IronMan Wisconsin 2008 Race Report

15:13:46

This was a race that was all mental for me.  I was never able to swim, ride or run at what I knew I was capable of, which was very frustrating.  Some times it was due to other people like during the swim, but mostly it was due to me not being able to buckle down, focus, and just hold the pace like during the ride and run.  Overall though I felt I really did learn a lot about how I handle long races and what I need to work on.  

My race started at 4am.  I got up and had a full breakfast: pancakes, eggs and hash browns with extra salt.  I got to the terrace around 5:30am  pumped up my tires, said hi to Jim Kaiser at body marking and went off to check my bags.  I then got in a very long line for the bathroom, I donned my wetsuit at 6:30 and quickly made my way down to the swim start.  As I was about to get in the water I realized I still had my glasses on; in my mind I had put them in my T1 bag. I had to wind through the throng of athletes back to the glasses table.  The glasses issue settled I got back in line and inched toward the water ever so slowly.  The cannon went off for the pros. I finally got to the water and as I jumped in the cannon for age groupers went off.  I had a goal for this swim of sub 1hr and to beat the family record for an IM Wisconsin swim of 49th overall but I had started way at the back of the pack and practically 5 feet from shore.  I’d start to approach my goal pace but as soon as I did I’d find a wall of slow swimmers blocking me from every direction.  It kept happening all the way around the first loop, I kept telling myself I would soon find clean water but  I looked at my watch as I began the second loop; it said 48 minutes! I could not believe it.  I was furious.  I was determined to do the second lap faster.  I got aggressive, and I stopped being nice.  If someone was in my way, and swimming slower they could move out of the way or get run over!  Unfortunately I only had limited success, I still had a lot of slower swimmers in my way, It was only on the back side of the swim course that I finally found clean water and could crank up the pace.   It was a frustrating swim because it was SO much slower than anything I’m used to.  I was ready to go Sub 1:30/100m, I ended up with a 2:08/100m.  

I got out of the water and ran to the wetsuit strippers.  Those guys were quick, before I knew it I was on my feet wetsuit in hand, running up the helix.  I got to the top at realized I forgot my glasses, so I sprinted back down to the glasses table, the back up again and into transition.  I got into transition and as I was putting my jersey on all my gels, and bars spilled out all over the place.  I picked them all up and reorganized, soon I was running out of Monona terrace.  My bike was all the way by the exit so I ran as fast as I dared in my cycling shoes down to the end of parking lot, grabbed my bike, ran a few strides to the mount line and down the helix I went.  

Bike Madison to Mt. Horeb:

The first 30 miles of the bike could be considered conservative.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I tried to pass, a marshal would come up and get me for drafting.  I should have been aggressive, then I would have been up with people who were going closer to my goal pace.  Instead for some reason I just decided to stay calm, keep the heart rate low, and just cruise for a bit.  I don’t know why but I just was not in a rush to get the bike over.  Unfortunately the “cruise for just a bit” turned into the whole bike.  I wanted to save my legs for the last loop of the bike and the run but I should have just gone for it from the first pedal stroke.  I might have ended up with a bike split closer to my usual pace for the bike course of 6:15.  

I knew that my best opportunity for speed was during the first part of the loop, but I just couldn’t get myself to take advantage of the first of the two flat spots on the course.   As I approached Mount Horeb I knew I had to prepare for the hilliest section of the course.  I inventoried my bottles, and food.  I swapped bottles and was good to go.  I came through Mt. Horeb and headed for the hills.  

Bike Mt. Horeb to Cross Plains:

I actually surprised myself in this section.  The hills from witty rd to the bottom of garfoot rd usually are the slowest part of the course but I flew up and down those hills.  On the downs I would pedal until I got up to 40mph then use that momentum to fly up the next hill, it worked extremely well, and I started to pass lots of people.  It was amazing, everyone would be grinding up these hills and I would just fly by them and still doing about 18mph by the time I reached the top.  I realized that I needed to make up serious time and I would have to push even harder if I was going to make up for my super slow beginning.  Garfoot rd was the fastest part of the loop for me, and I took the down hills as fast as I could safely go and still corner.   

I tried to remember the advice Thor wrote about staying smooth and steady but I just needed to blast the hills to make up time.  I rode the second flat section into cross plains at about 20 mph, took some salt, a few gels, and some Gatorade I got from the aid station in Cross Plains.  As soon as the Gatorade hit my stomach I had stomach problems.  I would have stomach problems until the return trip to Madison. I came into the cross plains aid station and did my first bottle swap.  

Bike Cross Plains to Verona:

I knew the big hills after cross plains would be a challenge, and that I would be slow.  It was really great to have everyone lining the road and cheering.  As I went up the second big hill this Italian guy started running along side and screaming Forza, Forza, Forza!!!  It was great.  I finally got to the top of the second hill and thoroughly enjoyed the super steep down hill south of  mineral point road, I hit 46mph on that!  I had one more hill to tackle before coming into Verona.  I kept trying to take in nutrition, but  the only thing my stomach could handle was Gu and water.  I doubled my sodium intake to make up for not being able to handle a sports drink, the water and salt did work well.  I stopped for a quick bathroom break and I was off to begin the second loop.

The second loop was more of the same with the exception that from Verona to Mt Horeb was into a headwind.  I was kicking myself for taking it easy during the first loop because the wind was strong enough to keep me at around 14mph.  It was around this time that I started to force myself to eat, I knew that I needed to take in as many calories as I could before the run, during the second loop I managed 4 gels.  I had planned on taking much more nutrition during the bike but I ended up about 2000Cals, below where I wanted to be.  From Mt. Horeb to Verona I was slow.  My knees had begun to ache and I was worried about saving them for the run.  Going back to Madison was great I was excited to get to the run, but I was hungry! 

Going up the helix was cool, I got to see my family as I went up.  I think I scared a volunteer though, because when I came screaming up to the dismount line the poor guy was getting ready to dive out of the way! I hoped off the bike and ran into T2.

I came out of T2 and ran down to the first part of state street, right then I saw the first Male come flying up the road!!  As soon as everyone saw him there was this huge roar from the crowd.  It gave a good boost!! My goal for the first lap was to get calories I focused on keeping my Heart rate low enough that I could take in enough calories to get me to at least 13 miles.  For the first couple of aid stations I ate every solid food they had.  My stomach was tolerating it well, and I finally had some energy.  The first lap of the run was great everyone kept shouting that I looked really strong, and it spurned me on keep my pace up.  

I had never run some of the streets it went on so it was great to discover some new roads!  One of the most memorable parts of the run course was at the bottom of state street.  Everyone was there and It was so crowded!  I heard the music and I upped my pace, I saw my family again and soon I was running along the lake. 

For me this was the hardest section of the course, there were no fans, no music, nothing to feed off of except your own determination to keep moving forward. I passed the big ford sign by the hospital, some anonymous person kept putting up these crazy messages for me to see, and a few of them really cracked me up!!  Soon I was heading away from the lake and back to downtown.  It was going slowly but at least I was moving forward.  Soon I was by the capital and as got close to the turn around I saw Kaiser’s parents, DW and a few other family members of LITers cheering for me!!  I rounded the turn around and headed out for the second loop.  I was starting to run out of energy again, I tried the caffeine gels, and coke but I’d  start feeling like I could pick up the pace and then I’d have no energy again.  The second loop was a war of attrition, my body just didn’t want to run anymore.  I’d try to run and as soon as my focus would slip just a little bit I’d find myself walking again!  I know it was a mental problem because I could run, but I couldn’t concentrate; it was frustrating!  Slowly I made my way to the turnaround at the bottom of state street.  This time there was no sprinting to the music, just a slow jog.

By this time it was dark and I was so relived when I got to the aid station by the lake!  They had bright lights, and 60s music, and go go dancers, it was a hippy themed aid station, and going through there lifted my spirits!  As soon as I was out of the aid station it was dark again.  The rest of the loop was spent running to the lighted areas, that meant aid stations and people!  As I came by the ford sign I heard “oh, hey! that’s Derrick!!”  I turned around and it was a friend I had not expected to see out volunteering.  I said a quick hello and got back to the business of moving forward.  

At this time it started to rain.  It was dark, Cold, and raining, but it wasn’t going to stop me from finishing.  By now my the run was reduced to a medium fast walk.  I really wanted to run but I just could not concentrate enough to do it.  I finally came to state street and as I came around that capital, I heard Hey Rambler!!, It was LRR!! That was totally unexpected, I had figured everyone would have been in their hotel rooms by then!  It was great to see him, and the quick hello shook me out of my tunnel vision march to the finish, and I realized hey, I’m going to finish this thing!  Soon I was at the top of the hill, then I was by the drop bags, I started to get excited, I see the finishing chute and the next thing I know I’m sprinting down the chute feeling like I could do another marathon.  I kept thinking where did this come from! I can’t believe it I’m finally running!!!  The next  I knew Wipaddler was hanging a medal around my neck, and I was being ushered out the back to get my photo taken and get some food.  It was over so quickly, that last loop felt like an eternity, and as soon as I rounded the last corner it seemed like I blinked and was at the finish line.

After I got some food my next thought was I can do this much better next time!!

I did it!

I am an Iron Man! It was a long and eventful day on the back roads of southern Wisconsin. There were good patches and bad patches, but I did it. In spite of a slow swim, and nutrition problems during the bike and run I still crossed the line in 15:13:34. Race Report to come...

Trans Mendota Swim

I decided I couldn't wait to see if could do the 5.53miles across lake mendota so I went for it this morning.

stats:
5.53MI swim
2hrs 18min
1:33/100m pace

Since I didn't have to go to work until 11am I decided I would go for the swim this morning at 7. I got ready and hopped on the bus that would take me to the edge of the Yahara river. It took about a half hour to get to the north side of the lake. I didn't have a kayaker or anybody going along but I saw a lot of fisherman and early morning boaters out so I decided just to risk it.

I walked to the bridge that would mark the starting point of my swim at the northern most part of lake Mendota by the Cherokee marsh. I pulled on my swim cap and goggles and jumped in. The water was quite warm, which was good since I didn't have a wetsuit on.

I swam through the marina and out into the lake. The water was calm and I got into a good rhythm my goal was a 2:30hrs I knew it was doable because I'd done a 30:54 at Racine and had been right around a 1:30/100m in warmer water.

I just keep swimming, out into the middle of the lake. I was using the capital for sighting. Since i'm half blind without glasses it was the only part of downtown Madison that I could see. I knew that if I kept just left of it I would be on target to hit James Madison beach, the end of swim. I was about 2 miles out into the lake when I came upon a group of people taking sailing lessons. It was really weird because I kept expecting to hear the boats but, they were silent, and I'd hear LOOK OUT!! from behind and have to dive out the way an errant sailboat. I finally cleared the curious and dangerous inexperienced sailors and kept on swimming just left of the capital building.

Another 1/2 mile or so and the waves started getting really big. I got really Sick! It was like constantly swimming through ocean surf Up and Down, up and down I figured out they were between 3-4ft waves!! I managed to not throw up but I was very sea Sick. The rough waves lasted until 1 mile from the southern shore of the lake. Where it smoothed out again, but it got very weedy, almost so weedy I could practically walk on the water!

I knew though that that meant I was getting very close to shore. I concentrated on swimming efficiently and fast! Soon I could see the beach. I re adjusted my heading and swam straight in. 5.53 miles in 2hr's 18 minutes! This swim would have been nicer with a kayaker to carry some water or something. I didn't dare drink from the lake as people have been getting Sick from the algae, and by the time I finished I was very dehydrated. This was one incredible swim, I was hoping for just over 2:30hrs but sub 2:20 was just unexpected!!

I've got a new challenge in mind. Though, it will probably have to wait till after IM, and that is to swim all 4 of the chain lakes. It's 20 miles, and yes I will definitely have some one come along on that swim thats too long for a solo swim without water/food etc.

Why are tall people left out of the equasion??!!

I've been thinking about fit lately both in bikes and cars. I need a tri bike but nothing fit's, I've gotten fit and know that I have to go custom in order to fit on a bike. I'm also starting to look for cars as the one I've got is getting up there in years and miles. It'll be 10 years old this December and by that time will have over 200,000 miles on it. Problem is, no one is making cars that get the same gas mileage or fit me(even the car I have now doesn't really fit). I've got a 99 Pontiac Sunfire.

I get 42 mpg on the highway with this car and even though it doesn't fit me I still have more room in it than any other modern car produced in the last 20 years, and I want a car, not an SUV, crossover, minivan, truck or other wasteful type of auto; so I've been using this new car search system on the Autochannel website. It has every car from 2006 on and listed is the legroom, head room and other measurements of the cars. It's designed for tall people.

What I've discovered is that the only car that will accurately and comfortable fit me is the 06 Saleen S7! Hmm, it's too bad it's about $540,000 out of my price range. As I comb the list and eliminate all cars more expensive than $25,000 I have to give up almost 7 inches of legroom before I can even start to afford these cars!!! I could fit in these cars if I hack off a few inches of my femurs!!! An example would be flying coach in any Boeing aircraft, the distance from seat back to the seat in front of me is about a 1/2 inch smaller than my upper leg.

I'm 6' 6" and have longer thighs than calf's so that presents a real challenge. Plenty of cars theoretically have enough legroom but because of my long upper legs my knees will generally hit the dash board before I can extend my leg to touch the pedals! They really need to start measuring cars from seat back to dashboard at leg level if they do they will find out it's a tight squeeze for people with 36" inseams and above!

To date I have never had a car that didn't at least require creative leg positioning or dashboard modification to drive it. That's the reason I couldn't perform test drives on the cars that I worked on when I was a mechanic. I simply could not fit. The only cars I can comfortably drive are those with seats practically on the floor, with at least 6 inches of rear movement and enough backrest tilt so I can sit on the backrest and gain a few more inches!

I don't get why auto engineers, bike designers, Aircraft designers, even clothing designers(except in Germany!) don't make things for tall people. It's insane! I'm thinking that maybe I should just give up on the car. If I get a good custom bicycle that fits me I'm thinking the automobile just isn't worth my time or money! Yeah, I love to drive fast. Yeah, I like to drive long distances, but maybe it's time I just face the facts that there are NO comfortable cars for tall people. It's bad when you have to worry about getting blood clots and such from having your legs pinned to the dash board for hours on end completely immobilized!

I know that in North America I cannot live without a car. The distances I need to travel are too vast and would require lots of time on a bicycle. It is unfortunate that America doesn't have a rail system similar to Europe or I would ditch the car. Maybe I should just move to Germany the land where the clothes are long, the aircraft have legroom, and the trains are designed for people over 6 foot, of course as tall as their population is they still don't design cars with legroom. I guess there really is no place for tall people in the modern world!

Bikes! Bikes! Bikes!

Today I went out on a fact finding mission for the tri bike that I hope to build soon. I tested 3 bikes from 3 different manufacturers. A Qroo, a Trek, and a Specialized. First off none of them fit, on all of them my knees hit my elbows, legs hit chest, and shoes hit the chain stays (first time i've ever had to TOE IN to pedal a bike!). Why aren't bike companies making Tri bikes for taller riders??? I need a 64cm road bike, and around a 62cm tri bike, no one makes bikes for tall guys! The real question I'd like to pose in this post is why are tri bikes so sluggish?

My comfort roadbike handles shaper and with more speed than those tri bikes! Seriously, after test riding those three bikes I hopped on my Specialized Roubaix (which is even so modified so I can fit that weight distribution is way off) and was relived to have bike that could corner, and a bike with long chain stays. I've so far discovered that tri bikes handle like cargo ships, and that the proportions of the bike are all off.

I think I need to build a tri/road combo of sorts. Longer chain stays, longer top tubes, with short head tubes and really wacky angles to get the right amount of trail and get the weight distribution back in between the wheels instead of having a front bias like those tri bikes, or a rear bias like my modified Roubaix. So is the life of a tall guy, always a struggle being too big for most things, bikes included.

Reflections on Racine

Here are some things I need to improve and can improve between now and September 7.

Swimming, I need to get used to swimming when it's chaotic so, Whitecaps? I'll be out there, too cold? I'll be out there, learning to get more comfy with bad conditions.

Transition times, I don't think it will be a problem during IM as there is much more space for stuff but it took far longer than it should have for both transitions during this 1/2 Ironman, mostly due to me not being able to lay anything out(no space).

Electrolight Balance, Start taking S-caps/endurolights from the start of the Bike. I payed for ignoring it, on the run. Looking at race photos I look like a balloon, lots of puffiness, and swelling, I'm thinking it was a combo of mild hyponatremia( I had several of the symptoms) and wicked sunburn.

Eat!, Food, find bars, gels, liquids that I can tolerate during the bike and stop eating at 30min before I start the run. Also, take in easily digestible calories on the run and maybe some caffeine to bring back my focus and concentration during mid to late afternoon when I usually loose it.

Bricks! I need more of them, it took 3 miles for my running legs to come back.

MORE RUNNING! I just like it the most, and I need to do some speed work(perfect time, 6wks!) I'm aiming for a RUN PR come september!!

Concentration, from the last 10 miles of the bike through the finish I just could not get myself to focus. Not sure how to get that back once i've lost it, suggestions???

Fire and Ice in racine, the Spirit of Racine Triathlon RR

Spirit of Racine Triathlon

Over all: 6:47:14
Swim: 30:54 +3 min and change for run to transition
T1: 3:36
Bike: 2:56:55
T2: 4:28
Run: 3:09:00

The weekend before the race I was up in Milwaukee and decided to see what the water temps were like. I got to Racine and swam or at least tried for about twenty minutes. I went in three times, the last time I fully submerged then promptly got out; the life guard said it was 50 degrees!!! Knowing this, I set to work trying to find a wetsuit for the next weekend. Only one store in Madison had a suit in my size available for the next weekend so I booked it.

This race would be a race of many firsts for me. First time I’ve ever raced with a wetsuit, first ½ Iron distance, and first time I’ve ever done a race with such extremes in temperature, It should be called the FIRE and ICE triathlon!

Saturday came, I packed up all my stuff and headed to Racine. When I had left Madison it was sunny and in the high 80s; in Racine it was rainy, foggy, and about 65 degrees. Except for the rain it was perfect racing conditions. My performance always suffers when it gets above 80 degrees, so for me the cooler the better. I picked up my race numbers and goody bag and browsed the expo, I was also hoping to spot some of the LITers that were at the race but I didn’t find anyone. Next I went and dropped off my bike at transition.

I got an awesome spot in transition, 2 racks from the run exit and I was closest to the main isle. While I was doing that a women came and racked right next to me. She was about my age and doing her first half Iron too. It’s at this point that I have to say Tri folks are the nicest people. She and a few others would do something for me on Sunday that I would never have imagined total strangers would do for other strangers. That task done I decide to head into downtown Milwaukee and get something to eat and then get to bed. I got to my hotel after dinner and attempted to sleep.

I was more nervous about this race than I had been about my first marathon! I could not sleep. The entire night I was practically wide awake, and at 4:45am the alarm went off and I could finally get up for real. I ate some pasta leftovers from dinner as my breakfast and double checked my transition bags. I had about a 40 minute drive from my hotel in Milwaukee to the start. I got there and set to work laying out all my stuff. Then I went and got marked, and they used the stamps!! I always feel like a pro when I get stamped instead of the black marker. I donned my wetsuit and started the 1 mile walk to the swim start.

The swim begins a mile north of transition, and you swim south along the beach and then have to run a few hundred yard through loose sand to transition. I got to the start and they said, because of the mist and fog the start has been delayed until 7:15am. While I was waiting I saw a lot of people including the pros that had only brought sleeveless wetsuits begging for caps and booties or anything they could find to help insulate them from the 55 degree water. It’s now 7:15 and they say it’s delayed until 7:30. It went like that until finally at 8:00am, 1hr after the original start time, it began. First went all the pros then came my wave, the 29 and under wave. In it were mostly Navy Seals, and Air force recruits and college triathlon guys. I’m normally a good foot above most people but compared to this group I was average; and quite nervous.

The swim began and we all rushed into the ice cold water wading our way out until we could swim. Boy was it cold, even with the wetsuit it almost took my breath away, and I could no longer feel my hands or feet or face. I rounded the first buoy getting knocked every which way, and for about a ¼ mile was very close to panic. My wetsuit which I wasn’t used to was very tight around my chest so I could only take very small breaths, that, the waves and getting beat on made me question what I was doing out there. Soon after it started to smooth out and I was able to sort of swim, I had trouble sighting in the fog though and more than once found my self either heading straight for Michigan or heading into shore. I did lots of zigzagging and probably looked like I was drunk!

I just kept swimming, though, and all the sudden through the mist four yellow buoys appeared signaling the end of the swim. I couldn’t believe it, it’s over all ready! I didn’t even find a rhythm or swim in a straight line!! I rounded the last buoy and headed for shore. I hit the beach in 30:54. I could hardly believe it but my Heart rate was 182, that’s 4 beats lower than my run LT! I guess I really was panicking! Up on the beach I struggled to get my wetsuit off while running. Finally some competitor reached over and pulled down the zipper for me. Who ever you are thanks! Because if you hadn’t of done that I’d probably still be in that wetsuit desperately trying reaching the zipper. I hit transition and quickly pulled off my wetsuit, put on my bike jersey, helmet and shoes and exited T1in 3:36. Off on the bike.

The one true hill on the course was at the beginning and I had made sure to get my gears all set for it when I left my bike on Saturday. I spun up the hill and off I went. Up to mile 5 my body was still in shock from the swim HR still around 182. I was really amazed at how fast I was able to go and for the first 15 miles I was averaging 25mph!! I was FOP and up with guys on super expensive disc wheeled speed machines. And I was on a specialized comfort road bike with clip ons and training wheels!

My heart rate started to come down and settled at around 165 which is normal for me racing on the bike. The course was really narrow in spots and it was really difficult to avoid situations where you would be considered drafting, in some spots the course was just wider than a side walk! At about mile 20 this guy rolled up to me and commented on my team Discovery jersey, then he speed off down the road. I would see this guy cheering me on later during the run.

I was in between miles 20-30 when the wind picked up. I was going north I think and I could hear the wind whistling through the spokes and saw my speed drop to 20mph, from then until mile 40 I would be fighting the wind. I was determined to not let my speed drop under 20mph though. I more or less averaged between 20 and 21.5 until I had to stop for an emergency pit stop in the woods. I wanted to try out the pee off the bike thing but there were lots of people around and I was a bit embarrassed so I trudged off the road and into the woods. The mosquito infested woods!

I emerged with 6 new very itchy mosquito bites that would occupy much of my concentration for the next few miles. At about mile 35 I noticed my aero bars were starting to vibrate loose!! By mile 40 they were resting on my brake cables and were completely useless. I was glad I still had drop bars, but since my bike was set up for aero It was extremely uncomfortable and my knees kept hitting my elbows so I rode mostly out of the saddle on the hoods for the rest of the bike. From 40 to 56 it was pretty easy as I now had the wind at my back, all though now my speed was way down and my legs were complaining from having to pedal mostly standing! It started to get very hot! From mile 40 to the finish I watched my thermometer creep from 65-70 then to 77 and finally to 81, dangerous territory for the run!

I think I probably could have maintained my +20mph avg for those last few miles but after the Aero bars came loose I lost concentration and focus on pedaling fast and efficiently. Before that though I was on track for 2:30 ish bike split. With a few miles to go I forced my self to ride seated and just spin. A guy came up to me asked me how I was doing, and we chatted a little while about the up coming run course. I hit less than a mile to go, rounded the corner and pedaled down the hill to the dismount line. Total bike time was 2:56:55 with a 19.0mph bike course average.

I jogged my bike to my rack and decide to keep the bike jersey on, I put my shoes on lathered up on sunscreen and head out for the run T2 was 4:28. Longer than I had hoped but nothing compared to the slog fest that was the run.

A few observations: I noticed many peletons on the course and they of were flying! One engulfed me at about mile 35 and I could of sworn I was in the middle of a Cat 3 road race! There were so many people blatantly drafting! There were a couple of very narrow and sharp turns and I saw a lot of people slam on the brakes through the turns. I didn’t think they were that bad but maybe that’s because I’ve been getting in to road racing over the past spring. I’ve been thinking more and more that triathlete’s bike handling skills would really improve if they did some traditional bike racing. I saw a lot of hesitant bikers! Overall though the course was nice and flat and well organized, I just wish some of the course was wider than it was, in those spots it was difficult to remain out of the draft zone without slowing way down.

On to the run: I exited Transition and started to jog I couldn’t really manage a run my legs were still confused about what they were supposed to be doing. I started hydrating right away but I had forgotten to keep eating while I was biking so I knew I was in for a long slow half marathon. There were really only two hills on the run course they were right at the beginning and were big hills that went right up a dune. I couldn’t run those so I did the Ultra power walk.

I hit mile two but my legs were still telling me they didn’t quite understand what I wanted them to do, so more run walk. Finally I hit mile 3 and I was able to run. Not fast, barely qualified as a run, but I was running I ran to the turn around and headed back for the last half of the first lap. Mile 4 went by and then I ran into the women that was next to me in transition, my rack buddy, as she said. we talked about the bike and about how the run was going the she sped off. My legs were not cooperating and the course by now was completely shade less and windless, it started to get REALLY hot and I got slower, which was hard to do because even my “running” was barely faster than a walk.

I knew at that point I was looking at a PR for slowest ever half marathon. I continued “running” and hydrating through the turn around to begin the second lap. I was starting to overheat. At the aid stations I was taking cup after cup of Ice and pouring in my jersey trying to cool down. It would work for about 5 minutes until the ice melted and then I would be overheated again. I did do a good job with hydration and sodium levels though!

The bike was cool enough that I didn’t really need to take any but I started taking them with about 10 miles to go just to prepare for the run and kept taking them, about 2 per hour until I finished, that was the only part of the run that went well. I was reduced to fast walk after the turn around of the last lap because I just could not keep cool and I was starting to recognize signs heat exhaustion. I basically walked the last 3 miles and even that was becoming a struggle.

I started to think that maybe it was glycogen depletion since I wasn’t able to eat much on the bike. I came into the finish chute and to my surprise all the people I had meet that were on my rack were there cheering me on as I finished. This meant SOOOOOO much to me because none of my family or friends were able to come and see me complete my first half Iron distance race.
I finished with a run time of 3:09:00 my slowest ½ marathon ever. One hour and 5 minutes slower than my previous slowest ½ marathon! My run heart rate average was 158 well below what I normally race at which seemed odd because no matter how fast I tried to run it never got about 170 and I usually race at 176-186 when I do marathons. I finished with a final time of 6:47:14. I was hoping for a time in the 5hr range but for my first ½ iron I’ll take it.

After I finished I went and talked to all of my “rack buddies” for a while. They had all finished in between an hour and hour and a half before me and I was blown away that they would stick around to see me finish!!! I found out they were all from either Milwaukee or Madison and several of them are doing IM WI! So I’ve finally got some people I can go on training rides/runs with!
This race was a really good confidence booster for IM Wisconsin this September. Even though the run didn’t go well. I was happy with the Swim and the Bike. I see some areas that need fine tuning in the swim like getting used to OW swims with lots of other people and improve my sighting. On the bike I need to find some food that my stomach will tolerate and I need to work on my into the wind cycling and work on getting a little better at climbing. I like to climb out of the saddle, I think it’s one of the most joyous experiences in cycling, there is nothing like passing people while climbing, but it does take a lot out of my legs so I need to get my legs stronger.

Even though this course was not very hilly compared to the IM WI course I need to get better at recovering when I crest a hill if I hope to maintain a similar average come September 7. The run was bad but I’ve had similar performances at marathons that occurred in the heat. I’ve come to the conclusion that I just can’t cool myself down very well when it’s hot out. Overall it was a great race, a fun race, and a memorable race, perfect for a First ½ iron.

Fire and Ice

This weekend I embark on my first half Ironman. The swim will be cold(50 degrees), the bike will be flat, and the run will be Hot(90 degrees). I can swim 1.2 miles, I can bike 56 miles, I can run13.1 miles. Now comes the time to see if I can do all three together in one day. I am confident that I can, and look forward to crossing that finish line; where I will be 1/2 way on my journey to become an Iron Man. Wish me luck on Sunday when I will swim through ICE, bike and run through FIRE.

Adventures in open water swimming

Today I went for my second OW swim of the season. Today was the first day the beaches were open after all the rain we've been having, so I decided to go for a swim. I started swimming and for the first 1/2 mile or so it was all weeds, weeds in the lake bottom and weeds floating on the top. I had to stop many time to untangle myself from all the weeds that would get stuck around my neck and arms and legs. I keep swimming, just off shore and eventually the weeds ended and I was able to really get into a rhythm.

I kept going until I heard what I thought was a gun shot, in some woods. I Think the police may have been training in there or something because as soon as I stopped to figure out what was going on 3 uniformed guys came out of the woods and looked back at me. So I kept on swimming and at about the end of mile 1 I was attacked by a fish!!

I was swimming along and all the sudden I felt something bite my back!!! OUCH!!! I flip over and see a silvery/green fish trying to get away! I feel my back and sure enough there is a little bite mark!!! It was at this point that I decide 1.5 miles was enough swimming for the day. I headed for the nearest beach only now I was 1.5 miles from where I started and where my shirt was.

I figured hey, I'm barefoot, half naked, sporting a swim cap and goggles Time to run!! So I ran back to my apartment. I was amazed at how fast my pace seemed compared to my swimming pace! SO the day was filled with adventure and in spite of the tons of weeds and blue green algae, and the aggressive fish it was quite a fun workout! I think a SWIM RUN brick may become part of my regular training schedule!

Barefooting and sandal making

So I went for a barefoot run yesterday and have come to the conclusion that (A) having double jointed toes= a bad time running barefoot on concrete and (B) my left leg is shorter than my right. I spent most of college running barefoot but that was on the soft Kansas prairie and didn't destroy the bottom of my feet. This city barefootin' isn't very fun, it consists almost entirely of dodging tiny broken glass chards and feeling the concrete sand away the bottoms of your feet. So I'll be sticking to my nike free's for now until I can make a nice running sandal. I was thinking of something like what the Tarahumara Indians wear or something similar to ancient greeco/roman sandals. I still have to find a good base for the sandal though and I haven't figured out where to get leather straps.

WIND!!!

I did a 3hr long bike today. It was more difficult than anticipated. There was 20mph winds gusting to 30mph. I almost got blown off the road a few times, but I got all 3hrs in. Up all the hills on the IM course too! Now I'm off to run for a while.

So this what a good workout feels like!

Today I had good training sessions, and I'm so glad. The last month was awful, and this weekend I was overwhelmed by the bad training that went on. The past month was a lesson in what not to do. Loosing count during swim workouts, cycling the IM bike course with 30 mph crosswinds in the rain, running out of fluids and calories during runs and last week was the worst of them all.
Last week I had 2 flat tires and shredded my outer casing, forcing me walk 10 miles in cycling shoes. Last week I overheated in every swimming workout I did, turns out the Y likes their pool water warmer than my body does, 83* F is too warm! Last week also saw me going from a half marathon run the week before to not being able to run at all.

So today, when I was able to swim all 2200yds and bike 1hr 15 minutes with out incident; it was a GREAT VICTORY! What a confidence booster! This weekend I was contemplating not even doing IM wisconsin, so to have such good workouts put me back on track. Thank God for small victories because without some progress, something to show me this training is actually worth it, there is no way I would still be training.

Rant Alert!!

What do I want to do when I grow up?? I don’t know. It’s hard when you don’t have any ambitions. I once thought I would be a car designer. I couldn’t hack it as a REAL artist, so I had to abandon that dream. Then I thought about Civil Engineering, and Engineering as a career in general. I loved the Idea but when I barely passed remedial math in high school that was decided for me. Besides, I really didn’t want to be in school for 6 years. I thought what’s left, well there is this auto restoration school. I decided I’d go there and figure out what I wanted to do later.

It’s now Later and all I know is what I spent 4 years getting is neither what I’m good at nor what I actually want to do. Now I’m thinking about running, not because I’m any good at it or have shown any particular propensity for running long distances FAST(in fact quite the opposite, I can run forever at a slow pace.)but because I love it. I do run long, I do train hard, I do love running but ultimately being a professional athlete is not something you decide to do and then do it. You can have the best work ethic in the world but if you don’t have natural born genetic talent you’ll never win, which is what I want to do.

So what else, I thought about coaching but again you actually have to be a good athlete if you want to have clients. I really don’t know nothing catches my fancy that I’m also good at. I’m mediocre at best at everything that I do. I have to work my ass off for every little advancement in any given area of my life, and these advancements to me seem huge, but other people don’t notice and still comment on how I under perform. So what am I supposed to do I love to travel, but I’m absolutely scared of other people, not because they are dangerous, or untrustworthy, I have in fact found the opposite is true everywhere I go but that I’m terrified of actually having to talk about myself to others. I usually get horribly insulted, that has been the rule, not the exception. The same has been true everywhere I’ve lived; Europe, the east coast, the Midwest, the northeast, a tourism job is out.

So what the heck am I going to do. I’ve been out of work for 7 months now trying to figure out what I really want to do. I’m no closer to figuring that out than I was 7 months ago. I’ve tried getting work in a bike shop but apparently 4 years of auto restoration does not make me qualified to work on bicycles. It sucks, I have two degrees, one in technology, and one it history and neither is a viable career option. I love history but I’m not willing to suffer through grad school just so I can get a shitty job at some community college for the rest of my life. To do anything with history you need a PHD from a top school, known the world over for its history program. I really don’t know what to do because apparently the only thing I’m good at is intellectual thought and manual labor, neither of which excite, or inspire me.

I’m honestly considering the HOBO option, that is drop out of society and float around for a while. It seems like my only real option considering I’m either over qualified for a job or under experienced. Seems like a Damn conspiracy against 20 somethings! I’d love to move out of the country but you have to have a job in the country you move to first!

So what’s the conclusion of all this? Beats me, I still don’t know what I’m going to do and no one seems willing or able to hook me up. Those of you who actually have good jobs out of college are very lucky. Seems like my only choice is to beg for a McDonald's job at $6.00 an hour!

What a Fucking lie, you go to college get your degree and you get a good job. That was what colleges and my parents sold to me. Turns out the job is only never guaranteed and is only available to you if you have connections and a willingness to lie, steal, break the rules, and love the stock market. I went to a job interview, with a company I will not mention for fear of being sued.

The interview included a day where you would go along and help out to see if it’s what you wanted to do. So I go and do it, the job description included “work in sports marketing, with major organizations,” the reality was it was a door to door salesman job selling trinkets from the major sports leagues, not what I wanted to do but a job is job. The company, showed me how to sell, they said present it as if you were representing a charity organizations and if the customers would donate to the “charity” they would get the product. They took cash “donations” posing as a “Charity.” Quite illegal, they asked me is this something that you want to do I say NO WAY!!!

They said ok well good luck. Problem is I got a ride from one of the “Salesman” out to some small Wisconsin town like 50 miles from where my car was and they told me they would not give me a ride back unless I accepted the job. I had to hitch hike back. Luckily wearing a suit and tie I didn’t look like mass murder and was able to get a ride. Is this really the way America works!!! Lets cheat, and steal our way to riches! That should be the motto on the dollar bill not “In God We Trust.”

but I digress…

So what am I really going to do? This experience and others like it has soured my desire to work at all. Why the hell should I compromise my morals just to get and keep a job!?! I’d rather be a pauper than work for the American corporate machine. Well, I guess the search continues, hopefully I will eventually find a job. Something I’m both good at and Love to do.

The Future of the Automobile

I just read an article in this month's EVO magazine about future European Union emissions standards and how they will affect sports car manufacturers. In this article author John Griffiths reports that the EU is thinking of a ban on cars that get less than 35 miles per gallon, and cars that produce more than 130G C02/km. He writes that both Porsche and Italian Supercar manufacturers Ferrari and Lamborghini will pull out of the European auto market because it is impossible for them to meet emissions and fuel economy standards and still have similar performance to what they currently have.

What does this mean for the automobile in Europe, in the world?

Clearly the automobile as we currently view it is doomed. In as little as 10 years the EU could legislate the Internal Combustion Engine out of existence, and other governments will follow. Is the US, Canada, Australia or Japan next? I think so. We now need to start thinking about real, viable solutions to this problem. Obviously we the general public won't be able to change world wide government policy, but what we can do is come up with solutions to work around the pollution problems. There are alternative already out there but how many are actually viable?

Alternative fuels are very costly to the environment, plant based fuels reqire a lot of fossil fuels and toxic pesticides and herbicides to plant and grow them and with the emerging worldwide food shortage they become the ultimate in feel good, opulent, excessive consumption. Those fields should be growing food to feed people not our cars. Alt-Fuels are out, what about Hybrids?

The Hybrid relays heavily on the Internal Combustion Engine and outside of the city during highway cruising virtually never uses its electric motor. Hybrids also do not do much to improve on CO2 emissions. A Toyota Prius that drives 10km in the city will spew 1045g co2, not very good. Clearly the Hybrid will be out. What about pure electrics?

Electrics are very good if you don't want to drive across continents in a single trip. Right now the best electrics could give about 300miles range on a single charge, that's great, but what if you want to drive from California to New York? In today's car you could do it non-stop in 2-2 1/2 days if you're not speeding. With an electric you have to stop every 300 miles to recharge it, and there are currently no quick ways of fully recharging a car. You must stop and let it charge overnight. The trip would take weeks!

There is one technology left, it's a technology that most people think of as old fashioned, impractical, and unsafe. That technology is Steam. At the turn of the 20th century in America, steam cars were the second most common vehicle on the roads. It was second only to Electrics, it was second because it was expensive, and somewhat dangerous, but it was well know.

Steam technology and operation was well know and well understood at the turn of the century. Steam died out after World War One because boiler technology had not been able to advance as fast as Internal Combustion Engine technology, and Steam car manufactures stuck with tried and true manufacturing techniques common the the 19th century carriage industry, in short they did not adapt to new technology. But the steam car works.

In 1906 the Stanley brothers of The Stanley Steam Car Company set the land speed record with one of their cars in 127.659MPH. On the second run, the run in which the car crashed it was rumored to have been going more than 170MPH. Production models of the Stanleys cars could do 100MPH but there was a better steam car. It was the Doble Steam car, only 40 were produced in the late 20s and early 30s but they were and still are the best steam cars ever produced. By the 1920's boiler technology had caught up with other technologies and it only took 45 seconds to make a full head of steam as opposed to the hour or so it would take with 1900s technology.

The Doble had the potential to restart the steam car market but because Abner Doble, the designer was such a perfectionist he would not let any car out the door with out first installing the latest technologies so the cars cost so much and were so slow in production that the steam car died with the Doble.

The point of all this history is to show just how practical steam still is. The last of the steam cars were fast, convenient, fuel efficient, and luxurious. They had great range in the order of 500 miles or more and they ran on any fuel, and you would fill up both the fuel tank and the boiler(with water) just like you would with an internal combustion engine. Why is this technology in the past?

We now have on demand water heaters in our homes that provide instant hot water the second you turn on the faucet. Why can't this technology be adapted to boil water instead of just heat it. We now have super efficient steam turbines capable of thousands of horse power and virtually no maintenance. All the systems nessesary for the modern steam car exist; fast efficient boilers, and efficient engines that are also lightweight. The boiler could be electric, eliminating green house gas emissions, and the whole system could be 100% condensing eliminating the need to fill up with water. Best of all we would be able to keep our sports cars.

Steam powered sports cars would be fast, light, have great handling due to the low weight of modern steam engines, and have the range that us modern drivers want. The future of the automobile will be diverse and it will mirror the early history of the automobile in that there will be many competing propulsion systems. This time around, though, I think that Steam has a real chance of winning out and becoming the propulsion system of choice for the next century. What do you say, let's put our energy into throwing off internal combustion and the limits of fossil fuels and lets take on EXTERNAL combustion(Steam) and look forward to future of clean powerful automobiles.

Traffic patterns of the 21st century

As I was surfing the internet the other day I came across an interesting article about city planning, and traffic control in the Netherlands. The article "European Cities Do Away With Traffic Signs,(http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448747,00.html)" it is quite interesting.



In the Netherlands, city planners are removing street signs, traffic lights, no parking signs, and even lane markings. They want all forms of traffic to interact in a more human, less regulated way. They say that all that is bad about traffic is improved with deregulation. Planners say that it forces motorists to be more careful about how they drive and their speed.
I cannot speak from experience but I think I would be a nervous wreck competing with pedestrians, cyclists, runners, old ladies walking at .5mph down the middle of the street,etc. I don't know if I would be able to handle not having lanes, or some sort of regulation at intersections.

I could to deal with the increase in bicycle traffic, but I couldn't deal with people just walking down the middle of the street. This no regulation idea is a terrible Idea. What happens when traffic increases as cities grow, and how would such a lack of regulation work in American cities with grid street patterns? People are not that civilized in America, manners don't exist anymore. I don't think this system could work in an American city.

I am for some deregulation, parking where ever you want for example, but with no regulation and such high population density it would just be a nightmare! Cars wouldn't be very practical on streets who's speed is realistically limited to the top speeds of the slowest user. I would go as far to say that the current automobile could not exist in these types of traffic situations.

What European Planners want us to do is go back to the middle ages. Their cities might be able to handle that, but a Modern Grid street city could not. The photo included in this post is a street scene c. 1910 in Chicago. If you look up American street scene photographs from the turn of the century, it is utter chaos. The streets are jammed with every type of vehicle imaginable and they are literally jammed! These photographs are the strongest evidence against deregulation of traffic.

Our entire road system would have to be rebuilt to allow for such a lack of regulation. In old European cities roads wind, they are not straight, they have narrow alleyways, and few roads. The roads they do have, seem to have a natural flow.

American cities on the other hand, are standardized. They were build with the automobile and bicycle in mind, and were designed to work with the regulation of traffic. Having streets that go North, South, East and West at unregulated intersections would cause traffic jams.

Everyone cannot go every direction at once. That was the point of regulating traffic. I do not think the European planners could import their anarchy to the modern city with much success. If this plan did cross the Atlantic it could only be used in limited areas and it could not be city wide. American cities are not designed to handle traffic like that, it would just result in widespread gridlock.

Technology and Society

I can't help but think that this western world that we live in just isn't good enough. I keep seeing all these technological advances, and new ways of communicating, and new gadgets, and things meant to entertain us, and keep thinking that this isn't the way it's supposed to be.

It seems like all this progressive technology never lives up to what it promises. I look back on the industrial revolution and see a crescendo of life altering and life improving technologies. Then suddenly it seems from about WWII onwards the promise that all this knowledge and science and technology holds becomes less meaningful and less good and becomes something more akin to an unstoppable monster.

We are loosing our very humanity. It used to be that people would actually talk to each other, face to face. Then came computers and cellphones and the internet and it's all gone. Even as I blog on the internet there is no real social interaction, no reading of body language, no smells, or tactial sensations. It doesn't seem real.

I see the western world and see that we are all withdrawing from society and I hate it. I loved technology, I used to dream of being the next Edison, or Henry Ford, inventing the next big thing, the next life altering technology, but I see now that technology cannot fix the problems of the world.

It takes people face to face, discussing, arguing, planning, thinking, and yes, sometimes fighting. I want that. I want to be in a real society, a real culture, something tangible, something physical.

These computers are great machines, but they are just that, machines. No more capable of being human, than a tree could be human, and yet we treat these machines as extensions of our own bodies. Our tongues, our minds, our memories, and we even let these machines mimic the physical world.

I don't dispute the amazing capabilities these machines have to do work, work that would take millennia, in some cases for humans to do, but they are still just machines. I used to long for life in the 1920's but as I got older and I studied the 1920's I realized that they weren't that great, and I began to long for the 19th century and then I read Thoreau and longed for times even earlier, pre industrial revolution.

I realized that what happened in the industrial revolution was just a precursor to today. The beginning of the disconnect that is making itself evident in my generation. Technology used to evolve over centuries, and society had time to evaluate the good and the bad of new technologies. That is not the case anymore, it just comes at us too fast, ever changing, never content, ever improving, never perfect.

I long for the good old days. Days when life was short, and brutish, but at least it was real. People used to live in communities, tribes, cities, nations that were based on real person to person contact. Those are the days I miss.

Technology is great but what good is it if it takes our humanity away? What good is it if it robes us of human contact, and real physical near-distance communication.

What I absolutely hate about this hyper connected, but still lonely existence we call modern living is the total and complete lack of privacy, secrecy and personal rights. It used to be, before the twentieth century that biggest intrusion into your personal life was the town gossip. Now the government, Big brother, corporations, your employers, and random strangers all know what your up to. That GPS, while great if you don't have a map can also track you. That Email you sent out bashing your boss could come back to haunt you. There is no privacy, only the illusion of privacy, and forget about rights to secrecy. They know what your up to and that just sucks!

I long for the days before the microchip, before the transistor, before trains, planes, or automobiles, before Gasoline, or steam, or even steel, before police(yes, there was a time), before Shire reeves, and kings, and czars, and dukes before all of that. You see because, while life was short and brutish back in those days, life was pure, you knew your purpose, you only had a few options, only a few possessions, you were free to do as you pleased as long as you fed, clothed, and housed your family. If indeed you had a family at all.

There are only a few jobs in the world that I want, and sadly all of them have been taken, long ago, and been made completely obsolete. I don't want to be an inventor any more, I see that technology doesn't solve problems it only magnifies, or creates new ones. I don't want to be involved in this modern life.

No, the life I want to live and the people I look up to are the adventurers, the explorers, the traders that journeyed across vast distances of the globe, over the alps or through deserts carrying that little trinket from a distant culture. That real tangible item, made, or found, or grown by a real human being from another place. Or the messenger, traveling across vast distances to deliver an important message, to foster communication, person to person, the Telecommunication of old.

Those are the people I look up to, those are the people I want to be like. It is the reason I am an athlete, so that I can do what those ancient people did. Move through God's magnificent creation, exploring, learning, and communicating with people all over the world. That is what life should be about, this technology is just a dangerous distraction forcing us to give up our very humanity for sake of the machine.

I wish I could give up this glorified type writer for real society but, if I did that I would have no society, no community, no people, so for now I'll keep typing, and continuing to be just another slave to the machine.