Before I give a recap on Silverlake I wanted to add something to my last post. At Gateway I had the pleasure of meeting Andy Potts and Matty Reed. They were competing in a relay for charity and they stuck around for a meet and greet with the athletes and fans. It was a super cool experience and I was able to get my picture with them.
As for Silverlake this was my 4th time racing there. I have done this race more than any other and its one of my favorite events. Its a short Sprint race but always well done and they added a finishers medal for 2010.
The swim course was the same and it happened to be wetsuit legal. The swim was nothing exciting and I finished in 9'52" which was my second fastest at this race. I was little tired coming out of the water but overall I felt good. The bike course was new for 2010. It was still flat and fast but with less turns which made it even faster. Because of this I had my fastest bike time of 28'09" which was 21.3 mph. By the time I made it into T2 I was starting to loose energy. The beginning of my run was good but I started to fade quickly. If not for a slower run I might have set a PR for this course. My run time was 23'50" which was a 7'57" pace and my second slowest time at this race. Overall my time was 1:05:31 which was 3rd fastest for this event. All of my times are relatively close in time so I was satisfied with the day.
As for my next race I have 2 in mind but I have signed up for neither. I am looking at the Sylvan Beach Triathlon and Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon. I am not sure if I will do one, both or neither race. I will let you know.
Bye for now!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Gateway to the Bay and Lone Star Triathlons
I know these race reports are way over due but I wanted to give an update prior to the Silverlake Triathlon tomorrow.
On April 10 and 11th I did my first back to back triathlons. April 10th was the Sprint (500 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike and 5 K run). On April 11th was the Olympic (1500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike and 10 K run). The Sprint race was a non event with the exception of the swim which was very choppy and a bad cold that I was nursing. It wasn't my best swim but I was happy considering the choppy conditions. The bike was a one loop course the started with Kemah bridge. It was tough making it over both sides with little momentum but that was the toughest part. The rest was flat and fast and I averaged a little under 20 mph for the bike. Not my fastest but not bad considering my training. On a side note I received my first penalty ever for passing in a no pass zone. The run was flat and went through the Kemah Boardwalk area. Overall it was a good race and I finished in 1:21:59 without the penalty.
The Olympic was a little more challenging. The swim started with being taken a mile off shore on a boat dropped off to swim back. The water was not as choppy as the day before but it was still challenging. You would think this would be easy? Just swim in a straight line and make it to shore. The problem is it is a long shore and you have to exit in a specific place. To make matters worse there were only 3 marker buoys. I rely heavily on these buoys to guide me because I have poor vision and I have a difficult time swimming in a straight line without them. Needless to say it was by far my worst Olympic distance swim ever. After I exited the water and got on my bike I felt better. The bike course was the same but it was 2 laps. Overall, I has happy with my bike but again not my fastest. The run course was different than the day before but it was still flat. Unfortunately, my bad cold and the long swim took my energy away and it just was not my day. I finished with my 2nd slowest Olympic ever. My two Olympic races this year have been very slow but I have several upcoming opportunities to improve.
Lastly, I wanted to provide a brief note about the Lone Star Triathlon. I coached 18 people to compete in the Olympic Triathlon and 4 people in the Half-Ironman Triathlon. They all did a great job and I was proud of them all. I hope they all enjoyed the event and I hope they all return for a future event with Team N' Training.
Tomorrow May 16th I am racing in the Silverlake Triathlon for the 4th time. I have not done any other race more than 2 times. It is one of my favorite races and I am hoping the weather cooperates. I'll let you know how it goes.
Bye for now!
On April 10 and 11th I did my first back to back triathlons. April 10th was the Sprint (500 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike and 5 K run). On April 11th was the Olympic (1500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike and 10 K run). The Sprint race was a non event with the exception of the swim which was very choppy and a bad cold that I was nursing. It wasn't my best swim but I was happy considering the choppy conditions. The bike was a one loop course the started with Kemah bridge. It was tough making it over both sides with little momentum but that was the toughest part. The rest was flat and fast and I averaged a little under 20 mph for the bike. Not my fastest but not bad considering my training. On a side note I received my first penalty ever for passing in a no pass zone. The run was flat and went through the Kemah Boardwalk area. Overall it was a good race and I finished in 1:21:59 without the penalty.
The Olympic was a little more challenging. The swim started with being taken a mile off shore on a boat dropped off to swim back. The water was not as choppy as the day before but it was still challenging. You would think this would be easy? Just swim in a straight line and make it to shore. The problem is it is a long shore and you have to exit in a specific place. To make matters worse there were only 3 marker buoys. I rely heavily on these buoys to guide me because I have poor vision and I have a difficult time swimming in a straight line without them. Needless to say it was by far my worst Olympic distance swim ever. After I exited the water and got on my bike I felt better. The bike course was the same but it was 2 laps. Overall, I has happy with my bike but again not my fastest. The run course was different than the day before but it was still flat. Unfortunately, my bad cold and the long swim took my energy away and it just was not my day. I finished with my 2nd slowest Olympic ever. My two Olympic races this year have been very slow but I have several upcoming opportunities to improve.
Lastly, I wanted to provide a brief note about the Lone Star Triathlon. I coached 18 people to compete in the Olympic Triathlon and 4 people in the Half-Ironman Triathlon. They all did a great job and I was proud of them all. I hope they all enjoyed the event and I hope they all return for a future event with Team N' Training.
Tomorrow May 16th I am racing in the Silverlake Triathlon for the 4th time. I have not done any other race more than 2 times. It is one of my favorite races and I am hoping the weather cooperates. I'll let you know how it goes.
Bye for now!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Champions Triathlon
Last Saturday I did my first Triathlon of 2010 by completing the Olympic distance at the Champions Triathlon in Austin. This also marked my 25th triathlon since becoming a triathlete in 2005. I am very proud of this milestone and I look forward to many more races. Now for the race report:
Saturday morning I woke up around 6 am to get ready and eat some breakfast in the hotel. I had a waffle and some orange juice that did not settle well with me and would prove troublesome during the race. As we drove to the race my stomach was upset and I thought it was just nerves but the feeling wouldn't go away. I was determined to race anyway. After body marking, bike racking and transition set-up it was down to the swim start.
As I waited for the race to start I felt like throwing up and I tried to hold it in. Unfortunately as soon as I entered the water for the start I started to hurl. I felt awful but I started the race anyway. The water was not too cold but it was very choppy. This was not helping my stomach and I had to keep stopping to let my stomach settle. After one of my longest Olympic swim times ever I made it to T1 and set off for a slightly longer than normal bike course. A typical Olympic distance triathlon is a little under 25 miles. This event had the bike at a little over 26 miles.As I started the bike I was happy to have a tailwind to give me a little time to get settled. The tailwind didn't last long and it was hills and headwind for a little over half the loop. The bike course was two 13.1 mile loops so I knew I would have to deal with all the challenges twice. It took about 11 miles but I started to feel a little better. My legs were hurting but I pressed on. The bike kicked my butt however I was able to average 18.4 mph on the bike. Not too bad considering my lack of training time leading up to the race. After a challenging ride I headed to transition to prepare for the 10k run.
The run started off OK but my energy was fading. The run consisted of 2 loops around Lake Pflugerville. It was flat but not as fast I would have liked. After my 1st loop I was starting to get sick to my stomach again and I had to walk for the first time at a race of this distance. I was disappointed but I had to walk or bad things were going to happen. After all was said and done I finished in 3:05:29. This was my slowest Olympic but I was just happy to finish.
One other race note. Several members of my Lone Star team did the event as well. 
Lori, Jessica and Norma competed in the Sprint race and Mindi competed in the Olympic. Norma and Jessica finished top 6 in their age groups and Lori earned a podium spot finishing 2nd in her age group. 
Mindi in her first ever triathlon finished 6th in her age group. They all did a great job and I am proud of them all.
For my next races I am competing in the Gateway to the Bay Triathlon in Kemah on April 10th and 11th. I am racing the Sprint and the Olympic distances and I suspect I will have a much better outing. I have never done back to back races before so I am not sure how it will go but I am excited about the challenge.Lastly, I received some great news last week. I gained a sponsorship from PowerBar and I am now a member of PowerBar Team Elite. I am very excited and honored to be a member of this team. I will have more details to come on this sponsorship in the weeks to come.
Bye for now!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Lone Star Triathlon Team and Other Notes
We are about 2 1/2 months away from the Lone Star Triathlon and this season has been filled with lots of ups and downs. Let me start by saying that I love this team but we have had a number of obstacles that have prevented this team from clicking. The main obstacle has been the weather. The weather this year has been rough. The rain, snow and the cold has prevented many of the team from coming out to practice on a regular basis. As a coach these practices are important because it is my only opportunity to help each athlete. I am hoping the weather starts cooperating because I know with a little help we can have a well oiled machine with this group. Fortunately we have time to get people ready for this event. I'm confident that it will get better.
I know I said I would not sign up for anything until March 1st but I had an opportunity to participate in the Texas Independence Relay and this was such a unique opportunity so I didn't want to pass it up. This is a relay run from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument. The run is a total of 203.2 miles. I am not sure about my portion of the relay but it looks like I will run 4 legs. I feel I will be up for the challenge.
A few weeks ago I received the Garmin 310XT for my birthday and I love it! Thanks Norma! It has really helped me with my training and if I get lost the GPS will lead me back to where I started. I look forward to using it at the T.I.R.
Lastly, I still have not made concrete decisions about the triathlon schedule for 2010 but I have a few races in mind. One race that I will not do is Ironman Louisville. It looks like it is sold out and only has Ironman Foundation spots available. I will probably list a tentative race schedule in a few weeks. I will let you all know.
Bye for now.
I know I said I would not sign up for anything until March 1st but I had an opportunity to participate in the Texas Independence Relay and this was such a unique opportunity so I didn't want to pass it up. This is a relay run from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument. The run is a total of 203.2 miles. I am not sure about my portion of the relay but it looks like I will run 4 legs. I feel I will be up for the challenge.
A few weeks ago I received the Garmin 310XT for my birthday and I love it! Thanks Norma! It has really helped me with my training and if I get lost the GPS will lead me back to where I started. I look forward to using it at the T.I.R.
Lastly, I still have not made concrete decisions about the triathlon schedule for 2010 but I have a few races in mind. One race that I will not do is Ironman Louisville. It looks like it is sold out and only has Ironman Foundation spots available. I will probably list a tentative race schedule in a few weeks. I will let you all know.
Bye for now.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Rebuilding a Triathlete
I made a decision this week to start over from a training aspect. Now I realize that I am not really starting over as I have kept a base level of training from IM Cozumel but I needed a way to get myself motivated. I decided to start with short runs, rides and swims with my primary focus on my strength training. This has worked very well. For the first time in months I don't feel like I am forcing myself to train. In the last week I was able to get 3 runs, 2 swims and 2 bike rides in addition to 4 strength training sessions. I also did my first Yoga session on Friday. Yoga is very tough but I want to become more flexible so I plan to keep this as a part of my training. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.
I have also been watching what I eat. I really want to get my weight and body fat % to my 2007 and 2008 levels. I have lost 4 pounds this week and I am confident that I can myself to the right weight and body fat levels over the next few months.
Bye for now.
I have also been watching what I eat. I really want to get my weight and body fat % to my 2007 and 2008 levels. I have lost 4 pounds this week and I am confident that I can myself to the right weight and body fat levels over the next few months.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2009 and Beyond
Well, I had a very productive 2009. I completed 1 half marathon, 1 full marathon, 4 bike rides ranging from 30 miles to 101 miles and 9 triathlons. Of the 9 triathlons I completed 2 Sprints, 4 Olympics, 2 Half-Ironman events and I finished the year with my first Ironman in November. I spent 500 hours training in 2009. I ran 772 miles, cycled 2325 miles and I swam 62 miles. I also completed 97 strength training sessions. As I sit and look at what I did in 2009 I am amazed that I survived it. When I started competing in endurance events I never thought I would do this much.
So what's next? I am still not 100% sure but I have a few things in mind. I was supposed to run the Houston Marathon last Sunday but I was not feeling well on race day and I decided not to run. I am looking for a marathon to make up for Houston in the next couple months. As far as triathlon is concerned I am sticking to the plan of not signing up for anything until March. I have not done much as far as training goes since IM Cozumel and I want to give myself time to get back into shape before I sign up for anything. I will keep you all updated with what I decide.
Bye for now
So what's next? I am still not 100% sure but I have a few things in mind. I was supposed to run the Houston Marathon last Sunday but I was not feeling well on race day and I decided not to run. I am looking for a marathon to make up for Houston in the next couple months. As far as triathlon is concerned I am sticking to the plan of not signing up for anything until March. I have not done much as far as training goes since IM Cozumel and I want to give myself time to get back into shape before I sign up for anything. I will keep you all updated with what I decide.
Bye for now
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
I am IronMan
Well I am finally writing my race report. Sorry it has taken so long but I wanted to digest the experience before writing. Here we go:
We arrived in Cancun early Thursday afternoon and I was hoping to get to Cozumel in time to watch the Cowboys game. Unfortunately getting to Cancun was the easiest part of the trip. After our fun getting through customs we bought bus tickets to take us to the ferry that would take us to Cozumel. The lucky thing was the fact that we were the first stop. Along with me there were two other athletes with bikes that were getting on the bus and not too many other people. I thought to myself this won't be too bad. After a few minutes on the bus we pulled up to stop #2 that had a bunch of people with bikes. People were freaking out that their bikes and luggage wouldn't make it on the same bus and it was a big mess that was adding time to the hour that we already waited. Finally, after what seemed like forever the bus was heading to the ferry. Once we made it Playa Del Carmen we bought ferry tickets and were close to heading to Cozumel. The ferry was another nightmare. There were so many people and bike boxes. It took forever to get everyone loaded up. During our wait the weather starting turning worse and it got very windy. Once the ferry took off I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. The ferry was swaying all over the water and the 2 restrooms were filled with sea sick people. Unfortunately there were a number of bike boxes that were not very lucky as there were people vomiting all over them. It was so fun. I thought "I am going to be swimming in this water on Sunday?" This is fucking great! When we finally made to Cozumel the representative, Pedro, from the villa met us and we took a cab to our home for the next 7 days. The trip was rough and I missed the Cowboys game but the villa was awesome and it made up for all we went through to get there. After dinner it was off to bed and up early for what I thought would be a training swim.
Friday morning came quick and it was very windy outside so I decided not to head to the park for a practice swim. I decided to stay in, eat breakfast and put my bike together. After some trouble getting the saddle on I took the bike out for a ride and then it was off to packet pick-up. The packet pick-up was pretty easy and expo didn't have much but we picked a few things. During the expo we ran into Liz and John and we sat with them during the info meeting and then it was home for dinner and rest.
Saturday we woke up early and headed to the park for a practice swim. The weather was great and the water was perfect. You could see all the way to the bottom and it was smooth as glass. No choppy waves to fight. After the swim it was back to the villa for more rest and eating. Later that afternoon I rode my bike down to the start, racked my bike and my race bags. Then it was back home to eat and rest. I went to bed relatively early to get a little sleep before the big day.
3 am came early on Sunday. I was very nervous as I woke up. I get nervous before every race but this was different. This would take everything in me to finish. I got ready quick but I wasn't feeling that well. My nerves were preventing me from eating all that I needed. I just felt like I was going to hurl. I was thinking about my training and was it enough? I had a lot of doubts as I sat at the breakfast table. The cab driver came around 5am and we were off to the race start.
As I got to transition I was still nervous but settling down. I put air in my tires and walked around waiting for the race to start. Around 6:30 I made my way to the ramp that would lead me into the water and beginning of a journey that I would remember forever.
As I watched the professionals start I knew I would be okay and made my way into the water with John. The water was warm and there were no choppy waves. It was perfect. Before I knew it we were off. I felt good despite my shoulder. It was very crowded at first. I have never done a race with a mass start. About 300 meters in I was kicked in the face and my goggles popped off. It took several minutes to get them back on correctly. After about 20 minutes in the water the crowd spread out and we made the 1st of two turns. After the turn the swim was great. The current was behind us and I was swimming at decent pace. During this part of the swim there were a number of scuba divers in the water taking pictures and waving at the athletes. Before I knew it we were at the turnaround to make it to the dock. I looked at my watch and it showed 59 minutes. Many Ironman athletes would be disappointed but I was happy. I was where I wanted to be and felt like I could break 90 minutes which was my goal. As I swam into the dock we were against the current and it was slow but I was still moving well. As I exited the water I looked at my watch and it was at 1:29 and I was very happy as ran to the changing tent.
The changing tent was a new thing for me. I am used to having everything in transition. Two transition spots make that impossible. In the changing tent you see some unique things that I will not mention on this post. I will just say dudes are pretty disgusting and you can just use your imagination. After I put my helmet, shoes and glasses on it was off to my bike. Early on the bike I felt really good. I was averaging 22 to 23 mph and I was cruising. When I reached the other side of the island the wind picked up and I slowed way down. After the first loop (40 miles) I felt good except for a health issue I will mention later. As I reached the halfway point of the second loop I was getting very tired. The wind was really getting to me and I was fading. The one neat thing was spotting Norma and her parents towards the end of the loop with the cool signs she made. I needed that pick me up. The third loop was not much better but I knew I was going to make it. During the third loop I also getting angry. There were a lot of people drafting! I just hate when people don't follow the rules! As I reached the end of the last loop I realized it was the least of my worries. I rode an extra 1.7 miles because of course changes and I had 26.2 miles to run. But as I said, I knew I would make it.
When I reached T2 I handed my bike over to the volunteer and I went into the changing tent. The 2nd changing tent was even more disgusting. Someone sprayed so much sunscreen you could not even breath. Even more disgusting were the pot-o-cans. The athletes shit all over each of the cans and it was hard not to vomit. It was so disgusting. After pulling myself together I ran out of the tent and I spotted Norms. I was dragging and hurting but I started running. About 4 miles in I caught Liz and she was hurting bad as well. I talked with her for a moment and pressed on. The health issue that I had was causing me problems. I had a recurrence of a UTI that I had back in March. Needless to say I did not want to run. I kept going the best I could. At the end of loop 1 I spotted John and he looked fresh. I kept my run/walk through most of the second loop where I saw Norma. She had a margarita for me but I unfortunately couldn't drink it because I still had 8 miles to go. I was hurting and dragging but I pressed on. I have never hurt so much. I saw Liz at one point and she look tired and like she wanted to cry. I felt the same way. Norma walked with me for a little bit after I made the 2nd turnaround and then I told her I had to run. It was rough but I kept moving. As I reached mile 25 I started to pick up the pace. I knew I was going to cross the finish line running. When I saw the mile 26 marker I started sprinting. There were so many people cheering that I just had to. As I crossed the finish line I was filled with so much joy. I had done it! I am an IronMan! I saw Norma and I started crying. I was hurting so bad but was so happy. The final time was 13:25:03. It's right where I planned to be.
As I finish this post I have a few final comments. First, the people of Cozumel were awesome. The lined the streets during the bike and run portions of the race cheering all the way. When I was really down the spectators would yell "si se puede". (You can do it!). I really needed it. They were great and they made the race so enjoyable. I had a great time during my remaining days in Cozumel and I look forward to my next race in Cozumel.
Second, I have a number of people I want to thank. Sorry this is my Academy Award speech. I want to thank the folks at Bike Barn in The Village for my bike. I love that bike. She is the greatest. (Yes, my bike is a she, get over it!) I want to thank Johnny Zepeda at Tri on the Run and Raymond Cooper at Finish Strong for all they have done. They supply me with everything from shoes to bike tubes. They have been very supportive of me and TNT. Thanks for everything. I want to thank all my friends who have been so encouraging over the past year. It is so comforting to have the support of those close to you. I want to thank Jay Branson for loaning me the bike box. It worked great, thanks. I want thank John Vigil for doing the Rage Triathlon with me and for racing with me in Cozumel. You are a great friend. Coach Liz, what can I say? I have said this before but you have done so much for me that I can't even put it into words. I know you have heard this so many times but I would not be here if it wasn't for you. You are so awesome and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for me.
Third, I want to thank my family for their patience, understanding and love. I sacrificed a lot to do this race and I appreciate their understanding in this journey. Thank you so much. I love you!
Lastly, I want to thank Norma. She sacrificed a lot over the past year. She drove SAG on all my long rides and runs and was photographer on the 9 triathlons I did this year. She never complained even when she sacrificed her own training. She just wanted me to do well and have a good race. She also organized all the travel for this race. Lord knows I couldn't do it. I am forever in your debt. I love you and thank you for everything you do and for taking care of me.
Well that's it. I have the Houston Marathon in January and then it's a little time off. I'm not sure what is next but I will make some decisions in the next couple months. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and I will update you soon.
Later Dudes!
(pictures will be posted tomorrow)
We arrived in Cancun early Thursday afternoon and I was hoping to get to Cozumel in time to watch the Cowboys game. Unfortunately getting to Cancun was the easiest part of the trip. After our fun getting through customs we bought bus tickets to take us to the ferry that would take us to Cozumel. The lucky thing was the fact that we were the first stop. Along with me there were two other athletes with bikes that were getting on the bus and not too many other people. I thought to myself this won't be too bad. After a few minutes on the bus we pulled up to stop #2 that had a bunch of people with bikes. People were freaking out that their bikes and luggage wouldn't make it on the same bus and it was a big mess that was adding time to the hour that we already waited. Finally, after what seemed like forever the bus was heading to the ferry. Once we made it Playa Del Carmen we bought ferry tickets and were close to heading to Cozumel. The ferry was another nightmare. There were so many people and bike boxes. It took forever to get everyone loaded up. During our wait the weather starting turning worse and it got very windy. Once the ferry took off I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. The ferry was swaying all over the water and the 2 restrooms were filled with sea sick people. Unfortunately there were a number of bike boxes that were not very lucky as there were people vomiting all over them. It was so fun. I thought "I am going to be swimming in this water on Sunday?" This is fucking great! When we finally made to Cozumel the representative, Pedro, from the villa met us and we took a cab to our home for the next 7 days. The trip was rough and I missed the Cowboys game but the villa was awesome and it made up for all we went through to get there. After dinner it was off to bed and up early for what I thought would be a training swim.
Friday morning came quick and it was very windy outside so I decided not to head to the park for a practice swim. I decided to stay in, eat breakfast and put my bike together. After some trouble getting the saddle on I took the bike out for a ride and then it was off to packet pick-up. The packet pick-up was pretty easy and expo didn't have much but we picked a few things. During the expo we ran into Liz and John and we sat with them during the info meeting and then it was home for dinner and rest.
Saturday we woke up early and headed to the park for a practice swim. The weather was great and the water was perfect. You could see all the way to the bottom and it was smooth as glass. No choppy waves to fight. After the swim it was back to the villa for more rest and eating. Later that afternoon I rode my bike down to the start, racked my bike and my race bags. Then it was back home to eat and rest. I went to bed relatively early to get a little sleep before the big day.
3 am came early on Sunday. I was very nervous as I woke up. I get nervous before every race but this was different. This would take everything in me to finish. I got ready quick but I wasn't feeling that well. My nerves were preventing me from eating all that I needed. I just felt like I was going to hurl. I was thinking about my training and was it enough? I had a lot of doubts as I sat at the breakfast table. The cab driver came around 5am and we were off to the race start.
As I got to transition I was still nervous but settling down. I put air in my tires and walked around waiting for the race to start. Around 6:30 I made my way to the ramp that would lead me into the water and beginning of a journey that I would remember forever.
As I watched the professionals start I knew I would be okay and made my way into the water with John. The water was warm and there were no choppy waves. It was perfect. Before I knew it we were off. I felt good despite my shoulder. It was very crowded at first. I have never done a race with a mass start. About 300 meters in I was kicked in the face and my goggles popped off. It took several minutes to get them back on correctly. After about 20 minutes in the water the crowd spread out and we made the 1st of two turns. After the turn the swim was great. The current was behind us and I was swimming at decent pace. During this part of the swim there were a number of scuba divers in the water taking pictures and waving at the athletes. Before I knew it we were at the turnaround to make it to the dock. I looked at my watch and it showed 59 minutes. Many Ironman athletes would be disappointed but I was happy. I was where I wanted to be and felt like I could break 90 minutes which was my goal. As I swam into the dock we were against the current and it was slow but I was still moving well. As I exited the water I looked at my watch and it was at 1:29 and I was very happy as ran to the changing tent.
The changing tent was a new thing for me. I am used to having everything in transition. Two transition spots make that impossible. In the changing tent you see some unique things that I will not mention on this post. I will just say dudes are pretty disgusting and you can just use your imagination. After I put my helmet, shoes and glasses on it was off to my bike. Early on the bike I felt really good. I was averaging 22 to 23 mph and I was cruising. When I reached the other side of the island the wind picked up and I slowed way down. After the first loop (40 miles) I felt good except for a health issue I will mention later. As I reached the halfway point of the second loop I was getting very tired. The wind was really getting to me and I was fading. The one neat thing was spotting Norma and her parents towards the end of the loop with the cool signs she made. I needed that pick me up. The third loop was not much better but I knew I was going to make it. During the third loop I also getting angry. There were a lot of people drafting! I just hate when people don't follow the rules! As I reached the end of the last loop I realized it was the least of my worries. I rode an extra 1.7 miles because of course changes and I had 26.2 miles to run. But as I said, I knew I would make it.
When I reached T2 I handed my bike over to the volunteer and I went into the changing tent. The 2nd changing tent was even more disgusting. Someone sprayed so much sunscreen you could not even breath. Even more disgusting were the pot-o-cans. The athletes shit all over each of the cans and it was hard not to vomit. It was so disgusting. After pulling myself together I ran out of the tent and I spotted Norms. I was dragging and hurting but I started running. About 4 miles in I caught Liz and she was hurting bad as well. I talked with her for a moment and pressed on. The health issue that I had was causing me problems. I had a recurrence of a UTI that I had back in March. Needless to say I did not want to run. I kept going the best I could. At the end of loop 1 I spotted John and he looked fresh. I kept my run/walk through most of the second loop where I saw Norma. She had a margarita for me but I unfortunately couldn't drink it because I still had 8 miles to go. I was hurting and dragging but I pressed on. I have never hurt so much. I saw Liz at one point and she look tired and like she wanted to cry. I felt the same way. Norma walked with me for a little bit after I made the 2nd turnaround and then I told her I had to run. It was rough but I kept moving. As I reached mile 25 I started to pick up the pace. I knew I was going to cross the finish line running. When I saw the mile 26 marker I started sprinting. There were so many people cheering that I just had to. As I crossed the finish line I was filled with so much joy. I had done it! I am an IronMan! I saw Norma and I started crying. I was hurting so bad but was so happy. The final time was 13:25:03. It's right where I planned to be.
As I finish this post I have a few final comments. First, the people of Cozumel were awesome. The lined the streets during the bike and run portions of the race cheering all the way. When I was really down the spectators would yell "si se puede". (You can do it!). I really needed it. They were great and they made the race so enjoyable. I had a great time during my remaining days in Cozumel and I look forward to my next race in Cozumel.
Second, I have a number of people I want to thank. Sorry this is my Academy Award speech. I want to thank the folks at Bike Barn in The Village for my bike. I love that bike. She is the greatest. (Yes, my bike is a she, get over it!) I want to thank Johnny Zepeda at Tri on the Run and Raymond Cooper at Finish Strong for all they have done. They supply me with everything from shoes to bike tubes. They have been very supportive of me and TNT. Thanks for everything. I want to thank all my friends who have been so encouraging over the past year. It is so comforting to have the support of those close to you. I want to thank Jay Branson for loaning me the bike box. It worked great, thanks. I want thank John Vigil for doing the Rage Triathlon with me and for racing with me in Cozumel. You are a great friend. Coach Liz, what can I say? I have said this before but you have done so much for me that I can't even put it into words. I know you have heard this so many times but I would not be here if it wasn't for you. You are so awesome and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for me.
Third, I want to thank my family for their patience, understanding and love. I sacrificed a lot to do this race and I appreciate their understanding in this journey. Thank you so much. I love you!
Lastly, I want to thank Norma. She sacrificed a lot over the past year. She drove SAG on all my long rides and runs and was photographer on the 9 triathlons I did this year. She never complained even when she sacrificed her own training. She just wanted me to do well and have a good race. She also organized all the travel for this race. Lord knows I couldn't do it. I am forever in your debt. I love you and thank you for everything you do and for taking care of me.
Well that's it. I have the Houston Marathon in January and then it's a little time off. I'm not sure what is next but I will make some decisions in the next couple months. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and I will update you soon.
Later Dudes!
(pictures will be posted tomorrow)
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