What to wear

A triathlon is a collection of 3 different disciplines.  While many choose a Tri suit for both biking and running, I'm more comfortable in a bike jersey and running shorts.  And isn't that what completing an Ironman is really about - being comfortable?  While there isn't much I could do to the wetsuit, I had the bike jersey and run shirt special made from my own designs.

For those that need a reminder of what Malört is, I present this video reminder:

Malört

Stats time

It's no surprise that this has been my most active year ever.  I've put in pool time, trainer time, biked throughout the burbs, and run every street in my area.  This is what I've accomplished in 2016:

Count: 367 Activities

Distance: 3,168.37 mi

Time: 234:45:36 h:m:s

This the culmination of what started when Jenny died.  With her as a living inspiration, I started running and completed a couple of 5k's.  With her passing, I became a runner, and eventually a triathlete.  The numbers below really bear this out.

In the 10 years before Jenny passed:

Count: 40 Activities

Distance: 142.16 mi

Time: 22:41:38 h:m:s

In the 3.5 years since:

Count: 1,005 Activities

Distance: 6,233.18 mi

Time: 520:28:33 h:m:s

All of those hours are leading up to next Sunday, and I'm nervously excited.  I've done the work, and now it's time to enjoy the race.  

Donate if you can.

Tim

Swimming in the wide open water

What am I the most worried about for next Sunday?  THE SWIM.

What do you do when open water swimming makes you nervous?  You go swim in Lake Michigan.

Friday afternoon I donned my wetsuit and headed out into the choppy water.  The waves weren't crushing, but this was NOT flat water.  I put my face down and started my swim.  Exactly 2 minutes later, I paused my watch so my mini panic attack would not count against my time.  I calmed down, and set off again.  2 minutes later, repeat same thing.  This was not boding well.  I set off a third time, and instead of stopping, I flipped to my back and finished a half mile loop in backstroke.

At this point, I was having serious concerns about next week.  Another swimmer then finished her lap, and complained how bad the water was.  She said she was going to do 2 miles, but was now just hoping to finish 1.  This helped - it wasn't just me.  I decided a need to to at least do another half mile, so down my face went again, 10 yards behind the other swimmer.

Things went much better this lap.  I could breathe steadily, and my wetsuit didn't feel like it was crushing my chest.  Things went so well that when the woman turned at the quarter mile marker to head back, I kept going.  I finished a mile lap at a much faster pace than the first lap.  More importantly, I know that I can complete the swim next sunday, as long as I get my panic attack out of the way before the cannon goes off.

Ironman Wisconsin for Girls on the Run

I've been procrastinating this post for a while, and my blog was basically shut down while avoiding writing it.  It's a bit long, but I hope you take the time to read it.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO GIRLS ON THE RUN

On January 23rd, 2013, the world lost an amazing person.  Jenny Carter Boyce was taken from us in an unspeakable act of domestic violence just days before her divorce was to be finalized.  Now, three and a half years later, I am going to complete an Ironman in her honor.

When I met Jenny, she was small and quiet, kind and unassuming.  As she went through life, she found strength in herself that was beyond expectation.  When she could no longer rely on her husband, she began to rely on herself.  She started participating in endurance sports to push her limits, and push she did.  She spent her 30th birthday, with a few thousand people watching her, crush the Ironman Wisconsin.  She took something that seems impossible and unimaginable for most, and used it declare her strength and fortitude as a strong modern woman.  

A year later, she was in Chicago running the marathon.  I was there to cheer her along, and as she was leading yet another 100 day burpee challenge (that I failed to finish), she stopped to do a burpee with me.  I wished her luck, and she said it was my turn next year.  I laughed and said “sure”, but there was zero intention of actually doing that.  The longest I had run was a 5k at that point, and only a couple of those.  I never really liked running, but thats because I never had anything to run for.

Four months later I received the call that many of us will never forget.  We were devastated; it simply didn't make sense.  2 days before her divorce was to be finalized her estranged husband came to her home in the middle of the night and ended her life.  As all of her work, college, and high school friends gathered for her funeral, I think the one thing we all felt along with our deep sadness was a feeling of helplessness.  Jenny was 31, with new found personal strength, and her entire life ahead of her, and now she was gone.  There was nothing we could do about that.

What we could do was make sure the world knew who Jenny was, and what she accomplished.  Jenny proved that she could do anything, and in turn, inspired countless others to prove to themselves that they could too.  The day of her death, I started my own 100 day Burpee Challenge.  I completed it, along with 2 more that year.  I also ran my first Chicago marathon.  It was during this year that, while running for Jenny, I learned something about myself. I learned that I was good at distance running, and I learned that I could accomplish so much more than I thought.   Things that seemed impossible  suddenly weren’t.  With Jenny as my guide, I no longer had limits.  

Before she died, she had planned on being a coach for Girls on the Run.  After her death, #teamjenny was formed, and fundraising runs for Girls on the Run were formed.  I happily drove up to Madison to participate, and it was there that a plan was formed.  While talking with some of Jenny’s friends from Endurance House, I mentioned that I was considering doing an Ironman (I did not own a bike at this point).  They pointed out that the 2016 Madison Ironman was the same race Jenny completed, on the exact 5th anniversary of hers, and on what would have been her 35th birthday.  Done.  There was no thinking or contemplating - it was meant to be. 

As I’ve trained this year, I’ve been swimming, biking, and running for Jenny, but I’ve also been doing all of these things for myself.  With Jenny’s help, I’ve become a stronger and better version of myself.  I want to be part of her legacy; she wanted to help others and make the world better.  She succeeded with me.

Ironman Wisconsin is looming.  I’ve trained, and I’m waiting to do her proud.  I now ask that you help me strengthen her legacy, and donate to Girls on the Run.  Every dollar donated helps to empower girls through running.  I've paid for this race and all the expenses out of pocket, so every dollar donated to straight to Girls on the Run.  Every dollar helps to give the strength Jenny found to a young girl that needs it.  Every dollar makes the world a better place.

Please donate if you can.

Becoming a pool rat

I'm not a swimmer.  Technically, I know how to swim, but instead of being able to get from point A to B and back quickly, I just know how to not drown slowly.  I have less than 9 months to change that, so it's time to get started!

Obviously I can't swim in the lake when there's floating ice chunks.  Luckily, the gym in my building at work has a nice 3 lane pool, and its always free at lunch.  I've been a few times in the last couple weeks, and thats a start.  I'm going to try and do at least 2 swims a week for the next couple months, and then 3 starting in march.  2.4 miles is a long way, and I need all the practice I can get.  I'm going to see if I can get a swim coach as well; it's painfully obvious that my technique sucks.

Swimming is harder for me to get into than the running and biking for a few reasons:

1. It's hard to jump into water that's not warm.  And when the open water Lake Michigan practices come, oh man am I going to whine.
2. I'm still trying to figure out how to not hyperventilate in the water.  I'm still learning to breath smoothly, and it's harder than I thought i would be.
3. My crappy breathing makes me swallow air (aerophagia), and that sometimes leads to crippling cramps for an hour or so.  I wish I was exaggerating.
4. I can't get the damn'd smell of chlorine off my skin.  I shower after, and let the soap soak in for 10 min, but still smell like Miami pool boy.  It's gross.  

All of these reasons add up to me wanting to just put in some time on the treadmill instead, doing what I know: miles while watching bad TV.  Let's hope I improve with more time in the water, and let's hope it's quick.

This is my lane; I will get to know this place well. 

2015 in review

It's finally here - the Iron year!

2016 is the here, and I'm officially signed up for the Ironman Wisconsin on Sep 11. I've neglected this blog for a year, so before I start whining about how hard the training is, and how excited I am about my new gear, lets do a 2015 race review.

• 2/22 - Hustle up the Hancock - 94 stories of fun! This is one of this "Why did I do it? Because it's there!" kind of things.

• 4/25 - Race to Wrigley - Finished this 5k in 20:33 (6:38 mile). I didn't crack 20 min like a wanted, but still, thats pretty damn fast for me!

• 5/21 - JP Morgan Corp Challenge - 3.5 miles in 22:39. Thats a 6:29 mile. Getting faster!

• 5/17 - Chicago Spring Half Marathon - I bought a red shirt to match my 666 bib number. Finished with a 1:34:00 (7:11 mile). It was a solid run, and I was happy with it

• 9/27 - Chicago Half Marathon - I ran like the freaking wind!!! Crushed my goal with a 1:28:49 (6:47 mile). Also, I received that largest metal known to man.

• 10/11 - Chicago Marathon - I've never been so upset about a PR. Ran a 3:13:38 (7:24 mile) when I needed a 3:10 to qualify for Boston. It all fell apart in the last 5 miles, and I lost 2 toenails to boot. The quest for Boston continues...

I leave you with a pic of that ridiculous medal from the half

 

Marathon Race Report (very late)

This year I ran my second annual Chicago Marathon (second marathon total).  After last year's race went better than expected, I decided to make this a yearly thing.  I also decided that I would try and take my training seriously, and see if I could shave a few minutes off my off my time.  I stuck to my training schedule, and even got some protein powder for recovery.  As the weeks progressed, so did my optimism.  I started to think I could actually qualify for Boston.  It may be a pipe dream, but it seemed possible.  Lets review the numbers (because I'm a nerd):

When you look at these numbers, you'll immediately notice that I did not get any of my times down to Boston qualifying times.  I do, however, have many excuses I told myself as to why.  During the half marathon, I had post alcohol stomach issues, and after my training run, I still had gas in the tank. With these excuses to bolster my attitude, I thought that the pipe dream of qualification had a 5% chance of happening.

Queue race day.  I had my fancy new Garmin watch, a full play list with no Whitney Houston (random music on shuffle killed me last year), and all my gear ready to go.  Remember that protein powder I referenced earlier?  It also came with a trial of Cellucor C4 Exteme.  Apparently, C4 Extreme provides the following:

I don't know what "Unbelievable Muscle Pumps" are, but they sound fast to me!!!  It also has 135mg of caffeine per scoop.  The trial had 2 scoops, so I limited myself to 2 scoops.  I broke the first rule of fight club racing and changed my routine on the day of the race.  I mixed up the over chemicaled concoction in a water bottle and head for the train.  The weather was fairly cold when I left the house, but by the time we started running it was mid 40's, and shot up into the 50's pretty quickly.

Last year was my first marathon, and I ran as such.  I started with a sub 7 mile, and then got gradually slower from there, ending in the mid 9's.  This year, I was bound to do it differently.  I would have some discipline, slow my start, and be more consistent.  I kept an eye on the 7 min pacers just in case Boston really was going to happen, but vowed to run comfortably.  I huddled in my corral (wave 1 this year), and waited patiently.  After the elites and semi-pros, I started the tracking on my watch and we were off.

Mile 1
As I finished my first mile, I checked the time and realized that I was at just about 7 min.  I had 2 simultaneous reactions: 1. I'm running Boston speed! 2. Oh shit, I'm running too fast again.  The plan was to run consistently, and here I am running the same fast speed as last year.

Mile 3.1
After the first 5k, you're out of downtown, and into the north side.  It was nice to be back on the roads I run the most (I work and live near this part of the route).  My 5k pace was 7:07 per mile - a few sec short of qualification, but consistent with my first mile.  It turns out I wasn't over reaching; I really had gotten faster.  Pipe dream remained intact.

Miles 4 to 12
Running the north side has become second nature to me, and is therefore no longer noteworthy.  I ran through Lincoln Park (again), I saw Wrigley (like I do 4 days a week), and I ran down Clark (but without drunk people falling out of bars).  What was noteworthy was my watch buzzing with text messages from my wife!  She told me I needed to slow down so it didn't burn out, and I was going to fast she had to hurry to her spot so she wouldn't miss me.

Mile 13.1
I finished the first half of the marathon in 1:33:42.  I immediately came to two conclusions: 1. I was running really fast! 2. I was 1:12 over time to be on qualifying pace.  Running the second half 2 minutes and 24 seconds faster than the first was not going to happen.  The pipe dream was dead. From here on out, I was just running for me, to see what I could do.

Mile 14
There is one thing that I look forward to every race: seeing my family.   High fiving my kids, seeing my sister, mom, and grandma, and kissing my wife is something that I think about for miles.  It breaks up the monotony, and give me a nice warm fuzzy boost.

Mile 15
This is where things got interesting.  Remember the C4 EXTREME (I think all caps better describes it)?  Well, at this point it was wearing off, and I feel compelled to describe my nutrition in the race so far.

In the 15th mile, I notice that my arms are starting to feel numb.  I'm still running, and my speed is good, but dammit, my arms are tingling, and I was pretty sure it was getting worse.  As I tried to figure out what was going on, I noticed that I wasn't breathing enough.  I was obviously breathing, but it was shallow, and I was slowly hyperventilating.   I guessed that it was caused from my body coming down off of my caffeine high, and like any good addict, I knew what I needed to do.  I downed another Double Latte Powergel, and ate some caffeinated jelly beans (yes, I carry those). One of 2 things was going to happen: 1. I would feel better, and finish the race, or 2. I would have a minor heart attack and stop at one of the many friendly med stations.  By mile 16, I could move my limbs, and was still going strong - yay chemistry!

Mile 20
At about mile 20 or so, everybody seems to hit the wall.  The general saying is that you need to break through that wall.  This is a misnomer - I don't think that anyone breaks through the wall, or that it's really a wall at all.  Its more like a net.  You run straight into a net, and pull it with you.  You don't break it, you just have to dig deep for the strength to drag it behind you and keep going.  My wife's texts we good reminders that people were tracking me, and I had to do everybody proud.

Mile 24
This is the crap part of the race.  The crowds are thin, and you're still a couple miles from the finish. Just suck.  I did slow down a bit, but kept it below 8:30 per mile.  I powered through, and I finished.

Mile 26.2
3:16:50.  And I'm happy with that.  It's not 3:05:00, but hey, I need something to work towards, right? The best part of finishing the Chicago Marathon is beer.

Wonderful Goose Island beer beer is thrust upon you, and while it didn't make the pain in my legs stop, I pretended it did, and I felt better.

Overall, it was a very good race, and a great day.  I met up with Caroline and we headed home.  Once again, we looked for a car, and then decided to walk to the train.  Whats another half mile walk, right?  At the L station I noticed a sign that made me smile.  I started all of this ridiculous training on a dare from Jenny, and she sent me a message on the platform.

Jenny's favorite quote was Gandi's "Be the change you want to see in the world".  I'm trying to change myself for the better with my training.  And what do you see over my shoulder?  That message is out there for everyone to see.

Post race day note
Several days after my my race, my left calf was still sore.   As time progressed, I thought that I may have pulled something.  Alas, after a full week, it started to feel better, and that made me irrationally happy.   I wasn't just happy that I didn't have an actual injury; I was happy that I left it all on the course.  If it took me an entire week to recover, I really gave it my all.  In the end, I don't really care how fast I run.  I just want to know that I trained hard, and I ran hard, and I know exactly what I'm capable of.  Now, with the extra 5 minutes for being 35, I just need to be capable of finishing 6 minutes and 50 seconds faster next year :)