The Rage Triathlon

Last Saturday I competed in the Rage 1/2 Ironman in Las Vegas. This race was toughest freaking race ever. I am fairly certain that I will not do this race again. It was tough and very poorly run and it just frustrated me beyond belief.

I arrived in Vegas on Wednesday morning with my bike in tow going through the Airport and The Palazzo in a suit. It got a lot of reaction from my co-workers. I think many of them thought it was funny that I would come to Vegas to do a triathlon when you had an opportunity to eat and drink as much as you want. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with meetings so I was having a tough time resting. I didn't even get a chance to test my bike after I put it back together. On Friday, I ducked out a little early to go pick up my packet with Norma and Vigil. After we left packet pick-up we headed over to the race course to take a look at what we were up against. I have to say this did not get me excited. All I saw were mountains and hills. This made me a little nervous because I have done very little hill work. We park down near transition and walk up to the lake. The swim buoys were already out so we could see the swim course. It was hard to tell how cold the water was but the sign on the Ranger booth said 59 degrees when we arrived. This is much colder than I was hoping for. After we checked out the water we drove the bike course. Holy Shit!!! It was climb after climb. It just seemed unfair. I knew I would make it but my main concern was being able to run after. After we drove the course it was back into to town for some burgers and some shut eye.

Saturday 3am came early. I got up and ate my Capn' Crunch as I do before every race. I was real nervous and I was having a difficult time eating. After I ate I packed up and headed down to the car. It was funny going through the casino at 4am with my bike watching all the drunk chicks with no shoes on stagger along with a drink in their hand. Those who could remember probably thought I was strange. I mean how could someone go to Sin City and not be out all night partying. Anyway we packed up and headed out to Lake Mead. When we got there it was really cold out and I wasn't dressed for it. I set up my transition area and then sat in the car to stay warm. Around 5:50 am I put on my wetsuit and two swim caps and headed down to the chilly water. I think the water at this point was 58 according to another athlete so I was freaking a little bit. Once in the water I think my heart stopped. It felt like I was going to die. It was cold! I tried to do a little warm-up swim but it was tough. I stood in the back of the rest of the racers waiting for 6:10 am and the start of the race. The horn went off right time and we were off. I swam with my head out of the water for a few meters before putting my face down. It felt like pins and needles in my face. It was still a little dark out and I was having a difficult time seeing so my sighting left something to be desired. I kept swinging out far to the right on several parts of the swim and I was getting frustrated. The swim was already listed 1.60 miles so adding extra distance was not helpful. As I made the final turn towards the swim exit I ran into the first wave of the Sprint Group. Those idiots were all over the place. They kept grabbing my legs and I think I kicked one. As I was fighting the crowd I started to get cramps in both of my calves I was already having trouble with dry climate and I didn't need this. As I exited the swim I ran to my bike gathered myself and then the real fun began. Right as you exit transition you have a climb on the bike. I put my chain on the small ring and started make the climb out to the main road. I had to get off my saddle and when I did the chain stated jumping and slipping. It wouldn't stay in gear. I was pissed because I didn't test my bike and now I was paying for it. This is a rookie mistake not something a coach should do. I got to the top of the hill and the main road and started down. My bike was OK but the chain would still slip when I was climbing. It was just one climb and another and another. It was brutal. I didn't know if I would make it. I would be going 4 mph on one side of a hill and 40 mph on the other side. As I was riding along I noticed there were no timing mats along the way. This comes into play later on. So I'm chugging along its tough but I'm surviving and at mile 45 or so there is a kid near a Ranger station taking down numbers. This is how they got around the timing mats. The problem was they did this in a stupid place. As we were riding back there is a place at mile 50 where you can cut across the street and take 6 miles off the bike which a lot of people were doing. Fucking cheaters. I continued on up to top of the toughest hill with my quads cramping and burning and turned around at mile 53 to head back into transition. 3:03 for the bike. Not bad considering the course. One other note on the bike. I never let one person pass me. I was pretty happy about that. I took the longest T2 time ever at over 4 minutes. I was hurting and needed a minute before I ran 13 miles. I got out on the run feeling OK but tired. The run was a combination of trails and asphalt. Right before I hit mile 1 I got a bad cramp in my left hamstring. I thought great first the calves, then quads and the the hamstrings. I thought this is Bullshit! I tried to stretch it out but couldn't. I said the hell with it and ran anyway. I needed to finish this race and I wasn't letting anything stop me. The first 3 miles weren't too bad but right at mile 3 you could see what was ahead. You had to run up a hill which at this point looked like the side of a mountain. Actually I think was the side of a mountain. This part of the run was tough. The incline was brutal and the road was covered with big rocks. I motored up but was fading fast. As I ran to the turnaround it stayed flat for the most part. Along the run course there were several tunnels where builders of Hoover Dam would transport their materials through as they were building the Dam. This was great because it gave you some relief from the heat. This also where I saw runners ahead of me who I passed on the bike earlier. I was very frustrated by this. I just hate cheaters. Right before the turnaround you had to run down two long hills. One you were at the bottom you did a U-Turn and then it was back up the hills. I had to walk part of these hills I just had no strength left. I continued on just trying to finish. I knew I was close when I saw that very rocky hill I climbed earlier. It was down the hill and the rest I knew would be flat. As I rounded the final corner of the race the announcer gave me a shout out and then I ran as fast I could to the finish line. At the finish I got my medal which was much different than some of the other finishers. It was apparently a previous years medal. So the Sprint, Olympic and the cheaters received nice new medals and a lot of the 1/2 Iron finishers received old medals. To make matters worse they closed the massage tent down right after I finished. If I had a dog it probably would be run over. I came out a little Broken, Beat and Scarred but I finished. I won't do this race again but it was good training for IM Cozumel.

This week I'm back at it but doing light work. I need to work on a few things before Buffalo Springs in June. Next up however is the Silverlake Sprint in Pearland. This won't be nearly as difficult as Rage.

I want to thank Vigil for driving us around. It was a big help. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks!

Later Dudes!

Katy Ram Challenge

This past Saturday I rode the Katy Ram Challenge. I didn't see any Ram's but there was plenty of challenge. The course was flat for the most part but the headwind was awful. I don't like headwind but it is even worse when its on the back half of the ride. I started the ride with Sklyer, Nikki, Jonathan, Brad and Norma. Skyler and Nikki dropped back early due to a problem that Skyler was having with his bike. The rest of us stayed together until the first rest stop. Brad, Jonathan and I motored through and were riding between 26-28 mph with that tailwind. We stopped at the second rest stop where we ran into Tom. After the brief rest Brad peeled off to do the 46 mile route and Jonathan and I kept going on the 62/74 mile route. When we reached the split for the 74 route we realized that it would be best to ride 62 miles. The crosswind was picking up and we knew we still had to face the headwind on the way back. Around mile 45 I started to fade. I was having a difficult time keeping up with Jonathan. We stopped at the last rest stop where we fueled up for the final 11 miles. It was 11 of the toughest miles I have rode. We were pedaling around 17 mph but it felt like we weren't even moving. Finally after almost 3 hours of riding we were near the finish. The total time of 3:02 for an official distance of 60.8 miles. My legs were dead but it was what I needed.

I capped my weekend with a 6 mile run on Sunday morning at Memorial. I was still tired from the ride the day before but it ended up being a good run. I'm not sure if I am ready for my race on Saturday but I guess I am as ready as I am going to get. I have a few short and light workouts this week but I am tapering. We will see how it goes.

The Lone Star Triathlon

This past weekend was the Lone Star Triathlon and it was an exciting weekend. 8 months of training came down to a tough race on Saturday.

We arrived in Galveston Saturday morning and after getting settled I went out on a short run on the actual race course to get myself more familiar with the route. It was hot and humid and the course was fast with lots if turns. After my run I gathered the team together for the safety meeting and then it was off to the swim start for a short swim. The water temperature seemed good and I think everyone felt better about the first leg of the race. After everyone was out of the water we headed back to the hotel for a short nap and then we met for the pasta party. The team looked great in their running shirts and it really showed our team unity. The pasta party started off with comments from the head of the South Texas TNT chapter and then I addressed the group. I was asked to speak about the race course, rules and what to be ready for. After my speech Johnny Romano's mother Julie spoke to the group about her experience with TNT and about our team's inspiration Johnny. I don't think their was a dry eye in the house. It was a touching story and we could not have asked for a better honored teammate in Johnny. When the pasta party adjourned we had a brief team meeting with some final instructions and some recognition. Norma made a really neat poster for each member of the team and the team bought me a super cool bike helmet. It is the same helmet that Lance Armstrong wears and I can not wait to wear it. Thanks for the gift team! After the meeting it was off to bed for some shut eye.

3:45 am on Sunday came quickly. I was tired and a little anxious for the team. We all met in the lobby and we headed down to transition for body marking and so everyone could set-up their transition area. Our team did not start until about 8:30 so when they finished setting up they headed back to the hotel for some rest. Everyone looked nervous as they headed down to the swim start and while they were waiting for their wave to get in the water. The race got a little behind but when it got started everyone looked good and I headed over to the swim out to watch everyone run into transition. Everyone looked good coming out of the water. There were a few surprises about swim times. Most of the team finished the swim faster than I anticipated and that was great. Coach Liz was out on the bike course at the turn around to keep an eye on the team for me so I could watch everyone leave onto the bike course. (Thanks Liz!) After the last swimmer was on the bike I went to grab my bike and headed onto the bike course. I rode out to the last bike aid station to watch the riders. I was there for about 30 minutes before I saw my first athlete. Jonathan flew by with his head down and I figured that I should head back because I knew a few more of the team would be coming by soon. I took a side road back to Moody Gardens and as I was riding the wind, which was already bad, really picked up. This worried me because quite a bit of my team had wave starts towards the end and I knew they would be riding through it. When I got to Moody Gardens I started getting updates from Liz. She said she saw everyone and had to help Nikki change a flat tire. Unfortunately Nikki got a another flat and crashed coming into transition. (She had a rough day). Heather was the last of my team to make it in off the bike. She was not feeling well but she wanted to keep going. I told her talk walk for a while and try to take in more fluids. I felt bad for her but I knew she would make it. I talked to most everyone when the entered the run course and they were hurting but moving. As everyone was running I moved all over the race course to keep an eye on everyone and cheer them on. They were all tired and dehydrated but they weren't going to quit. I had the opportunity to run in with a few of the team trying to keep them motivated to finish and that was a great experience for me. I am proud of each and every member of this team. They all finished the race and they all raised thousands of dollars for cancer research. It is a great accomplishment.

This post doesn't include everything that happened race day. There was so much going on its hard to write it all down. It was so enjoyable talking to families of the team and hearing how proud they were. I enjoyed talking with my tri friends and I was just happy to be part of the experience. It was nice seeing people who early season I had my doubts about finish and finish strong. It great to see those people who wanted to quit the team and those who wanted to do the shorter tri tough it out and finish. It was inspiring to see people like Norma who couldn't even swim two years ago finish her first half-ironman. I'm super proud of her! This was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life and I look forward to next season. For now I'm focusing on my family and my race schedule. Good luck to all of my team in whatever comes your way. I know you will all do well. Bye for now and I will see you on the race course.

Bluebonnet Express, the Lone Star Team and my Vegas Trip

Sunday I rode the Bluebonnet Express. It was a pretty good ride overall but I didn't see too many Bluebonnets. Unfortunately, I just was not feeling it on Sunday and I cut my ride short. I only put in around 36 miles but it was still good training. I did follow that up with a 6 mile run at Memorial dodging all the people at the park who were there for the Art Festival. I will have to be creative on my training this weekend but I think I have a good plan.

Yesterday marked the final practice for the Lone Star Team. It is a bittersweet moment for me. One on side I will be glad to get some time back for myself but I have to say it will be tough to say goodbye because I have become very fond of them. I know a number of them want to keep training together and I really hope that we do. They are great bunch of people and I know they will all do great on Sunday. I will update everyone sometime on Sunday or Monday with a race report.

Last but certainly not least. I have two weeks until my first triathlon of the season. I am a little nervous because this race is going to be tough. The elevation gains on the bike and on the run look brutal and I am just hoping I have the legs for it. The other part that is going to be tough is that it is in Vegas. There are lots of bad influences in Vegas and most include my co-workers. I hope I didn't bite off more than I could chew with this one.