Virginia Blue Ridge 70.3

 Virginia Blue Ridge 70.3. 

Where do I begin?? I’m going back to April 2018. Kevin Sturm and I run the Blue Ridge Marathon. The tall tale of superhero Joe Cobb is born. The challenge of hills in the area makes me love the city for endurance events. Then the relationship is made with the real Joe Cobb, who ends up becoming Vice Mayor of Roanoke. A local doctor gets the idea of putting on a 70.3 in Roanoke. Ironman signs a contract with Roanoke and boom, a 70.3 is born  Kevin participates in 2021, the inaugural year and gets medaled by the one and only Joe Cobb!! Kevin also comes back to tell of how the bike course is extremely difficult due to a section called The Claw. With the adventure mindset and want to continue seeing new places, I decided I needed to try my fitness at this 70.3.  

What I didn’t know was that the swim was in Carvin’s Cove. 

Carvin's Cove

This is a protected reservoir that feeds the city its water. There is no swimming in Carvin’s Cove year round, except for the 70.3 race. I love getting these opportunities to do things most people don’t. I had no idea that the road to Carvin’s was a 1 lane road that was tight for a school bus to get down. Athletes weren’t even allowed to go there before the race. Spectators were not allowed to go there before or during the race. Athletes had to check in bikes the day before the race and Ironman had a company load up the bikes and transport them to the cove. This race was different! This was my 15th 70.3  I’ve always been able to see the water we swim in and I’ve always racked my bike. 

Then there’s The Claw.  Technically it’s a 4.7 mile stretch of road that goes up about 2,000 feet at an average grade of 5.5% . 

Elevation chart for the course

The Claw leads up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I over researched The Claw  I found people using the terms Epic and Brutal to describe The Claw. Living in Ohio, I don’t have a 5 mile straight up climb to train on. I do have a great training plan from the 80/20 group and big hills in Waynesville though. I used that and Alp du Zwift on Zwift to try and prepare the legs for this challenge. I became quite nervous about this climb. Ironman even threw in a sub challenge to the fastest male and female athletes up The Claw wins a new cycling computer.  They had timing mats to keep track of everyone’s speed up the Claw. I’ve made the mistake in a 70.3 more than once of killing a bike course and fatiguing my legs so bad I couldn’t run. Throwing in this 5 mile stretch only magnified the opportunity to blow up and have a really long day! Kona Paul always taught me to never grind up a hill, always spin easy. Kevin told me people were seen walking their bikes up The Claw. I did not want to do that. I wanted to beat The Claw and have a decent run. Everyone has their own version of what a decent run is during a 70.3. 

The day before the race was freaking hot, real hot! Like 87-88degrees of full sun. Chris went to Roanoke to train for his upcoming Ironman race and drive me home. He melted on his bike ride (100 miles of riding the same course I did, but then he rode it backwards also). Chris came back to the hotel and assured me I’d be fine on The Claw but I needed to respect the difficulty level of the climb  and not over do it. Another athlete had broken down the bike course as: First 23 miles has 600 ft elevation gain.  Next 8 miles, 2000 ft gain  Last 25 miles has 400 ft gain. I knew if I could make it to mile 31 on the bike, I’d be okay. The run course was flat except between miles 10-12 which had 2 or 3 hills. Nothing terribly hard or anything to worry about. 

A few days before Chris and I are scheduled to leave, I reach out to Joe Cobb and invite him to dinner on Saturday. Friday arrives before I know it. Chris and I drive down to Virginia and the adventure has begun!

Saturday goes smoothly. Get my daily mile ran, check in for the race. Sticker the bike and turn it in. Chill and nap at hotel. Then dinner with Joe Cobb and his husband James. 

Dinner with amazing friends!

I think it was as cool for them to get to hear the stories Chris, Marie, and I have, as it was for us to hear the stories of Joe’s political career and how it affects their family life. As an extrovert who loves meeting people and learning new things about an area I’m racing in, my heart was so happy! And this relationship materialized out of nothing more than Kevin and I taking our minds off our legs by using political signs is just too funny to me. After dinner, Chris and I decided to go see The Claw. We drove out and up, up, up, up we went. It seemed like it went on forever. And that was in the car. Reinforcing the idea The Claw was a real challenge and had great potential to overcook the legs on it. On the drive out from The Claw, I had never seen so many deer! They were everywhere! In a few of the peoples back yards, in the grassy areas, on the road! Ton of deer!

Sunday! Raceday!! The best day!!

Alarm goes off at 3:10am. Hotel Roanoke offered a shuttle to Ironman Village where shuttle takes us to Carvin’s Cove. It’s about a 20 minute drive. Then we sit and wait for about 15 minutes. We are 2 miles from The Cove. Due to the small road, we had to wait for the other buses to get out of the cove before we could drive into it. A full school bus loaded with antsy triathletes just sitting still, you could feel the nerves. Finally we drive down. It’s about 5am and still pretty dark. I’m setting up transition when someone says, “oh man!! Look at that view !” 

I turn around and realize the sun has rose just enough to show us the beauty of the mountains and Carvin’s Cove! It’s freaking gorgeous. Water was so calm. Area clean. I felt blessed just to be there. 

A lot of people will never get to see that in person. This racing lifestyle has put me in so many epic places! I’m truly grateful to do this and see so many amazing places! Then the announcer asks a new request. Anyone here want to sing the National Anthem?? I have no idea if they had someone lined up who bailed or if they planned to just play a recording, I don’t know. The announcer said if they had a volunteer, they’d have to answer a question or 2 and maybe sing a line, then they were hired. Her name escapes me, but a young lady stepped up and knocked it out of the park! Absolutely amazing job! I’m not sure if she was an athlete or volunteer, but she did great! All athletes gave her a lot of love after her performance! Marie and I made our way to the starting corrals and BOOM! The cannon went off  

We were led to the end of the dock and jumped off 2 at a time every 5 seconds. Marie and I started at the exact same time. Water was 72 degrees and flat as glass. I experienced very little contact with other swimmers. Even the turns that usually bunch people up had no traffic jams. I stayed consistent and relaxed. I tried drafting other swimmers but most were faster than me and I was not here to use all my energy this early. I felt great  I tapered well. Swim went by pretty easy. 

I saw 40 minutes on my watch and was happy with that time. Found my bike, removed wetsuit, put wetsuit and goggles in bike bag. Dried off feet and put cycling shoes and helmet on. Then we had to run the bike up a small hill before we could mount the bike. Just so we could pedal maybe twice before we started up another hill! We had to climb out of the Cove to  get to the main road. There was a little more climbing on the main road before we started descending again. The plan was to go fast without burning up the legs for the first 20-22 miles. Then easy spin the next 8 miles. There was a small town we rode through  that had a sign as you entered, “The Gateway to the Shenandoah Valley!”  I made a huge production about this in my head. It’s what I do to entertain myself instead of stressing about what was ahead. Very nice people in this town who showed us a lot of love. I made an extra effort to wave and say good morning to these fine folks cheering for us. Then at mile 13, I’m going up this small incline. My chain drops! I’m not sure why or how, but it drops. At least I’m like 90% up this hill. I fix it pretty quickly and jump back on my bike. This is not the course to have chain issues. I remember a guy on the video of tips and tricks saying,” be prepared for a few things to go wrong, it happens, fix it, recover and move on.”  That’s what I did.  I tested a few gear changes to make sure Vengeance was good and never had another chain issue. I took in some good nutrition and set my mind for the challenge ahead. 

Ironman had a big inflatable entrance sign welcoming cyclists to “Conquer The Claw!”. It’s game time baby! I try taking all speed and momentum with me as the road started to pitch upwards. Then I see a sign that wasn’t there last night.  “Ironman The Claw Turn 1 of 8”. This may have been bad for some but to me it worked great. I love breaking things down into small pieces. I just needed to find the next sign. The Claw road is smooth but winding. It’s all up hill but for the majority, it isn’t overly steep. There are 3 or 4 left turns that get steep, but they aren’t super long.  I looked at my watch, I remember seeing 1:10 for my cycling time when I started The Claw. I had my easiest gear going. 

 Climbing The Claw!

I was pedaling easy but could feel my heart rate rising  Tried to stay chill. Wasn’t my plan, but I was passing people. Most looked like solid riders. I was feeling good and my confidence rose with every “The Claw turn # of 8” sign I found. When I hit turn 8 of 8, I knew I had it licked. There was another sign, “You have conquered The Claw!” In my head, I said, “Fuck yeah I did!” And now let’s do this! The road hit a flat spot, a small turn….and then another climb!! I knew this was coming but it was like, “Cmon man!! I want to go fast!”  Then the next surprise hit. The cloud cover had really set in on top of the mountain. Most people call this fog but I’m racing in the mountains, so I call it clouds! 

you should be able to see way out here

bikes would disappear and reappear through the clouds

I know I should be able to see epic views, but nope! All I can see is clouds! The double yellow lines splitting the traffic lanes stands out but not super far. 

 out of the clouds!

 aid station in the clouds!

And now the road starts the descent! My bike is flying! I’m not even pedaling. I’m smiling and laughing. I can’t believe I’m bombing down a mountain with very low visibility at about 35-40 mph on a tri bike.  It’s wild!! A little scary!! A ton of fun! Then a cyclist goes flying by me and DISAPPEARS into the clouds! I saw the dude, and then he was gone! The clouds were so thick!! You couldn’t see more than 10ft in front of you! Then after all that bombing down, we hit another climb! We were at mile 33 and I remember thinking, “so much for the climbing being done at mile 31!” Back to easy spinning up this hill. Now I’m climbing through the clouds!

Climbing in the clouds!

And it’s getting cold! COLD!! Yesterday Chris was melting up here, and I’m genuinely cold. Then I catch this guy wearing a dark purple “F@ck Cancer” kit. Dark purple has always been my favorite color! And we all know people who have been affected by cancer. So I compliment the guy on his wicked awesome kit. I get a half assed “Thanks” back.  Ewwww, he’s in a bad place mentally. I said, “come on man! This fun!” He replies, “Fun?? This whole race is a joke! This ain’t fun!”

“Keep your head up brother!” I say as I cruise on by  poor guy had such an awesome kit in an epic opportunity and was all mad or angry. I just pushed on  we start bombing downhill again. I’m laughing. I’m smiling. I see signs about specific view points. All I can see is white clouds. I slow way down when signs show curvy roads. It’s always safer to go slow than to throw caution to the wind and crash. Finally, after descending for quite some time, the clouds disappeared and I could see trees again. Legs are feeling great after recovering on the descents. I’m taking in nutrition. Feeling good. Get to the city and finish off the slower section and back to transition. My watch says 3:05 for the bike ride. I’m super happy with this result. 56 miles with all that climbing in 3:05, and I feel ready to run! Hell yeah!!

I get to transition. I get my run stuff on and off I go! 

Hit The Pose!

Because we had to check in our run bag on Saturday , I had not filled my handheld bottle with water. It had my infinite blend but I needed water. There were some young ladies handing out water cups as you started the run. I asked if one young lady would pour 1 or 2 into my bottle. She used all 3 she had and filled it perfectly. I asked her to remove my red wristband off my right wrist because she just became my favorite volunteer! She smiled so big! Then one of her friends said, “dang it, that’s her 2nd one!”  Those volunteer appreciation bands are hot commodities! I hit my pickle juice just as Chris was walking up towards me. Always makes me cough! I tried explaining how much fun I had on that bike course without taking all day and off I went. Goal was now to keep heart rate low to start the run. So of course it tried to spike just over a half a mile in.  Walk a little and breathe. Stay calm. Back to running. 

I try and say Good Job or Good Work to all the other athletes. I don’t get very many encouraging words back. I’m giving these faster athletes some leeway as they were probably suffering more as they were pushing harder than I was. The run was 90% bike path. Close to 3.5 miles out and then back  to start. That made sure you got to see lots of athletes.  It wasn’t too long before I see Marie coming towards me looking strong and fast! In our true rivalry fashion, she tells that I better hurry up if I’m going to catch her! That isn’t going to happen! I’m content controlling my heart rate and staying in control. Life is good. Just find the next mile marker. Volunteers are awesome! Get us whatever we need. Always encouraging. Legs are now getting tired. I’m about 9 miles in and want to slow down. I remember Joe Cobb is awaiting me at the finish line. I must keep it moving! Just passed mile 10, I hit the downhill. Feels good switching up the stride. 

Athlete in red is an engineer who graduated from Purdue. Has 2 daughters.

Cross a bridge and there’s a DJ rocking out dance music. It helps keep me moving! Hit that turnaround and talk to another guy who has 2 daughters. We only talk briefly, but it helped. Walked up the hill and back to running. We’re almost there now! I know when I make the left turn off the path, the finish line will be in sight. 

And it’s glorious!! People on both sides! I’m getting all the high fives I can get! 

Then I see Chris and Marie! I hear the announcer say my name! I cross the Finish Line and stop my watch. 6:15! I’m thrilled with a 6:15! I wasn’t sure how I would do with this huge mountain in the middle of my race and I still nailed a 6:15!! Hells yeah!! Success!!! Plus I’m not hurting and didn’t  cramp! That’s a big win!

Vice Mayor Joe Cobb then came over and placed my well earned Finisher Medal around my neck! Man, that was the icing to this amazing cake! 

After a quick chat about the course, Joe had other responsibilities to get to. Chris then tells me he has already collected my bike and all my bags and loaded them into my car! He brought my phone to me so I could call Brittney. If you can bring an Ironman as your Sherpa, do that! It was awesome to just get some food and walk back to the car! 

Unfortunately, due to road construction on the Blue Ridge Parkway next year, there won’t be a Blue Ridge 70.3 in 2024. Joe Cobb believes the community wants the race to come back in the future. I would absolutely race here again! I might even be able to have dinner with the Mayor next time! Fingers crossed 🤞!! #joecobbformayor

I have to thank my beautiful wife and wonderful kids for their support. They all have responsibilities and events and didn’t get to join me on this trip. They have been to so many races and always understood Daddy needs to exercise to stay sane. I thought of them a lot during my weekend away!

Chris gets a big thank you for all his help and putting up with me in the car on the ride home. I was tired and feisty!

Ross Heart Hospital TriFit Challenge

 Why Hello Friends! It's your old friend the Irondad with a tale from the land of Buckeyes and the OLENTANGY River! The tale includes the results from a scientific experiment, a lack of communication and direction, a strong effort, a quickly changing range of emotions, and a dragon fight! 

Let's begin from the top. A "local" triathlon company HFP Racing posted a race called the Ross Heart Hospital TriFit Challenge. The race had multiple distances, super-sprint, sprint, and Olympic. The race was touted to finish inside the Ohio State Stadium. Being a Buckeye fan who wanted to race an Olympic tri, this was perfect. I had to wait for the kids schedules and then the planning of our vacation to see if I'd be home for this race. As luck would have it, the stars aligned for me to be home 2 days before race day. Perfect! The science experiment was set; How will my body respond to racing a triathlon after taking 10 days off of training? To be transparent, I had to keep my run streak alive. I ran everyday on vacation, most days 1-2 miles. Never more than 4 miles. Take into account that 3 days were Universal theme park days which had me over 20,000 steps every day. 

Heidi and I got to meet Optimus Prime!

Throw in Florida heat and humidity in mid-July. I wasn't exactly sitting around doing nothing, but I didn't swim or bike for 10 days before this race. What I can attest to is that before we left for vacation, I've been consistently training since January. It's that consistency that I believe led to great fitness. The 10 day break allowed everything to set in and the muscles to recover. That's what I'm going with anyway!

 I don't know what changed but we got an email July 11 showing the run course had been changed.

If the jury would please note the line, " The entire loop is a 5k. The Challenge distance will repeat the 5k course..totals 6.4 miles". Fair enough! And easy! 2 loops, got it! I guess we aren't finishing in the stadium anymore?? No mention of that!

The race director would then send out 5 more emails. Which I kept to reference. Which I read. I attended the athlete briefing at 3pm and listened to the race director. Never was it sent in an email or mentioned at the briefing that the run course was NOT a 5k, and there was now an intersection. This my friends, is my biggest gripe, where my frustration lies. Triathletes pay good money to do these races. We have an expectation of good course marking. We get told, "It's on the athlete to know the course!" It should've been a red flag to me when Doug and Heidi Calvert said they tried to figure out the run course the day before, but couldn't. With no mention of run course changes at the athlete briefing, I figure we are solid. I follow the signs, I run 2 loops. It totals 6.4 miles. No problem. 

In 2018, I raced Ironman Canada and then took a 2 week break to recover before starting Age Group Nationals in Cleveland. That experience taught me I can take a break and still complete an Olympic distance tri. I might not be in top form, my legs might hate me, but I can complete it. I used that experience to stay pretty chill about this race. My brain also wondered if the 10 day break meant I was well rested and ready to go for this race. I decided to test my body. Lets see what happens if we stay relaxed in the water, push pace on the bike and run like I stole something! 

I awoke at 4:15 am. I made my way to Ohio Stadium. This was a 2 transition race. T1 would be in Antrim Park, just outside of the lake. T2 was in a practice field behind Ohio Stadium. I delivered my run shoes and race belt to my rack. I looked around T2 and found no porta potties. That's odd I thought. I walked around and found some about a quarter mile away. I returned to my car and grabbed my swim and bike stuff and rode the shuttle to T1. I'm still pretty chill at this point. I met a friend named Brian and his 38 week pregnant wife Jules. Brian raced, Jules cheered. Doug and Heidi Calvert were ready to race. Got my transition set up and started making my way to swim start. I run into Bart and Eileen Girdwood. I love seeing friendly faces that I didn't know I was going to see! We chat right up until race time. I'm still pretty chill. No stress. Not nervous. Lets just see how this goes. 

Athletes get called up by gender and age group. As were lined up, 2 or 3 dudes push past me to get in front of me. I sized them up. My brain said, "those dudes should not be starting in front of you." Maybe this is egotistical? Maybe its my race experience? Maybe it's my competitive brain. The thought that they pushed past me triggered a fire in my brain. My brain said, "OK, you start in front of me. Go ahead. Have at it. I'm going to smoke you in the water! I'll freaking show you I'm a better swimmer when I pass you." It happened quick. That trigger kicked in hard. When I dove into the water, my brain and body said, "Lets do this!" I was thrilled to death that I felt great in the water. Lake was clear and flat as a pancake. I thought of Ivan Drago in Rocky as I was passing dudes. "If he dies, he dies." I was swimming with passion. I saw swimmers stop and lift their heads up. Different strokes being used. I was in my groove and swam what I think is my best swim to date.

 I used that fire from guys pushing past me to propel my arms. I'm learning more and more about what I term positive and negative motivation. Some people do really well staying happy and just being in the moment. At times, that positive motivation is great when pacing myself. I've tried staying positive in races where I want to go fast and it just doesn't fuel my fire like negative motivation. This may be a personality flaw or issue with "past demons", but when I want to go fast, I need to get pissed. The other dudes that pushed past me may have meant no disrespect at all. They could have wanted to join friends? Maybe they thought I wasn't a threat to be a better swimmer? But my brain latched on to the thought that they were now targets for me to pass and steal their energy. Show them my fitness is better. CRUSH THEM!!!

After 2 loops in the drink, I jump out feeling great. I wanted a sub 30 minute swim and I got it. I start running towards T1. I'm not messing around, I want to get on my bike. I've missed cycling. Its game time. This is only a 24 mile ride and I want to go FAST! Had to take an extra few seconds to get everything including wetsuit into a plastic bag that HFP would later transport to Ohio Stadium for me. No problem here. I get to the mount line and hit the button on my watch to start the bike portion of the triathlon setting. It looks like it doesn't take. So I hit the button again and start pedaling. Legs are good. I hit the road and my quads are ready for this. I'm feeling confident. I'm not looking at heart rate today! I'm pushing pace. I'm daring my legs to blow up. I double check my watch to see it says I'm in T2 mode. Shit!! Apparently the first button press was enough! I let it go for a few minutes trying to decide if I try to fix it or just let it go. I don't want to waste the time. I do want better data for my upcoming training. I decide to go through the buttons and save the swim data. Once the data is saved, I set the watch on bike mode and hit start while cycling. I got 22.7 miles logged on Garmin at 21.4 mph During the bike course, there's a bit of a downhill just outside of a neighborhood. Section of road easy to speed on. There was a "Your Speed" radar sign! I saw 31 mph while I flew by! That made me smile! I was straight cruising. Never looked at speed or heart rate, just pedaled. I tried not to crank too hard, but I knew I was working. I then go to take in some Base Salt. This is a process I have down really well. Unless I hit a storm sewer grate. I about launched myself over the handle bars. It was a good save. I then put the Base salt tube down. I didn't need that anymore. Short scare! Then we proceed to a left turn. The cyclist in front of me is wearing an event shirt. It's flapping in the wind. I'm thinking the shirt is not very aero. The cyclist doesn't slow down very much for the tight turn and totally eats the curb! Ker pow! He rolls over in the grass. I ask if he's ok as I roll by. He says, "I'm alright." My brain says that's what he gets for wearing the event shirt before completing it! ;). I finish the bike strong and I'm ready to run!

T2 goes flawlessly. Rack the bike, switch the shoes. Race belt on. Grab hat and handheld water bottle and off I go. Legs are good. I'm feeling good. Time to go to work. Watch beeps after 2:30 for my intervals. Nope! Not today! Today is push the legs. I follow the signs. I follow the orange arrows. I'm passing people on the run course. I'm breathing hard and can feel my heart rate is up. I know I'm pushing myself and just hope I don't cramp or blow up! Running around Ohio Stadium and seeing all these athletes all around is just fueling my fire to keep running. I walked through an aid station or 2 but I kept pushing. I believed this was a PR race. I felt that good. 

I'm expecting that first loop to be 3.1 miles long. I get back to the practice field where we started at 2 miles on my watch. "Oh this isn't good!" I hit the intersection of doom and see a sign that says, "2nd loop turn right", there's an arrow pointing right. I turn right and go in between the tennis courts. Out into campus we go. Back to what looks like where I just ran. This isn't good. I can't do math very well, but 2 loops of 2 miles I was pretty sure equaled 4 miles. And wouldn't you know it, at about 4 miles on my watch, I hit the intersection of doom. Same sign there. No other signs. I ask the volunteer, poor lady, "Where do I go after my 2nd lap?" She replies ever so gracefully, " I have no idea!" My brain is stunned. I already did a 2nd loop. Where do I go? Another athlete runs up and says, "If you already did a 2nd loop, you go straight thru." OKAY! I run straight thru. I find more arrows! Yay!! Race is saved!! Now I'm in a different part of campus! Here's the last 2.5 miles! Thank goodness!! Don't stop legs! Keep pushing!!

I hear the finish line announcer. I see a long line on both sides of the finish shoot. I look at my watch. 4.9 miles ran. WTF!!!!! I ask a course volunteer if the course had been shortened? Nope! It should be 6.5 miles. I'm not happy. I'm gassed. I don't think I can fix this. I run down the finish shoot and stop my watch at 5.01 miles ran. I'm handed a medal. I don't think I've earned that medal. I ask the next athlete who looks like they did the Challenge distance what mileage he ran. "8 miles! I ran the 2nd loop twice because that intersection didn't say where to go!" So I ran 5, he ran 8. Another guy said he didn't have a watch so he didn't know how far he ran. I made my way to the timing table. I explained I only ran 5 miles due to course confusion. I self reported. I did the right thing. I was mad. I busted my ass in all 3 disciplines to be told, "Well, that will DQ you." If I had tried to short cut it or did something against the rules on purpose, I'd be good with a DQ. I'm still frustrated as I type this that the course was changed, it was never communicated, and staffed with a volunteer at the problem spot who did not know how to guide runners.

How the company allowed this mess to happen, blows my mind. I was riding high. I have no idea how I was doing compared to my age group peers. I just know I busted my ass out there, to be DQ'd. Very disappointing!! I gave my medal to a little girl named Nora. She will enjoy it much more than I would. I'm bottling up this anger and frustration. It just so happens that the Zoom Olympic distance at Caeser's Creek is next Sunday. Revenge race coming up!

Side note, 2 weeks ago, this company, HFP Racing held a race at Caeser's Creek. It was not their fault that the county had tore up a road and chip and sealed it, dangerous for tri bikes to ride on, but the company chose not to tell athletes until race morning, which was raining. Chip and seal plus rain= very bad for tri bikes. They state athlete safety is their main concern but choose not to communicate road hazards or run course changes. I don't see myself giving HFP any more of my money any time soon.

On a positive note, I showed myself I can still race Olympic distance triathlons. Really race them. Push speed. Push heart rate. Run fast! Bike fast! Go hard! My 2nd run mile was a 7:59! 8:03 for the 3rd and 8:04 for the 4th mile. I was cooking! After a hard swim and fast bike! This all lines up well as I start to prepare for my last A race of 2022, IM Muncie 70.3. The science experiment showed that a long consistent training plan can allow for an "extended taper."

I will go to bed tonight and the sun will arise tomorrow. I'll take these lessons learned. I may start to ask more questions before races. Race directors need to be held responsible and able to answer why or how things are done. Life goes on. Triathlon goes on. I'll keep my head up with my newly minted DQ. I got in a great workout today. I thanked as many law enforcement officials and volunteers as I could. I smiled a lot. It was a good day with a poor race ending.

You know I welcome your comments on these posts! I just put it out there. I'm honest. I'm open. I can take criticism. Irondad out!

What worked for IM Steelhead run

 Some thoughts about what worked for Steelhead run....

Race was on a Sunday

Started real Carb loading Thursday - Pasta for dinner Thursday and Friday. Pizza with chicken topping night before race. Fruity Pebbles Treats, Honey Chex cereal for snacks. Rice cakes. Eat all the carbs! 

Drank Pedialyte on Saturday and a Gatorade. Hydrate on electrolytes!

Deep muscle massage including strip and split calves on Thursday. Give 2 days of recovery. 

Epsom salt bath Friday. Hot soak to help loosen up muscles. I did run 5 miles 2 days before the race as per Paul's plan.

Brittney made Blueberry Muffins for the trip. I had 2 muffins and a banana with peanut butter before the race. Had another Gatorade before the race also, 

Don't forget the Nitrous pills!!

Use the Alt Red during the race.

Maurten gel as soon as we start biking. another gel every 45-60 minutes of cycling. Infinit also but use those gels.

Keeping heart rate in check on bike! 115-120 HR. Good range. Don't watch speed, watch HR

Find a buddy! This is easier said than done. If you can make a friend like Maddy and talk through the run, it helps! If you can't, believe in yourself and the training. Watch HR to not blow up, but believe in your legs. They will hold up. 

Pickle juice shots. Take one as soon as you start running. Another at hour 1. Have a 3rd ready if needed! Don't be afraid or skeptical to use it! Take it! Its worth it if it helps!

Stay hydrated! Drink all the drinks. Its a freaking race, use the caffeine!

Every 2-3 miles, hit a gel. Stay fueled!! Wanna keep running strong? Keep taking in calories with Maurten gels! Switch between non-caffeine and caffeine gels!

Short walk breaks are fine! If you need a short walk break, take it! Then get your butt in gear and run some more!

Ironman Indiana 2021

I'm starting this race report off with the most important part. The thank yous. This race was successful as a TEAM effort. Triathlon is an individual effort to complete the distance. But the truth is, it takes a small village to get an athlete through a race of 140.6 miles. I can tell you personally, the following people made my race successful.

My wife and daughters. Day after day, month after I month I take time to train my body for the challenge. Brittney, Heidi and Savvy support my time away to be ready. They also know I try very hard to minimize time away from family. To my girls, I love you and thank you!

Our cheer squad! Lori, Colleen, Jamie, Paige, Stuart, and Matt Lewis spent an entire day to cheer all of us on. Hugs, high fives, explicit lyrics, smiles and positive energy sent our way all day, early in the morning, late in the evening, in the rain, in the sun, under the stars. Simply amazing to help us out.

The race volunteers. If you've never been to an Ironman race, you wouldn't believe the amount of volunteers it takes to complete a race like this. People holding swim signs to show athletes where to seed themselves, the ladies blocking swim entrance and allowing 3 swimmers to enter every 5 seconds, kayakers, wetsuit unzippers, transition guards, aid station workers, finish line catchers (Lori was the best!) To the volunteers, I thank you. 

To the athletes on course. So many of us cheer each other on. Whether you are wearing the same brand of kit or just happen to be walking at the same time as another, some stop and help another athlete struggling with bike or fueling options, the athletes are phenomenal for helping all become successful. To the athletes, I thank you. Keep on motivating and inspiring.

To my race, I must take you back 4 weeks ago. Indiana has a run course that is "rolling hills". Nothing terrible, but its all up and down. So I decided to run a 19 miler of lots of hills. This was to build confidence of my long run which I struggle with in the Ironman. The run actually went well. I was sore but thats what you expect after 19 miles of hills. My right Achilles was pissed off though. To the point where I caused myself Achilles tendinitis. I gave it a few days of 1 milers to keep the run streak alive but let it calm down and that failed to cure it. I saw my chiro who worked it a little and then Shawn and Liz gave me an idea that helped mask the pain. After another week of minimal running, I went and saw Dr. Girmann who gave me a Toradol shot to wash out some inflammation and nitroglycerin patches to help the tendon. That helped but it was still sore. With a week to go, I got a recommendation to see a physical therapist who did dry needling and scraping.  2 days before the race, I got a massage and saw my chiro to make sure I was mechanically balanced. I did everything I could to help the Achilles. More than one person warned me to not tear the Achilles tendon. I knew I was rolling the dice racing IM Indiana. I felt I could pull it off. I also knew this was my last Ironman for a good long time. I had spent the money on registration. I put the work in to be ready. There was talk this would be the only Ironman Indiana. I had too much to lose to not try. 

Race morning- Alarm goes off at 0330. Chris and I leave hotel at 0415. 

(Chris insisted on just 1 trip to the car!)

Pull into Prairie Creek around 0440 and get a front row parking spot! To not fight traffic is a win in my book. I've seen traffic jams and had races postponed because traffic jams at Prairie Creek. 

Chris and I eat in the car. We find out we have parked 50 feet away from porta potties! Another win!

I'm nervous but feeling good. Achilles was a dull ache. I prayed it didn't flare up or tore. Time to set up transition arrived. Dropped off personal needs bags then headed to check my bike. I had to fill my run bottle and front water tank of my bike. Ironman provides a ton of water all day. I make my way to the water table and talk to another athlete getting water. It was his first Ironman on Saturday. He turns around and gets interviewed by an Ironman official videographer. I'm a little jealous because that's how you get on the post race video! I head to my bike and the videographer walks by. I tell him good morning and that I was hoping he would've interviewed me. He tells me to hang on. He walks around the long bike rack and comes up to me. He then points the camera at me from 2 feet away. He asks a question about the race or the meaning and I lose it. I can't control the tears. I answer his questions trying to fight back crying. I guess the story of Fat Matt in 2010 to 6 time IM Finisher Irondad with the thought that this could be the last Ironman took over and poured out. When he shut the camera off, I was relieved. He then pulls out his cell phone and says, "Wow! I'm glad you stopped me! Whats your bib number?" He informs me he will be tracking me and he wants me to flag down camera guys along the course. I then realize I have possibly become a featured athlete for the post race video. Which is awesome, and scary if something goes wrong and I don't finish!!?? Then I think, I can't stress over this. I got a race to do. I make sure transition is ready. Run stuff is in the right bags (lesson learned from Placid!)  Bike tires feel fine. Back to the car to chill. I decide to keep the videographer story to myself. Chris and I can't sit in the car long. Nervous energy forces us out to get wetsuits on and make last minute checks. We head to the water.

The swim!

Athletes are lining up. I see this younger guy with a wetsuit that is jacked up in the back. This bothers me. I ask him if he wants his wetsuit like that or if I can fix it for him. He has the, "Thank you so much!!" look, I fix that up for him. I introduce myself. His name is Matt and he's from Pittsburgh, PA. This is his first Ironman. I introduce him to Chris and they enjoy the Pennsylvania connection they share. 

(everyone else is serious and ready, I give a guy I don't know bunny ears!)

The sun comes up at 7:25. The music is cranking. The cannon blasts. As we move toward the start, House of Pain Jump Around comes on. I see Lori and Colleen cheering us on. My energy takes over and I'm all out singing and dancing to Jump Around. Colleen told me what I needed to hear, 

"Have fun!" 

I believe it was in Maryland where I lost the FUN in Ironman. Stupid jellyfish and GI issues. Dark mental fights. Leg cramps in Lake Placid. Dark mental fights...Ironman was whipping my ass and stole my enjoyment. I had forgotten what Sean Walsh calls "The Matt Kennard method. Just smile. I decided to smile and have fun the rest of the day.

Suddenly its my turn to run in the water. I dive in and man, 65 degree water was chilly! Took me 100-200 yards to chill out and get into my rhythm. Then emotions flood again! Now I'm starting to cry while swimming. WTF!?! I then laugh because who cries while swimming?? I keep singing Jump Around to keep my arms moving. Buoy to buoy. Just keep swimming Dory. Ironman spread out the swimmers to 3 swimmers released every 5 seconds. This was much easier than Placid where they let out like 25-30 at a time. I barely had any contact in the first loop of the swim. 

The turn buoys always get crowded and I know to pick my head up and take my time around those. I'm glad I did as one guy went around the turn buoy and decided to stop swimming! I would've swam over him had I not looked. Instead, I had to push him out of the way! Like Cmon man! You don't stop there!! I think he was surprised he had been moved but I was on my way before he could react. I keep swimming. Every 500 yards my watch buzzed to let me know I completed another 500 yards. First loop is almost done. Getting closer to the beach, the water is becoming cramped. Someone hits my wrist and my watch feels all outta whack. It was now diagonal and over my hand. We had to exit the water and make our way over to start the 2nd loop on the sand. I fixed the position of my watch. I took in the gel I had stored in my wetsuit. I dive in for loop 2. Everything is going swimmingly,  (wink), until I realize I haven't felt a 500 yard buzz lately. I check my watch. Its been paused! Dang it! Next stroke I turn the watch back on! Most of us triathletes want that data! Losing distance sucks! I lost about 500 yards on my watch. Grand scheme of things, not a big deal. 2nd loop I was really trying to draft off other swimmers. Most were too fast or too slow though. I slapped a decent number of feet. After the 2nd turn buoy, I slapped the wrong foot. That foot was connected to a powerful leg. That powerful leg delivered a straight kick to my left rib cage! Ouch! I laughed as the pain reverberated. You play the draft game, you risk getting kicked. Shit happens in Ironman! I also remember a different guy who I slapped his foot and he started kicking water like crazy! It was splashing all around me! I was laughing because he was wasting a lot of energy to kick like that. I was enjoying the swim. Messing with people, swimming around them. Just having fun, when boom! I start to cry again! I think I was thinking about Heidi preparing for her first Homecoming. I'm so freaking proud of my kids, they make me smile (and apparently tear up.) I get myself collected again and just kept swimming. This was one of the easiest IM swims for me. Emotions, positive thoughts, energy, it all worked out. Super happy later on to learn I had a top 50 in my age group swim!

(Swim went well!)

I jump out of the water. Start to make my way up to transition. This dude runs up and sticks a camera in my face and asks how'd the swim go? I'm getting interviewed trying to get to T1. I'm pretty happy about the swim and tell him it went great! I can't believe this! I'm stoked about the post race video and I haven't even biked yet! I get to my bike. I slow down. I make sure my feet are dry before putting the socks on. I make sure I have everything I need before making my way out. Took me 4-5 tries to buckle my helmet. Breathe Matt. Finally get it buckled. Lets go!

Since I had reduced my running in the past 3 weeks, I had worked a little extra on my cycling. As soon as I started pedaling, I felt great. The weather forecast had said the rain was going to hold off until 3. I should be done with cycling by then. First hour went by pretty easy. 

(the BEST POSE in Ironman!)

I did well getting my heart rate down. No pushing the first hour. No major traffic jams of riders. No vehicle traffic because Indiana shuts the roads down for Ironman. Life is good! Chris catches me and yells out, "That swim SUCKED!!" I want to know why because I thought it was great. But Chris was on a mission and he was in no mood to chat. He rocketed ahead and I got no further details until much later that night. About mile 25, I feel rain drops. The sky looks ok, but I see the weather report was probably wrong. I still have a long way to go on this bicycle. So I ask myself, "How are we doing? How do you feel?" There is a song out right now by Grammy award winning (I think he won that, I'm really not sure, but it sounds good) artist Pitbull called, "I Feel Good." This jam is a fast moving song full of great lyrics. I can't tell you any of those lyrics other than the refrain which I still messed up on Saturday. I could remember, "I'm drinking out the bottle. (Something..I tried "party" and "hanging") with supermodels, I don't know about you but I feel good!" This is exactly what pushes me in a positive way. Makes me SMILE! If I can keep myself in the headspace that I'm out here partying, Having FUN, life goes way better for me. I had some negative motivators stored away in case I went to a dark space in my head but I was good. My legs felt good, the weather wasn't terrible, the road was smooth except for this chip and seal out and back that also was a bridge so it had a little climb to it. Then the rain really hit. At this time I was happy to know I had ridden in the rain. Kevin Sturm and I rode a good portion of a 93 miler in the rain. This is why we do it. In case Mother Nature challenges us during a race. I also thought, "Mom never let me play in the rain! This is great!" I saw Shawn on the rough road, in the rain and he gives me a big thumbs down. He is not enjoying this. I'm really trying my best to keep smiling and just get through it. I want to throw in an extra thank you to the bike personal needs volunteers. They were very short staffed and the 4-5 people they did have working, were working their tales off. 

(Rain. Lots of rain!)

About mile 90 of the ride, I started feeling a touch tired. Heart rate was lower than what I wanted. The toll of swimming then cycling for 5 hours in the rain had caught up to me. Notice this pic doesn't show a smile or silly pose?

(ok I'm tired now, Can I get off this thing?)

My shins were sore. That was odd. Usually I don't have leg pain on the bike. I had to ask myself if they were really sore or was I having some mental block knowing I was about to tackle another IM Marathon??? I looked at my legs and told them they were fine and to keep pedaling. Then we turned right onto the bike path. I do not enjoy riding a bike path in the rain. I've slid out on my bike on wet bike path more than I wish to admit. Getting tired, raining, and now bike path. Not awesome. Shawn caught me on the bike path and passed me. I was happy he looked strong after the thumbs down on the rough road. I really wanted off that bike path. I was hoping the rain would stop. Once off the bike, we got back on the road. Thats when I see runners going all out! My competitive mind is wondering what is going on?? I know I'm not that fast, but people are finishing before I finish the bike?? I mean thats ridiculous. Then it hits me, those athletes are doing the 70.3 race. Ironman decided to run 2 different races at the same time. The IM started at 0730 and the 70.3 started at 1030. I was relieved when the people finishing had only raced half the distance as I did.  Again, the mind is tired at this point. I hit the dismount line and jump off the bike. 

(very happy to be off the bike.)

Off to transition I roll my bike. As soon as I get there, there's a camera man asking how the ride went! I tell him the rain became an added challenge but overall I didn't have any problems. I was ready to get this race done! I change my shoes and prepare for the long run ahead. As I head out for the run, the cameraman again flags me down and asks if I'm ready for the marathon. I remember saying, "Time to find out if I've gotten any better at this!" Jamie, Colleen and Paige are there to see us off onto the run. Jamie has a whistle! Makes it easy to find them! I get some sweet high fives and hear Colleen say, " I'm glad to see you are smiling and having fun!" Again reminded to just have fun. Don't stress. 

(Jamie and his whistle!)

The Run- this is my obstacle. This is where we are tested. You survived the swim, biked 112 miles, and now you gotta run a marathon. I prayed for strength of the Achilles tendon to not give out. I altered my run walk intervals to 3:30 run and 30 second walk. This was a great decision as my walk breaks hit sooner than usual and I was able to run the run portion pretty well for a while. The Pitbull song kept my legs turning. I felt good. I was happy to be off the bike and the rain subsided. The sky was cloudy which was perfect. No sun cooking us. The thought crossed my mind of where I had come from, 270 pounds fat and lazy in 2009, to now an Ironman. My first 70.3 (which I almost didn't make the time cut off) was on this course. Now my 7th and possibly last Ironman is on the same course. That's cool. Wraps it up nice and neat. But I gotta get this done. The run course is 2 loops. The athletes doing the 70.3 just do 1 loop. I hit the far turnaround at mile 6.5. I'm feeling pretty good. Staying on my salt and using a Gel every 2 miles. Really trying to stay ahead on nutrition. I had a thought that I got behind on nutrition on Placid run course and thats why my legs locked up. So I tried to stay ahead of it this time. I just kept rocking forward. I see Chris on his way back in, then Shawn. Those guys looked great. I remember seeing Kim on her way in. Smiles, high fives, "Keep going!" We all helped each other. Then I started to realize I was passing some 70.3 athletes on the run. I don't want to seem as if this was a goal, to pass 70.3 athletes, but I couldn't help to recognize that I swam and biked twice as long as they did and now I've caught them on the run. Remember, I bonked hard on this course in my first 70.3 (like a 8:20 total time) so for me to now be doing as well as I was, I was proud. I saw Brenda heading out on the run. I asked her how she was doing. She replied, "My shoe fell apart at mile 2!" I responded with something dumb like, "Shoes are overrated. You don't need them! Keep moving forward." But the thought of how do you complete a marathon with shoes falling apart entered my brain. This shit is hard enough, I hope she can fix the shoe issue! There was a young man about 24 years old. We had to be around mile 10 when I caught him. He explained that he had not finished his first Ironman in Wisconsin and he was doing the 70.3 with his dad today. He said his dad was just a few miles behind him. This reminded me of the Gates father and son team that I admire so much. We ran together for about a mile and a half. I congratulated him for finishing his race today and encouraged him to keep working toward his Ironman goal. I told him it took me years from starting triathlon to becoming an Ironman. Then he started walking more. I kept running. I saw the turn around point. I ran up this hill that didn't feel as bad as it normally does. I hit that turn around and again prayed that loop 2 wouldn't suck.

(approaching the turn around. still happy)

I remember thinking, "Well, we've made it further than Placid before the wheels came off. Keep it up!" I saw Tom Sens wasn't far behind me. That man is 60 years young and I chose this pic because he looks like this all the time. Full of energy and smiles.

(Fun fact, Tom passed me on the run and I had no idea!)

(I'm not sure where this pic was taken but man my quads look cut here!)

It was about mile 15 when my energy decided it was at a low. I took some caffeine and an extra gel. I also drank my pickle juice shot. The thought of using the stuff before the cramps hit me took over. DUH! Why I hadn't thought of that before? I have no idea. I think it helped. I never got the pre-cramp warnings my legs love to give me. I even used a Hot Shot around mile 20, they taste nasty but I never cramped. That's a win. As the sun is setting, and my walking is taking over, I happen upon a lady who is also walking. 

(my new friend Katerina who loves my joke telling ability)

I ask her how she's feeling. She says "OK." It isn't terribly convincing. I tell her I understand because my legs are starting to hate me. I then ask her if she has a favorite joke. She gives me this side eye that I can't fully "read". After 7 Ironmans, I've seen people get totally annoyed at other athletes and others who absolutely need company to keep moving forward. She tells me she can't think of any jokes right now but asks if I have one. I explain I have one favorite joke but it's mildly offensive. If she is easily offended, I'll just move on. She says, "Start telling it and if it's bad I'll stop you." Fair enough. (insert mildly offensive joke here.) Funny enough, I realize later I screwed it up a little, but told it in a way it still made her laugh. After I saw her smile, I decided to try and run a little. I told her she would catch me soon enough and to just keep moving forward. I ran up to a guy who was walking and my body agreed that sounded better than running. I asked how he was doing. He looked good but said he was pretty tired and his legs weren't wanting to run. It was about this time I see Chris coming the other way. I wave. He yells out, "I can't stop! I can't stop!" The dude looked strong. I tell him to keep moving and go get it. I do get a get a high five from him.  (Remember that mission he was on? Brother smashed it. Sub 12 hour IM!) The guy I'm now walking with has 2 young kids, lives in Jacksonville,Florida and is a physical therapist. Pretty good memory huh? I can't tell you for the life of me his NAME! I hate that I forgot his name as we spent miles 17-22 together. Speaking of these later miles, the sun totally disappears. I guess it does that at night. Ironman had rented some lights. In my opinion, they didn't rent half as many as they should have. The below pic gives a perspective but was under a light. If you look and see where that road bends to the right, the only lights were athletes wearing headlamps and neon glow necklaces. Parts of the course looked like a Blueman Group concert. You could see the outline of a person but all that stuck out was the neon necklace. Parts of the road weren't in great shape and walking on them in pitch black on tired legs sucked. There were now times I was walking but not able to walk straight. I'd lean left or fall right but kept walking. I saw Liz heading out for her 2nd loop of the run and knew she was hurting. I encouraged her to keep trying and never stop.

Then this young lady catches me and the PT. She joins our merry band of walkers. Turns out, she is a police recruit going through an academy right now. She has a job as soon as she graduates. She was also supposed to have PT on Monday. She hangs out with me through mile 25. I explain that I have to stop at the porta potty at mile 25. I encourage her to go get her finish line that she has earned. She was swimmer growing up and crushed Muncie's swim in about an hour. Her name....can't tell ya. I suck at remembering names! After a stop at the porta potty, I continue my journey. I have just enough time to reflect on the day and prepare for my favorite part. It hits me that I never went to the dark place in my mind! I never went negative. I never grabbed into the bag of negative motivation. I stayed positive and got it done. The Achilles was sore but not bad. I thought about my wife and kids. I was praying Heidi was having a good time at Homecoming. I'd be remissed if I didn't add the part during the run when Paige showed me a picture of Heidi in her Homecoming dress. She looked gorgeous and happy. That picked me up. I was so happy and relieved to know I'd make it to that Finish Line and not having the pressure of Ironman on my shoulders anymore. I was content with my decision to walk away from the Iron distance for a long while. It was a crazy journey. A journey that was just a dream to do one. Then a goal. Then a 7 time finisher! With the thought that this was my last IM Finish Line, I had to enjoy it. I was wrecked in Lake Placid and simply just walked across that finish line. About 100 feet before the Finish Line, I hear Jamie's whistle! I see Jamie, Paige, Colleen, Chris and Tom! Tom?? "Holy shit! Tom beat me! Dude must've had a great day!" I didn't know he had passed me, but I was happy for him! I gave them high fives and started dancing! I was cognizant enough of athletes behind me to not get in their way but I danced. I was soaking in every bit of the atmosphere.

 I've said it before, I'm not that good looking and have no musical talent, so an IM Finish Line is my only chance to be a rockstar!! 

I was high fiving other spectators who said they wanted to see more dancing. I gave it to them! I worked that red carpet for all it was worth! I see Lori is about to catch me and is videoing my finish line shenanigans. 

(this lady ran right by me. I just kept dancing)

(imagine if I had dancing skill?!)

Danced all the way through the Finish Line

After I stop my watch, Lori gives me a huge hug and congratulates me. Then Dave the cameraman who is cracking up at my dance skills points to this well lit corner and says "You! Over there right now." He wants that raw emotion. I'm elated. Relieved. Proud. Sore. I loved it. I give the interview and Lori helps me chill out. She puts my medal on me. Gets me a cold Coca Cola. I ask how Brenda is doing. Lori explains the tread had ripped off Brenda's shoe and Brenda's feet were in bad shape. I was able to hobble my wrecked legs to my transition area and get my stuff to my car. My awesome teammates were awaiting my arrival. I got to eat my cookie sandwich, 2 cookies with icing in between them and changed clothes. Getting those nasty shorts off felt so good. All in all, I was in pretty good shape. Achilles was just sore. Getting to watch Brenda finish her first Ironman was so inspiring. I've watched her go from photographer to Ironman in a few short years. Knowing Liz struggled mightily and still finished, just awesome. We call our team Rogue, a group of misfit triathletes. Truth is, Rogue is full of Ironman finishers. Rogue is full of BADASS TRIATHLETES! I consider myself lucky to be friends with all these inspiring athletes. 

I tried to keep the video interviews a secret, but I couldn't. I let some people know what happened. I was excited to see if I would be a featured athlete. The video came out and there I was. It was pretty awesome. What I didn't expect was to get a Facebook message from Katerina who said she watched the video, saw me and found me to thank me. Katerina was having GI Issues right before I caught her. I didn't know she was struggling as bad as she was. She explained to me that I may have saved her race just by talking to her and telling her a joke. I guess I brought her out of the dark place that I'm all too familiar with. Nothing warms my heart more than knowing I've helped another athlete accomplish their goal. So many others helped me get to where I am, I love paying it forward.

The past few days has made me realize Ironman is far from a selfish sport. Sure, the athlete must be the only one to complete the distance. But it takes an entire community to see that through. The athlete needs support from friends and family. The athlete needs a community to be willing to close roads and provide volunteers. The athlete needs people to drive them home (Thanks Jamie!). The athlete needs other athletes to pick them up, show a picture (Thanks Paige!), tell a joke (you are welcome Katerina), or get them whatever they need (Lori is da bomb!). Ironman is a phenomenal challenge that takes people to all kinds of places and challenges them in all kinds of different ways. I'd encourage anyone to do an Ironman with the proper training and preparation. Ironman will change you. Ironman will change your perspectives. To anyone that has finished an Ironman, I raise my glass and tip my hat. I'm also glad to report that 5 days later, I sit here comfortably in the mindset that I'm racing 3 70.3 races in 2022 and no races longer than that. Ironman is a great distance for some athletes. To them I wish nothing but the best of luck. For myself, the IM distance just isn't fun for me at this point in my life. I'll race some shorter distances and get the fun back! A guy reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in an easy ride just to talk triathlon stuff. When I explained about American Triple T next May, Jade said, "Wait? Thats how you take a step back?" I laughed. Triple T will be a different kind of challenge. I'm looking forward to it. Challenges keep me moving. Challenges keep me motivated. For now, the 7x Ironman finisher is out!

Love all, Irondad

What is Ironman?

 Ironman. What is Ironman? 

I am again submerged in the Ironman training which gives me a lot of thinking time. Since I'm training for Ironman Indiana after completing Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman is consuming me. I thought typing this blog out might help get the thoughts together and may help help others understand Ironman. I may start an interesting conversation. We shall see.

On it's face, Ironman is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride then followed up with a 26.2 mile marathon which all must be completed in under 17 hours (16.5 hours if race starts later in year example Ironman Indiana. ) That doesn't sound too bad right?? ;)   Splash in water, play bikes and then go for a run. No problem. 

What does it take to prepare for an Ironman? 

1. Training for the swim, bike and run can be done in numerous ways. There is the athlete who prepares themselves by a strict training plan. There are athletes who just train on the weekends. Some athletes have coaches, some athletes buy training plans online, some read their training plans out of a book. There are many different ways to prepare the body for a 140.6 mile adventure. Those who don't prepare, usually don't make it to the finish line. You can also over prepare. Work too hard and you get injured. Get injured at the right time and you don't even start the race. Get injured at the wrong time and you are out the $800 registration fee. Training for anywhere from 8-20 hours (some train even more) in a week depending on how far out their race is also requires fuel. 

2. If you meet a triathlete, ask them what kind of snacks they have on them. We are always hungry. When you demand the body to continue exercising day in and day out, it requires food to keep moving forward. Some athletes train with Gatorade, some of us have personal fuel blends to keep us moving. Some athletes use real food like fruits or peanut butter sandwiches, PayDay candy bars are a hit with a lot of triathletes. Gotta have fuel. Stop feeding the machine that is our body and the machine breaks down. The body breaks down, there is no more training. 

3. Rest. Some of us have a really hard time with this one. You get so hell bent on training hard so often, we forget to let it set in. Training is good, but it requires rest for the body to recover. Some of us require more rest than others. 

4. Time management skills. Most of us are athletes with full time jobs, families, other responsibilities.Time management skills are essential. Can I finish my run and change my clothes before I go pick up the kid from school? What time is that wedding? Can I fit this ride in during (insert your kids sport here)

5. Discipline. The willingness to say no to others. The discipline to go to bed early just to wake up and get going before the sun rises. Understanding that others who aren't living this lifestyle can't understand why you need to go ride your bike for 5 hours. The discipline to dedicate time to preparing yourself to enjoy race day. 

6. Mental health awareness. The mind games Ironman prep and race day are incredible. 

 

When the ravenous hunger monster hits me, I have to watch myself to not snap at people. A hungry and tired triathlete may have a short fuse. Positive thoughts, "Man I killed that ride!, are great. Negative thoughts, "My run sucks! I'm never going to make it through this race."Negative thoughts can wreak havoc on a training triathlete. "I'm getting slower! How the hell am I getting slower??" Having the mental health awareness of stepping back and reassessing (4 syllable word used correctly!) the heavy training load or weather conditions or both and taking a deep breath then moving forward can keep a triathlete from going crazy. Keeping a journal (or a blog!) can help work these thoughts out. 

7. Motivation. What is your WHY?? This question gets asked a lot. What is your WHY? Why do you train like crazy? What keeps you getting out of bed at 4:30am just to jump into a swimming pool? Are you doing this to prove to yourself you can? Are you showing your kids or community what can be done if you refuse to quit? Are you running away from the unhealthy person you once were? Are you running toward a bigger goal? Does this make you happy? Can you use negative influences to motivate you? ( so and so doesn't believe in me, I'm going to show them how great I am!) 

8. Support. I can't tell you how important support is. Having a wife and kids who understand why Daddy is gone way before they wake up and won't be home until after lunch makes it easy to get the training in. Having a wetsuit hang to dry in the shower, walking in on a bicycle in the living room, dishwasher is full of bottles, washer is full of sweaty clothes, our families put up with some crazy things. Yet they see how happy we are when we nail a workout or set a personal record for a specific distance. Willing to hang out at races just to cheer us on, carry our gear at the end, listen to us when we say, "I'll never do that again." Family support just means the world to us. 

I titled this, "What is Ironman?" I've thought about that question a lot. I came up with a list of short answers. I bet others will add to it..

What is Ironman?

1. A Goal

2. A Dream

3. A triathlon

4. A physical and mental challenge

5. A numbers game

6. An addiction

7. A Lifestyle

8. A confidence builder

9. A confidence thief

10. A commitment

11. Discipline builder

12. Limits and Perspective changer

13. A Community

Most of those are self explanatory. The one that provoked a lot of thought to me was A Numbers Game:

140.6 - total distance of an Ironman

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run...easy right??

temperature on race day? water temp, body temp, 

heart rate

power 

calories..how many calories can your body ingest and turn into fuel?

time..time limits/cutoffs, time in-between calories, transition time, 

items it takes to complete..(wetsuit,goggles,tri kit,timing chip, swim cap, lube) thats just for the swim

The numbers can get maddening if you let them. Ironman numbers go way beyond 140.6.

The mental challenge of Ironman for me, has been rough. There are athletes who thrive in "suffering". Suffering is the common term when you know you are hurting, but you press on anyway. When I spoke to Lake Placid champ Lisa Norden, she said, "Our pain is the same. I hurt just as bad as you are." She admitted she had suffered as I was. There are times the suffering makes the physical pain seem way worse than it is. When I start "falling down the dark hole", it's a tough fight to get out of. The bad seems to outweigh the good and it just keeps piling it on. I'm trying to build my mindset to prepare for this in Indiana. We shall see how that goes. 

Breaking the 3 main parts down;

The swim- 2.4 miles might not sound that bad. When we mean 2.4 miles of swimming, now it starts to make sense why it's challenging. 2.4 miles is a long swim! This is also a crucial part of the race in terms of athlete safety. Not only do you have to be prepared to swim the 2.4 miles, you gotta swim in the same water as all the other athletes at the same time. The term "washing machine" is used to describe an Ironman swim. An athlete can get pushed, pulled, hit, kicked, or swam over by other athletes. You hope this is accidental. Some athletes, new or veteran racers, can have freak out moments in the water. My worst freak out moment was the jellyfish stings to the face in Maryland. I had to swim to a kayak and chill out for a minute before continuing on. In water freak out moments can be the end of a race for some. Freak out too bad, and your heart might not recover. Heart stops, breathing stops...there is a reason there were scuba divers in Mirror Lake while we swam in Lake Placid. Triathletes will joke when asked about their swim, "I didn't drown!" is a common answer. We laugh, but on the inside, were happy we didn't die. You can slow down on the bike or run, but you get tired in the middle of a lake, you gotta keep stroking. No giving up or you sink. The swim is the shortest part of the Ironman, but if you don't swim the 2.4, you don't get to move on. The swim is also the hardest part to take on nutrition. Hard to carry your water bottle or energy gels while swimming. There are some races where the swim is 2 loops which require an athlete to swim a loop, exit the water, run to start 2nd loop then swim 2nd loop. This allows for time and ability to take a gel if you can figure out how to carry it with you (wetsuit seems to hold it against tri top). I don't want to forget that you also have to know how to sight while swimming. Making sure you aren't going too far off course or following others who get lost while swimming. Swim 2.4 miles...swim 2.4 miles against a ton of athletes all fighting to go same direction while sighting buoys and praying you don't get tired...or drown. Trying to not have an adrenaline dump because you still have a long day ahead of you. This is how we start an Ironman.

The bike. 112 miles. I don't have to try and impress people when I say 112 miles. Most people say "I don't even like to drive that far." We get it. We don't like driving 112 miles either. But for triathletes who love the bike, 112 miles can be a ton of fun. For those who aren't prepared, 112 miles can be seriously challenging. I can say that because I was way undertrained for my first half Ironman, and the cramps my legs gave me were debilitating. I have rode many long rides trying to build the endurance to make this 112 miles feel good. Each individual race will have differing levels of difficulty. Lake Placid had the added challenges of the Keene descent and the 11 mile climb at the end of the loop that we did twice. Maryland was flat which meant constant pedaling. It was a challenge to keep my mind from being bored from no elevation challenges. Indiana will be interesting as there are some elevation changes, but not much. The bike course will be on a closed highway. Should make for a fast bike split. Again, biking 112 miles with all the other athletes. Some going fast, some slow, going in and out of aid stations. 

Praying there are no wrecks. Praying we don't have flat tires or bike mechanical issues. Staying hydrated and well fueled. Making sure we hit every time cutoff but without burning up your legs. You still have a marathon to run. Maybe the swim wore you out? Maybe the "demons" start making you ask if you are really prepared for this?? Are you "suffering" already? 

The run. "it's just a marathon!" That's right boys and girls step right up! An event that is life-changing by itself, the marathon! 26.2 miles on foot! I know when I completed my first marathon, it changed me. I proved I could train for that event. Prepare my legs, prepare my mind. Fight through cramps. Keep moving forward. In the sadistic world of Ironman, we have you swim a long way, then bike a much longer distance before requiring you to run a marathon!! You are welcome!! The start of the Ironman marathon is very interesting because the thought pops into your head, "All I gotta do is finish this run and I'm done!" The success your brain is feeling from conquering the swim and bike can uplift you. You're feeling really good about yourself. You want to get moving! If you run too fast too early, your heart and legs may say, "Nah, were good. You are done." Suddenly you can't run, you just walk. I've talked to some athletes who said it hit them at mile 3. Others might make it 13 or 20 miles in. Lake Placid for me was mile 11. There are others who fight through the pain and tired and keep chugging on through. You just never know how your legs will respond. You must keep moving forward. "Forward is a pace". Quitting isn't an option, although it will sound good at times. There are many tricks to try and help, each athlete must figure out what works for them. You just gotta keep moving forward. For me, I usually get pretty emotional during the run portion. I pray. I think of strong warriors who have fought cancer. Family members who have fought their own personal battles. Pray for safety of all the athletes racing with me. Thanking volunteers and police along the route. Talking with other athletes. Remembering my "Fat Matt" days. Thinking of my wife and kids. Just wanting to make them proud. Whatever it takes to keep moving forward.

The Ironman Finish Line. I have tried in the past to describe the feelings I get when crossing that finish line. I can describe it all day long. But until you EARN that Finish Line, you can't fully grasp it. The training, dedication, sacrifice, pain, suffering, planning, executing, everything comes together and success is yours. No other event gives you a new title like, IRONMAN! Each Ironman finish line proves, it was all worth it. The success of completing this epic adventure, the showing yourself you can fight through tired and pain, the joy of being able to sit down!! It's all worth it.

I hope this blog entry gives you an insiders look on what is Ironman. A deeper dive into what it takes and what it really is. Ironman isn't pretty. Ironman is far from easy. Each Ironman race has its pros and cons. Ironman is wild. Ironman is fun. "Ironman challenges you in every way" Chris Tech said after Ironman Lake Placid. Ironman will challenge you. It may challenge you in ways it doesn't challenge me. 

There are 2 sports that stand out to me when I think of sports tattoos. The Olympic Rings tattoo that an Olympian gets and the M-Dot tattoo that an Ironman earns. When I see an M-Dot tatt, I know I immediately have a few things in common with that athlete. It's a badge of honor, a symbol of triumph. My one and only tattoo. Nothing else drove me to getting a tattoo, but Ironman did!

Let me know your thoughts. Agree or disagree I'd love to hear about your thoughts on this topic. Maybe this inspires an athlete to give it a go. They might hate me for it, only to thank me later. Maybe it pushes someone to say, "Nope! That's not for me." And that is just fine. There are lots of challenges in this world. Find your dream. Find your goal. Go get it. Work your ass off for it. Show people how great you can be. Thanks for reading, IRONDAD Matt