New 2008 Ironman 70.3 Races

If you have been looking at the Ironman Live website the last few days, then you noticed all the new 70.3 races coming out for 2008: New Orleans, Kansas and Rhode Island. These are great events so it's nice to see. I'm particularly excited about Rhode Island since it's close to where I live in New Jersey. The only negative is that it's the week before Lake Placid. Although I'm not competing this year, I do want to watch it and sign up for 2009. Could be difficult to get a pass from home to go away two weekends in a row. Love to see the new events. Now how about another full 140.6 IM in the East to accompany Lake Placid?

NYC Marathon 2007

I was in the lobby of a hotel this past weekend watching the leaders finish the NYC marathon. Both the men and women were incredible but it's the woman's winner, Paula Radcliffe, that was so very impressive. From when I picked up the race at Mile 19, it seemed like second place finisher, Gete Wami, was on Paula's tail the entire time. She just couldn't shake her. It even appeared that for several moments, Paula was faltering but she stayed strong. Her arms were pumping...her stride was strong and her face was determined. If you saw the race, the one thing you can take away was Paula's grit and determination. She would not accept anything but finishing first. As an age group triathlete, we're not going to win may races, if any. But in order to finish strong, to move up a few places in the standings, we should remember Paula Radcliffe. I know that the next time I approach the finish line, I'll remember Gete chasing Paula down and Paula not letting go. Even when Gete moved a few meters ahead, Paula dug down deep and took the lead right back. She is a great example of what it means to be a winner. And we can all learn from that.

Don't Get Old, Kid

As I have posted before, my Mom is in assisted living. And it continues to make me feel like the jailor. The other day she had a bad morning. She wanted out. She wanted to "go home" she told the aids. They said she hit the staff, which I can't visualize because, as horrible as it sounds, she doesn't pack a punch. She's 84 and weighs all of 100 pounds. It is more likely that she swatted them than launching a right-left combo.

I write this not looking for someone to absolve me of my sins. The choice, although the most difficult of my 45 year old life, was for her to live alone, live with myself or my brothers or go to assisted living. We chose the latter because we felt that it would provide the best care for her at this time. There really wasn't any choice.

But when I heard the director of the facility explain my Mom's behavior the other day as maybe she was "feeling trapped", I shake. A big lump of feeling guilty is sitting in my brain right now. It just sits there and waits and pokes me on the shoulder when I forget for a nano-second where she is. And it's her own words in her own voice I constantl hear. Words she has been saying for the last 10 years that really have meaning and relevance now:

"Don't get old, kid"

Addiction, Part 1

Is it an addiction?

My new favorite t-shirt that I picked up at the Ironman store this year in Lake Placid says:

"Life is Simple. Swim. Bike. Run. Eat. Sleep."

Is there anything else? When you are in the middle of training, does it seem like there is anything else? Actually, a better shirt might be:

"Life is Not Simple. Irritable. Irrational. Stressed. Tired. When will it end?"

Why not? That's how we feel when training seems to drag on and on. However, when we cross the finish line and our bodies make their way back to being normal again, a peace sets in. We're elated. We want to show off all that we have earned. When the family makes a remark like 'Oh no, you're not wearing another finisher race shirt or hat or both!' My daughter sums it up with 'it's their badge of honor. They all wear them.' True. We wear what we've earned on our sleeve, er, back and head. And ankle too. Many of us after finishing an Ironman head to the neighborhood Tattoo parlor and get the ultimate badge of honor, the M-dot. I thought of doing this. I even felt the pressure from two friends that got their's. But everytime I mentioned it, my youngest daughter would start to cry. I think she equated a tattoo with a life of crime and possible jail time.

So, the training drags on and we pray for it all to end. Race day arrives and maybe, the race doesn't go so great. Like me, maybe we're bent over at Mile 10 of the run with the dry heaves praying even harder for it all to end. Or maybe we crashed on the bike and the raspberry hurts like hell and the end just can't come quick enough. Thoughts of quitting enter our heads. But we don't and we push on. At this year's Ironman in Lake Placid, I was at about mile 15 when I spotted a guy with the finisher shirt on. It was a beautiful shade of faded Hunter Green. It was sweet looking. At the time I was battling with myself about dropping out. I was beyond the dry heaves but my stomach was in distress. It would have been so easy.

"Hey, is that this year's finisher shirt"

"Yeah"

"Well, now I have my inspiration to finish"

"Oh, you have to man...there's no greater feeling"

"I know.." I managed to whimper. And so, I pushed on in search of another badge of honor. But we still talk to ourselves: "This is it. I'm done. No more Ironman's. No more long distance Tri's"

And then we finish, we're happy and we're not signing up the next day but we're not talking like our triathlon career is over either. We stand there in the middle of the road not committing to anything either way. Then the next more is when the Addiction sets in. We miss it already. As the weeks go on and the glow of our race brightens, the feeling grows stronger, the Addiction grows and festers inside of us. It's then that we realize that we're hooked. The only cure, fortunately, is more Swimming and Biking and Running and Eating and Sleeping.

So Many Triathlon Memories

I read a great article by Steve Jonas in the current issue of USA Triathlon Life, the official publication of the USAT. The title was "Why a Good Story Matters". It was about his individual triathlon experiences and stories. It got me thinking about why I do Tri and the special memories that I have. Steve explained that he can't remember every race he's ever done but there are certain races that stand out. Everyone has their own reasons why they do triathlon. For me there are many reasons: great way to stay in shape, sense of accomplishment, the pain (HA HA), etc. But the overall best reason is simply: I just enjoy it! There are so many memories and so many more to come. If my injuries don't slow me down, who knows, maybe I will keep going until I'm 70.

My first Tri is a great one because my mantra was: how hard can the swim be! I hardly trained and when I got 500 yards out from shore and had to resort to swimming on my side, I found out quick. Needless to say that was a rude awakening to the sport. But when I finished, I was hooked. My first half ironman was memorable. It was an enormous high to finish the Eagleman in 2002. I had a very bad sunburn afterwards and my race number was tattooed to my arm for about 1 year. No joke! I've done 5 more Eagleman's since that day. My first and second Ironman finishes are the gems of the catalog. The first because I had a smile on my face the entire time. The second because I had pain on my face most of the run coupled with the dry heaves at Mile 10. But, oh to finish an Ironman is a magical moment. My last race is a showstopper too. Right there at the top. It was only a sprint but it was my 17 year old daughter's first. I'll never forget that one. It's a whole new dimension now.

Triathlon is a lot like life. It's more a journey than a race. Just start and just finish. The journey can have many highs and many lows. But we just have to work through them and keep pushing. There are so many memories that have been made and so many still to be made. Thank you Mr Jonas for reminding me of that.

Sports Dream

I'm excited. If you're like me, you have sports dreams. Some of the ones on the top of my list are seeing the Mets play the Cubs in a weekend series at Wrigley, the Giants or Jets or Packers in the Super Bowl, Mets in the World Series, being at the Masters, finishing the Ironman World Championship in Kona, etc. Another one will be realized this weekend as I head to Notre Dame with my daughter. She's a senior in HS and is interested in seeing the campus. The dream? Notre Dame vs Boston College on Saturday. Can't wait! I think we might surprise them.

Prediction:

ND 27 BC 24 ....on a late field goal.

Mom

This post falls into the "Living...." part of the Iron H blog.

On Friday, July 13 my brother went to my Mom's apartment to check on her, after she didn't return our phone calls for several hours. Looking through the front door, he could see her lying on her bathroom floor. Breaking in, he found her alive, face bloodied, arm broken, rib cracked, bruised and confused.

Fast forward to this day, after 16 days in the hospital and about 40 days in a rehab center, my Mom at age 84, is now living in an assisted living facility. Physically, I would say she is fine. She's about 95% of what she was, which for an 84 year old woman, was very good. She was spry to say the least. It was only two years ago when she tried using my daughter's pogo stick. We still talk about that one!

However, she has dementia and is considered a "flight risk". Just this year, prior to her fall, she would often walk the 3 miles to my brother's house from her place. Our decision to place her into the "safe care" unit of this assited living facility did not come easy. I feel in many ways that I took her freedom from her. And as triathlete's we know what freedom means to us. She is happy at the facility, I believe. She knows she has an apartment but doesn't demand that she return. However, I still can't get over what I feel we've done to her.

I'm going to use this blog over the next several months to talk about her and the decision we made. I keep dreaming that someday, she will be cured and could return to an apartment setting. But I know that is not being realistic. I'd like to get a bigger house and bring her home. The problem is she is a Long Island Girl and I live in Jersey. And Jersey is not her home. But we'll see. For now, I visit her as much as I can.

In mourning...over the Mets

I love my wife. I love triathlon. I love the USA.

But I bleed NY Mets blue and orange. For all diehard Mets fans everywhere...today is a national day of mourning. The much hated Phillies skipped over us and took control of 1st place. Hats off to the Phils for sweeping us umpteen times but in the end..we beat ourselves. The division was ours and we let it slip away. And now there is no post season..no potential World Series win...which would have been our first since 1986. The only solace is the Braves are out as well.

I'll probably be watching the playoffs with one eye this year...rooting for whoever is playing the Phillies and the Yanks.

Just wait until next year....

Tri-ing With My Daughter

Well, being true to form, I am writing this post late. It's now 2 weeks after my daughter completed her first triathlon at age 17. For me, it was one of the most thrilling races I've completed. It ranks right up there with my two Ironman finishes for sure.

Let me be the bragging father for awhile. First, the triathlon was the American Memorial Triathlon in Greenwood Lake, NY. The distances: 1/2 mile Swim, 16 mile Bike and 4 Mile Run. My daughter is a swimmer by trade so I knew that would be her strength. The idea was that I would catch her on the bike and we would stay together for the rest of the race.

The swim was a mass start with about 150-200 competitors. It was 45 degrees at race time but the water was much warmer. My daughter, with no wetsuit, was nervous but ready. I told her to get out in front and see what she could do. If it got crazy crowded heading for the first buoy then stay right out of the way, I said. Well, she got out in front and did very well. She was the first female and fourth overall out of the water. As I was coming into transition, she was heading out. What a great sight!

I was very impressed with her riding. She really only trained for about 1 1/2 months for this race. Everytime I saw her ahead of me at the crest of a hill, I figured I'd catch her after I reached the same point. But when I got to that point, she had disappeared behind a bend. This went on for awhile until I finally caught up to her around Mile 5 of the bike. I stayed with her the rest of the way and she did great! Results weren't posted yet and in my excitement I didn't write down our time.

We made a quick trasnition to the run and she looked strong starting out. But what hampered her during training hit her in the race as well. She started getting a cramp right under the rib cage. For the first 2 miles we did alot of walk-run to get rid of it. She felt better over the last 2 miles and finished strong. We placed 70th and 71st, I believe. She won the age group for 24 and under! It was a proud moment for sure. And a great start to her triathlon career!

September 11: Looking Back

Today is a tough day for all Americans. It is especially tough for us here in the NY area that were directly effected by the events on 9/11. It is a day I will never forget. And I will never forget those who sadly lost their lives.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I made my way through the WTC after commuting in from my home in New Jersey. I stepped outside into the beautiful sunshine and walked the distance of less than 100 yards from the South Tower to my office at 90 West Street. It was 8:05 AM as I made it into the building. I was about to begin a staff meeting when, at 8:46 AM, the world changed forever.

I will never forget the images of that day. The death and destruction I witnessed. When the second plane struck the South Tower, after flying over our building, we began our evacuation. Those moments were so surreal because we still did not know the enormity of the situation. Out on the street, looking up at the gaping, burning holes in both towers, I was in shock. But fortunately, I made it home when others didn't.

The pictures above are of my return to the building in November of 2001. The office I'm in was right next door to us, on the same floor, but facing the WTC. When the towers fell, debris littered our building and it caught fire. They say it burned for three days.

Please remember all those who perished today, six years ago in NY, DC and in the fields of Pennsylvania. They are all heroes. God Bless.

Congrats to IM Finishers

Congrats go out to all IM Wisconsin finishers. Also, a belated congrats to IM Louisville and IM Canada finshers. Great job all!!

This is race week for my daughter and I. Her first triathlon is next weekend in Greenwood Lake, NY. I plan to be there with her every mile except the swim where she'll crush me. Training has gone well. We did a few bricks and the transition from bike to run was...let's just say....a New Experience.

Don't just love it?!!

My Daughter's 1st Tri

For the last month I have been training with my 17 year old daughter for her first triathlon. It's a sprint tri: 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike and a 4 mile run. She will crush me on the swim and will wear no wetsuit. The plan is to catch up to her on the bike. I'll pace her from that point on. The date is September 16 and I'm looking forward to it. She is excited but scared. She'll do just fine.

IM USA Lake Placid Race Report

Ok, it's been more than 1 month since Ironman Lake Placid was over. I have been extremely lazy about writing this report but here goes. The good news is I finished again..my 2nd IM finish. The bad news is that it was a tough race or a tough run rather. Overall, I was 20 mins slower than last year but in IM it's all about the finish.

The Swim

There I was standing on the opposite side of the lake waiting for the gun to go off. The helicopters were sailing overhead and I was hoping that I would get in the DVD they were filming for. A few butterflies in my stomach but not like last year. I was ready to get this going. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was pscyhed to be here again. A few hugs and handshakes to those around me and we were off.

I felt VG coming into this swim. But it was a tough one from the start. I started wide right but suddenly founf myself over the yellow line. Once you are in there, it's tough to get back out. I was kicked under the chin at least three times, my goggles were jarred a few times and I was run over. Around the second turn and heading in, my right calf and then immediately after my left camp cramped. If you never had this happen before, it's like getting shot in the water. You come to a complete stop. I was able to shake it off, made it around the 2nd loop cramp-free and finished at 1:19:14. Just about what I did last year. I was ok with it.

The Bike

I spent less time in T1 this year (12:13 vs 15:45) and that was a moral victory in itself. As I hit the bike, I was shivering uncontrollably again, like last year. I recovered faster as it was a lot warmer out. The first 10 miles of the bike are tough. Once outside of town, there is a nice steady climb and then rolling hills until you get to the Great 6 mile Downhill. I checked my odometer later and I had maxxed out at 46 MPH! I had a very good first loop. I hit 40 miles at 2 hours and was cruising. The hills back into town slowed me a bit but I was happy. However, there was trouble brewing. They were giving out orange Gatorade Endurance at the aid stations. I hate orange. It just doesn't agree with my stomach. And because it was warm, it was gumming everything up. Plus, the Cliff Blox which I trained with, were sitting right either. I just wasn't eating or drinking enough. On the 2nd loop, a wind picked up and the times were slower but I still felt good coming in and pleased with my time of 6:52:53. I heard some stories about a few crashes that occurred including some nasty ones but I didn't witness any. The out & back was a little crazy on the first loop. People need to stay on their side of the double yellow line or someone will get hurt.

The Run

When I sat down to put on my running shoes, my hamstrings started to cramp. The attendant offered me a massage. (I never noticed there was a maseuse in the transition tent before). Thought hard about it for a few seconds but declined. I never would have got back up.

The run started out ok but when you leave town so many people are cheering that it's hard to not feel elated. Outside of town was a different story. The stomach was in distress. I tried eating grapes..wouldn't go down. Tried drinking lemon & lime Gatorade but my stomach felt like I was on the ocean. Coke was ok but it was so early in the run, I abandoned that idea. I could only sip water. At mile 10, I drank a bottle of water someone handed me but immediately got the dry heaves. There I was bent over near the horse grounds thinking my race might be over. Never had I experienced this before. But Coach Chuck, who trains some of my friends, once said that you can get through most stomach issues. Just give yourself time to recover and keep moving forward. When the heaves passed, I started to walk. When I got to town I told my family that it was going to be a late night and they might not see me until 11 PM. I was in trouble. The 2nd half of the run was a horror. Friend after friend passed me. My calfs and hamstrings were getting tight. I still couldn't eat anything. Just sipping water. I saw Coach Chuck, who was on his mountain bike, and he talked me through alot of it. At Mile 21 or so, I stated to sip the coke and that brought me back. I never tried the chicken broth because the thought of it nauseated me. But alot of racers sware by it. I was mostly walking but as I got into town, the noise rejuvenated me. As soon as you start to run, if you've been walking, the crowds go crazy. It's quite a feeling. I ran and walked the last two miles and somehow was able to sprint into the stadium. I found my 3 daughters and we made it to the finish. The clock read 15:01:59. Twenty three minutes slower than last year and 1 1/2 hours slower than my goal. But...I'll take it. Ironman finsh #2. It's all about the finish, isn't it?

Ironman USA Lake Placid

The race was held 1 week ago today. It was my second IM finish. Although I was 20 minutes slower than the first one, and had hoped that I'd be 1 hour faster, the bottomline is that I finished. I'll have a full report coming soon. I've just been too lazy and living off the high from finishing it. At the same I'm down that there is no IM for me on the schedule for next year. However, it will be a much needed year of rest from long course. Stay tuned!

Getting Ready

This morning I completed my last pool swim before IM. I cut it short because I ran out of time. It starts to make you wonder and doubt. Did I train enough for this year's race? I'm compulsive about stats so I start to look at what I did this year compared to last. My swim yardage was about the same in distance so I'm not concerned there. Plus, I had a half-Iron time in Eagleman 6 weeks ago that I'm quite happy about (<38 mins).

There was alot more mileage on the bike this year, which was good because my bike time in IM last year was not satisfactory (7:26:57). I feel I'm positioned to attack it a little more this Sunday. On the flip side, my running time and mileage is off due to a foot injury that kept me sidelined for almost 2 months (April to mid-May). But the way I look at the run in IM is to just survive. I'm still confident that I can beat last year's overall time and all I need to do is improve on the run by 15 minutes. It's definitely do-able. Of course, I'm looking for a faster bike (by 45 minutes), the same swim (1:19:27) and a better T1 (last year...15:45) to get that desired time. I took a nap in T1! Can't do that this year. Plus, if the knee and feet feel good..then who knows?

It's a long day and it has to be approached that way. Stick to my raceplan and everything should be ok.

Week 30

Well, tonight my final training week of the 30 week plan I used for IM was entered into Training Peaks. (*Sigh). Thus, at the stroke of midnight, Ironman week begins. All the pain, heartache, injuries, family tension, etc. are about to melt away. Now all that remains are the last, light workouts leading up to race day. The numerous checklists of gear, nutrition, race plans, etc. The travel arrangements, the last minute details, the everything's I need to remember. But now it's time to enjoy the fruits of the labors of the last 29 weeks.

No More Fridays

The fun part of taper for Ironman is knowing when I get up early on Thursday or Friday or anyday for that matter, this time next week I won't have to anymore. Like, no 6 AM Masters class on Wednesday's after this week. I'm done. No Thursday morning bricks. It's over. No early morning Friday swims. Finished. And the best of all: No more long Saturday rides and long Sunday runs. This weekend it's 2 hours on the bike followed by a short run and 1 hour long run on Sunday. Feels very good. Feels fantastic!

Ironman Week Approaches

I leave for Lake Placid 1 week from today. At this point, the training is effectively over. You either have or you don't. And of course Race Day will have it's final say. Anything can Happen and Anything is Possible. But before I leave there are a few things still to do:

-Get the bike tuned up
-one more cortisone shot in the left foot/ankle
-convince the doctor to give one in the right foot as well
-make dinner reservations for Saturday night before the race
-get my haircut
-solidify race nutrition
-check my Tri List. Twice.

On and on and on. I'm one of those super organized people. I'm so organized that I'm disorganized. I'll be writing more as we appraoch July 22 so stay tuned.

Eagleman 70.3 Race Review

2007 was the 6th year in a row for me racing in Eagleman. Every year I fear the conditions here because it's usually hot, windy and the water is rough. But the angry Eagleman Gods stayed away this time. Conditions were ideal. If you raced in your first Eagleman on June 10 don't be fooled. Consider yourself lucky!

I went off in the 5th wave with the in water start. It was cloudy so visibilty was great. The day before we got in the water for a practice swim and the sun glare was unbelievable. It would have made sighting the turn difficult at best. But it was not to be. The only thing that we had to contend with was a bunch of unruly swimmers. I had my goggles knocked off twice within the first 300 yards. Then as I was about 100 yards from the turn, some guy cut across a bunch of swimmers, me included, at a 90 degree angle as if he wanted out. Strangest thing.

After I was able to get out of the water from a last minute cramp, I looked at my watch and it read 34:31. My fastest time ever at Eagleman. I walked/ran back to transition and took my time. I had been nursing an ankle/foot injury so I wasn't planiing on running after the bike. I was playing it by ear. The bike wnet very smoothly. In fact it was the best bike ever at Eagleman. There was never that strong headwind that slows you down and knocks the crap out of you. I finished the bike strong and started to think about doing the run.

Again, I took my time in transition and as I started out, had the mindset that I'd stop anytime if the foot hurt. I didn't want to cause any relapse in my injury that would prevent me from doing Ironman Lake Placid. That was the goal. But mile after mile, it felt ok. The knees were hurting but I managed to get through it. It was the longest run in training so far.

My finish time was my best in 6 years which is unbelievable because of the foot injury. But it was all about the conditions. The best I've ever experienced. And that can make or break a race. Natascha Badmann set a new world record in 70.3 distance. That's saying something.

Just Say...Hello

When I'm out on the bike, I make it a point to acknowledge other bikers, especially triathlete bikers, when we pass. I usually give a little flick of the hand off the aerobars. Or if I'm within earshot, a quick, 'how ya doin'. I would say that in all incidences I get about a 50-50 reaction back. In other words, 50% acknowledge and 50% do not. Let's say that 10% can't because they are distracted by a car coming, a pedestrian, a bird, whatever. So, 40% don't say, Hi.

So, why is that? I mean what the heck?!!

I have my own reasons as to why 40% of the riders out there can't force themselves to say hello to a fellow rider. I think it's a reflection about our World today. We're living in the "Me, Me, Me" generation. It's all about me and no one else.

If you find your way to this site and this post and your one of the 40 percenters, make the world a better place. Just say Hi, Hello, Hey. It only takes a second.