute animal, and he's already done Ironman New Zealand and a half ironman in New Hampshire. He's a serious athlete and to know I was right there with him was satisfying. I finished up on the bike, and had a fast transition into my running shoes, and also put on my visor. Then I was out for a 6.2 mile run and my legs felt fresh. I took off again, planning to negatively split the run, in other words, run faster as I got further into the run. Turned out nobody passed me on the run, and i was seeing people going the other way, on their way back and I was picking them off, one by one. The one hill on the course was quite brutal, but I knew I could make up time on it, so I pushed hard up that hill. I really was negative splitting, and before I knew it, i was crossing the finish line. I did the run at a 6:37 per mile pace, which is 7 seconds slower than what I wanted, but that's ok. I simply ran out of race. Had that run been 10 miles, it would have been a different story, but I ended up placing fourth, with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes. A very respectable effort for the longest triathlon I've done thus far.
This weekend I will be racing with my team at the HealthNet Connecticut Club Championships in Shelton, CT. It's the same distance, but not as hilly of a course. It's a sure bet that all of the best in CT will be there and I'll be ready. On Sunday, I am running in the Fairfield Half Marathon, and I'm not sure if I want to take that easy or try and set a personal record for that distance. The only reason why I'm even thinking about blasting that race is because of how flat that course is, I think it'll make for some fast times. All and all, I'm extremely happy that it's officially race season. I can now see the results of the past year of training. Have a great week and weekend everyone. Thanks for stoppin by!
This past Saturday, I competed in my first triathlon of the season, the Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon in Middlebury, at Lake Quassapaug. It was at Quassy Amusement park. The swim was one mile, the bike was 25 miles and the run was a 10k (6.2 miles). I got up at about 5 AM, and my father picked me up soon after. I put my ipod on and got my bike and gear to the transition area, set up all my stuff, ate, and pretty much just focused on the task at hand. The water was a warm 75 degrees, but the race was wetsuit legal, and I wore a sleeveless wetsuit. Seeing how far a mile is in open water is quite intimidating and I had never swam that long a distance in a race, but the horn went off and off I went. I tried to settle into my stroke early, but I was getting kicked, punched and overall, just annoyed with the hundred or so other swimmers in my wave. I finally got halfway through and got dialed in and comfortable. It was a bit disheartening to take about 15 minutes to finally get comfortable, but when I did, it felt good. 37 minutes and change after the horn blew, I was out of the water, peeling my wetsuit off and running to the transition. I sat down, put on socks, and my cycling shoes, put my sunglasses on, and finally my helmet. I was wearing my tri suit under my wetsuit so that was convenient. I took off like a bat out of hell, and strapped on my gloves during the first mile, and then settled into the aero position. The first 7 miles or so were fast, lots of flats and downhills. I must have been averaging well over 21 mph when the hills hit. The rest of the bike course was a lot of climbing and not many flats or downhills. With about 5 miles left on the bike, I caught up to one of my teammates, and when i saw him, I knew I was killin' it on the bike. Come to find out, Rob was 4th overall out of the water, and over 10 minutes ahead of me, which meant I had made up over 10 minutes on the bike. He saw me and pulled away, but not a big deal, he's in the age group under me. This was a great thing though, because Rob is an absolute animal, and he's already done Ironman New Zealand and a half ironman in New Hampshire. He's a serious athlete and to know I was right there with him was satisfying. I finished up on the bike, and had a fast transition into my running shoes, and also put on my visor. Then I was out for a 6.2 mile run and my legs felt fresh. I took off again, planning to negatively split the run, in other words, run faster as I got further into the run. Turned out nobody passed me on the run, and i was seeing people going the other way, on their way back and I was picking them off, one by one. The one hill on the course was quite brutal, but I knew I could make up time on it, so I pushed hard up that hill. I really was negative splitting, and before I knew it, i was crossing the finish line. I did the run at a 6:37 per mile pace, which is 7 seconds slower than what I wanted, but that's ok. I simply ran out of race. Had that run been 10 miles, it would have been a different story, but I ended up placing fourth, with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes. A very respectable effort for the longest triathlon I've done thus far.
This weekend I will be racing with my team at the HealthNet Connecticut Club Championships in Shelton, CT. It's the same distance, but not as hilly of a course. It's a sure bet that all of the best in CT will be there and I'll be ready. On Sunday, I am running in the Fairfield Half Marathon, and I'm not sure if I want to take that easy or try and set a personal record for that distance. The only reason why I'm even thinking about blasting that race is because of how flat that course is, I think it'll make for some fast times. All and all, I'm extremely happy that it's officially race season. I can now see the results of the past year of training. Have a great week and weekend everyone. Thanks for stoppin by!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Welcome Southington (and beyond)
Thanks for visiting. Please sign the guestbook, underneath the countdown, on the right-hand side of this page.
82 more days. 82 more 24 hour increments. 82 more days until I put myself through pain like I’ve never felt before. 82 more days…
The date was August 31, 2007. I was on my way to the Bronx and I thought to myself, “It’s time to tell my father.” I called my father, fully knowing what he’d say: “Are you out of your mind?”, “Do you know what type of commitment this requires?”, and etc. I placed the call and my mother picked up the phone. I told her I needed to talk to dad. Somewhat paraphrased below.
82 more days. 82 more 24 hour increments. 82 more days until I put myself through pain like I’ve never felt before. 82 more days…
The date was August 31, 2007. I was on my way to the Bronx and I thought to myself, “It’s time to tell my father.” I called my father, fully knowing what he’d say: “Are you out of your mind?”, “Do you know what type of commitment this requires?”, and etc. I placed the call and my mother picked up the phone. I told her I needed to talk to dad. Somewhat paraphrased below.
My father: “Hey, Tone, what’s goin’ on?”
Me: “Dad, I have something to tell you” (he’s probably thinking, “Please don’t tell me you’re in a jail in Mexico”)
Father: “Ok, what’s that?”
Me: “Before I tell you, I need your 100% support behind me”
Father: “You know that’s always the case”
Me: “Plan your vacation for 2008 now. We’re going to Louisville exactly one year from today. I’m registered for Ironman”
Father: “are you crazy…..time commitment…..blah blah”
Me: “I know it’s going to be the hardest thing I ever do, but I need you behind me. I’m doing it in memory of Jared, to benefit the scholarship”
And so we talked. My mother got on the line and you could just feel her emotion about how honorable this effort was in her mind. That’s when it was set into stone, I had told someone else that I was going to make an attempt to become an Ironman, in Louisville, Kentucky on August 31, 2008. You may have saw the Ironman on NBC or ABC in past years and for those of you who have not it consists of a 2.4 mile swim (to be completed in less than 2 hours and 20 minutes), 112 mile bike (to be completed in 8 hours and 10 minutes) and a full marathon, 26.2 mile run (to be completed in whatever time you have left before midnight). It was once considered to be an impossible race and has since been the staple of endurance races. The whole race must be completed within 17 hours or it’s as if you were never even there.
What made me want to do this? What is the correlation between Jared’s life and Ironman? I will start with the first question. Rewind back a long time, 1997. I was basically acting like an idiot. Driving my parents crazy. Long story short, I came to the conclusion (with some help) that I needed to start hanging out with positive influences and quit getting in trouble. Not that I was ever in crazy extreme trouble, but it was just time to find a new group. Luckily, I was playing soccer and basketball at that point and I met Brian (Muff) LeBlanc, Mike Stasiuk and Tyler Shea, and Brian Godard. I knew these were the type of people I needed to surround myself with. I later became close with Jared Grenier, Gary Piotrowski, and Dan Kushner (Kush) during our sophomore year at Southington High School. Additionally, between freshman and sophomore years, I met Kevin Thompson, Brian Godard, Dawn Wasik, PJ Olore, Jon Denote, Ryan Clark, Doug O’Leary and our girls: Nicole Bertzos, Allison Bruemmer, Jessica Cochrane, and Mary Brothwell. Trust me when I say we were inseparable from sophomore year and on, even now. These people are like family and they are truly the best people I have ever met. I owe much of much of my well-being to them.
After graduating from Southington High School in 2001, we all went on to college. The amazing part of this is that, Tyler, Muff, Kush, and myself enrolled at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY while Jared enrolled at Western New England, Mike went to Bryant College, and others went to other institutions. Long story short, Jared was not cut out for college and Mike was not cut out for Bryant. Jared joined the workforce and Mike transferred to Marist during our sophomore year of college. Little did we know our lives would be turned upside down just one year later.
I remember the day vividly, September 18, 2003. I was studying in the library and got a matter-of-fact but somewhat serious phone call from Kush.
-“Hey, can you come back to the apartment?
-“Sure, just finished up studying”
I was humming a song, didn’t really care about anything except what we were doing that night and Kush opened the door for me. I will never, ever forget this conversation, it’s like burned into me forever. And these are the exact words.
-“It’s about Jared. He was in an accident last night. He didn’t make it”
-“What!?!?! What do we do?”
The weeks to come were horrendous, at best. I couldn’t get out of bed for days. Didn’t want to think, didn’t want to talk. We were all the same way. Although some of us left Marist to come home quicker than others. I remember the drive home back to Southington with Kush, knowing the reason we were going home was to bury our best friend. We didn’t speak in the car. Just drove. Ya know, here was this guy…..he was just up at Marist visiting us, having a crazy good time, and all of a sudden….he’s gone. How do you handle something like that? I mean I know it happens to many people, but that’s the thing….you never think it’ll happen to you. But it happened, and it happened fast. He was gone and we were left with great pictures and great memories.
We had decided that the best, most feasible way to carry on Jared’s memory was to create a scholarship in his name; we would give it to a Southington High School senior who displayed the qualities that Jared embodied most. And so we gave our first award to Carly Wasik in the spring of 2005. We have given $1,000 dollars each year to the student that most embodies Jared’s qualities and I think that I speak for all of us when I say we are damn proud of that. This was all due to individual contributors and through our fundraising efforts. In terms of fundraising, we have had two banquet style dinners, in 2005 and 2006. They were hugely successful. 2007 came around and we really didn’t have anything planned. And then I looked in the mirror and said “Make something happen.”
Not to belittle or trivialize any other fundraising efforts, including ours previously, but I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. Then I started thinking, well some of these great organizations and great scholarships have events that have nothing to do with the person or cause they are memorializing, i.e. motorcycle rides, walk-a-thons, etc. Please don’t get me wrong, that actually helped my mentality. The thing is, Jared would have loved being at his fundraising banquet dinners. That was his style, and really, that’s our style. Socializing, eating, drinking – all with good friends. But that got me thinking that, there really are no boundaries on what we could do for a fundraiser. And my idea was born.
Here I was, a single guy, not too much responsibility, looking to take something on. I had a lot of flexibility with my job also. So I decided I’d get back to adventure racing and triathlons. I was missing competition for a while. And so I trained lightly/moderately. 2-3 mile run after work. 10 mile mountain bike ride on the weekend. And then it started to pick up. Those 2-3 mile runs were quickly turning into 10 – 15 mile runs, and those 10 mile mountain bike rides were turning into “how fast can you go” 25 mile road bike rides. All of a sudden, Mike Stasiuk (who was already in great shape) and I were registered for an adventure race in New Jersey. We raced, and we were hooked. I think at that point is when we took the plunge and registered for a 24 hour adventure race in New Hampshire. But not before I tasted the triathlon scene again.
So I raced a few more adventure races, and did one sprint triathlon. Half mile swim, 16 mile bike, 5k run. I had done triathlons in the past, and so I knew what to expect. I just figured it would be a good warm-up for the 24 hour race, which was a couple weekends later. Long story short, I won my age group and just knew that I had a great race, I felt very good. It just felt a little bit better to cross the finish line at a triathlon than anything else. The thoughts started then. I loved being on a “team” as with adventure racing, but I liked being accountable for my own successes and/or failures. Little did anyone know, I had registered for Ironman a week beforehand with intentions to make it a fundraiser because of a lack thereof. Kill two birds with one stone maybe.
The 24 hour race was one hell of a time. I raced with Mike Stasiuk and Dan Kushner, with my father (who got me into the whole multi-sport scene from the beginning! Thanks dad!) as our support vehicle/person. We were ill-prepared, the only real thing we brought to the table was fitness, and that is not enough in adventure racing. We got lost in the mountains for hours in the middle of the night. We were officially disqualified after 21 hours, 14 of which were on a mountain bike. I won’t tell you what it feels like to be on a bike for 14 hours.
And so I then told all the people close to me that I would be attempting to become an Ironman to benefit Jared’s scholarship. Not one person, friends or family, had a negative tone about it, and that was great. Hell, I knew this would be something that really is beyond my abilities but I planned on testing that. I could just picture Jared bein’ like “Yo, you’re crazy dude. Why don’t you just sit down with me and have a beer?”
After I committed to Ironman, I ran the Hartford marathon and finished in 3:42. Little did I know the injury I was carrying along with me. My knee cap was mistracking, most likely due to overuse. I went to see a surgeon at Uconn and he advised against any endurance racing and I told him that was not an option and to prescribe me something that would allow for me to compete the following August, even if I had to have surgery. Luckily, I didn’t have to have surgery but I landed me in physical therapy for 3 months after the marathon. I now have to wear a knee brace, but it’s a minor inconvenience, if you can even call it that.
So here I am. 82 days from race day. 82 days from when I can put on that jersey in memory of one of my best friends. 82 days until I can thank my other best friends for supporting me through the past year.
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