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Tour De BBQ Ride Report

2011-10-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

Mile 0: I left my house at 5:30 AM. It was 45° out – chilly, but luckily not damp. I packed sparingly, knowing I would regret not having more cold-weather gear, but then I’d have to lug it around later. I would be riding up a lot of hills, so unneeded cargo was unnecessary weight.
As I left my house and rode along Barry Road and North Oak Trafficway, I noticed how different it was without all the traffic. Some of the steeper downhill sections were a little scary in the blackness of night – especially with missing streetlights. Even with a front flasher, it was so dark, I prayed I wouldn’t hit a pothole or something worse. Luckily, I only had to dodge a broken water main – no need for early morning cold showers.
Heading into downtown, it seemed like the Heart of Americas Bridge would never end – it just kept going uphill. It’s also an on/off ramp for the I-35/I-70 freeways, so I had to be extra cautious with the traffic. Just as I crossed into downtown I got to see my first wildlife of the day – a possum, just shambling along in the middle of the street. I tried to shoo him along, but he clearly had his own pace and was going to stick to it. After a few more exercises in patience waiting on yet more streetlights, I arrived at the BCS offices at 6:15 to meet up with my group.

Mile 14: After being greeted with a ridiculously strong Bloody Mary by Curt, I met the rest of our team: Leigh Ann, Big Jeff, Little Jeff, Courtney and Brandon, and our last-minute addition, our SAG driver Jeremy. We all only met Jeremy just that day, so big kudos to him for agreeing to do this crazy early event with us! (of course, had I known we’d have a SAG, I would have brought that extra gear after all!) After some last-minute prep, we headed over to the start area about a quarter-mile away.

Mile 15: We were riding the 62+ mile route, and eager to get going. There was a very chilly breeze by this time, and even with my 15-mile warmup ride, I was starting to get cold, too. They released us in waves of ~100, starting at 7:00. Our team got split in half by the organizers, so Curt sweet-talked one of them into letting us jump around the barrier when the main guy wasn’t looking. We all left in the second wave, right around 7:10 AM. It was very cool going through downtown, mid-town, and along the plaza with about 150-200 other riders at the same time. (There were about 3,000 total riding 15-, 30- and 62-mile courses!)

Mile 25: Ten miles into the course, we got to our first stop. Smokestack BBQ had wings and beans. The wings were great, especially because they were hot from the cooker. Didn’t have the beans. Some of us considered going into Goodwill store next door for extra clothes, but it wasn’t open yet. And the sun was starting to come out and warm us up. Most of our group were seasoned RAGBRAI riders, so Coors Light was passed out. It was like drinking barley pop – no taste, and the alcohol burned off in the first 5 minutes of pedaling.

Mile 33: Eight miles and a couple of very fast (and cold) downhills and a couple of long, hard uphills, with a healthy dose of stoplights and traffic, we got to the next stop. Now, technically, SPIN! Pizza isn’t a BBQ joint, but they are a major sponsor, so they got a pass. They had a variety of gelato, and I had the last white chocolate raspberry gelato – delicious.

Mile 42: About 9 miles, and one really long climb later, we got to the original location of one of my favorite BBQ places – Fiorella’s Jack Stack, or just Jack’s Stack. There are widely known for their brisket, so I was a little disappointed to see that they offered sausage as their sample. But the first bite banished that thought. It was terrific and I could have eaten about 4 more plates. But I didn’t want to overdo it, considering there was a lot more riding to do. There’s nothing good that can come from an upset stomach on this ride.

Mile 42.5: Jeremy was waiting for us at the parking lot of Jack’s Stack, but most of the group stopped about a ¼ mile short at RJ’s Lounge. In fact, just about all the riders stopped there. I told Jeremy to meet us here, where I had a particularly strong lager from one of the local breweries. Tasted like a Sam Adams, but better. Wish I could remember what it was. Curt took a wrong turn and missed both Jack’s Stack and here. We made sure to let him know what he missed.

Mile 51: The rest stops were spaced out pretty well. Our next was Gates BBQ (home of “HI! MAY I HELP YOU!?!”). It isn’t on the top of my list of BBQ faves, but they are a KC institution. I had 2 sandwiches – one beef (with a lot of sauce) and one turkey (with just the right amount of Gates sauce – next to none). It was 11:15 or so, so we stopped a little longer here and enjoyed another Coors. Jeremy was certainly earning his keep. I called home to tell Lisa how we were progressing and have her record the MSU/OSU game – it was clear I wouldn’t be home by the 2:30 kickoff. Mile 59: I had been holding off on the BBQ sampling because I was most excited for our next stop - Oklahoma Joes. This is by far my favorite BBQ in all of Kansas City. I’m still unclear as to why it’s “Oklahoma” Joes since it has its origins here in KC. Anyway, we stopped at the original location – a gas station. Yes, the best BBQ in the world is served in what looks like one of the last places you’d go. Unfortunately, the riders doing the 15- and the 30-mile routes also stopped here. The lines were ridiculously long, and my hopes of having multiple chopped beef brisket sandwiches were dashed. I could have only one. I will avenge my loss!
Mile 67: After Oklahoma Joes, us 62-milers split off again from the other routes. This whole area was probably the toughest section of the day – and one of the hardest routes I’ve ever ridden. Long, hard, steep climbs. Chewed up pavement. Glass. Something that appeared to be a shanty town. Crazy fast dangerous descents – I saw 1-2 riders that went off the road. I hit a water main cover at 30+ mph and had my handlebars move down by an inch. When we got to RJ’s Bob-Be-Que, most of us were questioning the sanity of pressing on. RJ’s had a pulled pork sandwich with a sweet sauce with an apple-like tanginess. It was one of the most unique sauces I’ve had. They also had a patio, where we sat with Jeremy and said “job well done” to Courtney – she was abandoning after 50+plus miles on very little training on one of the tougher rides any of us had done. I knew there would be hills, but not like this. You were either coasting or climbing, and definitely more of the latter.

Mile 70: Luckily, the next rest stop, Johnny’s BBQ, was only another 3 miles. We didn’t stay for long, since we were clearly one of the slower groups (those long “rest” stops). I’m not sure what I had, either shredded beef or pork, but it was tasty. The sauce was a little sweet again, but didn’t have that apple flavor RJ’s had.

Mile 73: After the only halfway decent long, fast descent, I came up to a set of railroad tracks…and promptly waited for two long trains to pull through. Surprisingly, none of the group was with me, even after waiting, so I rode up to the next stop - Woodyard BBQ. I think they had been serving chicken (the quarters they were pulling out of their wood-fired brick smokers looked and smelled awesome), but all I got was a beef hot dog with some very hot BBQ sauce. It was a unique place – basically a house and a shed that were converted into a restaurant. I definitely want to go back there, just not during the summer, since it’s all outdoor seating. Oh, and it turned out that someone in our group got a flat, so we didn’t start for the last stretch until close to 2:30.

Mile 78: The home stretch was a long, slight uphill, winding up to Southwest Boulevard, where we passed door-to-door Mexican restaurants and shops. I was feeling the burn from all the climbs and just wanted to finish. We got to the Finish area in the KC Power & Light District just in time to hear the post-ride entertainment’s last song. I signed a banner and we stood around for a few minutes talking about the ride. I wanted to stay longer, but there was another 15 miles to go. I was going to be pushing 100 miles, and considered doing an extra lap or two around the flats of the downtown airport to get there, but it was too late in the day – and I was in no shape. I got my dropped stuff from Jeremy (if you have a SAG, use it!) and started home.

Mile 81: I crossed back over the Heart of Americas Bridge (luckily, it sloped downhill this time!), rode through Northtown, and began the longest climb of the day – 10 miles with 1400+ feet of climbing. It was brutal, with 6-10% slopes. My legs ached. My knees hurt. But this is also where I got to ride with my thoughts the most, since I didn’t have other riders or stoplights to interrupt me. I thought about why I was riding: For my grandmother Dorothy, and the pain she went through a year ago, first with lung cancer in the fall, then with brain cancer in the winter, passing away in January. For my wife’s grandmother Gertrude, who had breast cancer and a mastectomy. For Lisa’s Aunt Shirley, whom we watched succumb to cancer 2 years ago. And for our uncles, who are still with us and whom we respect very much. The whole day, I didn’t want to compare any pain I might feel with what they went through. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to go through chemo and radiation treatments. And when I hit that last wall of a hill at a measly 4-5 mph, I figured I’d better not stop or complain.

Mile 91.7: I was very happy to see my house after almost 92 miles and nearly 11 hours. But I was even happier about the generosity of my co-workers, friends, and family, who helped me raise more than $1250 – a thousand dollars more than my $250 goal! To all that supported me on this ride, your response means a lot to me.
THANK YOU!!!

Ride Total: 91.7 Miles, 6800+ Feet Climbing, 6:30 Hours Bike Time, 14.1 mph Average Speed

Tour de BBQ - October 1

2011-09-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

I will be riding in the 3rd Annual Tour De BBQ on Oct 1. I will be riding 90+ miles to help raise funds for cancer research. My grandmother passed away earlier this year as a result of brain cancer, and I will be riding in her memory, as we all for my wife's grandmother and our surviving uncles Jim and Mark.

Please consider donating to this cause:

http://public.eventunited.com/kcsc/TourdeBBQ2011/Fundraising.aspx?uid=32973

2011 stuff

2011-08-22T14:47:00.001-07:00

In case anyone reads this, I didn't do much this year. 1 Tri - the KC Corporate Challenge. Swam slower than last Year, Biked slower, too. But ran faster - in fact, fast enough to set a new PR! 62:30 for 587 yds Swimming, 9 miles Biking, and 2.4 miles running. Next year I hope to break the 1-hour mark.

Reasons for not doing much this year? Bathroom remodel is at the top of the list. stripped it down to the studs and subfloor, and rebuilt it - new insulation, new wiring, new plumbing - it took me 2 days to play with the copper lines to move them to accomodate the fixture and the waterlines to the washing machine. they share the same cubic foot of space. not fun at all - tiling, and best of all, a marine radio and 23" HDTV behind a 2-way mirror for Lisa to watch while he takes a whirlpool bath. (I must admit I like watching sportscenter when I take a shower after my morning run.)

Well, that's all for now. I'm hoping to return to form next year - I'm already starting to figure what I want to do.

2 down, 2 to go

2010-07-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

not so good at keeping up, am I?
well, here's what happened:
Tri #1: like an idiot, decided that a 40+ mile ride the day before would be OK. turns out, it wasn't - Goal time was under 60 minutes for 587 yds swimming, 9 miles biking, and 2.4 miles running. But the lactic acid was still so much in my legs from the long ride the day before that I was gasping for air on the swim, and every time I breathed, I slowed down a little more. I was a little dizzy getting out of the water for the bike, and just didn't have the hill-climbing ability I should have had. Then, on the run, had to stop and walk because again, I got dizzy. Such a weird feeling. But I still set a new time record - 1:06, beating last year's time by...20 seconds.

Tri#2: Having learned my lesson about working out the day before, I was excited to take on a new challenge - new course, new competitors. I had never seen the 547yd/11.4mi/3.1mi course or the lake or any of the area before (I never go over to Lawrence, KS, much less south of it). Predicted heat index for the day was to be about 107. It was 85 degrees already at 4 in the morning when I left my house.
Got to the transition zone, got set up, and went for a light warm-up run. Everything was feeling good. Then I got in the water. Holy hot tub Batman! The water temperature was about 90 degrees - it was warmer than the air. the start zone was getting churned up and bringing cold water up, but once the swim started, it was hot, hot, hot! Time was a little slower, but felt good (other than the water temp).

The Bike course was hilly - everyone was talking about how challenging it was prior to the race. I figured I'd be facing some difficulty, but having dropped 20 pounds this year, and gotten stronger and faster on the climbs near my house, I was excited. Turns out, yes it was hilly, but I managed to turn in the 13th fastest bike time overall...not an easy task for a clydesdale! (Yes, I race in that category). In fact, I think the reduced visibility from the twists and turns of the road at the beginning of the course slowed me down a little more, just because I couldn't see what was up ahead.
Then came the run. Oh, how I suffered. I've been running a crazy hilly 5k distance every other day in less than 26 minutes. But the heat was too much. I had hoped for a run time of about 27 minutes. I took 33. I just couldn't cool down - my legs were fine, but my cardiovascular system was screaming at me. The first mile took me almost 13 minutes! Not until I got to an aid station and poured about 5 gatorade cups of ice-cold water on me did I begin to feel better. I crossed the line and immediately jumped into the ice bath they had set up under the Oakley tent. Final time for the race was 1:22 - goal time was 1:10.

Next race is August 22. Luckily, I've done the course before, though a longer distance. Distances are 528/11.75/3, with a goal time of 1:12. Let's just hope it's a tad cooler.

Happy July

2010-07-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

wow - I suck at posting. Anyway, Happy July. 1st tri down, 3 more to go. Lessons learned from this year's first tri?? Don't go for a 45 mile bike ride the day before. Found out that all that lactic acid doesn't go away as fast as you think it does, and then you're in the middle of the lake, and starving for oxygen to breakdown the lactic acid, and when you do get out of the water (20% slower than you wanted to because you were swimming crooked) your legs are all shades of wonky, you have no juice in them for the climbs on the bike, and when you do get to the run, you get dizzy and feel like you are walking/running sideways. As in, "I-should-have-had-a-V8" kind of sideways.
Anyway, still managed to post a PR, albeit by only 20 seconds, not the 7-8 minutes I was hoping for.
Oh, and on a recovery run the next day, I blew out my Nike Frees that I had been REALLY digging on for runs. crap. They don't even make them like I want anymore. Now I have to find a new shoe? This sucks.
Anyway, I'll try to post again after my next tri on July 20!

first race complete!

2010-05-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

Had my first race this weekend - and it was on a NASCAR track of all places! Yep, had a 3-mile time trial on the skirt/apron of the Kansas Speedway - 2 laps, no excuses. I was excited for it since I thought the flat terrain (instead of hills) would suit me. While I didn't go as fast as I wanted, I still did pretty good - 7th overall in my age group, which incidentally, is the fastest age group of them all. I won my division - 45 seconds ahead of the guy that came in second.

Oddly enough, the 2 guys immediately in front of me placed 2nd and 3rd overall in the age group, so when they were reading out times, I heard their times, then mine, and thought I had done miserably (although I was secretly hoping to be in the top 5, if not medal). And the difference between places 4-8 was a total of 8 seconds...grrr!

I guess that just means I have a new target for next year!!!

Like this, but with bikes. Start and finish on pit road. Oh, and nobody was in the stands :(

New Season

2010-04-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize it's been awhile, but I felt bad about bumping Teddy down. But Spring is in the air, our puppies Tarfful and Teebo are loving the backyard, and with the promise of the season of growth, it seemed time to update.

In case anyone still reads this and cares, this year I've signed up for 4 triathlons. None of them are Ironman distance, but I've never competed like this before. Should be challenging.

Oh, and my last month or so has been overtaken by my single-speed project - converting my old steel-frame road bike to a single speed. Of course, I decided that wasn't enough, and since the paint job was going down-hill (ha!), it needed a paint job. Just need the last few coats of clearcoat, and it will be done. Here's a peek sans decals:

Summer update

2009-08-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Wow. Um, wow. Been a while. In the worst news of the summer, our dog Teddy died last week. So in memoriam:

Teddy Bair Tomac
2003-2009

Teddy loved to pal around with his buddy Taylor. They did everything together, from wrestling to playing to napping (Ted frequently used Taylor as his pillow). But when Taylor died 3 years ago, Teddy changed. He became our “goth kid.” He was morose, and for a while, he wouldn’t get off the bed, not even to eat. His heart was broken.

Tarfful came along to help keep Ted alive. But Ted had already lost much of his playful side. He and Lisa still mourned the loss of Taylor. Ted now spent his days sleeping, barking at the vacuum, barking at me, barking at Lisa, and barking at me and Lisa. Lately, he had started to become pals with the neighbors’ Yorkie that they rescued. Howie has no kneecaps in his back legs, and Ted had lost so much weight that he had little muscle in his. So they were a perfect couple of buddies. But Ted would only be interested a little at a time.

Ted still had his personality. He was a very insistent dog, from when it was time to go outside, to when it was time to go inside, to when it was time to eat, or when it was time to be picked up (which was often). In fact, he perfected the art of turning 180 degrees to make it easier for you to pick him up seconds after pushing you in the leg with his front paws to let you know that “it is time to pick me up”.

It’s still hard to realize that Ted is gone. We’ll miss you buddy.

KCCC Tri report

2009-06-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

Distance: 1/3 mile swim, 9 mile bike, 2.4 mile run
Goal time: under 1 hour
Previous record: 1:16

Yeah, I was trying to make a big leap forward. I got tired of doing worse in the KCCC than I knew I was capable of. And I thought my new-found fitness from the Ironman in November would help. Only problem, is that Ironman was SIX MONTHS AGO. Crap. And I've spent no time in the water.

So 3 swim practices in the week before KCCC weren't going to get me into swim shape, but at least they'd help me remember my form. I was shooting for a 10 minute swim.

And I got tired of the damn Dam Hill kicking my ass and devastating my cycle times. It's tough to watch all these itty bitty people waltz past me on the climb (though I do kick ass on the downhills and flats). The course has a nice 5% grade for about 3/4 mile as one of the first things you get out of the transition from the swim to bike. It's this hill that kept me from doing the bike leg in under a half-hour in the past. But I've been riding a fair amount since the ironman, and was shooting for 25 minutes.

The run goal was 22:30 - much slower than normal, since it also climbs the steepest part of the damn Dam Hill. And I always have problems on the run.

So how'd I do?

First, I could tell it'd been a while since I swam more than a few laps...my shoulders were burning by the time I got 200 yards. But I got into a groove and just kept at it. My swim split was 10:52, about a minute off my goal, and worse yet, I sliced open the underside of my big toe on a rock getting out of the water. I was bleeding all over on my towel in T1, but I wasn't going to pay attention to that when I had a race to finish.

I hit the bike leg with abandon, and thought I'd be able to make up the lost minute with both laps of the bike course. Yeah - I had to summit the Dam(n) Hill twice. I still got dropped by the lightweights, but on the descents, I didn't coast - I kept right at it. There was one guy who called out that he was passing on the left as we crested the hill; poor sap didn't realize that he had lost his chance to pass. I don't think he ever caught back up to me. On the relatively flat mile-and-half backside of the laps, there ain't nobody gonna catch me. I hit 43.3 mph in the race.

But that Dam(n) Hill bit me on the second lap - I need to drop 30 lbs. I ending up losing a little more time on the bike overall, with a bike split of 28:30.

So the Run leg was a one lap of 2.4 miles. If I hadn't just got done being in anaerobic hell for the last 35 minutes, I'd say it was a decent course. But the combination of my running (lack of) skills and the gouge of flesh that was missing from the underside of my big toe, I managed a measly 24:00. Yyeah, I checked after the race and seems a 1-1/4-inch by 1/4-inch section of my flesh was ...missing. My socks and shoes were filled with blood i.e. Curt Schilling.

So total time was 1:06:43, enough to set a new personal record, but also slow enough to realize what I need to work on.
I finished 32nd in my age group (out of 69). I was 30th out of the water, 19th on the Bike, and 57th on the run. So guess what I'm focusing on for the next 12 months? Well, I will when this gouge heals.

42.7 miles an hour is very fast on these tires...

2009-05-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I posted. But I have an excuse. I am finishing up (after nearly 4 years!) my master's programs. That's right, programs. Just have one little team paper to finish and I will officially have completed my MBA to go along with a Master's in Ag Economics. Though I am not keen to call myself an economist any time soon...

And as you can tell from the log to the right, the training is picking back up. Not nearly as much as for the Ironman, but I am trying to get ready for a sprint tri in a couple of weeks - 1/3 mile swim, 9 mile bike (though it should be 13.5), and a 2.5 mile run. My goal time is 1 hour or less - and my previous best is about 1:15. that's 10 minutes to swim, 2 min for transition 1, 27 minutes for the bike, 1 min for t2, and 25 min for the run (though my running pace is picking up - I hit a sub-8 min mile today, which i the first in a long time!)

I just wish the bike lap was longer - it's 2 laps of a 4.5 mile course - just as you get into the rhythm of the bike, it's time to get off. And I do loves my the bike. In fact, this past weekend, I set a new personal record of 42.7 mph on my bike. Now granted, the road I use for these speed tests does slope down a little, but not much. It's a nice double-wide lane with very little traffic. But pedaling 42.7 mph is no easy feat - in fact my heart rate monitor had me at 199 bpm...which is well above my 100% level.

This comes 3 weeks after setting a record of 42.3 on the same course with similar conditions. So I hope the tri, which is actually a hilly course, will let me go even faster - I usually get up to 44 or 45 mph in this event, and that's on the old, non-aero bike.

Tomac TRIgger140.6

2009-03-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here's version 2.0 of the bike. Just need to get those decals for the "model name." Now that weather is nice, I can't wait to ride!

Specs:
Fork: Reynolds TT
Wheels: Mavic Kysrium
Drivetrain: SRAM Force crankset (53/39), Force derailleurs, Force brakes, SRAM Red Cassette (11-26), SRAM 1090 Hollowpin Chain
Cockpit: FSA Vision TriMax aerobars, Cane Creek TT brake levers, SRAM TT900 shifters
Saddle: Profile Design TriStryke Ti with X-Lab Flatwing attachment
Pedals: Shimano Look-compatible
Computer: Cateye Cadence

Other tidbits: Tomac Neoprene Chainstay Protector, Ironman decal, FSA faux carbon-fiber bartape

New Season - New Changes

2009-03-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

So it's time to start up for 2009. I've been trying to stay in somewhat reasonable shape, but it's been tough to stay motivated AND find the time (even more difficult when I am traveling for work so much - in fact. I put 1300 miles in my last trip)!

I'm circling 2, maybe three events this year. It'll be tough because I still have 2 more classes to go - and they start today, just in time for spring when I want to get out of the house!

1. KCCC Tri - This is always on my list. It's nice and short (1/3 mile swim, 9 mile bike, 2.5 mile run) and I think I can do really well this year. Just got to get that running thing down.

2. X-Terra - I've always wanted to do one of these. Hopefully this year in Arkansas, but maybe not. It's off-road all the way - swim in a lake, mountain bike, and trail run. I have a feeling I will love this.

3. KC Olympic Tri - it's new this year, but with all the school and travel, we'll see if I can make it.

Other than that, not much else. I need to get school done so I can be finally finished. Sept 2005 seems like so long ago!

Oh, and the changes? New bike upgrades! Look for pictures of Version 2.0 of the world's only Tomac Tri bike soon!

Troublemaker (Reprise) - Weezer

2009-02-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

So what happened in the court case? The judge called our case Tuesday morning, and asked us to try to work it out amongst ourselves one last time, if it were possible. We went into the hall, and it was clear they were upset that I had found what insurance they had and that I had filed a claim (on the advice of my insurance agent and an un-named source at the police station). The husband told me that even if I won, the insurance company would likely hire a lawyer to appeal the judge’s decision and take it to “Big-boy court, whatever that is.” Immediately I felt insulted; one, that he would use such infantile terms when he had to know that I knew he was a lawyer (especially as he stood there in his expensive pin-striped suit), and two, that he would think I would get scared. What insurance company would hire a lawyer for a $420 claim appeal? That’s ridiculous. This only increased my resolve.

We went back in front of the judge, and I presented my case. I was very nervous – more so than if I was speaking in front of a large group. I thought I did a decent job – looking back, I wish I had said things a little more clearly or remembered a few additional points, but all in all, it was OK. I stayed calm, and presented my itemized damages, pictures and diagrams of the incident, and did my best to stay level-headed and organized.

Jonalee gave her testimony, and it was a little more scattered. At one point, she told the judge that she had never been in an accident, had never gotten a ticket in her life, that her kids get on her for her cautious driving and slow speeds, and that she “refuses to break the law.” After which, she and her husband both testified that they didn’t provide insurance to me when I asked for it as the result of an accident – which is a violation of the law.

The judge then asked the husband what he was there for. When the husband replied that he was not in the car at the time of the accident, the judge said to him in his best so-why-are-you-here tone, “So you are only here to tell me about the conversations after the incident.”

The judge deferred ruling on the spot, and instead told us he would issue a written judgment, which he hoped to have to us in the next few days. So you can only imagine how tough it was on Lisa and me, wondering who the judge would hold responsible, and if we lost, how we would pay for the front bumper. I was pretty confident though, that the decision would be either a both-at-fault or in my favor.

Wednesday passed with no mailing. Thursday, at Thanksgiving dinner with Lisa’s family, I was happily surprised when Lisa’s cousin’s kids (ages 6 and 8, whom we baby-sit often and have a lot of fun with) presented me with my very own 15-foot Ironman banner. Katy and Jackson had drawn pictures of me swimming and biking and running; Jackson drew pictures of sharks swimming around me. They even put my final time. It was awesome.

Friday came, and in the mail was the judgment.

I had won.

Now it’s time to go get my Ironman tattoo. Since I bleed green for MSU, I think it’s only fitting that my M-Dot be an S-Dot instead.

I am Ironman.

Devour - Shinedown

2009-02-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

I lay down to sleep about midnight, but kept waking up through the night – either I was too cold or too hot. The pizza wasn’t sitting well either. At 3 AM, I decided to get into my turkey sandwich, even though I wasn’t feeling hungry, hoping it would settle down my stomach. Even though it was soggy, the lettuce was wilted, and the tomato was under-ripe, I don’t know if anything ever tasted so good as that sandwich did at that time.

I woke up at 7:20, stiff as a board, and headed down for the hotel’s breakfast, and was immediately overjoyed at the smell of bacon and eggs. Delicious! But I was quickly discovering that even though I was hungry often, I couldn’t eat much before I was full.

It was hard work getting my bike boxed up and out for shipment – I felt out of breath every time I moved. I packed my gear and headed for the airport. I walked past the Wendy’s counter and didn’t hesitate to buy a double cheeseburger with bacon. Again, delicious, but I could only eat half the meal before I was again stuffed.

The ride home wasn’t bad, but I was so sore that it was impossible to get comfortable. I dozed a little bit, but it was impossible to get any real rest. Not good, since I had a court hearing the next morning.

Monday night it was next to impossible to sleep, either because I hurt everywhere or because I was going over the case in my head. I got hungry every hour and a half. I weighed myself when I got home, and had lost 5 points of body fat and about 7 pounds.

'Til I Collapse - Eminem

2009-02-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Immediately after the finish, volunteers grabbed me on both sides and threw a mylar blanket over me (I have to admit, I got a little chilly from time to time out there, and saw a few people on the run course wrapped in blankets to keep warm). They put my finisher’s medal over my neck, gave me my finisher’s t-shirt and hat, and asked me how I felt. I responded that I felt great! My biggest worry was how to get the 5 miles back to the hotel with my bike and all my gear – I thought I would have to ride back on the bike through some pretty sketchy parts of town, exhausted. I was not looking forward to it, but I would do it since I had no other choice.

Then the photographer wanted to get my picture, so I handed the blanket and my stuff back to the volunteers and posed for the cheesy photo you see here. I didn’t realize until now how I was leaning to the left so much.

I passed through the crowd of volunteers that were helping people to either the medical tent (didn’t need it) or the food tent (not really hungry but knew I was calorie deficient). My hear rate monitor, which recorded the calories expended, showed ‘----‘, meaning I had burned over 9,999 calories – I estimated I burned about 12,000.

I grabbed a handful of fries (lots of salt!), and two pieces of pizza. I got most of the fries down. But could barely get the pizza down (and it wasn’t that good). My stomach was hungry, but over the course of 18 hours (the last meal I had was at
4 AM) it had shrunk. I couldn’t put much in.

I finished my meal and made my way to find my warm-up suit from the morning – I was getting cold, even with the blanket on. I got my gear, fished out my cell phone, and called Lisa to tell her that it was all over.

Afterwards, I found my other bags and hitched them to the bike. But just as I was about to climb on the bike for the long, cold ride home, I spotted a familiar face – my new best friends, from Mexico City.

These guys were staying in the same hotel as I, and had a big SUV. I had hitched a ride with them the day before to drop off my transition gear, and asked if I could hitch one more ride. They were more than happy to; so I went with them to round up the rest of their group.

As I was waiting, I grabbed a turkey sandwich that the event was passing out to the crowd, knowing I would be hungry later. We got the bikes loaded into the SUV, I jumped in the other car that they had, and got a ride back.

I got back to the hotel, grabbed a shower, and called Lisa one more time to let her know I made it back, and collapsed on the bed. It felt soooooo good to be off my feet.

Stronger - Kanye West

2009-02-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

By this point, most people would get pretty emotional about coming in to the finish. The culmination of a year’s worth of preparation and training. The constant focus on a singular goal. All the sacrifices made by those that supported you. All the sacrifices you made so you could train, instead of spending time with family or doing other more enjoyable things. And to have the smiling face of a loved one be there to see you finish?

I have to admit that I got a little emotional, too. But it was on the first lap. See, Lisa couldn’t make it down with me, even though we had originally planned for it. I had the hotel free through all the points I had racked up in work; enough miles to fly her free and a voucher to fly me for cheap. But I waited about 3 days too long between checking the price and actually making the reservations – the mileage needed to fly free doubled, and the price went up by about 50%. So I was there by myself, and it really hit me on the first lap of the run when I saw all the cheering people in the crowd, and even though people were shouting for me, I knew it was only because they did for everyone. The one person in the world that I wanted to be there cheering me on wasn’t there.

But on this, the third lap, all the emotions had already drained out of me. Every step that I took that got me closer to the finish also sharpened my focus. I knew I had 15 hours beat – could I break 14:45? It was hard to tell just how far I had left and my time to make it. I thought I might come in at 14:50.

So I kept pushing. I did stop and walk when my heart rate shot up past 160; when it came back down, I started running again.

As I came to the transition area, I picked up the pace a little more. Some of the folks I had been chatting with throughout the race had moved past me when I slowed to let my heart rate drop; I could see them ahead.

I wanted to catch them.

With about 200 yards left, I moved from jogging to running. With 100 yards left, I went from running to sprinting. I could see the finish line. I could hear the crowds. I could hear the announcer as he proclaimed everyone that passed beneath the finish an Iron Man.

Then, with 50 yards left, I could no longer hear the crowds. I could barely hear the announcer. I was so focused on getting there. I couldn’t have slowed down if I wanted to – my legs were moving of their own will, and I was along for the ride. I’m sure I looked as about as graceful as a new-born giraffe.

I remember passing the Ford Escape they had on display. I remember the crowds on each side extending their hands to give me high fives as I came into finish, and extending my arms out as far as I could reach on both sides to return the gesture. I barely remember the announcer saying my name.
I crossed the line, triumphant.

I’m Not Over - Carolina Liar

2009-02-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

With about a quarter-mile to the end of the second lap, I started jogging – mostly to be able to run through the crowds. They had started to thin down a little, as most had moved to the finishing chute. It was about 8 o’clock – I had hoped to have been coming in to finish myself at this time, but considering the calves and the bike/dehydration, I was very happy that I was only about an hour and a half behind.

Then, normally where I had stopped running and started walking again, I was able to keep running. I kept running up to the second aid station (the one with the massage tent), used the portajohn, and then kept running. It seemed I had my fill of liquids, and so I was going to take on fluid every other aid station.

I kept running until the next aid station, where I thought I might have a PowerGel. Alas, it was coffee flavored – and I HATE coffee. I had to take a drink of water and clean out my mouth. I walked up the steep (but short) incline, past the message board, and proceeded to run to the next pit stop.

I kept this up – running where it was flat or downward-sloping, walking up hills and through the aid stations (where it was crowded enough to make running difficult anyway) – for the rest of the course. I think the compression socks I bought the day before were the best $15 investment I ever made. The wall that everyone mentions when they talk about a distance event? I realized, with about 5 miles to go, that I had already broken through that on the bike. The run, even though I had walked most of it, was on the other side of the wall. And I had not only broken through, I was getting faster.

Move Along - The All-American Rejects

2009-01-31T13:31:00.000-08:00

As I came to the end of the first lap and the beginning of the second, the crowds were still out cheering on the athletes. I found a little energy and started jogging slowly through the masses. The sun was starting to go down by this time, so as I started the next lap, the volunteers gave me a glow ring to wear around my neck. I put it on and immediately it hurt – the back of my neck was raw from the chafing. I kept jogging to the first aid station, took a sponge, squeezed out the water, and tried to use that as a pad on the back of my neck.

About that time, this chipper young girl came up, wearing a turkey hat – it was stuffed and made to look like a just-cooked turkey – a reminder that all the calories I was burning would be regained in the form of turkey, mashed potatoes and more. I couldn’t wait.

After she passed, I slowed down again and walked to the Pit Stop aid station, and had them give me a full leg massage – calves and quads this time. The masseuse was impressed that I had as much flexibility as I did when she went to stretch me out, so I thought that was a good sign.

After the aid station, I went up an incline and over a bridge, then started to jog a little on the decline. It felt pretty good, and with the sun going down, it seemed that I was better able to keep my heart rate from skyrocketing. I ran almost to the next aid station since it was flat terrain, but then walked a large portion of the lap – through the aid station (where all the water and Gatorade now wanted out) up the hill and through the big Ford display – they had a message board for the athletes to cheer them on (most of the spectators put their messages in at the transition area booth, and we could see them as we ran along).

By this time, I was starting to feel the need for more energy sources than just Gatorade. I had left my fuel belt and Clif bars behind, so I knew I needed a little more energy. At the next aid station, I grabbed a cup with pretzels, just as my bladder needed emptying. I stepped into the portajohn, set my cup on top of the TP dispenser, and as I turned to lock the door, the cup slid off and right into the latrine. So no pretzels for me.

The next aid station, I ate the pretzels BEFORE the portajohn so there would be no repeat. When I got to the special needs area, I grabbed the ibuprofen and cheddar Chex mix. It tasted awesome, but my throat just couldn’t handle the scratchiness of the food – it hurt to eat after a few handfuls. So I had to toss it at the next aid station.

I ran a couple more times, and was happy that my heart rate was staying in range. I knew then that if I could get my legs to cooperate, I might have a chance at beating 15 hours.

Born Too Slow - The Crystal Method

2009-01-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

I had made up my mind to walk the entire first lap, just to give my calves a break. As I started, there were a ton of people cheering on the runners – and I felt like an idiot walking when everyone else was running. But I couldn’t run. Even when I tried to take a few steps at a slight jog, my calves howled with pain.

At the first mile marker, I saw that I had taken about 16 minutes to walk that distance. I did a quick calculation and knew I would make the 17-hour cut-off, even if I walked the entire run course. I didn’t like it, but I knew that my best run time over a long distance was about 12 minutes per mile. That meant that I only ran 66 percent faster than I could walk at a fast clip. I was willing to give up a third of my speed to have the energy to finish.

At the next aid station (complete with Pit Stop theme), I was so thankful they had a massage tent set up for cramps and aches. I told them what had happened with my calves, and they gave me a nice 5-minute rubdown of them. It felt so good!

Knowing how dehydrated I had gotten on the bike, I grabbed a cup of water and a cup of Gatorade, especially since I opted not to take the fuel belt. I walked the next mile to the next aid station (rock’n’roll theme again), and again, water and Gatorade.

The run course brought us into the transition area twice each lap, and we had a ‘special needs’ bag in that area. I had ibuprofen and Cheddar-flavored Chex Mix (I needed the salt!) in my bag. I had been taking salt tablets throughout the bike leg, and was taking them on the run, too. I debated whether or not to take my special needs bag now or wait to the next lap – I decided to wait.

The next aid station was super-hero themed, complete with a guy dressed as Batman, and one dressed as the Incredible Hulk. Everyone else had home-made capes on, and there were pictures of comic-book superheroes everywhere. Of course, Ironman had a nice big picture. I took on Gatorade and water and kept walking.

The next aid station also had a hero theme, but this time, it was inspirational signs with famous quotes of what made a hero. Again, more water, more Gatorade.

After that, the loop took us over a bridge (one lane was closed but traffic was going through both ways), then down through a gravel parking lot, along the bank of the other side of the river, and towards what seemed to be another aid station. By this time I was starting to get re-hydrated and was looking forward to the portajohn – my kidneys were about ready to burst. But at the last minute, the course took a hard right, away from the portajohns and the relief they promised.

Remember that horse-manure scent I thought I smelled in the swim? Turns out, it was – there was a horse corral that we ran by next. Then we started to go under a bridge, and into a park-like area. I didn’t remember that as part of the course – it seemed like we weren’t going the right way. But there were signs and volunteers marking the way, so it just seemed like I was getting lost.

So, through the park, past the people grilling hamburgers (I mentally abused them for having such tasty delights that tempted me!) and on to the next station, a military fort theme, where more water, more Gatorade and finally the portajohns awaited me.

The next part of the course was a nice ¾-mile or more climb up a pretty steep road section. The mountains/hills that surround Tempe had a few smaller relatives in this park, so it was pretty neat to be running along and all of a sudden – Bam! - there’s a mound jutting out of the ground next to you.

After that climb, there was a nice long descent to another aid station that was under a bridge where they REALLY cranked up the music. They were having a lot of fun, and it was hard not to poke a little fun at them for being “trolls under the bridge.”

After that, we ran past a marina and to the aid station that our course veered away from earlier. This one had a “Shootout at the OK Corral” theme, and there was a big, jovial guy there that I asked if he was nicknamed Cookie – he laughed and kept encouraging us along.

From here, we mirrored the course back to the bridge, back over, and along the river on the south side bank, past the other aid stations (hero, superhero) but these were the back-side of the aid station so there wasn’t a whole lot of excitement. I guess being a half-mile from the end of the lap was excitement enough.

Bleed It Out (Steve's Ironman Edit) - Linkin Park

2009-01-15T14:17:00.001-08:00

I got to the end of lap two, and the people were still cheering and shouting, but I knew I had lost time – and not because of the stop. My average speed had dropped to 17.6 mph. I headed out on lap 3 knowing that it was going to be the hardest bike ride I’d ever done.

Sure enough, my back started recruiting other body parts in its screams of protest. My shoulders, neck, calves (which just hurt, period), quads, hands – everything – joined in the cacophony of agony. I rode upright – knowing this would slow me down, but felt soooooo good on my back.

I stopped once on the way out and twice on the way back to stretch out my legs and especially my back. I could feel that my body was dehydrated – even my contacts were starting to get cloudy and dried out. I tried drinking, but it just wasn’t enough.

As I rode closer to the transition area, a few hardy souls were there, but most of the cheering crowds had left. What was a mile of people packing the streets like a parade was in town had become a ghost town. They had moved on to the run, and as I came into the transition area, I could hear them cheering for the people that were already running (or in the case of the professionals, coming into the finish area).

I coasted into the dismount zone and gave the volunteer my bike. I stiffly walked to get my bag of gear for the run, walked into the change tent, and found an unoccupied chair. I plopped down, and slowly began taking my bike stuff off.

Inside the gear bag I had a fuel belt to carry gel and water. But it seemed to weigh so much – I decided then and there that I wasn’t going to wear it. I didn’t want to drink the gel anyway, since I had had enough on the bike. I found the compression socks I had bought the day before that went up to my knee and knew I had to wear those for the run. After a 9 minute stop (which included going to the med tent to get saline solution to help my dried-out contacts), I started out on a fast walk to begin the 26.2 mile marathon final leg.

There was no way I could run.

Why Do You Love Me - Garbage

2009-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

The bike course was 3 laps of an out and back course that took us through the Maricopa Tribe reservation and just into the foothills of the mountains. Each lap has about 350-400 feet of climbing, but very gradual, though most of it is the last 9 miles before the turnaround. I was very excited about riding on this course, since my size usually is a detriment to me on the bike; yet I still consider the bike to be my strength in triathlons. But I was also nervous, since I had spent so much time in training on my weakness, the run, and hadn’t logged as many miles on the bike as I knew I should have. I was relying on experience to help me through on that one. I was also concerned because of the time lost training thanks to the car accident – right when I would have been putting in the most miles, I had to sit out for a week to let the wounds heal. The longest I had ridden this summer was 75 miles… and that was only one time.

But of the greatest concern was how my calves would affect me. I needed them for the bike, and they were already blown out.

So after downing a GU/PowerGel (chocolate – YUM!! Like chocolate frosting!), I headed through the cheering crowds (That was very cool to experience!) out on the bike. I think I had a little bit of adrenaline going, because I started passing people like crazy. I thought to myself, wow, I do like biking the best, especially if I can do this to all these others.

Here I was on my homemade bike, passing these $5000-plus full-carbon-fiber rigs with super aero carbon-fiber wheels. They have the latest in bike technology; I have decade-old technology (of course that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to upgrade, I do have a carbon-fiber crankset that I picked up on an on-line clearance sale for super cheap, and I have a nice aero frame, even though it’s a production over-run from 3 model years ago).

There was a bit of a head-wind on the way out, so when I got to the turnaround and saw that I had averaged 17.5 miles I was super pumped. I started the ride back, and I hit 30-35 mph pretty regularly. When Lap 1 was over, I had averaged 19.5 mph. I thought if I could keep that up, despite the blown calves, I would be in very good shape to not only beat my goal time of 13:30, but I might even be able to get my dream time of 12 hours.

Alas, it was not to be. The wind started shifting, and I started to have problems staying hydrated. The aero position I was in made it hard to get water digested. I had planned to eat a Clif bar on each lap, and I could barely choke one down on the bike. I also started having gas from the air I swallowed during the swim (it’s tough not to). I had made up some gel that became awful – it was designed to be more of a drink than a gel, and tasted very granular. I kept adding water to thin it out, and that helped a little, but I still cringe at the thought of it.

As I came into the turnaround for the start of the second lap, the streets were lined with people for about a mile before the turnaround, cheering, shouting, ringing cowbells – it was like I was in the Tour de France. I headed back out for lap two, feeling good in spirit.

But my body started to feel worse. My neck started to hurt – the wetsuit had chafed it, and now the sun was beating down on it. I could feel that I was dehydrating, too. I kept forgetting to drink, and when I took a big drink, it hurt my stomach. I couldn’t eat the Clif bar, and my gas was so bad, I had to make sure that any rider behind me was at least 50 feet back. And I wasn’t really sweating, instead, my nose was running horribly – I had to keep shooting snot rockets to the side of the road. It was pretty gross.

At the half way point, I made up my mind to stop, stretch my legs and especially my calves, slather something on my neck, and take my time to get a Clif bar down so I could have enough energy for the third lap.

I think I had a nice 5-10 minute stop, and ended up chatting with one of the volunteers about my car accident and legal drama. Each of the aid stations had a theme; one was Pony Express, where they dressed as cowpokes, another was rock‘n’roll themed with a blasting sound system, and the turnaround was the North Pole, where they dressed as elves.

I got back on my bike to ride to the end of lap two, but something had changed. The wind was now blowing from the side, and I had no tailwind to help me back. I still cruised down the hill, passing other athletes, but it wasn’t the same. Soon, about 15 pros passed me in short order as they finished their last lap and moved on to the run. And my back that had been sore all week prior to Ironman started to REALLY hurt. Plus, I had forgotten to do something about my neck.

So I stopped at the next aid station, grabbed a glob of Vaseline, and slathered it on my neck and my now-chapped lips. It felt really good to stand upright – the hunched over position made my back scream and my shoulders ache.

Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix) – The Prodigy

2008-12-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

In this picture, I’m somewhere in the middle of all those thrashing arms and legs of 2100+ crazy people. It seems that everyone told me I was insane, too, for wanting to do this to myself, and I realized how right they were when the race started. I don’t remember how many times I got elbowed, kicked or slapped. I do recall getting hit on my ear so hard it rang – and immediately thought, ‘Wow, it’s like a Charles Dickens-type novel where the kid gets his ears boxed. Or is it cuffed? Maybe boxed.’ Hey, you got to keep yourself entertained somehow, right?

Anyhow, I’m swimming along, feeling a little cold, but not too bad, trying to remember to keep slightly kicking to keep my legs at the surface of the water to minimize drag, but not too much that my legs are wore out before the rest of the day.

Then, about a half-mile in, I cramp. My left calf just charley-horsed up, right after somebody makes contact with my left leg and I move my foot ever so slightly out of its normal position. I can’t exactly stop to stretch the cramp out – there are too many people around me for me to just hold up traffic. So I just keep trying to swim, while at the same time, doing anything I can think of to get rid of the cramp. I never felt so uncoordinated in my life – it’s like I was trying to pat my head and rub my belly… and jump rope at the same time.

It must have kept me preoccupied, because before I know it, I am at the turnaround for the swim back to transition. Actually, I was about 50 yards past the turn…a kayak came up to me to tell me that I was missing the turn and going off course. So I corrected my direction, and started swimming back. Right about that time I started smelling what seemed to be horse manure. I didn’t know why.

I knew that the bike course took us past a landfill on the Maricopa Indian Reservation, and I knew that the “lake/river” we were swimming in wasn’t otherwise open for swimming, so it made me wonder why the water would smell so bad. I quickly tried to put it out of my head, since I didn’t really want to think that I was swimming in effluent.

The swim back seemed to take forever. I knew I was swimming with the current, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Every time I kept looking up to see how far I had to go, it seemed like I hadn’t gone anywhere. After what seemed like an eternity, I started to see the bridge that marked about 500 yards to go and I put on some more speed. I made the turn to swim to the water exit, and put on a little more speed, just so I could navigate all the openings where folks weren’t swimming.

There wasn’t a ramp – just steps to climb out of the water. I put my hand up for the volunteer to help me out of the water, and immediately BOTH calves cramped up. I just about fell back into the water. I could barley climb the steps, and every step I took was pain. My calves hurt so bad, I could barely walk to get my wetsuit taken off. They had me sit down to peel the suit off, and when I angled my feet for the legs of the suit to slide off, the cramps got even worse. I could barely walk to the transition area, let alone run. As I walked to get my bike gear, I dropped my swim goggles. I turned around to get them, but the guy behind me scooped them up, handed them to me, and continued to jog to the transition. One of the cheering fans shouted, “That’s good karma!” I can only assume she meant for him, because I certainly didn’t have it.

I did manage to see the time clock when I got out of the water – 76 minutes – and was extremely pleased with the time. I had hoped to be around 80 minutes, and was happy to see the cramps didn’t slow me down much on the swim, especially since it was the first (and shortest) leg of the day. But the transition to bike took me a long time – 12 minutes, because I could barely get my bike gear on, and because it hurt so bad to move around.

Take It Off – The Donnas

2008-12-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning at 4 AM was when the alarm was supposed to go off. Of course, I wake up about 5 minutes before. I shave, get dressed, eat some oatmeal and a peanut-butter-banana sandwich, grab my nutrition needs for the race, and head downstairs for the taxi (I had to drop my bike off the day before).

It was a swarm of people. 2100+ competitors plus the 3000 or so volunteers swamped the area. Not to mention all of the family and friends there to cheer their athletes on or help them get ready.

It wasn’t terribly cold, but with a breeze, it was cold enough to hold off as long as possible stripping down to my swimwear. I waited to put on the wetsuit until the last possible minute – which was about an hour before race start, since I still had to wait in a ridiculous line for the portajohns.

The pros race started at 6:50, ours started at 7, so at 6:30 they started herding us to the waters edge. Like lemmings, we jumped off the pier, and into the water, since we actually had to swim to the start of the swim portion. I know, weird.

I held off until after the pros started, and with about 6 minutes to go, I jumped in…and just about jumped back out of the water – it was cold! Official temp was 63 degrees. Only a few of us didn’t have full-length wetsuits – I had one that I borrowed from my friend/colleague Todd that was sleeveless. I wore a swim cap under my race swim cap, and still my forehead hurt like I was in the winter winds of Michigan without a hat. I swam up to the start area, which kind of warmed me up enough to tolerate treading water until the cannon went off.

Then it was a mass of humanity.

Troublemaker - Weezer

2008-12-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

The original Ironman, held every year in Hawaii, has become the championship event. Every year at races around the world, people attempt to qualify for the Kona event, in both full- and half-distance races. That’s how Ironman Arizona came to be. So that’s where I went, since it was the last race of the year, and believe me, I would need all year to prepare for it.

Unfortunately, on September 19, 2 months before the race, I was riding my bike to a swim workout and got hit in a roundabout by a car from behind. It wrecked my wheel, my shorts, my helmet – and me. Luckily, I escaped with minor injuries, though my right shoulder hurt no matter how I moved it for a solid 4 days. I was skinned up on my knees, right hip, left palm, right elbow, and in a variety of other places. The lady that hit me thought she passed me before the roundabout, but she did not. She further failed to pay attention to the road in front of her when she exited out of the roundabout to clip my wheel with her front bumper.

At first, I thought the damage was minor, and got the lady’s name and number in case something came up. I didn’t call the cops because I hadn’t been hit by a car before…and I was probably still a bit dazed and thankful the injuries were very minor.

I wobbled away from the accident and went to the bike store, where they told me the wheel needed to be sent out for repair – it needed a whole new rim, and only the manufacturer could make the repair. In the meantime, for me to keep training, I would need to buy a new rear wheel. They also told me it was very important to go file a police report, especially if I wanted to have her insurance pay for the wheel repair. So after getting a ride home, I filed an accident report and tried to call the lady to get her insurance information.

Here’s where it takes a bad turn. After a delay of a few days, the lady’s husband calls me and after hearing my story of the accident, wouldn’t give me his insurance. Incorrectly, he thought since the damage (I was only asking for them to pay for the cost of the rear wheel; I would replace the helmet and shorts out of my own pocket) was less than their insurance deductible, they would have to pay it out of pocket. (I’ve since learned that isn’t true, deductibles apply only to your own damage, in this case, their deductible only counted in repairing their front bumper.) Anyway, he told me he would talk it over with his wife (wouldn’t he have done that already?) and get back to me.

After a week-plus, I had a feeling they weren’t going to be helping me out. So I had to call them again, and let them know that since I didn’t have their insurance information, if they didn’t want to pay for the wheel, I did have the option of small claims court – though if I had to go that far, it would have to be for the cost of the repair, the temporary wheel, the helmet, and the shorts.

So the husband (Did I mention that he is a partner in one of the biggest law firms here in Kansas City? No? Well, he is. And his specialty seems to be finance and tax law) calls me back almost immediately (amazing) and tells me that his wife feels she did nothing wrong, that I was the one at fault, and that they wouldn’t be doing anything to help me out. He told me to go ahead and file a suit. So, still not having their insurance information, I do. A couple days later, I get a call from her. She’s going to counter-sue me for the damage to her front bumper, and tells Lisa that I hit her with my bike (despite that it was my back wheel and her front bumper as we were traveling around the roundabout in the same direction) and that I was “illegally passing on the right” and rode across the flow of traffic at a roundabout exit. But, if I dropped it, she wouldn’t file. I told her I’d rather let the judge decide who was at fault – I know my rights as a bicyclist are the same as a motor vehicle, and her “pass” was anything but in a safe and prudent manner, especially so close to a roundabout. We went through the entrance to the roundabout at the same time – I VIVIDLY recall thinking that I was glad she didn’t take the first turnout because I would have been smeared all over the side of her car.

A few days after that, I get the summons letter. A day after that, we started getting contacted by two TV shows – Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown, wanting us to come onto their shows!

By now, it’s a week from Ironman Day. So let’s get back to the action of the triathlon.

You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid – The Offspring

2008-12-02T19:33:00.001-08:00

Think about how far you go in a car on a 2-hour drive. Now, think about how that would feel if you had to swim, bike, and run that entire distance instead of riding in a car. Yep, it’s far. 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, and when that’s done, a full marathon – 26.2 miles of running. There’s a reason it’s considered the ultimate one-day individual endurance event. And if it were easy, it wouldn’t be called an Ironman. Few people ever undertake it. And even fewer achieve it.

Full-blown recap

2008-12-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Over the next few days, I will post my entire recap of the ironman. Here we go!

I won!

2008-11-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

In the matter of Steve Tomac v. Jonalee McLaughlin, I am victorious!

Even though the Judge didn't give me the entire amount I was asking for (either I didn't do a good enough job explaining it all to him, or he had his own thoughts), he agreed that I was NOT at fault.

I wonder if this means that SHE was at fault, she is subject to tickets/police action, etc. since she caused an accident, which is an infraction of Missouri law.

It probably didn't help her either when she AND her husband/partner-in-a-big-law-firm-lawyer both admitted to not providing insurance information when requested as a result of an accident (which it is a crime not to do so in Missouri) and THEN she testifies to the judge as part of her case that she "refuses to break the law." Ummmm, perjury, anyone?

Anyway, Jonalee can now pay for the damage she caused to her front bumper, too.

na, na, na-na-na!

2008-11-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

So is it wrong to have the song Ironman stuck in my head? I submit that it is not.

Here's a quick and dirty recap - a full one is coming very very soon, I promise! I've just had to deal with a ton of other stuff - my court date, my yearly performance review, and a mishap at the bank that resulted in about $200 of fees that required some immediate attention.

OK - so the swim was good, despite the CRUSH of humanity - 2100 people all at once. Imagine the thrashing and kicking! Anyway, I got a charlie horse in my left calf about 1/2 mile in - so it hurt like hell to try to swim it off when I couldn't really stop to do anything about it. And when I got out of the water, both calves charlie-horsed up. I think the cold water was the main culprit - I hadn't done any cold-water open swimming, and my wetsuit had no sleeves - it was just a bib.

So I could barley walk through the first transition, let alone try to move quickly. I did manage the swim in 76 minutes - about 4 minutes below my goal time, so I was very surprised (OH, and I also overswam the turn, so to come out when I did was AWESOME!)

T1 took me about 12 minutes to get ready for the bike - I was trying to get my calves to cooperate with me the whole time. I headed out on the bike, and I just have to say, the throngs of people cheering us on was nothing short of inspiring!

I spent a lot of my time on the bike trying to get my calves to stop screaming, so when I finished the first lap with an average speed of about 19.5 mph, I was pretty happy. But part of that was the wind blowing us back into town on the way back from the out-and-back loop - I averaged close to 30 mph on the way back. But then A) it got warm, B) the wind started shifting, and C) I started hurting. I stopped at one of the aid stations on the second lap to slather on vaseline on my neck from the chafing the collar of the wetsuit gave me, despite putting on bodyglide. I stoppped at the half-way point to eat - I had to stand upright as I could not get the food to settle in very well. The HammerFuel I had with me started tasting like crap, too. I shouldn't have tried to flavor it myself.

On the third lap, the wind had completely changed, so the way back was fully into the wind. That slowed me down. I also had to stop a few times on the lap to stretch out my back - it had been hurting the whole week leading up to the race, and it was screaming at me to get off the bike and get upright.

I got in for T2, took my time changing because my back, legs, and shoulders were killing me. I knew with the blown calves I wouldn't be running much, so the question became how far off from my goal time of 13:30 would I be? I knew that I could still make it if I walked the whole run course, but that wouldn't be very sporting, would it?

I walked to the first aid station, where they had a cramp/massage station. I knew I needed them to work on my calves. Luckily, the day before, I bought a pair of compression running socks and it was the best purchase I made in preparation for this event. After the rub down, I tried to run a few times, but my calves still would have none of it. I ended up walking the whole first lap.

On the second lap, I stopped again at the massage station, this time having them stretch out my entire legs. That seemed to help, along with the walking and the compression socks. A fter walking uphill for the next 1/2 mile, I tried a jogging for a few minutes. My heart rate shot up, but my legs didn't hurt so bad. I knew that once the sun went down, I would be able to push a little harder. I started running for a couple minutes, walking several more, and picked up the pace. The third lap, I was able to run from aid station to aid station, walking through them to give the water and gatorade a chance to get digested.

At the start of the third lap, I started calculating if I could break 15 hours. I thought it would be close. That gave me the motivation to speed up. With about 3 miles to go, I thought I could break 14:45. I still had to stop and walk on the inclines - my calves wouldn't let me run up them - but by the last mile, I was running. The last 300 yards, it seemed as if all the pain was starting to melt away. The last 100 was a sprint for me - I wanted to catch up with a guy in front of me, and once I did, my legs forgot how to slow down - I couldn't stop myself.

I crossed the line at 14:41:44...which was fitting for my number, #411.

As for court - the judge heard our case yesterday, but didn't make a decision - he's mailing it out in the next few days.

More to come very soon!

in roughly 24 hours...

2008-11-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

...I *WILL* be Ironman!

2.4 miles swimming. 112 miles biking. 26.2 miles running. The toughest one-day endurance event....and a lifetime of memories made in one day.

Here's the music that has kept me motivated, got my adrenaline pumping, and hopefully I can sing over and over in my head to keep me going tomorrow:

1. Born Too Slow - The Crystal Method
2. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring
3. Troublemaker - Weezer
4. Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)- The Prodigy
5. Bleed It Out (Steve's Ironman Edit) - Linkin Park
6. Take It Off - The Donnas
7. Why Do You Love Me - Garbage
8. Stronger - Kanye West
9. 'Til I Collapse - Eminem
10. Move Along - The All-American Rejects
11. Devour - Shinedown

There you have it - Steve's Ironman Run List, 2008

T-minus 18 hours...

2008-11-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Almost time. Got a short run in today, and went I got back to log it, here's where I stand in terms of prep work. Not nearly enough compared to others, and certainly not enough to qulify for a Kona spot, but hey, like that was going to happen anyway.

Anyway, since the beginning of my training, I have run over 400 miles, biked nearly 1300 miles, and swam about 21 miles. I've put most of my training time into running, since that is where I am the weakest. Which makes me a little nervous for the swim and the bike. I think if I had to do it all over again, which I DON'T, I'd aim for 500 miles running, at least 2000 miles biking, and 30-plus miles of swimming.

The course looks great. I am ready.

"It's Shrinkage!"

2008-11-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

-George Costanza

The river was open for swiming this morning, and when I jumped in, I immediately regretted it. 64 degrees (17.5 C)!!! I immediately thought, 'what did I get myself into?'

It's cold. Very, very cold. And my wetsuit has no sleeves.

On the flipside, on Sunday, that hour-plus of swimming won't be so bad... the water temperature might feel kind of nice once I'm warmed up.

Inspiration

2008-11-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

From this year's Ironman World Championship in Hawaii:

Here's the link, If I can figure out how to insert a video, I will

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckFvoGRPiCU

Judge Judy...and Judge Joe Brown

2008-11-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well, my court case is getting crazier - I got contacted by both these daytime TV shows about bringing my case to them instead of the Platte County court. Calling this an odd case is an understatement.

I'm not planning on going on TV, so don't look for me on daytime TV anytime soon.

Court date is set for the 25th, and I'm sticking with it. The only problem is that the court hearing is the day after I get back from Tempe, and 2 days after the Ironman. So I think I'll be going slow around the courtroom.

in Phoenix...and ready to rock and roll!

2008-11-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

Got into Phoenix (well, actually Tempe) today...and my first job (after finding my way to the hotel) was to put together my bike. I shipped it out a week ago to get here (versus paying the airline $175 EACH WAY!!!)

Oh, and it might be a little gross, but I didn't fully clean my bike up - I left a streak of blood on it from the bike accident. That way, when I see it, I know what I had to go through for all this!

I bleed Green (and White)

2008-11-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

Like many that complete an Ironman, I plan to get a tattoo to commemorate it. Most get the ironman logo, also known as the M-dot.

But I am going one better by incorporating my alma mater, Michigan State. If you know me, you'll know why. And you'll know why the ink will be green.

Here's what it looks like:

The accident: a round-up on the roundabout

2008-11-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

I realize I didn't do what i said I would the other day. So here's a run-down on the accident

All things considered, I got lucky - it wasn't so bad. The worse stuff is all the shenanigans that have taken place since then. So here's how it goes:

I was riding my bike down a hill and into a roundabout (aka traffic circle) when a vehicle came up behind me. We entered the traffic circle/roundabout at the same time, despite it being a narrow opening. I remained in the right side of the lane, keeping a close eye on the car next to me as well as the road, as well as any other vehicles that may also enter the traffic circle. Before I could slow down to allow this vehicle to go ahead of me (and keep me in a safe position away it), it slowed down, presumably to let me continue through the traffic circle. I was about 6-10 feet ahead of it when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the angle of the vehicle change and knew I was going to be struck from behind.

The front bumper hit my rear wheel, I crashed to the ground, getting scraped and bruised, my shorts were tore up on the right side, and my helmet was damaged. (I remember thinking 'Thank goodness I am wearing a helmet because that curb is coming at my head really fast!' I floated/bounced/something over the curb and rolled onto the sidewalk while the car stopped - a Honda CRV.

I checked myself over for serious injuries - strawberries on my right palm, elbows, knees, and abrasions on my hip, knees, and a few other places. Nothing broken, though something very well could have. After the adrenaline wore off, that's when my left knee hurt like crazy - nice deep bruise there, a deep bruise on my upper left arm, and my right shoulder hurt like crazy for he next 3 days, like I'd torn the rotator cuff, or close to it.

I picked up my bike and noticed the rear wheel was damaged. The driver got out of her vehicle, and asked if I was alright. I told her my injuries were minor, and having never been hit by a car before, when she asked if we should call the police, I declined, since I didn't feel my injuries were severe enough to warrant doing so. I figured the police had better things to do. I requested, though, that we trade names, numbers, and addresses in case something came up later; her front bumper has some nice scrapes that showed the blue from the bottom of my shoe, and I knew I didn't cause this accident, and thought i should at least get her information to protect myself. (She actually asked, after looking at her bumper and then my wheel if we should "just call it even." I didn't have a reply to that.)

Turns out, after wobbling to the bike store on a very bad wheel, that it was damaged beyond any repairs they could do at the shop. It needed to get sent back to the manufacturer so they could replace the junked rim. It would take a couple of weeks to do that, and so I had to buy a new wheel so I could keep training (after my wounds scabbed up, of course).

Does it get more interesting? Maybe if you are into Law & Order or a courtroom drama. Stay tuned!

so not motivated

2008-11-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to run Wednesday. Did I? No. It was rainy and cold, so I rode the bike for an hour. I thought, "I'll run tomorrow."

I should have run Thursday...or ridden 2.5 hours. Did I? No. I did nothing. And I liked it.

I was supposed to swim 4000 yeards this morning. Did I? No. And I am feeling guilty for doing nothing the last few days. In my defense, it's not the best weather, and yesterday I had to drive to Columbia for an all-day meeting.

Yep, making excuses.

well, this is interesting

2008-11-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

I've been using a website called RunningAhead.com to track all my workouts. It is AWESOME! if you want, you can go and look up all my workouts and see what and when I did what I did. my user ID is tri_tomac

If you want to see what I'm up to - just look to the right. How cool is that!

here's a look at the graphed run workouts:

weekly

monthly

20 miles......ouch.

2008-11-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Well, last night I ran 20 miles. Holy crap am I stiff this morning. At about the 15 mile mark I started to wonder why I thought this would be a good idea. At 18 miles, I thought what I would be like on race day - after I already biked over a hundred miles? Let's just say that the thoughts going through my head weren't good. The good news is that the race course is very very flat, and here at home there is nothing but hills. I think that should work out in my favor. It took me 4 hours last night...the last mile was the worst, going uphill most of the way with nothing left in my legs but soreness.

Coming later today - I'll give you a quick rundown on the car accident's particulars. As a preview, I will tell you that now I hate traffic circles and small SUVs. (OK, I already didn't care for small SUVs, but now I hate them even more!)

court date set

2008-10-31T14:55:00.001-07:00

a few weeks back, I got hit by a car in a traffic circle. I won't go into details since the case is pending (trust me, I will tell you all about it when it's done), but the date has been set for Nov. 25. Justice shall be mine!

today's workout: 5,000 yards

2008-10-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

hit the pool today, and started swimming while the boy's swim team came in for a practice. I was till swimming as they did their drills. I was still swimming as they finished their drills. I was still swimming when they finished their workout. i was still swimming when another group of folks came in. I was still swimming when they left. Then I got out. So yeah. 2 hours and 15 minutes of swimming. The biggest problem is that the chlorine irritates me so much that for the rest of the day I am sneezing and having a runny nose. I need to find a way to stop that.

200 yds warm up
200 yds drills
6x100 yds pull paddles
200 yds mental
6x500 yds distance
12x50 yds speed (4 sets of 3x50 yds each)
200 yds cool down

I like having an uncommon last name

2008-10-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Now if only I could get that guy in Germany using "tomac" as his main blog address, I could fight my cousin's company for the use of it.

What company? Glad you asked. Check out this site: www.tomac.com or go to tomacfan.blogspot.com

First Post

2008-10-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it. Impressed? I'm not. If you read this, drop a note. Or don't. Either way, I won't be disappointed since I have such low expectations anyway.

Coming soon, I'll post my Ironman training misadventures, as well as a nice little writeup of the 140.6 mile event itself.

Stay Tuned (or don't)!