Sunday 03/21/10 I coulda had a V8, NOT!!!

Friday morning was a sick day from work. I used the time to drive on down to Lake San Antonio. Rocky, Claudia, Phil, Meenu and I drove down south of Monterey for the Wildflower Half Ironman Triathlon. The actual yearly event is going on in May, but we are going to simulate the event this weekend and do the same course. This will be 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a13.1 mile run. This course is considered the 2nd toughest in CA or the country (I am not sure which), but either way this day will not be easy.
We set up camp, which meant putting a table cloth on the picnic bench and hooking up the RV.
We are really roughing it!!! We relax most of the day and stay off our feet. I take my bike out for a 10 spin but nothing hard. We have a meeting with our coaches who are preparing us for what to expect and then eat some dinner. BK and Jim join us for dinner. It is time for some sleep, but we all know that sleep will not come easy.

5:00 AM comes way too early. Coach Dave is walking around all the campsites with his boom box playing bagpipe music. I am not sure I was ready for that. Our RV was freezing. We figured out that we had a nice cross breeze by leaving windows open on both sides. Smart? NOT!!!
Rocky, Phil and I have our pre-race breakfast. Each of ours is slightly different. I am sticking with what works for me, and that is 2 whole wheat bagels with peanut butter and a banana.

At 6:00 AM we head to the transition area. Meenu and Claudia take all of our bags and the 5 of us ride our bikes down to the start. It is an exhilarating ride because it pitch black, all down hill and freezing cold.

We all make it safe to the lake and start to set up our transition areas. The bike is lay down(no stands) and I get my area set. Meenu made most of my drinks yesterday, so I just had to lay them out accordingly. Put my Bike bottles with my bike. Get the fuel belt bottles next to my running shoes, etc.

Next I put on the wetsuit. I put on lots of body glide on my neck so I do not have chaffing like I did a few weeks ago. We get down to the water for our 7:00 AM start. We actually have to wait for Emergency Services to get on site before we can start. The ambulance pulls up and we get in. The water is not as cold as the air and actually feels surprisingly warm but then again last week we swam in SF Bay (brrrrr!)

Soon Dave starts the countdown, 10, 9, 8, 7, .....go. This is my first mass start (not that mass, since there 75 of us) and I swim about 100 yds and start to panic. I think my day is going to end before it even starts. I float on my back for a bit and then I do the breast stroke. I calm my breathing down and then get started. I have some trouble spotting and feel like I am all opver the place. But before you know it, I am at the halfway point and turning around. 38 minutes later I am being pulled out of the water, not because I was drowning but because I had finished. As I run to the end of the dock, I see Brian and Jim. They had been pulled out right before me. We walked together up to the transition. What a great swim I just had. It didn't start out that way, but it ended well.

Transition was smooth. I had a warm electrolyte waiting for me. Warm up the inside as well as the outside. I heard BK ask Jim if he had drank his V8(not a joke). I use V8, but not during a race, only as a recovery (more on that later). I get out of the transition and off I go.

I am not clear on the course direction and after getting turned around a bit, I am on my way. Follow the yellow arrows and that is what I do. Unfortunately I follow a wrong yellow arrow, climb a short but steep hill and end up on a dead end street. I double back and bump into Jim, who apparently also took a wrong turn. We find our way and off we go. We soon start to see some of our fellow riders, so I know we are on course. I feel great on the ride. The Carbo pro mix I am now using feels great. The ride to Nasty Grade goes well, I feel strong. Nasty Grade really doesn't seem that nasty after the Death Ride. But the descent sure is fun. 40+mph. Big long sweeping turns that you can see all the way through, a speeders delight.

I roll into transition after 56 miles and I feel awesome. Time to strip the bike shoes and work on putting on the running shoes. What a great bike I just had. It didn't start out that way, but it ended well.

I clip on the fuel belt that holds my water and electrolyte/carbo pro mixture and then I make my fateful error. Oh lookie there, there is my V8, Brian drank his after the swim, I should be OK after the bike. So I slug down my V8, not the 6 oz size but the 12 oz. Not a smart move. I get out of transition and get about a half mile in and my stomach starts to turn. OUCH!!

This run is extremely challenging on its own. Very hilly. The run does not become easier when dealing with an upset stomach. I end up walking most of the hills and running the flats and the downhills. Mile 9 and 10 are mostly downhill to the "pit" where you must turn around and run back up that same hill. The last mile is mostly downhill to the start/finish line. I am relieved to get to this point. My stomach finally feels better. My legs feel strong as I make my way down that final hill. As I cross the finish line, I am very excited to have it all said and done. I cannot say that was a great run, but I did have a run.

It was great to have Meenu there at the end and at various places through out the day. She is a truly amazing woman and I am a much better man for having her in my life. I can never thank her enough for supporting me through this adventure.

I cheer on my fellow triathletes to the finish line and swap stories about our various days and how the event went and what we learned about ourselves.

I can say a few things about my day and my first half Ironman.
"Just say NO to V8 at transition"
"What a great event I just had. It didn't start out that way, but it ended well."
and my time was 7 hours and 28 minutes and
" No matter what the clock says, it was a great time......"