08.22.09 - Lake Norman YMCA Triathlon

750 yard swim, 13.3 mile bike, 5K run (not)

I think it was after White Lake I started with the plantar fasciitis issue. Probably from a combination of things, but nonetheless, it was with me. I struggled through the month up until Latta, sort of knowing in the back of my head I had an issue. Then by post-Latta, I was faced with the reality of having to address it. I had also started working with friend, coach and local pro, Lance Leo. I’d hooked up with him to help me better prepare for my next half and ‘A’ race in November.

I’d actually started with Lance before I had to come out with the plantar issue. The first few weeks of the schedule were not fun. Or at least the morning after any run workout was not run. Overnight, my plantar fascia would tighten up and when I woke up and tried to walk, it felt like I had a knife in the bottom of my foot and heel. I found myself hopping or scooting to the bathroom in the AM due to the pain. I love racing, but life and walking is much more important. It was time to address the problem.

Long story short, this put me out of running for 11 weeks. As a substitute, I ramped up the bike volume and was working in water running, which was very, very not fun. I also started hitting our chiro/active release doc regularly to really stretch and work out that plantar area. The combination of all these activities seemed to be helping, however I knew I had a bit of a long road ahead of me.

A couple of months into this process was the local Lake Norman Triathlon race. This would be considered the ‘home race’. Part of the NC Triathlon Series. Two day event. At the Y where we are members/regular attenders, Sela’s preschool. 3 miles from the house. Where I swim train. You get the picture. I talked with Lance about the race, my chiro and my ‘other coach’ (Allyson) and the resounding answer I got was no way. After this much hard work and healing, it did not make sense to go out and hammer this race. So I didn’t. Sort of.

The agreement was that I could do two-thirds of it. The swim and bike. No run. This also meant no barefoot 200 yard run from the water to the transition area. So the plan was go hard as I could on the swim, exit the water, walk slowly to the TA, get on the bike, go hard as I could on the bike, and park it. This was going to be tough to do, but I had coach and family eyes watching me.


I worked my way toward the front of the swim wave and the horn went off. Luckily, no traffic at all in the water. Must have found a good pocket and line, as well as got off to a fast start. I felt great on the swim. Of course there is the blinding sun that hits you on the long stretch back to the shore, but that is a LKN race norm. I came out of the water, hit the mat and my split button on the watch and gasped. 13:10! Holy cow. This same race last year was a 15:20. Two full minutes. Since I was in no hurry whatsoever to get to the bike, I stopped to high five Lance who was there at the exit. Also said hey to Allyson and the girls, and patiently made my way to the TA. Smiling, of course. I learned later that just about everyone in the field had demolished their times from last year, which meant the course was probably a tad short. However I did certainly improve, because as a percentage of the entire men’s field, the LKN swim was the best swim finish I’ve ever had.

So onto the bike… which this year was shortened by several miles due to some construction on the course. This was a quite a bummer as we train often on this course and looked forward to seeing what we can do on it. The course ended up taking us down the familiar and very, very hilly Grey Road. Since I had no run to save for, I pretty much went out and rode as fast as I could for the 13.3 miles. It was fun. And a blur. Felt like I was out there for 10 minutes. I got passed late in the ride by a couple of guys from the age group that started behind me. Other than that, it was quiet, smooth sailing. I didn’t pay any attention to stats on the bike. Just pedaled hard. I pulled in and snuck a peek at the Garmin and again was shocked. I’d improved on last year’s mph average by a mile per hour. So I was certainly pleased with that.

There was a very brief, hard rain shower just as I was finishing the bike. Allyson and the family were there cheering. I parked the bike and the day was over. Given the good efforts on the swim and bike made not running more palatable for sure. Until the awards ceremony, which was a bummer. It ends up that if I had just matched last year’s run split, I probably could have placed in my age group. It’s not about winning or awards. It really isn’t. But the chance to place in an NCTS race at the ‘home track’ would have been really cool, especially in the very difficult 35-39 age group. But it wasn’t meant to be. Not on this day. But no big deal.

The day was a blast. So many friends out there racing. Great to be with them and the family enjoying a near perfect day in Cornelius, NC. And probably the best moment was walking back to the car when Allyson told me she was more proud that I didn’t run than if I had and placed. That made the decision all worth it. And I would live to see the next race. And hopefully pain free.

07.25.09 - Birkdale Animal Hospital Kids Triathlon

50 yard swim, 1 mile bike, .3 mile run

So at this point, Sorelle had obviously been to a few triathlons. She’s talked about wanting to do one, but Allyson and I made a firm commitment that we were not, under any circumstances, going to force her to do one. She was going to have to want to do it on her own.

Here in Huntersville, they have a summer kids triathlon series that is run by two gals we know, Kathy Goody and Sarah Matchett. It is sponsored by the Birkdale Animal Hospital and timed by Setup Events. The races are held at Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatic, same place as the MAP Tri from the last two years. And the race distances vary depending on the age of the child.

Well, Sorelle decided it was time for her to take on a tri. We were excited and supportive, however a bit leery as Sorelle had one good size limiter she needed to overcome, and quickly. The bike. She had never really loved riding her bike, approaching it with fear and timidity. Now she was going to have to ride in a gaggle of 7-9 year olds for a mile in fairly tight quarters. So we headed out to the local middle school a couple of times where they have a painted blacktop running track. Perfect training ground. Sorelle worked hard and got to a point where she was comfortable. It was time to race.


We had at least two-dozen friends/families out there that we knew either racing or cheering. We also had a good crew from the tri club helping out. And needless to say, the race site was complete mayhem. Chaos. Children everywhere. Parents everywhere. Frenzy, especially in the pool area where everyone was getting ready. Once the 4-6 year olds had cleared out, they opened up the starting area to the 7-9’s. Unfortunately, the kids tri is subject to the same ‘age up’ rule as the regular races. So 6 year old Sorelle was going to be racing against a bunch of 7-9 year olds.



We went out and got her T1 area all set up and walked through her exit strategy, all of which I was fully prepared for her to forget. I did the first time I raced. Parents are not allowed to assist the 7-9’s, so she was all on her own. I dipped her in the pool so she could get used to the water. A minute or two later, she was off and did so great. So cool to see her cruising through the water. She exited the pool and did fantastic on her transition. She slipped on her shoes and had about a hundred yard run to the bike area. I don’t know what was funnier – watching the kids exit and run to the bikes or watching the masses of parents running out of the building with cameras in hand frantically chasing after their kid. Me being one of them.


Sorelle got on her bike and took off. Unfortunately, it was at about half the speed of most everyone around her. Let’s just say she rode a very careful, calculated race. She was saving up watts for the run. I was so proud of her overcoming her fear of even getting on the bike. In spite of all the kids zooming by her, she was out there giving it her best and doing something she’d never done. Couldn’t be more proud.

The bike was four laps on a walking path around a ball field. She dismounted the bike with the assistance of a bunch of my tri club buddies and took off for her quarter mile run. She took off, bonked around half way and had to slow down to catch her breath, then kicked it in for the finish. A best moment of the day was her being greeted at the finish by her little sister, who gave her a huge hug. Sela was prepping for her big kids fun run that was coming up after the tri.

To this day, she thinks she won, and that is fine by us. In many ways, she did. I love the fact that she decided to take it on herself, put in the practice and overcome some fears. Can’t ask much more than that from a 6 year old.

We then watched Sela and a crew of little ones do a 100-yard fun run starting at one corner of the ball field and ending in the finish chute. So stinkin’ cute.

There was much to celebrate. And everyone was big hungry. So we and the Guthe’s went and refueled at none other than health food heaven, Five Guys. It was bliss. And messy.

06.13.09 - Tri Latta

750 meter swim, 17 mile bike, 5K run

This was the sophomore attempt at Tri Latta. While not literally in the backyard like Jetton, Latta is only about 10 minutes down the road in a fantastic setting on Latta Plantation. Won’t go into too many details as I provided them in last year’s write up. I was really looking forward to doing this race again. They did change the run course a little from the previous year, which I think ended up being for the better. I was also going to be riding the new bike – Look 576.

Setup and prep for the swim were business as usual. Like the previous year, Mountain Island Lake was hot. Like high 80’s. Really too hot. It is one of those swims you can’t wait to get over. And it really takes it out of you. I sat in the water in that lovely first age group 35-39 wave waiting for the horn. The field looked pretty stout and I was worried about the swim start being rough. The first 50 yards or so definitely were. Got kicked and punched a few times, but surprisingly it thinned out pretty quickly and I found myself toward the front of the pack, which was cool. And not a common occurrence. Swim split was almost exactly a minute faster than the previous year. I’ll take it.

I came out of the water and made the trek up to the TA. No issues on the transition and off on the bike. I felt really good on the new ride. And overall, was very pleased with the bike. There was one guy I ended up trading off and on with for a good bit of the bike, which really helped. We took turns jumping out front and setting the pace. All legal and non-drafting of course. I didn’t get caught by anyone from the next wave until the last couple of miles. Ended up turning in a 45:06 on the bike, which was 4:00 minutes and change faster than the previous year, which I’ll definitely take. And other than some mild calf cramping (which I often experience on the bike, especially after swimming in hot water) I felt great off the bike.



Then it was onto the off-road sprint. About 95% of the new Latta run was off-road. And the new part that was added was pretty much a big downhill then uphill. I was pretty stoked because I actually saw the leaders on the course. Typically on these sprints, the front few finishers are done. I actually passed the winner on the out and back, which boosted my spirits.

Coming off White Lake a month prior, I didn’t feel fast on the run, but I put the pedal to the floor and went for it. And it was hot. Shaded, but hot. I love out and back courses because you get to see where everyone is on course. Got to high-five lots of friends coming the other direction. Good times. The big hill they added took quite a bit out of me. I struggled the last quarter mile to the finish and ended up turning in a 21:17. Actually 10 seconds slower than the previous year. But given the great bike split and swim improvement, I’ll definitely take it. All in all a 5:00+ improvement from one year ago.

Allyson was with me at the race. Also, we were able to set up all of the FCA Endurance stuff at the race, which was fantastic. We had some great traffic at the tent and opened some more doors with the folks at Run For Your Life for future events. Nearly everyone from the area does this race, so it was a big social event for the hour or two after the race. Despite the improvement, I was still way off placing in my age group. Welcome to the real world of 35 to 39ers.

Another really cool thing about this race was attending the novice day on Sunday. This race and now the Lake Norman Tri are both done as two day events, with Saturday being pros and age groupers and Sunday all novices and relays. I went out Sunday to work the FCA-E tent and cheer some folks on. I actually ended up running into three people I knew from my childhood in OHIO. Yes, Ohio. Brad and Molly Snyder are brother and sister and attended the neighboring Wooster High School. They were doing a relay with Brad’s wife. And Alex Johnson, who attended Northwestern High School where I gal I dated went. Such a small world sometimes. And very cool to see them.

Not sure I have any major takeaways from this race. Quite honestly, it zapped me. I was completely spent after the race and pretty much the entire week afterwards - more so than the White Lake Half six weeks prior. These sprints are hard. You pour it all out for an hour and a half. Full bore anaerobic. Not sure I am wired best for that type of racing. I had also been wrestling with a plantar fasciitis issue since White Lake that was really flaring up around the time of Latta. The week after the race, I realized I definitely had an issue on my hands and was going to need to do something about it. Stay tuned…

05.09.09 - Jetton Triathlon

750 meter swim, 20K bike, 5K run (run leg of relay)

The Jetton Tri is a race that was brought back to life by Jeff and Sheila Wakeman. Fellow Team In Motion club members and founders of Wakeman Charities. The Wakeman’s got with Setup Events and brought another great sprint race to the Lake Norman area. Better yet, to our back yard. Literally. We live just off of Jetton Park and had all of a .67 mile walk to the start finish line.

Our club was a sponsor on the event and had a tent set up as well as strong member participation. We also had the FCA-E tent setup and a few folks racing as well. The White Lake Half was the weekend before and a good many club members did it. With our club sponsorship came two entries to the race. Because so many people were doing White Lake, we were struggling to find individuals to do Jetton. So instead, we formed two relay teams – TIMTC #1 and #2.

I was placed on #1 with swimmer, Mike Stern and biker, Nick. The other team was Matt Perry in the water, Jeff Haas on the bike and Ed Sofio on the run. A pretty stout team as well. Mike is new to triathlon, however not new to the water. He was also going to be trying out his new wetsuit on this swim. I was well aware of Nick’s prowess on the bike, however he would be up against probably our club’s fastest guy in the saddle, Jeff Haas.

I went to greet Allyson and the girls who had walked over to watch. The swim was about 10 minutes away. I had not yet placed my number on my race belt and needed to do so. As I always do (because I don’t have the finger nails to do otherwise) put my race belt up to my mouth to bite off the snap, place the number and refasten. I bit and the snap flew to the back of my throat and down the hatch. Looks like I was going to be racing with a little extra weight.

Fortunately there was a spare on the belt. I felt like the snap was lodged in my esophagus, but I’m sure it was just mental. The swim waves started and the relayers were finally up. Mike killed it, coming out of the water first in his wave and about a minute ahead of TIMTC #2. Nick made the exchange and headed out for the bike, which he killed by the way. 32:24 or ~ 23mph. I did a little warming up as I waited for Nick. We made the handoff and the run was on.

The first mile of the run was uphill out of the park to Jetton Road. I am very familiar with the course as I run it at least one to two times a week. There was a good bit of traffic to start. I was only doing the relay and way back in the field, so it would appear I was going faster than most everyone else. By the time I got to Jetton, my HR was through the roof. I expended a lot getting up the hill. Things were pretty level for the middle mile, but really hot. The good part about that uphill was the big downhill coming back into the park. The exit was on the path and re-entry to the finish was on the road. A very wide open, good surfaced road. It was a matter of holding on to the finish.

Nick and my buddy, Nate-dog Hearns, joined me for the last quarter mile or so and encouraged me in. I needed it big time. I hadn’t tapped those fast twitch muscles in a while. I crossed the line in 19:54. A new 5K PR. I proceeded to go behind the FCA-E tent ‘cause I thought I was about to hurl (which may not have been bad. Perhaps I could have unloaded that snap.)


Our relay took first place and a $20 gift certificate for each of us to Inside Out Sports, or as I call it, Mother’s Day money. Allyson has wanted some tri shorts to wear to her spin classes. We didn’t win by much, but we won. Lots of FCA-E and TIMTC representation on the podium. As it turns out, the only person that bested our time was Nick Frank…the guy that won. Which isn’t saying much seeing as it was a 3 on 1.

So Whats?

- Don’t bite the snap off your race belt. Ever.

- Warming up before a run is helpful, however it is not that helpful if you have not been training those fast twitch muscles. A 5K can feel more difficult than a half marathon.

- Having the family out at races is what it is all about. Hanging out at a race sure beats sitting around in our pj’s all Saturday morning.

Had lots of fun doing the relay at Jetton. The race is definitely here to stay and will most likely pack out a full field next year. Next up is Tri Latta (Saturday this year vs. novice day Sunday.) It will be a stout, fast field.

05.02.09 - White Lake Half Ironman

1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

About a month and a half out from this race, I almost pulled the plug. I had been battling a persisting chest cold and very limited time in the saddle due to the cold and, well, about a month straight of rain. Everyone in these parts was struggling to get in seat time. I decided to press on knowing it wasn’t an ‘A’ race for me. And I had already paid/registered and wasn’t going to be getting that back.

Couple of really cool things out of the gate about this race – one, the whole family would be in attendance. There was a cancellation at the place where we were staying that freed up a two bedroom unit with enough room for all the girls. Second, Paul and Heather Simica were going to go with us. I met the Simica’s about a year ago swimming at John Gioffre’s. Since we were all going to the same place, we decided to share the unit so we could hang out and cut costs.

Actually, lots of people I know were heading to White Lake for this race. I’d say a couple dozen. I had heard much about White Lake but could never really be prepared for it until arriving. White Lake is a sleepy lake resort town that popped up in the 50’s-60’s - and actually never really progressed past that. It is still stuck there. If the modern cars driving around weren’t present, you wouldn’t know it was 2009.

Even the gal that runs the place where we stayed, Brisson’s Cottages, tried to present a lengthy disclaimer when I was booking the room about how old and rustic it was. I thought it wasn’t that big of a deal, until we got there and saw the accommodations, which were everything she had cracked it up to be. Wow. Let’s just say we didn’t take our shoes off the entire time we were in the room.

But it was going to be a great weekend of roughing it. And it wasn’t like the place was expensive. We had a great drive down on Friday and arrived with plenty of time to check in, go to packet pickup, then over to Erik Johnson’s place for a huge pasta dinner. Now where he was staying – that was some nice digs. Need to scope that place out for next year. Good times to be had by all, including Sorelle walking around to every person there (about 30 or so) and letting them know she was going to be doing a concert that evening for everyone. Her promoter (me) pulled the plug on that, though she did a mini-concert out by the water for a select few of us - the Miley Cirus song, ‘The Climb,’ which I have now officially heard more than any other song ever.

Back to the pad to settle in and try to get some sort of sleep, which was not going to be easy in a room with an awful double bed, a 6 and 4 year old on the floor and the air quality of a musty basement, but I gave it a go. All in all, probably logged about 5 hours. Not enough, but the best I could do. We also spent the evening getting all of the gear ready. Like I’ve mentioned before, there is a lot of gear. Too much gear. And I had to get it all tidy in the duffle bag for the short bike ride to the TA in the morning.

Race day arrived and there wasn’t much to do other than roll out of bed, eat a little, take care of ‘bidness’ and head to the race. Paul and I rounded everything up and headed out. We got about half way there and realized he had forgot something. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it was important, so he turned back and I headed to the TA. Got everything set up, stopped by the port-o-pot and off to the water’s edge to squeeze into the wetsuit.

White Lake itself is interesting. It is an oval about 6 miles or so around. It is spring fed and pretty much 8 feet deep at its deepest point. You can walk from the shore out nearly 200 yards in some places and be no more than shoulder deep. And you can see the bottom always. My friend Erik took his ski boat and the depth finder the entire way across the lake from the ramp to the house was 8 feet.

I was in wave 2, which was the 35-39 age groupers all unto itself. The start was surprisingly civil for that large of a group. Maybe everyone was on the same page that this was a long race and there was no need to go blazing out of the gates. I don’t recall any traffic in the water at all. The swim was a triangle, so two turns out on the long straightaway and back to the opposing dock about a couple hundred yards away. There were several ladders around the base. I picked one, up the ladder and onto the TA. The swim went well. Probably left a little in the water, but not to worry.

Onto the bike…the first few miles of the bike were fast. Not sure why exactly. Probably adrenaline. Our hotel was literally right on the bike course. Versus getting the girls up and trekking down to the swim start, Allyson got the girls up and waited by the roadside. I passed by around mile 2-3. They were screaming, cowbells, etc. That probably attributed to the fast start as well. I remember coming up on friend James Ruth on the bike and we traded off leading for 10 miles or so. Pace was up around 23-24 mph. Too fast to keep up for the long haul. But not to worry – the first right hand turn was going to slow us down greatly. The majority of the bike was directly into what seemed like a headwind that was following us around no matter what direction we went.


Anyway, the course was completely flat. This will pretty much tell you how much so – avg. for the race was 21.4 mph. Top speed achieved – 26.1. Very flat. Overall the bike went well, except for one small problem. We’ll call him Cervelo dude, or CD. CD was an age grouper in the group that started after me. So he caught me on the course, then decided for about 20 miles to trade back and forth with me. He couldn’t pick a speed. He would fly by me, then slow down, repeat. A lot. At the end of one of his slow down segments, I was preparing to pass yet again when an official drove up and pegged me with a 4:00 drafting penalty. It was wrong, unwarranted and his fault, but so is life sometimes. Wasn’t going to let it ruin the race. Stay focused.

The bike came to an end. Two copperheads on the side of the road, three water bottle exchanges, a battle with CD and a really, really sore taint (mainly from the segment of road from miles 40-50) I was ready to be off the bike and running. I was happy with the outcome. Allyson was standing right beside me in the TA at the fence talking to me during the transition, which was so helpful. Strapped everything on and off I went.



The run was an out and back around White Lake. Literally, we ran around the lake, turned around right about where the race start/transition area was, and ran back. The first eight miles of the run went really well. The pace plan was 7:25-7:30’s and I was right on track. At the turn around I had to stop for a very fast pee break, which added about 20 seconds, but not a biggie. The girls were also right at the turn around mat cheering, which again was huge. I seriously can’t say how much that helps me when racing knowing they are there.

During mile 9, the heat kicked in big time. By the mile 10 water stop I was walking through them, three to four cups of fluids and a ice towel. In hindsight I think I had some electrolyte issues going on. Maybe too much water on the bike? Diluted? I don’t know. I just know the world was becoming a literal white fog by mile 10 and the air temp was well into the mid to high 80’s. Only clear memory of the last few miles was water stop 11, where I approached and no one was manning it. I very nicely barked out some directives and the volunteers responded.

I was able to pull up the bootstraps and push out a sub-8:00 on the last mile. And on the only slight incline on the course. I was pretty emotional approaching the line. Given my training and fitness leading up to this race, I was shooting to match or slightly improve on my HIM time from the previous September. The big goal was breaking 5 hours in the upcoming November ‘A’ race. As I approached and realized I could finish right at 5 I was beyond ecstatic. Crossed the line at 5:00:21. Then of course had to add in the 4:00 penalty for the official time, but the actual race time 5:00 flat. I couldn’t have asked for more that day.


The next hour was spent regrouping, cheering for friends that were finishing, hearing war stories from the course. The main one being the crazy heat. Allyson was about spent as well from chasing the girls around, so we all headed down to the lake for a swim. The cold water was a perfect prescription for the legs.

The evening was spent with the Mueller’s and Pirkle’s down by the water eating greasy pizza and playing in the sand, then settling into our five star room for some sleep. That night, I could have slept on cinder blocks and been happy. We packed up the following morning, stopped with the Simica’s for a photo op and back to Charlotte.


So what’s for White Lake:

- Still need some work fine-tuning the nutrition plan on the bike. Over-hydration may have been an issue.

- Yet another race where the run pace progressively got slower. Must, must must learn how to keep a steady pace or pick up pace as the run leg progresses.

- Do not tolerate a yahoo on the bike that is breaking the rules. Kindly yell at him to knock it off or accept the penalty that will follow. The mistake was not saying something to him. I certainly was not going to slow down.

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for more from this race. I gave it what I had and the result was better than expected. It was certainly a great learning experience and great preparation for the fall ‘A’ race half in Wilmington, which I am so excited about. Not sure how in the world I’m going to wait 6 more months to race the half distance. I love it.

04.18.09 - East Cooper Coastal Tri

0.6 mile ocean swim, 16 mile bike, 4 mle run

Back in the fall, I learned via Facebook that a buddy of mine from high school, Steve Glover, has also picked up a triathlon & marathon habit. He mentioned that he lived on Isle of Palms near Charleston and within walking distance to the race start/transition area of the East Cooper Coastal Triathlon.

This race was the first tri he had ever done the previous year. I told him I would come down and join him. Only hesitation was the ocean. I am scared to death of the ocean. I am that guy that is extremely hesitant to go more than knee deep into the ocean, mainly because I am deathly afraid of ocean critters of all kinds. Very, very afraid. So to a degree, this race was much of a self-directed intervention as it was a triathlon.

Saturday morning we had a 5K in Greenville, SC. The 2nd annual Zebras Do Exist charity 5K that our FCA huddle was both participating in and helping out with. Lots of fun had by all. Allyson pulled off a podium in her age group. We wrapped, jumped on the road and headed down to IOP. We arrived early afternoon at my friend Steve’s, who lives one row off the beach. Very nice. He showed us around then had to head into work, which by the way is at a restaurant in Mt. Pleasant called The Red Drum. He invited us to stop in that evening for dinner, so of course we did. It was amazing and he, the owner and wait staff treated us like royalty. And even picked up the tab. Unbelievable. We headed back to the house and settled in for the night. 7:30 start the following morning.

Race day we got up, rounded up the gear and out the door. We rode to the race start/TA. Took us all of about three minutes to get there. Allyson was shortly behind with the SFV (super fan van.) We were running a little late, so the setup was a little rushed as well as the squeezing into the wetsuit. The walk to the beach was a little ominous (see notes above about the ocean.) Couldn’t have been a more beautiful morning though. Pretty much perfect conditions, except for, well, the ocean. Water temp on race day was in the high 60’s, or as I would call it – frickin’ freezing. I didn’t get in and warm up. I decided to stay as warm as I could for as long as I could. Probably not the best decision in hindsight. All of the men started together on the beach. The horn sounded and we were all off into the ocean.

Simply put, the first half of this swim was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. Triathlon or otherwise. The initial shock of the water temp was worse than I expected. Getting out to the first buoy required a lot more energy than I expected. I turned right and started swimming down the coastline. Surprisingly, amidst all that chaos not a single person touched me the entire swim, which was great because I certainly didn’t need to add that to my struggles.

By about 200 yards in, I took in a face full of water and my heart rate was way up. I rolled over onto my back and back stroked about 10 seconds just to get my composure. I pressed on for another couple hundred yards but was really struggling. No rhythm, breathing was erratic, things were not going good. At this point, I was about a split second away from turning right and taking it back to the beach.

I rolled onto my back again and backstroked, this time for about 30 seconds or so. I looked up at the clouds and the sun and started praying, asking God to calm my heart. And he did. By the midway point of the swim, everything just came together. I was now swimming like normal. The rhythm was back. I now knew how long it takes me to get use to swimming in the ocean – about 500 yards.

The rest of the swim was actually a blast. I kind of wanted to go start it over again and definitely looking forward to the next one. I exited at on the beach near the boardwalk at the city park on Isle of Palms where the TA was. There were a good number of folks out there on the beach watching, including Allyson. I came out and got a hoorah from David Bolger, one of the founders of Try Sports, a multi-sport store chain in NC/SC. I had a chance to hang out with him back in December.

Then there was the transition. I remember looking down at my watch as both feet left the water and it was around 19:30. The timing mat was at the entrance to the TA and my total swim time was 22:12?!? Needless to say, it was a haul to the TA from the water. For the most part, T1 went great. I was on the Giant Trinity I was testing out and was loving it. In the first mile, there was a quick climb to the top of the connector bridge, then quick down and all flat from there.

The first 8-10 miles of the bike were fast and flat. The highlight was coming back across the IOP connector and reaching the top of the connector bridge. For a split second I almost stopped the bike and took in the scenery. What an incredible view of the Atlantic, the beaches, Charleston off in the distance. It was beautiful, but there were still another 6 miles or so to go, so back on the pedals.

A hard right hander took us down to Sullivan Island and then back to the TA. I was fortunate to log my fastest bike split of any sort to date. Off the bike and onto the run. And it was starting to heat up. The first mile wound us through a residential neighborhood on IOP, then it was back up the connector bridge and the long, straight, completely wide open and none shaded run to the finish. This was a point to point run, and once you got to the top of the connector bridge, as far as I could see was as far as I was running. I carried a bottled water with me on the run. Good idea. I passed a few folks once I got on the connector, but it was quiet otherwise. The action started picking up toward the finish line. I saw Allyson as I turned left into the shopping plaza/finish chute. She was snapping some photos. Pushed through the finish at 1:35:31. This was nearly ten minutes faster than I was expecting. The evening before at Try Sports packet pickup, they had a contest where you filled out your projected splits. I can’t remember exactly what all of them were, I just remember it adding up to 1:45.

I saw my buddy Steve a couple of times quickly on the bike. Other than that, it was a short wait at the finish line for him. He knocked 15 – count ‘em, 15 – minutes off his time from the previous year. Great job, Steve. Allyson slipped off to find my new favorite post-race beverage – very bold, dark roast coffee. I have no idea why. She found some good brew and we hung around for the awards ceremony, listening to some good tunes, talking with folks. I wanted to hang out and see if maybe I had placed in my age group. They did not post any prelim results. The 35-39ers were toward the end and I missed third by 52 seconds I would have rather missed by 5 minutes. Still was able to come in 27th overall. Not a bad day at the track and a fun first ocean experience.

We went back to the TA, grabbed our stuff, off to Steve’s to shower up and head out for some really good post-race pizza. It was great to catch up with him on life the past 15 years. We had to get back to Charlotte, so dropped of Steve at his place and hit the road mid-afternoon.

So Whats?

- A swim is a swim is a swim. I don’t need to get all freaked out by the conditions, the competition or the venue. Stick to the technique, stroke pattern and game plan and things come together.

- I had no idea how much of a difference a tri-specific bike would make. It makes a ton of difference, especially on a flat, open course like IOP. And I came off the bike feeling better than I ever have at any race.

- Carrying the water bottle on a sprint distance works for me. I normally train for longer stuff with a Fuel Belt, which is overkill for the short races. The water bottle helped with hydration and distraction.

Really enjoyed this race. Looking forward to going back and giving it another go next year, hopefully with a bunch of my local tri buddies. It was also a good warm up for the big race in two weeks – White Lake Half Ironman. I’ll be riding the same bike, so it was good to get some seat time on it. After that swim, 1.2 miles in the placid waters of White Lake should feel like a breeze. Feeling good coming off this race.

03.29.09 - MAP Triathlon

500 yard swim, 14 mile bile, 5K run

This race was not on my schedule for the year. In 2008, it was the first tri I ever did (see previous post) and had a great time doing it, however this year with a packed schedule and limited funds, it was not going to make the cut. Instead the plan was to volunteer as part of FCA-Endurance and cheer on all of the friends racing. But not so fast…

Nick had made contact with the race production company, Setup Events, and got us/FCA-E in to help out with packet pickup. We would be at the end of the line manning what we are now referring to the ‘Novice Table.’ After handing folks their race packet, we would ask if there was anything they needed help with or questions they had. It is a fantastic way to get face time with the athletes.

After I had left for the day, Nick on his own accord asked Hope (Setup employee and race director’s wife) if there were any relay spots open or if anyone needed someone for the race. She said no, but asked who was inquiring. He mentioned he was asking for me as he was already registered. She without hesitation said for me to come see her in the morning and she would provide me with a number. And she did. And just like that, I was racing.

There were very good things and one bad thing about this – the obvious being that I was racing. And gratis at that. There is simply no better triathlon to do than one someone is willing to give you. Thank you Hope and Nick. The one bad – MAP is a pool swim, and everyone is seeded ahead of time based on a 100 yard split time that is submitted. This can not in any way, shape or form be altered, so I was going to be starting 646th - or dead last - in the field.



So I got comfortable for while and cheered folks on. Once I finally started, I had to navigate some fairly crowded waters in the pool. My swim ended up being pretty slow, but it wasn’t the end of the world. At a couple of points I had to wait at the wall and find a clearance to get through. One lap I actually treaded water for five seconds or so before shoving my arm through a mess of people, touching the wall and moving on.

I exited the pool and it was onto the bike. Overall the weather was great, however there was a really nasty wind that had been persisting all morning. A lot of folks were coming off the bike and complaining about it. By the time I had got out on the bike, it was probably the worst it had been all day. On a very flat, open stretch of Hambright Road, I was pedaling as hard as I could, legs burning, heart rate maxed, giving it all I could and I looked down and was going 12 mph. Not good.



I pushed through the bike. It seemed like there was a headwind in every direction. In the last two miles, a city bus pulled out in front of me and I ended up having to pass it in the opposite lane going up a hill. I was pretty frustrated at this point. Had a USAT official caught that stunt, they probably would have penalized me like 60 minutes or something.

I came off the bike and had a horrendous calf cramp. Nick was close by encouraging me (he was already finished and had a fantastic race. Killed the bike. Just killed it) I finally got my shoes on was off for the run. The course was significantly changed for the better this year. The run went fine and I crossed the line a couple minutes faster than the previous year. 1:11:12.

At my church back in Nashville, they always end every sermon, regardless of topic or who is teaching, with a ‘So What?’ The ‘So What?’ is the take way moment from this message, i.e. ‘so what do I do with what God has said to me today?’ Starting with the new triathlon season, I decided I needed to include the ‘so what’ into my race summaries, so here it goes…

So Whats?

- Triathlon racing should be fun. If at any point it isn’t, things need to change at that point. I found myself handed an opportunity and being all frustrated and bothered due to circumstances. Need to look for God and His goodness in each moment and focus on that versus frustrations.

- I need to get physically stronger in a big way. I believe the majority of my issue on the bike was less about the heavy winds and more about me not being in the right kind of strength shape, especially core.

Next up is a big one. East Cooper Coastal. Heading down to Isle of Palms to race with my old high school buddy, Steve Glover, who is also now doing triathlon. First ocean swim. I’m completely horrified. Words can’t even describe how horrified. We’ll see how it goes.

03.07.09 - Corporate Cup Half Marathon

So given the number of long training runs that I’ve done preparing for marathons, I’ve technically run quite a few half marathons. However, I’d never actually toed-up to the line and ran one for a time. So having finished Myrtle Beach a few weeks earlier and having a good base built up (and the fact there was a half available here in Charlotte) I thought I’d give it a go.

The Corporate Cup Half has been a long-standing race staple in the area. The whole gist of this race is to put together a corporate team, so you get a bunch of folks together from your company and go run/walk the race. There really isn’t any award or anything, which kind of stinks, but it’s fun to get a group together anyway.

We put together a 15-man/woman team ‘sponsored’ by Run For Your Life. RFYL is one of the local running stores and command central for a lot of the training activities and race production in Charlotte. Pretty much everyone on the team either works for or trains from RFYL. And most of them are very fast. And younger. And fast. Faster than me.

We did a couple of training sessions together, got our t-shirts all made up and we were ready to roll. The race started right in downtown. Allyson was running the 5K event, so it was cool to go down there with her. The weather was perfect. I almost missed the start of the race making a last minute potty break. I was walking up to the line about a minute before the gun went off. Didn’t even see Allyson or get to wish her good luck.


So gun sounded and we were off. Four of us guys were going to pretty much pace together, shooting for a 1:35ish. We were again using the gradual increase in speed approach. I can’t remember what we set out at, but around the half way point, the four of us had separated and all settled into our own paces. And the fighting of the hills began…

Those not familiar with Charlotte, it is surprisingly hilly. If you don’t believe me, go to www.marathonguide.com and look for the Thunder Road Marathon in December and read the comments. The first part of the marathon is really hilly, which is more or less the second half of the Corporate Cup. The first major challenge is Providence Road right after the half way point. I remember feeling great pushing up this hill. About half way up, I came up on a buddy of mine that was really struggling. I gave him an encouraging smack on the rear and proceeded. I saw my buddy Paul Dye at the top of Providence. His house was about 300 yards away.

The course proceeds through the Myers Park area. Pretty uneventful except for the hills. Did I mention there are hills? I motored up the hill next to Myers Park High School with my friend and training buddy, Erik Johnson. Good to have some company going up that one. Then the last mile is literally a steady climb back into downtown Charlotte. All in all, I was keeping right on pace and feeling pretty good.

I made the sharp right into downtown, kicked it in and crossed in 1:33:47. The best case scenario goal was 1:35, so I was pretty pleased. Then shortly after, my good friend Nate-dog Hearns crossed the line in 1:39:52 running his first half marathon ever. Stud. Allyson had been waiting there for me for a while because she had smoked her 5K. So much so that she stinkin’ placed in her age group and she missed the award ceremony because she was waiting for me. Needless to say, I felt like a giant heel. We did end up picking up her award at a later date.

I really enjoyed the half distance. More of a success than the time or overall place was probably the consistency. I was able to go out and stick very consistent splits for the entire race, and confirmed that that progressive approach doesn’t work best for me. I’m better off to know what that target pace is and just go out and stick to it. Some may argue with me on that. Seems to work better for me.

Marathon season is officially over and it’s time to start turning up the heat on triathlon season. We’ll try again next year for Boston.

02.14.09 - Myrtle Beach Marathon

So as much as I enjoy journaling my race experiences, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I don’t make these a little shorter, I’m never going to keep up with it long term. So here is my attempt at shorter…

Myrtle Beach was my first repeat marathon. I did this race the same time the year prior by ‘accident’ and really enjoyed it. This year there were a couple of really cool things about this race weekend. The first was that it was Valentines Day weekend and Allyson was with me (and there were about a half dozen finish line proposals. All yeses, from what I hear.) The second was a chance to reunite with childhood friend, Brian Kiper, and his family.

Brian and I grew up together in Wooster, OH. For many years, we were in the same church and lived not even two miles apart. We moved to the street right behind him and lived there six years before moving to North Carolina. My freshman year at Carolina, Brian came down from Kent State on his spring break to hang out. That was the last time I had seen him – spring 1993. Let’s hear it for Facebook.

We met Brian and his son Hunter at Broadway at the Beach where Hunter just finished the kids mile run. We headed back to the house for a pasta dinner with some of their friends that were running the half. As was Brian’s wife, Jen. We ate, caught up on old times a bit then headed off to bed as it was going to be an early morning (this race always starts in the dark at 6:30 so runners can watch the sunrise as they approach the beach.)

After the ‘morning routine’ (see previous entries) we loaded up the van and headed to the race site. I had to make one last pitstop in a nearby wooded area and it was off to the start line. Kisses to Allyson and toward the front of the pack. I was stretching out when a guy decided he would save me some serious strife and embarrassment. I had put my fuel belt on upside down. That would have been real great when the bottles came flying out at some point shortly after he start…

My approach to this race was a little different. I had talked with a couple of guys I’ve trained with or trained under in the previous months and decided to go with a progressive approach, which was to start slower and progressively pick up pace the entire way before settling into a faster pace around miles 18-20. This worked pretty good until around, go figure, mile 20. My first 13 mile splits were give or take +/- 5 to 7 seconds off the pace plan, and I crossed at the half way point within 45 seconds of the pace chart and feeling really good.



I don’t recall a ton of specifics between miles 13-20. I just remembered being really comfortable and on cruise control. I saw Allyson around mile 14 or so I think. Around 18 the course takes you out to the beachside, which is really great. When I turned to head back inland, the legs started not firing quite as good and I was incredibly thirsty.

I thought I had been taking in enough fluids. And I was running with a race belt, but at that mile 20 stop, it might as well have been an oasis in the middle of the Sahara. They were handing out full water bottles, which I downed the entire thing and kept pressing forward, though slower at this point. I was supposed to be settling into a 7:10-7:15ish pace and was instead cresting 8:00 with six to go.

I ran for a couple of miles with a young guy that had went flying by me a little past half way. We talked and passed the time, but I was squarely running into the wall hard. I saw Allyson around mile 22, walked through the water stop, walked a little with her and talked, handed off the fuel belt (which was really starting to bother me for whatever reason. I think everything was bothering me.) Just a few miles to go.

Around 24 the adrenaline was kicking in and carrying me to the finished. I was well aware at this point I was, again, going to come up short for Boston, but well on track for a PR. The finish chute at Myrtle is really cool. And long. Lots of folks cheering. I crossed the line at 3:24:36, a PR by several minutes.



Usually I like to hang around a bit at the finish, but it was just Allyson and I and I was pretty much spent, so we headed out speedy like. We saw our friend Leigh-Ann who ran the half (and placed in her age group, go figure.) and hobbled off to the van. The second we got to the van, the skies unleashed. Hatin’ it for those folks still out on course, but a pretty much perfect day for a marathon.

We headed back to the Kipers, then off to some friends of theirs for a brunch. Later that evening, we headed to the House of Blues for a really great after race party. It was jam packed, but lots of good energy and food. We hung out a while, then back to the house to turn in. We visited the Kiper’s church with them the following morning. They have a fantastic church right down the road.



So that was a little shorter. Still need to work on it. Big takeaways – My wife is a rockstar super fan. Seeing Brian was the highlight of the trip. Progressive pace plans (at least one with that much variance) is probably not the best approach for me. 9 minutes is still a really, really long way to go to reach Boston. Back to the drawing board.