Less than 3 weeks till Kona!

It's Almost Time:
Well, we are finally getting close to the big day!  I sit here and type realizing I am just 17 dyas from the big race.  The entire family is leaving on Monday, October 2nd and head out to the Big Island . So that is only 11 days out.  I found out last week that my brother Mike is going to fly in from Las Vegas to come see the race and support me.  It is going to be very cool having my big bro there in Kona to kick me in the ass when I am ready to give up! Mike has been very supportive this entire time as I will be sporting his hotel logo  Monte Carlo- Las Vegas on my race suit during the big race. Also, my good buddy Dr. Jeff Eidsvig who has been my Chiropractor and treating me over the past 10 weeks is going to fly out as well.  He will be there to make sure I stay in one piece!  Jeff has been awesome this entire time and super generous and supportive with my journey to Kona.  If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I highly recommend going and seeing him at  Willow Bend Sport & Spine Center. Dr. Eidsvig basically saved me from a very bad Achilles injury just about 6-weeks into my training.  His advice and treatments kept me going strong and made my recovery fast.   Jeff was also featured in this past months Golf Digest for his innovative laser treatment that many of the PGA golf pros are using to heel there injuries.  Check it out!

Training Up To Date:
 I received my race number via email earlier this week and it has started to really sink in  that I am close to being an Ironman.  I have started to taper my training a bit and plan for one more long run of 21-23 miles this weekend.  I am still sticking to my basic plan during the weekdays of short, harder workouts.  After this week  I will spend the remainder of my training time doing short runs and swims along with a little work on the bike trainer to keep my legs fresh.   It kind of scares me that I do not have my bike anymore and that the next ride with be the race.   In all honesty, I am ready for the training to be over.  For most of the past 16 weeks I have worked off pure adrenaline and excitement. That starts to wear off as your body begins to wear.  The 5AM weekend workouts combined with the lunch time and evening weekday workouts really has played a toll on my body. Its amazing to think of all the things that have happened during this time to keep me going: Dallas Athletes, Mia's Arrival, Alzheimer's Fundraiser, Family Support, You Tube video's (LOL), and so much more. Plus, the positive impact my training has had on my entire approach on life now. Vanessa and I often joke about what the heck I am going to do with all my time after this is over?  She is putting me on "Ironman Probation" for the next few years and I do not blame her!

Almost a Bike Disaster!
On Monday morning I almost had a mild disaster with my bike shipping schedule.  About two months back I made reservations with a company called TriBike Transport.  They are a vendor for the Ironman organization that ships your bike fully assembled round trip so you do not have to worry about it while you travel.  This was great for me considering I will be hauling the entire family to Hawaii and it would be one less thing I had to worry about.  Plus, I am no "bike mechanic" so it is probably best I am not tooling with my bike the day before the race.  My reservation had me dropping my bike of this upcoming Friday at Richardson Bike Mart. That made me a little nervous because I would have to go over a week without my bike to train on before the race.  This was common though in order for them to get the bikes to the race site in time.  Little did I know what I was in for on Monday though.   I received an email at 5AM from TriBike Transport stating that my bike needed to be sent out by 4PM that same day. WTF, I said!  To make a long story short, the company works off an automated email system that malfunctioned.  They thought they sent out an email earlier in August to tell everyone across the country that the ship dates were pushed forward.  Unfortunately that email never got out to anyone and caused a mad rush for all the participants using this service to get there bikes to the appropriate shop without notice on the same day.  Both Facebook and Twitter were bombarded with negative comments from participants as I thought it was a joke.  Thank goodness for social media!  I ended up having to cut out of work, speed home and load the entire family up to get my bike to the drop off location in time.  Tri Bike Transport plans to compensate everyone so hopefully they will discount at least some of the $400 fee they charged, ridiculous!  To makes things worse, now I am not going to have my bike for two full weeks.  Kind of sucks for me considering that my biking is by far my weakest point of the Ironman race. 
I will keep you guys posted on the next two weeks as I am sure the adventure of the plane ride with the two kids, my wife, my parents, and mother-in-law will be a "Made for TV movie".   Not looking forward to that, ha ha!

Below is a a photo and video from my training this past week.



Lake Grapevine- Where I do my Open Water Swims w/  The Dallas Athletes Group

Headed out to Texas Motor Speedway on a long ride and I decide to race a train at 30 mph.  Dont try this at home!  



"Hotter Than Hell" Bike Rally- REPORT

HOTTER THAN HELL 100 - August 27, 2011:
This past weekend I took part in the infamous "Hotter Than Hell" Bike Rally in Wichita Falls, Texas. This is one of the largest bike rally events in the U.S. with over 14,000 participants each year.  The Hotter Than Hell gets its name from the scorching high temps in the area during the summer months.  Lets just say this year...... it lived up to its name!  This was my first time to do this event so I was pretty excited.  I was also a little nervous, considering this would be my first time to ever ride over 100 miles on a bike.  I have done a handful of rides at the 75-85 mile mark up till now but I knew  this would be a big step for me to break the 100 mile barrier.  Just last weekend I completed a 85 mile ride with the Dallas Athletes group (http://www.dallasathletes.com/) from Coppell to Joe Pool Lake in Mansfield.  It was very hot and the last 10 miles of the ride were pure hell!  I have a tendancy to not hydrate enough and it often kicks my butt as i start to fatigue.  The "Hotter Than Hell" ride would be a great chance for me to work on this and really focus on my nutrition plan for Kona.  With only five weeks left to the race I really needed to figure this out. The moring started off early at 4AM with my mother-in law Carol and her best friend Candy taking me to the race and dropping me off.  It was very nice of them to do so since it was about a 50-mile trip to Wichita Falls and the race site.  Both Carol and Candy are morning people though so I am sure it did not bother them.  Plus, they got a good 30 minutes in to make fun of my tight bike shorts, LOL!  I did really appreciate them taking me.



Me right before the start of the Hotter Than Hell 100 in Wichita Falls.

 
GOAL/NUTRITION PLAN:
  My main goal for this ride was to really experiment with my nutrition plan and figure it out for Kona.  I had just started using a new product that I was going to try out from a company called First Endurance (http://www.firstendurance.com/). They have numerous products used by pro triathletes that I have read about so I figured I would give them a try.  I had heard nothing but great thing about there "liquid shot" 5-oz flasks so I decided to  purchased a case last week  from www.firstendurance.com/nutrition/efs-liquid-shot.html).  These "liquid shots" are individual  5-oz flask with about 400 calories each, loaded with electrolytes, carbohydrates, potassium, magnesium and amino acids.  This is all the good stuff I need to keep me upright and not overheat or start cramping on race day.  I have had issues in the past with this on numerous rides. Once I get 2-3 hours into a ride, my quads often start to get tight and cramp. For those who have experienced this on long hot days, it is no fun at all.  This is the last thing I need to happen in Kona.  If you start to cramp, your day is done!  So the key is to make sure you stay hydrated and keep your calorie and sodium intake up. The big selling part of the "liquid shot" is that it is not a gel or GU-like substance like most of its competition.   It is all liquid based so it enables you to mix in your water bottles diluting the strong berry or vanilla flavor.  It actually did not taste that bad.  So here was my plan:  Since I needed to consume about 250 calories an hour to stay on track, my plan was to drink one 24-oz water bottle with the "liquid shot" mixed in about each 1.5 hours.   this would give me about 800 calories over a 3-hour span. I would carry two 24-oz water bottles mixed on my bike along with my 50-oz Camelback backpack with strictly water only.  I figured this would carry me through more than half my race and then I would just refill the water bottles at one of my three planned aid station stops with the extra EFS flask I would be carrying.  I would also consume more water and maybe 2-3 Cliff Powershot Gels and some aid station handouts just to get a different taste in my mouth so I do not vomit.  Funny, huh? You triathletes understand!


THE RIDE:

The Start at 6:15AM -- 14,000+ Cyclist

The start of the rally was pretty cool.  Seeing more than 14,000 people lines up in the dark was a site to see.  Everyone was in good spirits and surprisingly since it was so early, it was only 82 degrees.  The first 10-15 miles of the ride I planned to just take it easy and warm up. It is very important for me not to push to hard in the beginning and have nothing left at the end. This was pretty easy to do considering all the darkness and congestion.   The race committee decided to start the race an hour early due to the extreme heat  in the forecast for the day so it stayed fairly dark for the first 30 minutes of the ride.  My nutrition plan was in tact as every 10  minutes or so  I would take gulp out of my loaded water bottle with the EFS mix.  I reached the mile 30 rest station and decided to take a quick break to stretch and pee.  My legs felt fresh and I was feeling awesome. The atmosphere was full of happy folks and everyone was chatting during the ride.  After a quick 3 minute stop,  I jumped back on my bike and I was off.  I remember actually feeling a cool breeze for the first hour or so on the bike.  For you Texans, you know that during the summer this is hard to come by.  Everyone was talking about how shocked they were that is was so cool out.  That all changed quickly though.   I rode along with an older gentleman for about 15 miles before the half way point.  I had noticed his cycling jersey was from Ironman Texas so we chatted about Kona a bit.  He had done 2-3 full distance Ironman races before so he gave me some solid advice about the race and what to expect.  It is pretty cool when people hear you are going to Kona.  They treat you like you are a celebrity and become fascinated about your journey and stories.  It is people like this that really make the sport of triathlon great.  Everyone is so supportive and always willing to give advice. Back to the ride. It was going well as I reached the infamous "Hell's Gate"at mile 60.  This is the largest rest stop area where there is live music and lots of fans cheering.  This is the stop that many people are known to turn back and take the quick 10 mile ride to the finish.  By now it is usually 100+ degrees for most but since I was moving pretty quick it was still only 97 degrees, LOL!  I could really feel that the EFS "liquid shot" mix was working.  I had no fatigue in my legs and I felt fresh.  After a quick refill at mile-60 I was off again.  It only took about 5 minutes into the ride before I really could start feeling the heat.  By now it was around 10:00AM so it was starting to really get hot!    I knew to stay focused and not push too hard as this was the mile range where I usually start to fatigue and cramp as the heat takes its toll on your body.  By mile-75 I was still feeling great, sticking to my plan of drinking my EFS mixed beverage every 10 minutes or so.  I also forgot to mention that I was popping 2 Thermotabs (salt pills) every hour just as an added buffer to prevent cramping.  I planned my last rest stop for mile-90.  The ride between mile 60 and 90 was a little more difficult. I can say that I still felt pretty good (for someone sitting on a bile for 4 hours could be).  By the time I reach the mile-90 rest area it was the first time I felt thirsty all day.  My nutrition plan had been working and I was really feeling well.  Only 13-mile to go!    To make sure I stayed fresh the last few miles I poured ice water down my jersey and all over my head.  I also took in some aid station bananas and Poweraid.  As I pulled out of the rest stop I noticed the large temperature gage they had on the street.  It read 109 degrees!  I was officially apart of the hottest "Hotter Than Hell" in history!  I know that Kona is hot and humid but there is no way it will be cooking like this! I also heard a rumor that the ground temp was around 155 degrees.  BRING IT KONA!  The last 10 miles were fun even though it seemed like it was 50 miles.  I chatted up with some other riders and even stopped at the last rest station for the "FREE BEER".  I'll be honest, I took one sip and poured the rest out.  I just wanted to finish this damn ride at this point.  I finally reached downtown and came up to the finish line.  I could not believe how well I felt after the 103-miles.  I jumped off the bike and was greeted by my wonderful wife Vanessa and my new baby daughter Mia (1-month old).  They made the track from Seymour (where her parents live about 50 miles west) to see me finish.  No matter how many times I finish these races, the best part is always seeing my family at the finish line. There is not a day that goes by during my training that I do not imagine them at the finish in Kona!

CONCLUSION
Overall, I was very happy with the day as it took me a little over 5-hours to finish the 103 mile bike ride.  I can really feel the improvement in my biking and this event gave me a huge mental boost to my confidence.  I also an super excited about my discovery of the EFS "liquid shot".  I can say that it is a life saver!  No cramps, no fatigue, no soreness at all.  I definitely plan to incorporate First Endurance into my race plan at Kona.  I will use the next few weeks to tweak my plan to make sure I have it down.   Also, I forgot to mention and thank Jeff at B&B Bicycles ( http://bbbicycles.com/) for letting me use the ZIPP 404 race wheels for my event (http://zipp.com/wheels/404-clincher/ ).  These wheels make a huge improvement in my cycling.  They should for $2500, right? LOL!  In all seriousness, the ZIPP wheels are great, plus they look pretty damn cool!  Jeff and B&B have been a major part of my preparation for Kona over the past 13-weeks. He has helped me with my fit and with his experience has given me a lot of guidance to prepare me for the race.  I cannot thank him enough for all he has done.  I am a little more than only five weeks out from the big race.  I really only have three more weeks of intense training and then I start to taper for the final two weeks to get my body fresh.  Right now I am at the peak of my training at around 13-15 hours a week. I plan to just do 2-3 more long rides to keep my confidence up as well as maybe 2 more long runs of 18-20 miles. I will keep my mid-week training at the same pace that I have been at, focusing heavily on my long weekend training days.  I will keep you posted in the weeks to come as I get closer to race day!  We are almost there!

Finally, I want to say Happy Birthday to my baby girl Elle!  She turned 3-years old this past weekend.  It seems like yesterday she was an tiny little baby. She is one of many that keep me going strong through all these long hours of training and work and always seems to put a smile on my face! She amazes me everyday at what she can do and accomplish.  A day does not go by during my training that I don't think about Elle and the rest of my family at the finish line in Kona.  Happy Birthday Elle, I love you!

Elle at Grandma & Grandpa's celebrating her 3rd B-day!