The worm has turned...

Southbay Triathlon

Uvas Reservoir
Morgan Hill, CA
5/18/08

Today we received the next and last batch of workouts in the training schedule from the head coach. This latest "phase" is called RACE PHASE. This segment is geared to get us ready for longer days and harden us to the misery that comes with endurance racing. Mainly what it means is that we will be required to spend even more time working out and even less time with anyone or anything outside of the Ironteam. We all knew this was coming, we have been told over and over but I guess the reality of it never settled in until we all saw it in black and white.

If I had to sum up how I feel about my feelings right now in one word it's selfishness. Next weekend we have two big workout days and I am going to miss most of them due to my having to lead a long run for the Run team on Saturday, and Sunday being my Mom's birthday. In any normal situation I would just blow off the workouts and make them up later, and not think twice about it. But these workouts are so long and intense, you simply cannot make them up on your own later in the day. Not only that, my event is 14 weeks away and I actually fear falling behind at this point. The selfishness rears it's ugly head when I find myself not only fighting the guilt of not doing the workouts, but also fighting the resentment of the events that stand in their way.

I guess when I signed up for this I understood this side of training for an Ironman as much as I did every other part of it, little or nothing at all. As much as people try to explain to you or even warn you at times, until you actually go through it, you cannot imagine how much you ask of yourself, and ultimately of others when you spend 20+ hours a week working out. This is as selfish an endeavor as I have ever undertaken.

Now here is the part that might concern some. When the coaches email went out and the new schedule was unveiled, there was actual shock expressed from the group. Some sounded like they were astounded while others seemed to even fear it. But to be perfectly honest, when I opened that email and read that schedule I thought to myself.... "RIGHT FUCKING ON!!!!"

I am having the time of my life. God help me, I love this Ironteam...

WILDFLOWER 08

This weekend was the Wildflower Triathlon and for a lot of us, our first official event. The long course or half Ironman was held on Saturday while the Olympic (or as Ironteam calls it "short course") was held on Sunday. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and set up camp, went to the expo to register, and mainly just relaxed. The race starts in waves based on age group. Each age group is assigned a different colored swim cap so that the officials can ensure that people are starting in their proper waves. Of all the colors in the spectrum, Men ages 40 to 45 drew neon pink...

The morning of the race started at 5:30am. Breakfast was coffee, oatmeal, and fear served by Trista!

This is me getting ready to head down to the starting area. How stressed out do I look here? The roads are closed to cars which means the only way to get down there is pack your tri bag on your back and ride on down...
Once in the starting area we found our assigned spots, set up transition, and got body marked. With a felt tip marker they put your race number on both hands, arms, thighs, and your age on your calf. For some reason I was able to relax and be more my usual self the closer we got to the starting gun. Weird...
We had about an hour to kill before the start which we used by eating, drinking, and having some laughs to stay loose.

When it was nearly time to start, we put on our pink caps and headed down to the boat ramp.

I started in the middle of the pack and got bounced around a bit, slapped a few times, and did some slapping of my own but I never got kicked as I feared. 40 minutes later I was running back to my bike. Man do I look silly in that cap...
I tried to get through transition 1 quickly but I sucked. 10+ minutes to eat, put my cycle shorts and shirt, gloves, helmet, Garmin bike computer, and give Jerald shit because he was beyond ridiculous in his transition. He got out of the water 4 minutes after I did and just look at him. I'm ready to roll and he is putting on Oil of Olay.
This is on the infamous "Nasty Grade" which really isn't that big of a deal to us on Ironteam because we have a cycle captain who takes us on insane rides from hell on a weekly basis. I saw people walking their bikes up that thing. Crazy...
3:28:27 later I am back in the transition area, hauling ass to my running shoes. This time my transition time was a bit better at 6+ minutes.
This is Jerald and I just before we headed out to run. He is faster on the bike than I am. Even after his makeover in T1, he caught me at mile 36 on the ride. I did manage to catch him in T2 before he left, apparently the showers ran out of hot water.
Finishing the run was a great feeling. 2:23:32 is a long time to run a half marathon, but not on that run course and after riding 56 miles and swimming 1.2. I am really happy with my finish time of 6:52:35

Jesus and I celebrating

Myself, Jerald, and Jesus

By far the happiest of the 4, Renee finishes with a huge smile on her face.

Half Ironpeople!!!!

The next morning we had pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

Later that day we all went to the expo where Jesus and I bought some kick-ass helmets!!!

It's becoming increasingly apparent that what we on Ironteam are doing is beyond what most athletic people would call normal. Just about everyone at Wildflower trained for that event, while for us it was a training day. We have covered these distances and then some, just not in an actual race setting which was a huge wake up call for me. I have a lot to learn about racing and nutrition on the course. I can't tell you how rewarding it has been to be going from being the guy expected to know everything to being a student with so much to learn. The relationships I have made along the way only grow stronger. As these workouts get longer and harder, I realize more and more that joining this team is one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

PS Jesus and I didn't buy those helmets, but I did keep my swim cap. It's kind of growing on me...