IRONMAN-TEMPE, ARIZONA-11/17/13

So, where do I start…After a three-year break from any competitive racing, I decided to sign up for another Ironman and opposite to what a lot of people say; I really enjoy the Ironman Arizona course. I actually love the three-loop bike course and even liked the old three-loop run course better. It’s great to be able to manage your pacing, track nutrition & hydration and not to mention see all of your friends on the course more frequently. A friend of mine used to always tell me that when you’re racing to ‘take small bites’. Breaking up the course into loops definitely helps accomplish that.

I drove out to AZ on Thursday with my friends Ryan and Chris who were also racing…and Ryan’s new fiancée Brynn too! I’ve done a lot of training with both Ryan and Chris and was excited to race with them again. Ryan and I had a running joke that if one person was eating or drinking something, the other would as well. No special advantages before the race!! Obviously, by looking at his finish time, Ryan must have snuck something in when I wasn’t looking.

Friday and Saturday were pretty low key. Checked in, did a little swim, bike and run and tried to keep off of my feet as much as possible. Jen flew in on Friday night and started putting together all of the ‘Team Chebi’ signs, pins, etc.… It was great to have her there for the race & to see her along the course. The short 30-minute bike ride on Saturday scared me a bit as it was pretty windy and it brought back bad memories from 2005 when we got blown off of the course. I was able to get to bed at a pretty decent time and the 4:00am alarm clock wasn’t too bad at all. Got up, had my normal pre-race breakfast of a Cliff Bar and brought another one to the race start with me.

Swim: 1:06

I decided to line up on the right side of the pack and several rows back for the swim start. I’m not a great swimmer, so I typically let the fast guys & girls go first and try to catch onto some feet. Apparently everyone else decided to line up on the right side too and I have never been punched, kicked, pushed and slapped before so much in a race. Take a look at this video for a reference to what I’m talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk At what I thought was the turn around, I was right at about 30 minutes, so I was looking good for about a 60-minute swim. I guess I must have looked at my watch before the halfway point!!

Bike: 4:53

I was hoping to bike about 5:00 for this race. I’ve put in a ton of time on the bike this season and was ready for a strong ride. I went back and forth the day before with my nutrition plan and wanted to make sure that I had enough calories with me. My plan was for about 400 calories per hour. I started out with solid food (10 Fig Newton’s for the first few hours) and then supplemented it with 6 gels, a PayDay bar, salt tablets, water and two bottles of Gatorade that I brought with me. When I finished my Gatorade, I started taking the fluids on the course (wasn’t a huge fan of the PowerBar Perform). The first loop was pretty clear and I ended up catching up to my friend Jeff and then my buddy Lowell caught up to both of us. We took turns doing our share of work keeping the proper distance between us, but I now know what they talk about in the front of a pack when the pros ride. It made it so much easier to let those guys dictate the pace and not worry too much about my effort. I stayed 3-4 bike lengths behind and we came through the first loop at 1:40. Right on pace. The second loop got pretty crowded for a bit and at one point we got swallowed up by a group of about 40-50 guys. There was no place for us to go and finally the officials came by to break

things up. Jeff, Lowell and I…along with a few others rode off the front and got away from the crowds. Last time I did this race was in 2009 and I stopped 4 times to pee on the bike. I told myself that I wasn’t going to stop today and for about 20 miles I’d stop pedaling and try to go…then have to pedal again. Once it finally happened it was the greatest feeling in the world!! I think I poured an entire bottle of water on my bike and I afterwards though! Sorry for the details… The winds changed a bit on the second loop and I came in with a 1:34. Quite a bit faster than I had expected, but still well within my comfort zone. The third loop was much quicker on the way out, but I knew it was going to be tough coming back into town. The first time we really had headwinds on the flat roads and slowed things down a bit. I think my third loop was right around 1:39. I was ecstatic coming back into transition feeling so good and ready to run a good marathon.

Run: Not good…

My previous 5 or 6 Ironman marathons have been between 3:37 and 3:55. I knew I wasn’t in 3:30 shape, but I thought to myself…’All I need is a 3:45 and I’ll finish with a 9:50’. How easy is that!?!?!? I ran through transition light on my feet, put my running shoes on and headed out on the run. After the first two miles, I knew I was going to be in trouble. My stomach was not happy with me and I immediately had to slow down to a walk to ease things up. I’d start to feel better again and then run. The only positive thing I can take from this run is that when I was actually running, it was pretty easy to keep 8:00 – 8:15 miles. Unfortunately I spent too much time in the porta-potties and walking. This went on and on and on for 4 hours and 42 minutes. The slowest Ironman marathon I’ve had to date. I’m not sure if I ate too much on the bike, drank too much of the PowerBar Perform drink…who knows. I have some ideas on how to change things up a little bit for next year, but all in all I’m pretty happy with my race. A PR on the swim and a huge PR on the bike and still almost finished in daylight…

I’ve got a busy schedule with a ton of races this next year and I’ll be back in AZ next November ready for a huge PR!!!

Thanks for reading…

Ironman St. George Race Recap - May 1, 2010

Ironman St. George Race Recap

May 1, 2010 at 11:00pm

 

Ok, I’ve now had about 4 and a half hours to let the race digest & here are some thoughts about the race & my training leading up to the race. This might be a little long, so read it if you want!!

For the first time, I hired a coach this year & attribute my great race on such a difficult course to Mitch Gold. Thanks Mitch! I remember talking to my friend Tim last year about hiring a coach & I remember him saying that I was ‘un-coachable’. For the most part, that’s true as I like to do things my own way, but I told myself that if I was going to pay for a coach this season, I’d do everything he told me. It took me a little getting used to running most miles at 8:30 – 8:45 instead of my normal 7:15 that I would have run…but it did teach me about heart rate training & knowing that I don’t necessarily need to do lots of runs at 7:15 when there was no way I was going to run 7:15s at IM St. George!! I also used a SRM Power Meter for the first time this season and once I figured out my power zones, I knew exactly what I could do during the race and it kept me from riding too hard at the beginning today.

Training for this race started shortly after I came off a 35 minute PR at IM Arizona last November. I took a few weeks off, and then got right into lots of easy running & biking. I felt great all season until the past few months or so. Not too sure if it had anything to do with all the traveling I was doing for work & personal, but I wasn’t ‘on’ for the past month. I wasn’t too confident going into today, but knew that I had put the miles in & was ready for a good race. Mitch assured me that if I stuck to my plan, I’d continue to move up throughout the day while people were blowing up on such a difficult course. That thinking sure did come true today…

Ok, onto the race… First of all, if you haven’t been to St. George, UT before, it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been…but there are NO flat areas in this city. I think the lake even had hills in it!!

Swim: 1:08:10

This was my 7th Ironman and my previous 5 swim times were between 1:06 and 1:08, so I wasn’t surprised with this time. I do think I actually swam a little faster today though. If anyone has ever done an Ironman before, you will understand how long the bathroom lines are in the morning. Needless to say, by the time I waited in line & got back out, they were already closing the transition area & I was running behind. As I put my wetsuit on & checked in my morning clothes bag, I headed over to the start. I was looking at my watch & it said 6:57. Perfect…still have 3 minutes before the gun goes off then all of a sudden BOOM…there goes the cannon & I’m still walking towards the water. I quickly made my way down to the water & jumped in. I guess this was kind of good since I didn’t have time to inch in the 57 degree water & whine about it! I dove right in and started swimming. I also enjoyed starting from the back since no one really passed me the whole time. Typically people are hitting, grabbing, kicking, pulling & lots of other things too…and that’s just the women!! Today, on the other hand, I was able to make my way through the crowd & felt comfortable…so I was happy with my 1:08.

T1: 6:35 – OUCH!!

I knew it was going to be cold out there today, so I took my time & made sure to put my gloves on & made the mistake of putting on arm ‘coolers’ instead of arm ‘warmers’. They still protected me from a little bit of the wind, but I probably would have been better off putting the thicker arm warmers on.

Bike: 6:16:31

This was my slowest bike split of all 7 Ironman races I’ve competed in. My last IM was in Arizona (flat course) & I rode a 5:11 with 4 stops. Needless to say, the winds were howling out there & the hills kept on coming. This is also where Mitch’s wisdom came into play. He assured me that people were going to over ride this course & blow up. The ride started out with about a 20 mile segment from the lake to the first of 2 loops. I took it easy on this part as there were some good climbs. Once I hit the first loop, I made a conscious effort to keep my power below my thresholds & rode conservatively. By the time I got to the second loop, I started passing all of the people that passed me early on…and not just slowly riding by them either. I was blowing by these people, which definitely gave me confidence in the rest of my race. I hit my nutrition right on today. Had about 6 gels, 10 Fig Newton’s, my normal Pay Day candy bar & a 5-hour Energy to keep my awake out there. I’m not totally happy with my 6:16, but with the weather conditions & the course, it wasn’t too bad. Not sure how the heck the winner rode a 4:40 though!!!

T2: 3:10

Not too much to talk about here. Dismounted my bike at the line & the girl behind me came in hot & ran right into me. Women drivers!! Got into T2, changed into my running shoes, grabbed my run nutrition & headed out.

Run: 3:59:43

I knew this run course was going to be insane today. We were either running UP or DOWN today…there were NO flat parts. I needed to keep my HR down for the first few miles & to be honest; I didn’t feel that great anyway, so that wasn’t an issue. The first 5 miles or so were all up hill & I walked a little bit of it. Sorry…I was tired! Once I got into my rhythm, I was able to run consistently for most of the rest of the race. As Mitch had mentioned, people were going to ride too hard & not save anything for the run. That’s the reason I went from 225th place off the bike to my overall finish of 157. I haven’t downloaded my Garmin information from the run yet, but I’ve heard there was about 4,000’ of climbing on the run. I came through the half marathon in about 1:57. Kind of cool that for the last quarter mile or so, I ran with the women’s winner, so the motorcycles were all around with the video cameras. If they televise the race, I should have some good camera time! The second loop was pretty uneventful. Kept passing lots of people and ended up running 2:02 for the second half. My nutrition on the run was a little scattered today. I had about 4 gels & another 5-hour Energy, but also had about 8-10 chocolate chip cookies, handfuls of pretzels, cups & cups of potato chips, some chicken broth, bananas…and whatever else they’d give me out there! I think I burned about 10,000 calories during the race, but probably ate all them back on the run! Based on the course conditions & how tired I already was, running pretty even on this course was a big win today!

Overall Time: 11:33:59

Except for my first Ironman, this was my slowest finish, but if you look at the last qualifying place at Arizona last November, it was about 9:25. I think the lowest qualifying time for today is going to be somewhere around 10:40. Yeah, I’d say this course was quite a bit tougher! Not too sure how many people are going to sign up for next year…I sure am NOT going to!! Larry, you still have my number, but I'll get you one of these days!! Maybe when you age up to the 55-59 age group!

It was fun seeing so many people I knew out there today. Seeing June & Susan all over the place on the bike & run course was great. Allison thanks for cheering me on at the run turn around too! There were also a ton of people from Tri-Scottsdale, Tribe, First Wave, Landis, OC Tri Club, Phoenix Tri Club & all my new friends from the Palm Springs group racing too, so there was always a familiar face around to keep me motivated.

I wanted to say thanks to everyone that has been training with me over the last 6 months or so. Tom & Christina have had to endure running SLOW mileage with me. Had some good rides up Mt. Baldy with Chris, Tom, Derek, Edward, Eben, Jeff and Mitch. A few good rides up to Idyllwild with Mitch, Chad, Lori, Dottie & Gil were great too. Those definitely helped me with the climbing today. Lots of other great training with Mindy, Coryn, Jason, Tom, Troy & Bill up at Wildflower…and Alyssa too for keeping us company!

What’s next?? NOTHING…lots of rest, beach time, kickball & time to regroup. Anyone up for some P90x workouts??

Thanks for reading…

-Eric

Good friends and jingle bells keep us going on a rainy Christmas run - December 31, 2005

Published Saturday, December 31, 2005

Good friends and jingle bells keep us going on a rainy Christmas run

By Bob Boyd
On Running,

Some things are just true: a bad day vacationing is better than a good day at the office; you can't be too rich, too good looking, or too thin; regular exercise improves your quality of life; and running is just better with company.

Whether you are considering starting running as a New Year's resolution, returning to it, or just enjoying your runs more, joining a group run will help you achieve your goal.
One of the long-standing traditions in our area is the Florida Striders' Sunday morning group run that meets at Sun Tire on Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park at 6:30 a.m. every Sunday. There is typically a contingent of between 20 to 50 runners that meet together briefly, share any upcoming running news, and make sure that everyone has company for their preferred pace and distance that day. The regular routes vary from 6 miles to 20-plus miles but the majority of folks are usually going 10 to 12 miles.

Christmas morning was one of those occasions as I could hear the rain droning on the roof at 5 a.m. and thoughts of staying snuggled in bed did indeed go through my head. Quickly, I remembered a call two days earlier from a runner who was home for the holidays, Eric Chebi, asking if our regular Sunday morning run would still happen on Christmas.
"Sure, we will be out there," I had told him, so there was no backing out now. Eric was no fair weather runner as he did pull up in the light rain before our launch time ready to go. Angus Macvicar, a new Florida Strider member, was also there -- in his robe! I was tickled that Angus showed up in his robe so his regular running buddy, a Lab named Lucy, would not figure out he had slipped away without her for a run.

We trotted off together for a 10-mile run, chatting about Eric's past and planned Ironman events. I am very much impressed with anyone who can swim 2.4 miles, ride their bicycle another 112 miles, and then finish up with running 26.2 miles, all in a day's workout. We also learned that Angus had just quit smoking two months earlier and had not only finished the prior week's Jacksonville Half Marathon (13.1 miles) but did it in a personal record time of 1:34. Did I mention he does 300 push-ups three days a week?

Clearly I had hooked up with two over-achievers who were also great company. Two miles into our run we heard a chorus of "merry Christmas" greetings and the sound of jingling bells in a parking lot along Wells Road.

"Santa, is that you?" We jogged closer. 'Twas the next best thing to Santa and his reindeer -- another group of Florida Striders who regularly meet at 5 a.m. on Sundays (yes, there are other groups that get together even earlier than 6:30 a.m.) who had already done their miles and were now celebrating with a bounty of holiday goodies, libations, Santa hats, and jingle bells. These people know how to have a group run. They also meet during the week in the wee hours on Wells Road so this was the site of their Christmas celebration. This group includes not only some of the best age-group runners in the area, but, even better, the nicest group of people you will ever meet anywhere. They have a well-deserved reputation for helping and supporting new and old members alike.
Angus, Eric, and I trotted off to finish our run a bit later, suitably adorned with new jingle bell gifts, very well-refreshed tummies, richer by several hugs and handshakes from old and new friends, and the warmth of Christmas spirit. After finishing the 10 miles I also had got to know two new friends much better and enjoyed a Christmas feast later that day guilt-free.

While I can not promise Santa-esque moments of serendipity on every group run, I can guarantee you will find it much easier to keep those training commitments when you are meeting others, and have a safer experience and a lot more fun on your runs. The Florida Striders have a list of area group runs on their Web site at www.floridastriders.com and you can also contact me directly if you would like additional information about paces, distances, and such.