Winter Fun

Reno isn't a whole lot of fun during or immediately after storms. The dirt in the mountains around town isn't used to a whole lot (or any) precipitation, so when storms hit our dirt turns into sticky mud. The kind that builds like stilts on the bottom of your shoes or turns your mountain bike tires into sausages. The only way to avoid it is to get up really early with the hopes that the mud is frozen. With this strategy you just have to make sure your run isn't too long and everything melts on the return trip.


The only way to stay sane or keep the dogs sane is to escape 30 minutes up the hill to the snow. We've gone skiing a couple times this week. Mostly just the tromp around and play variety skiing. I packed up my skate skis with the good intention of getting out there, but it's a bit intimidating. It's something I picked up last year, and I never get up there enough to get to be any good at it.

There isn't a ton of snow in the mountains yet, but there was enough to get out and play. Kona and Bliksem ran flat out for 2 hours and then slept for the next 24.

At Prosser Lake near Truckee

Snoooooow!!


At Mt. Rose Meadows above Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe


The view were impressive and it's such a new perspective after running on this trail in the summer. Amazingly every time I think about leaving Reno I have a day like this and reevaluate. This is 30 minutes from home. It doesn't get much better than this.

Shades of Gray

In reflecting over the past couple months a topic has come up a time or two. The average person I talk to wants my perspective on if my sport is clean, and by this they mean doping. Lance Armstrong has been making major headlines all summer and this is often the only connection these people have to cycling or sport. As far as Lance is concerned, others will have to decide his guilt or innocence, but it did bring up the topic of cheating in sport. Most athletes I know all are vehemently opposed to doping, but what about other forms of cheating. We all say that we want a clean sport and to participate on a level playing field. What about the gray areas? Where do we draw the line? Does deliberate acts like drafting count? or how about prescribed medicines that can potentially increase performance?

During the last couple Ironman races I've participated in there has been rampant drafting. In Kona this year I was passed by a peloton of at least 30+ riders. I watched a woman draft off a man as they passed me. She continued to draft as they pulled away from me. When the referee flashed a red card for drafting she proceeded to argue with the referee. I passed her as she was serving her penalty in the "sin bin", but was later passed back as she drafted off yet another guy. Talking with people after the race I learned that this is indeed a race strategy some use. They figured that the 4 minute penalty they receive is well worth the time advantage of drafting. It's basic risk versus benefit. They hope to not get caught, but if they do they still gained time and saved their legs. As frustrating as it is to get passed by these people I know that my time is the result of my effort. I don't know if there is an easy way to solve this problem at Ironman. It did seem like there was a good amount of referees, but what do you do with a pack of 30? With 1800+ athletes on the road it is crowded, and those that choose to draft can. Only their choice of doing what is right will keep them out of the draft zone.

Another gray area is the use of inhalers by athletes. If an athlete has asthma then go ahead and use your inhaler because you need it. What I think is interesting is that a much larger percentage of elite athletes have asthma when compared to the general population. Why is this? There has been much debate whether use of inhalers in people without asthma does or does not improve performance. Do these give an actual boost or just a mental one? I guess my issue with the use of inhalers by athletes NOT having asthma is the intent to cheat. Whether or not they get a boost, their reason for taking the medicine is to improve performance. They can "legally" do this by applying with USADA for a therapeutic use exemption along with a doctors diagnosis and script. Is this the "gateway drug" to trying other performance boosters? Where do they draw their line or do they?

At the end of the day we all have to look ourselves in the mirror and face what we are. I never have understood cheating on any level and don't have any idea how someone can accept an award (or take it away from someone else) knowing deep down that they didn't come by it fairly. It makes you a morally/ethically bankrupt person to cheat at whatever level. What I would like most of my non athlete friends to know is that most athletes are clean and fight fare. It's a shame that the few among us that cheat are the ones that are remembered by the masses.

The aftermath

Post race morning included a swim and much needed pull-a-part at the Lava Java. Actually it was more like a bob in the ocean. I was hoping the movement would help my leg recover a bit, but I had no luck there. It still felt like a knife was stuck in my shin, and every step seemed to make it hurt more. I opted for spending a couple days on crutches versus making it worse. It ended up taking about 4 days for the swelling to go completely away. It was time to relax and maybe play.

Getting up was the hardest part of the next week. I was sleeping on a blow up mattress on the lanai which was amazing, but getting up from it was close to impossible. I remember waking up in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom, but having no clue how I was going to get there. 10 minutes later after crawling and bracing on the walls I would get there.

Lava Java pull-a-part. Yum Yum!!

Apparently I wasn't the only one craving Lava Java breakfast.


The day after awards the group was invited to a paddle with Keauhou Canoe Club. Amazing experience that I was lucky to be able to do a couple times on this trip. My waterproof camera didn't make the trip, but check out the link below to see Slater Fletcher's video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJKNWNwPTnY

Other than that it was time to do anything except bike and run. Swimming still felt good so I stuck with that. There was also a farewell stop at Kalamas. I found this place when I was here in June for Honu 70.3. I'd run out of water on the climb up from Kealakekua Bay when this place appeared. Salvation! They have the yummiest ahi spinach nori wraps and shaved ice. I planned my shorter ride days here so that I could stop on the way home.


I"ll be dreaming of this menu until I return next year.

Wheelchair races at Honaunau with Slater Fletcher.

Another treat was the tour that we got to take at Lions Gate Coffee Farm. It was a lot of fun to see the whole process from tree to cup, and we got to enjoy a latte on the lanai after.

http://www.coffeeofkona.com/more.htm


Learning how the beans are dried.




The last couple days on Kona went by quickly and it was time to go home. The 10 weeks here have been an amazing opportunity, and I feel truly blessed. There were highs and lows, and I'm going home a different person that the one that came here. It is something to learn and grow from. Hawaii will always be a special place for me.

The dreaded pavement run, part 3 of 3

Besides the swim, the run was the most intimidating part of this event for me. It's not so much the distance of the run, but rather it is all on road. 99% of my training is on trails. The only time I run on road is to get to the trail, which is 3 minutes by foot from my front door. Trail running is my meditation. I get totally lost and feel so incredibly lucky to run in such beautiful places. I tend to get injuries when I run on road, but this is probably more due to the fact that I avoid it until it comes to race day. My ouchy spot post run tends to be my anterior tibialis, and I was a little worries about this going into race day. With the worry about my legs I decided to run in compression socks to help mitigate the damage to my legs for as long as possible. It worked.... for a while. 52.4 miles takes a toll.

The morning started early, very early. The night before I bought some more rocket fuel at the gas station in the form of 2 spam musubis. When my alarm went off at 3am, I rolled over, turned the light on, and started to cram them down. They actually tasted good. Salty stuff after all the sweet gels the day before were a nice change. The run didn't start until 6am, but because of some serious procrastination on my part we had a 40 minute drive from the hotel to the start. Next year I'll get started on my reservations early..... I promise.

As I went to put my shoes on I felt some pain in my right toe. Noooo, there was an enormous blister on my big toe right where I used to have a toenail, until Ironman claimed it's victim 6 weeks prior. The soft new skin was just no match for 260 miles on the bike over the past 2 days. Not knowing where to find a needle in the van at 4am after it had been hit by 2 days of Ultraman tornado, I pulled out a safety pin from the race packet and began surgery. 15 minutes later my foot was nicely bandaged and ready, I hoped, for 52 miles of running.

Waiting for the run to start. It might have been the only moment all day that I felt cold. Too bad it didn't last.

One, two, three, go! It was still dark outside as we all started..... much too fast. Ooops. I know better than this, but my legs felt good. The first marathon went by quickly and felt easy. Then the heat began, my stomach started protesting, and my right leg started hurting.

My plan was to leave the socks on until they felt hot, and then change them and change out my shoes. The first half of the run I wore Avia Avi-Lite and for the finishing stretch I wanted the Avi-Bolt. The Bolts gave me the extra zip I needed to maintain my lead, plus they just look really fast. The socks still felt cool, so I left them. I also wasn't sure if I sat down to take them off that I'd ever get back to my feet again.

Just before the turn in Kawaihae. Photo by Timothy Carlson

Between my stomach protesting and my right leg pain I was alternating imodium and ibuprofen with a little improvement. I was all too familiar with this course as it's the last half of the Ironman bike course. I knew how much further I had to go and I knew I'd get there.... eventually. I slowed my pace in hopes that my stomach would stop it's revolt, and I got a little relief. The last 13 miles were torture, but I kept on right, left, right, left, repeat. My right shin felt like someone had placed a knife in it and every time it touched ground they turned it. My crew kept me moving forward, and I think they knew it was bad when I wouldn't take anything else to eat and stopped talking. No sound from me is a bad thing. The last 10K or so of the course I also know well from many a long IM day. One of those long IM days was this year, and I knew where every bump in the road would be. Finally on the top of the last hill I could see the top of the old airport buildings. Woohoooo, going to make it! I might be dragging my right leg behind me and forcing my stomach into some kind of compliance, but I was going to make it across the finish whether my body cooperated or not.

Somewhere on the Queek K.... with my crew and pacer Taylor Seavey.

Post finish and ocean dip with my wonderful crew. Thanks again Seavey family!

With Wendy Minor, my hero, she is an Ultraman finisher at age 65. This is proof for all my 50 year old patients that tell me they can't. You really can, it's all a state of mind.


With mens champion and all around nice guy, Mike Le Roux.

My favorite shoes. How can you not run fast when you're wearing these?

Immediately after the race comes the question, are you coming back next year. My first response, while hobbling back and forth to the bathroom every 10 minutes for 6 hours, was an emphatic NO. My thought was there are so many races to do and so many places to see. I've heard rumors of Ultraman Brazil, and I haven't been there yet..... Definitely on my to do list. After a couple weeks of reflection though, I will come back. The friends and family I've made through Ultraman are priceless, and I couldn't imagine not going to the family reunion next Thanksgiving.

On my to do list for next year is to spend more time running on pavement to get used to the pounding. My right leg swelled to about 3-4x the normal size the day following the race. Ouch! Spent a couple days post race on crutches to give my right leg some well deserved rest. It still felt like a knife was stuck in there, and I was worried I was doing more harm than good by shuffling around on it. The good news is that 2 weeks post race I'm back to running, on DIRT, sweet dirt with my dogs.


Bliksem with her wiggly wrap around the seat sneak kiss.

Part 2 of 3

The unspoken part of Ultraman is trying to get in as many calories as possible as soon as the day is done. I normally enjoy eating and am not picky, but after racing I generally loose my appetite for a while. I ate a burger after getting off the bike, we checked into the hotel, and then we headed to the group dinner with the rest of the athletes. I was a little worries about getting hungry in the middle of the night, so I took some food back to the room. It was so cold up at the top of Volcano that I didn't end up eating my hot potato but put it in my pocket and slept with it.

Race morning came early and I didn't want to climb out of my warm bed. I was relieved after a quick peek out the window to see stars. No rain. It was chilly outside and the roads weren't wet, but I felt very lucky to be mostly dry on the first descent.

Still trying to squeeze in a little sleep. When I planned for this trip I didn't think to bring arm warmers, so these beauties I picked up at Target. They started out as argyle socks, but made great arm warmers.

Day 2 bike start is on the top of Volcano with about a 20 mile descent to start. Lucky us with clear skies, but there was a bit of spray off the road. We were allowed to stay grouped up until the turn down to red road. I normally enjoy riding in groups, but it was a bit high speed and twitchy at moments which meant keeping focus.
Keeping with the front pack. Right behind me are the ladies putting the pressure on. Hillary Biscay and Shanna Armstrong. Photo by Rick Kent, Josh Baker

After making the turn down to red road the group split up and I was on my own.... kind of. I knew the Hillary and Shanna were close behind as I could see their crew vehicles preparing their drink hand offs as I went by. The leapfrogging of crew vehicles continued. My plan was to up the pace when I got to red road. No crew support is allowed on that section of road and I wanted to get out of sight. Despite it being a coastal road it has a lot of rolling hills and my legs felt great. I dropped the hammer and mission accomplished! Once I turned off red road I saw their crew vehicles for the last time that day. Around this time I started to have shifting issues. Not sure if it was all the vibration from the old section of road we crossed or not. Shifting slowly went from bad to worse, but I tried to stay relaxed.

This is along the red road section. That's my hocus pocus focus expression. Photo by Rick Kent, Josh Baker

Another shot of red road. I was really bummed my crew didn't get to see the view along here.

All forward momentum seemed to stop when I hit Hilo. At race briefing they said there are 8 traffic lights. I stopped at 7 of the longest lights I've ever seen. I kept turning around to see if I was the only unlucky one. Christian was riding through the lights at the same time as he had went off course a little earlier and had to backtrack. Because of my shifting issues he'd have a good gap on me coming through the intersection, but then the light in front of us would turn red as I'd slowly spin up. We'd chat a bit at the light and then repeat.

Somewhere after Hawi

After Hawi there are about 40 miles of rolling terrain. My legs were feeling great, but my bike was not. I couldn't talk her into shifting into the big ring any longer. I tried to deal with it for a while as I hadn't seen bike tech in a while, but kept finding myself spinning out. After 10 miles of this I gave up and asked my crew to call for bike support. They were there fairly quickly and we both pulled over. I stayed as relaxed as possible when you're standing on the side of a road during a race. I used the opportunity to pee behind the tech vehicle, eat a banana (not at the same time), and finish off my bottle.

Thanks bike tech for getting me rolling again so quickly. Shifting wasn't perfect, but it was so much better than before the stop. Woohooo, I had my big ring back and felt ready to fly!

This is where the Spam Musubi rocket fuel came in handy. My crew had handed me one sometime after Hilo and every chance I got I'd eat another bite. Tastiest thing I'd eaten all day. So nice to get in some real food after taking gel most of the day. I polished it off just before the climb to Waimea started.

The final climb over the Kohalas before descending to Hawi.
photo by Timothy Carlson

I had no idea I was going to break the bike course record by over 40 minutes, but I was stoked. The best part was that Hillary and Shanna also broke it. I love how tough competition brings out the best in all of us. New bike course day 2 record of 7:57:58.


photo by Rick Kenk, Josh Baker

Overall it was a great day. With racing at this distance you have to take the bad with the good. Unexpected things are going to happen. What is important is how you deal with them. The same goes for energy level, it goes up and down and then back up again. I always remember that good moments will follow the bad and often it just means I need to eat more. :)

I couldn't have done it without my crew. Thanks Siri, Darian, and Taylor for everything. photo by Rick Kent, Josh Baker.

The fourth event followed the bike ride. Ice bath and eating and eating and eating. From last years experience at Ultraman Canada I knew that I would have tummy trouble on day 3, so my goal for day 2 night was to get in as many calories as possible. Mission accomplished again. Huge Chinese takeout with some local fried doughnut like things. I ate until stuffed and took the rest with me and finished it off 2 hours later.

The past couple months part 1

Part 1 of 3

The past couple months have been the hardest of my life. Big changes happened that I didn't see coming and couldn't change. My heart was shattered by the person that I trusted most with it.

For the past couple years Conrad has been asking me to quit my job and come to South Africa with him. With huge student loan and credit card debt I hadn't been able to. For the past 2 years I stopped racing to save money and worked every extra shift I could. I finally saved up enough money to quit the job and after much encouragement from Conrad I quit. He said that I had to do it this year for the relationship to work. I was told to trust him and that everything would work out for the best. A little over a month after quitting my job, I found myself all alone. The day after Xterra Worlds shortly before getting on his flight he said, "it's over and I don't want to talk about it." Asking for an explanation the only thing I got was, "you're not Afrikaans and you have bad table manners". I don't know why it took him 5 years to figure out I was American. I guess sometimes there is no explanation. Where was I supposed to go from here. I just quit my job, moved out of our house, and the biggest race of my life was coming up in 5 weeks.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1667724450453
from this to breakup in 24 hours




For 2 weeks I didn't eat, sleep, or train. I considered dropping from the race. Riding had always been my escape and now it was just torture. Then the supportive Ultraman family started arriving in the islands. Without them I wouldn't have made it through the race. I stayed as busy as I could and joined with every group ride and swim. I figured I was here and I should make the most of the experience. About 2 weeks prior to the race I decided to go for it and race.


Pre-race practice swim.


Pre-race ride with Gary, Jason, and Marty. This was an infamous gas station bonk where you grab every item of food in sight.

Race week came along quickly with all the preparation and organizing. I think I bought out the entire supply of chicken broth and pedialyte. Then there was the selection of an ice bath bucket. I was pulling the storage bins off the shelf at Target looking for one big enough to fit when the manager asked if I needed help. I quickly jumped from the tub I was sitting in and replied that I was okay.


My support crew came together at the last moment. Thanks Darian, Siri, and Taylor for getting me through the race.

The biggest worry about the race for me was the swim. Wetsuits were legal and I was a bit worried about overheating, but knew that I had to take advantage of the extra flotation. I'd been doing a bit of open water swimming, but the sheer distance of 10K was intimidating. The swim itself went really well for the first 9K, then I hit a bit of a wall. I struggled a bit to get through the current coming out of Keauhou Bay, but once around the buoy the current seemed to let up a bit. My paddlers did a great job of keeping me straight and stopping me every 25 minutes to refuel and hydrate. My goal of the day was to get out of the water no more than 30 minutes behind Hillary Biscay and mission accomplished. I was only 22 minutes behind. :) Hillary smashed the swim record with a 2:20 swim, breaking the old record by 26 minutes.


That's me in the water beside the buoy and my paddlers Karen and Don.

Actually feeling fairly good coming out of the water with a swim PR of 2:42


The first couple miles of the bike go straight up. Not a great feeling after being horizontal for the past 2.75 hours. My legs never felt great this day, but they didn't feel bad either. Post race I think it was due to not taking enough calories in during the swim or the bike. After the initial climb it's a bit rolling to downhill, and it goes by fast. Heading up to Ocean View we hit the infamous wind. Wow! I'd pre-riden this section once before and I thought it was windy that day, but it wasn't even close to as windy as race day. The last 30 miles of the ride are the climb from sea level to 4000 ft at Volcano. Looking at my bike computer I was calculating how much longer I'd still be on the bike and the numbers weren't good. On some of the short downhill sections I'd be riding in my aero bars going 12 mph. It was going to be a long climb and my energy wasn't great. I started to take in a bit more calories and amazingly felt better during the last 10 miles of the climb. Note to self... eat more. I finished the ride portion in 5:39 for the fastest ride split of the day.

The long climb up to Volcano.


Hawaii can be cold, very cold, at the top of Volcano, but the post ride ice bath was a must for recovery. Bob Babbit is trying to distract me from realizing that I can no longer feel my feet.


Just had to throw a sunset picture in. This one was taken from the lanai of the condo.

Silly smiles and spam musubis

Wrapping up here in Maui after a big Xterra week. More photos and updates to come, but here is a quick one before I race to the airport.

Post Ironman training has been great fun. I wasn't nearly as sore as I'd been in the past, and I'm guessing that had something to do with my run strategy of stopping every mile to use the bathroom.

I've just been getting out on the bike and exploring the island a bit. One highlight have been a trip over the saddle road to get to Hilo. I was asking for another gear in a couple places only to find that I'd already used them all up.

One of my favorite things in Hawaii are the local fare at the gas stations. Quick refill of the bottles and a spam musubi in my bento box.


See..... it fits perfectly.



On the top of the saddle road shortly before heading down to Hilo.


Almost to the top...


Lots of road construction and dirt on the descent. Guess I should have brought my mountain bike.



Little detour onto the scenic road.


Stopping to enjoy the views.

This is amazing opportunity to spend so much time on the islands and I'm loving every second.

Ironman and such

Ironman week and race day passed by in a bit of a blur. I did a bunch of bike training leading up to Ironman week and went with a 5 day taper leading into the race. The race itself went okay, but I knew that it wasn't going to be a great day going into it. With the time off the bike with the hand injury and a big bike/run day 6 days prior to race day I knew it was going to be a tough one.

Race week felt different than every other time I've been here. I didn't hang around the venue at all and didn't attend pre or post race dinners or even the pre-race briefing. It almost felt like I wasn't racing. I never got nervous, which was a weird feeling as I stood on the pier at 6am on Saturday.

I got my training done early and hung around the condo the rest of the day. I did get up and swim every day. I am completely blown away by the swimming here, and even on days I wasn't supposed to swim I'd make up an excuse to get out there.

Race day started with a 4am breakfast and then hitchhiking to the start line. No way was I walking 1.5 miles to the start. I lined up in the center about 2 rows back for the swim, but kept getting pushed/kicked back during the 15 minutes of treading water prior to race start. I could feel the nerves coming off people. The start of the swim was insane, but I was jostled far less than I had been during prior IM swims. For 400 meters or so I went fairly hard to get into a good bunch and then settled in on someones feet. Which is where I stuck for the duration of the swim. The pace felt moderate hard and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself very much. I was super excited post race to discover that I swam a 1:03. Sweet!!

The bike was a draft fest from start to finish. I felt slightly tired on the bike, so I didn't push the effort and just enjoyed the experience. The winds were insane this year..... the windiest I've ever seen it on race day. The descent from Hawi was a white knuckled experience.

The run was a death march. My legs felt okay, but about 2 miles into the run my hands started cramping really bad and were super swollen. I drank some of the Ironman drink to get some electrolytes in at the next aide station...... big mistake. About a mile later the stomach cramps started and I proceeded to stop at every mile to hit the bathrooms. I figured to just keep it as a training day and not do too much damage to myself, so I got in a rhythm of bathroom, walk the aide station, and then run about 1 mile to next bathroom/aide station.

The finish was amazing as always and so was the post race party. Sorry about no race pics.


View from the condo of the IM turnaround buoy and cruise ship. The best is when the cruise ship disembarks it's passengers at the pier among all the athletes. We all look at each other like the other is crazy.


Racing the sunrise on the Queen K. I lost....



I had the beach all to myself.



Conrad playing around


Still wondering why we make such silly faces when holding our breath.


Coffee is this way!


Treading water at the coffee boat.


Coffee served about 1k into the swim!! Wish they were here all year.