Muddy Faces

On Sunday Kerry and I completed the 20th Annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a 100 mile ride around lake Tahoe. Beautiful yes and also a little brutal too…as you can see from our muddy faces.

We awoke at 4:30am to the sound of heavy rain outside, not fun. With temperatures in the low 40′s it was time to layer up and put on those waterproofs (and shower cap). Funny, the day before we’d dropped into the local Pearl Izumi store, it was packed and they’d pretty much sold out of all rain gear…with riders from across the country I’m guessing most didn’t expect California to be this cold and wet in June!

Emerald Lake

At 5:45 Kerry’s TNT ride-group headed out from the hotel with me tagging on behind, it was raining and just getting light, 100 miles stretched out ahead of us, rain or shine. From the state line in South Lake Tahoe we headed clockwise and I quickly realized that I should have had breakfast a little sooner, so time for a quick rest stop and then a fast peddle to catch up with Kerry at the top of the first climb at Emerald Bay. The rain was letting up a little as we headed to the next rest stop at Homewood and mile 30.

Finally some sun and it was off too Tahoe City and an out-and-return to Truckee. At mile 50 we arrived at the Truckee turn around and the next rest stop. On the way back from Truckee one of our group took a tumble after their front wheel got caught in a rut, thankfully they didn’t take out anyone else and jumped right back on their bike…this is a hard-core bunch.

From Truckee it was on to Kings Beach, lunch and the 70 mile mark. It was still chilly but thankfully mostly dry…although clouds ahead indicated that was soon to change. I donned my waterproof trousers again in preparation for the rain ahead, which greeted us just up the road heading into Incline Village. At mile 75 the last big climb up to Spooner’s Summit began just as the rain eased again. Spooner’s is a 9 mile climb to over 7000′ from lake level, after 6+ hours on the bike that’s a hard climb. An hour and a half later I was at the summit and the sun was out again…mile 86 and mostly down hill from here. I basked in the sun waiting for Kerry who’d stopped to help one of her team mates who’d had a flat earlier on.

The 5 mile downhill was just reward after that climb and it was rolling hills through Cave Rock and back to the state line for the finish…although by that point rolling hills didn’t feel quite so rolling!

100 miles and 9 hours 30 minutes later it was all over, total ride time was just over 7 hours…that’s a lot of stopping time, more than expected…what can I say, I blame the weather.

All-in-all a challenging ride, truly beautiful and one I hope to do again on a sunnier day.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $2,500 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

Crossing the Finish Line

Wow, holy cow, oh my god, *add your own exclamation here*, was that hard! But I’m pleased to report I am officially an Ironman, 140.3 miles in 14 hours, 44 minutes and 38 seconds…the hardest 14 hours, 44 minutes and 38 seconds of my life.

What started 10 months ago reached fruition this Sunday with completion of race # 11, Ironman Cozumel. That’s a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run, back-to-back.

It’s hard to describe how intense it was. It’s obviously been quite a build up to this point and spending the 5 days prior to the race acclimatizing in Cozumel all added to the experience. Come Saturday night I went to bed at 9:00pm, alarm set for 4:30am. Unfortunately, I was wide awake at 1:00am, sleeping fitfully through to 4:30am…not unusual for race day, but a little more sleep would have been nice.

Starting the Swim

After a quick bowl of cereal and cup of tea off we headed on the shuttle bus to the race start at Chankanaab Park. And what a crazy start it was.

I’d setup for the swim/bike transition the day before, so prior to the start all that had to be done was check the bike, walk the transition and then watch the pros head off at 6:40am. As soon as they left 2,500 competitors jumped into the sea ready for the mass in-water start. I now know what it feels like to be a fish in a shoal as we bobbed around waiting for the start…and then all hell broke loose and it was every man/women for themselves. That’s the largest mass start I’ve ever done and to be trying to swim in a sea of bodies was challenging to say the least.

The upside was the beautiful, crystal clear, aquamarine sea and 80+ fahrenheit temperature. Looking back now the swim seemed to pass quickly, if an hour and 27 minutes can be called quick, that is. Actually, I’m very pleased with the swim, I was hoping to complete the 2.4 miles in an hour and a half, but thought that might be too optimistic, so I did well. Along the way you get to thump and be thumped by your fellow competitors, watch the divers below blow “air rings” up at you and do your final turn as you reach the submarine…yep, a little different from your average triathlon.

Biking Around Cozumel

After the swim it’s a short run to pick up your bike transition bag and into the changing tent to get dried off and into your bike gear, the pros are all done in under 2 minutes, me, more like 13…but, hey, what’s the rush. With the swim done, 112 miles on the bike beckoned. This consisted of 3 laps of the island (yep Cozumel ain’t that big).

I started out feeling good, my first lap averaged over 17 mph, but for about two-thirds of each lap you’re peddling into wind (head or side wind). To give you an idea, normally, when training on level terrain, I’d be in the large cog on the front, here I was having to pedal in the small one (I only have two). It was as if you were constantly going uphill and the best part was, with each lap, the wind picked up, so by lap two I only averaged 16.5 mph and by lap 3 I was down to 16 mph. I’d hoped the bike might take between six and six and a half hours, it took me 6 hours 46 minutes (that did include a pee stop and rest stop to restock my nutrition) and I’d definitely used more energy than I’d figured into the process, which didn’t bode well for the run.

Start of the Run

Once you finish the ride you hand your bike off to be racked and grab your run transition bag and head to the changing tent, by way of the porta-potty, of course. The run transition is usually the quicker of the two, but for some reason it took me longer than my bike transition, nearly 15 minutes…must have been one long pee! Anyway, after changing and putting on more vaseline (don’t ask) and sun block off I went for the run, full of vim and vigor…and that, ladies and gentleman, is where a tough race turned really tough.

The run also consisted of 3 laps, the first 8 and a bit miles weren’t too bad, I ran for nine minutes and walked for one, probably averaging around a 10:30 / mile pace. Approaching the halfway point of 13.1 miles I’d slowed to a 12 minute / mile pace, running 4 minutes and walking one. I managed to drag myself around to complete the second lap, but, knew I was toast as I came around the turn point for the last lap. I saw Kerry, who’d be out supporting me the entire day, and told her I was well and truly pooped!

Start of Lap 3, is it over yet?

As I approached the 18 mile mark I hit the proverbial wall. In all my races to date I’d never reached the point were I felt I just couldn’t keep moving. For the next 8 miles even walking was hard, my pace slowed to 18+ minutes / mile, time dragged on and only sheer will power and determination kept me moving forward. I knew if I stopped I likely wouldn’t start again, I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other and let the finish line come to me.

Post-Ironman Ice Bath

I can tell you waves of emotion wash over you at that point, you’ve been going 14+ hours, your legs ache, your back aches, your feet ache, heck even your aches ache. The sun had set several hours ago, the winners crossed the finish line just as you were starting your run, the field has thinned out so it’s just you out there, maybe occasionally someone who can walk faster than you passes you by…that is why they call it an Ironman.

You just keep moving forward.

And so it was that after just over 6 hours since starting the run I reached the finish line, not pretty, but then again Ironman is not about being pretty, it’s about grit and determination, perseverance and will power, conquer or be conquered. To all those that have trained for and completed an Ironman I salute you, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done…but I am IRONMAN!

You can view more pictures of my race on Facebook

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

A Foggy & Kelp-y Swim

It was a foggy start to race #7, the Triathlon at Pacific Grove. Not only that, but the kelp seemed extra thick this year too!

It was great to be back in Monterey, the location of my first triathlon 2 years ago and a great benchmark to see how much I’d improved over the last couple of years and see if I could finally beat the 3 hr mark (my previous time here was 3 hrs 24 mins).

The Triathlon at Pacific Grove is renowned for its kelp crawl, the swim at Lover’s Point means you spend as much time crawling over or through the kelp as you do actually swimming. Last time around my wave didn’t start until 8:30am, so earlier waves of swimmers had cleared a channel through the kelp, this year, as a challenged athlete, I was in the first wave at 7:00am…that’s right, let the challenged athletes clear the kelp for everyone else!

One Armed Swimming

Despite that I completed the 1.5 km swim in just under 38 mins, nearly 5 minutes faster than previous. After a quick run up the beach it was time to head out for the 40km bike. The bike loops around the course 4 times, which was very handy for pacing my ride as I aimed to beat 1 hr 20 mins – I had to do each loop in under 20 minutes.

Out for a Ride

The first loop was 18:01, nicely done, the second was 19:56, needed to pick up the pace a bit there, the third was 19:43, not too bad and then the final loop was 20:37, definitely starting to feel tired, for a total time of 1 hr 19 mins, just scraping under the 1 hr 20 min mark and beating my time of 2 years ago by about 7 minutes.

Now, if I wanted to beat the 3 hr mark then things were getting a little tight, last time it took me 1 hr 3 min for the 10 km run and as I started out the clock read 2 hrs 8 min – I had to pull the run in under 52 minutes, ouch!

The run consisted of 3 loops, so that meant each one had to be around 17 mins 30 secs.

Crossing the Finish Line

Well the first was 17:42, that was cutting it fine, the second was 17:14, made up a few precious seconds and then I had to go all out for the last loop, for a 16:44 and a total time of 2 hrs 58 mins and 48 secs, beating the 3 hour mark I’d set myself and beating my previous time 2 years back by about 25 minutes…very happy with that!

First in Class

I also finished first in class again, out of two of us this time…so if you’re a physically challenged athlete you just have to come and turn up at these events and you’ve got a good chance of getting on the podium, plus it’d be fun to have some competition out there.

You can view more pictures of my race on Facebook or watch me cross the finish line below (you’ll need to fast forward to the 3m 44s mark).

On the fundraising front, I just want to say thank you to my top donors this last month, Ken, Christian and Mike, thank you so much. I’m at the $5,500 mark with 8 races done, inching closer to my $10,000 goal.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

Crossing the Finish Line

I escaped from Alcatraz and it only took 45 minutes!

On Sunday I completed the San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz, it’s one wild race! In fact I had such a blast I think it’s one of my favourite triathlons to date.

It all starts in the wee hours of the morning, setting up transition in the dark at Marina Green and then catching the bus to Pier 3 for the boat to Alcatraz. That’s 1,800 athletes packed onto a boat sailing off at 6:15am as the sun peaks behind the Bay Bridge, quite surreal.

Given the extremely windy conditions the previous day, they only let 4 of the 12 test swimmers even attempt the swim and the rescue kayaks capsized, it was a relief to see the mirror calm sea as we headed to Alcatraz. The conditions couldn’t have been better.

Ready to Start

The pros lined up on the outside rail of the boat and come 7:00am were off, quickly followed by the rest off us piling out of the door and jumping into the chilly waters. It’s hard to describe the feeling of being in the middle  of the San Francisco Bay, looking one way at the Golden Gate Bridge, another at Alcatraz looming large, another the sun silhouetting the Bay Bridge and finally the San Francisco skyline in front, surrounded by a 1,000 other swimmers. One word, WOW!

Jumping Off

You don’t swim directly to the swim exit at Marina Green, if you did you’d end up at the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead you swim further east, more towards Aquatic Park and then let the current drift you westwards. After 1.2 miles or so you hit the makeshift steps and climb out of the sea.

Next stop, a 25 mile bike ride up and down and around the bendy streets and hills of San Francisco to the Great Highway and back. It’s a bit hairy in places, the lumps and bumps in the road nearly knocked me off more than once. You want to go fast on the downhills to make up for all the effort you put in to get up the other side, but you’ve got to have some balls to go all out on those roads!

The Sand Ladder

Back from the bike in one piece, legs a little tired from the hill climbs and it time for the bit I like the least, the 7 mile run, the other wild part about this event. The run is more cross-country than the normal road race. Despite nearly being out of action during the first mile when my left knee gave way again, I was able to stay with it and have to say I really enjoyed the run. It’s mostly along dirt and gravel paths, up steps, ducking through an underpass, along a cliff path, down the road a bit and then along the beach in the sand to the 400 step sand ladder and then return.

First in Class

I finished in 3 hours 51 minutes, the swim took 45 minutes, the bike an hour and 35 minutes and the run an hour and 16 minutes, finishing first in my class (physically challenged athletes) and setting a course record for my class (since it’s the inaugural race).

I’ll be back next year to defend my title!

You can view more pictures of my race on Facebook or watch me finish the swim and cross the finish line below.

On the fundraising front, I just want to say thank you to my top donors this last month, Sam, R2, Hemant, Lea Ann and Prashant thank you so much.

I’m over the $5,000 mark with 6 races done. I’d love to reach $6,000 before my next race in 2 weeks and with your continued support I’m sure I will!

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

Vineman Finisher

On Sunday I took part in the Vineman Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Sonoma, a triathlete’s version of a trip to the wine country.

This is my first 70.3 mile event, you might remember my previous attempt at this distance ended with my bike crash two weeks before the race last October.

A 70.3 Ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, followed by a 13.1 mile run. The plan going in was to only do the swim and bike as I’d been having knee issues since my half marathon last month. My coach Paul Kinney recommended I leave my running shows behind so I wouldn’t be tempted to do the run. The concern was not to jeopardize my ultimate goal of completing a full 140.6 Ironman this November. Whilst I knew it made sense I was torn by the idea of not completing the race.

Vineman is a beautiful course that starts with a swim in the Russian River at Guerneville, followed by a scenic ride through Sonoma that winds its way to Windsor High School and from there a run out to La Crema Winery and back.

Swim Start

It was up at 4:30am Sunday morning and heading off to Guerneville at 5:15am to set up my bike transition and get ready for my wave to start at 6:54am. Thankfully it was a misty morning (you can see it above the water) that boded for cooler temperatures for the first part of the race at least.

I had a great swim, it’s a really easy course as it’s hard to go too far off track, the river is quite narrow. In places it was so shallow that my hand hit the bottom and I saw a number of people walking along…not quite in the spirit of Ironman! I came out of the water after 47 minutes feeling in great shape. Given I was not planning on finishing the race I had a nice leisurely 12 minute transition (the pros were out in 1 minute, by comparison).

Finishing the Bike Ride

The bike really is beautiful, winding through the wine country passed vineyards and wineries, all helps take your mind of the 56 mile ride ahead. I must say though, that the roads are a tad treacherous; twisty, bumpy and narrow (they aren’t closed to traffic). Made for an exciting experience, especially with the two sets of train tracks you have to cross (given my prior run-in with train tracks). I finished the bike in 3 hours 8 minutes, averaging just under 18 mph.

Exiting for the Run

Felt in great shape, felt strong and I know Paul had recommended not to do the run…but I had set up my shoes in the second transition just in case and what harm could a little run do anyway? And so off I went against doctors orders.

My focus was just on enjoying the race, originally I’d wanted to complete it in under six and a half hours, now I just wanted to finish safely. The run is a tough one, rolling hills a good chunk of the way so I kept it to mostly walking with a little bit of slow jogging mixed in.

Crossing The Finish Line

Good news is I had no knee issues and whilst I faded somewhat on the second half of the run I still completed the half marathon in 2 hours 54 minutes for a total race time of 7 hours 11 minutes. And to be honest I felt in great shape, if I’d been fully fit and hadn’t just taken a month of training whilst I was travelling in Europe (not the best of plans) I think I could have got close to the 6 hour mark.

All-in-all I was ecstatic with the race, it gave me great confidence that my running issues are behind me and that I’m well on my way to preparing for a full Ironman this November in Cozumel. I’ve got 4 months of training left and $5,000 to raise for CAF.

You can view more pictures of my race on Facebook or watch me finish the swim and cross the finish line below.

Just want to say thank you to my top donors this last month, Martin, Chris and Nghia, thank you so much. I was just shy of my $5,000 goal to mark the midpoint of my challenge with $4,679, for those of you waiting on the sidelines, go on, click the button, I dare you.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

5th in Class

Sunday was my first race of the season for the Challenged Athletes Foundation at the Avia Wildflower Olypmic Triathlon at Lake San Antonio.

Every year they put on a festival and weekend of Triathlon races and I’d heard it was a great event…and it didn’t disappointment, a real party atmosphere combined with some serious racing.

The course was certainly challenging, the 1.5km swim was straightforward since it was in the lake, I completed it in a record time for me of 37mins (5 mins better than previous).

Bike Course

The 40km bike on the other hand was up, down and lots of up again! As you can see from the terrain map not a lot of flat stuff and look at that climb right at the beginning…I saw more than a few people pushing their bikes up that one.

Run Course

After my 1hr 34min bike came the 10km run, I started out pretty strong and then…faded fast, as you can see the run course is pretty much all up hill and then half way through you really start to climb, that combined with the heat and my heart rate was spiking over 180, so I ended up run/walking parts of the course. That said I still managed better than an average 10 minute mile which was my goal and finished the run in 1hr 1min for a total race time of 3hrs 23mins, a personal best on a very challenging course.

Not only that, but I finished 5th in my class (physically challenged athletes) and got a medal to boot! You can see more pictures of my race on Facebook.

So one race down, next one is a month away, the San Diego Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon. After that will be my first Half Ironman in July. Unfortunately I didn’t get a lottery slot for the Ironman World Championship in Kona this year, instead I’ll be choosing a different Ironman event for the end of the year to culminate my race schedule, looks like between now and then I’ll have a race every month all to reach my fundraising goal of $10,000 for CAF. I’ve reached $2,695 so far, big thank you to my top donors Dwayne, Tennille and Suzuyo, you guys rock! And to all those that have donated $100 or over, Carrie, Darcy, Kelly, Lori, Margaret, Tom, thank you so much.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

Here I Come

There I Go

I’m 8 weeks into my new training regime and 7 weeks away from my first race at Wildflower and next month I find out if I win a place at the Ironman World Championship in Kona this October in the lottery.

It’s been great to get back into regular training again, after my accident last October. I’m starting to recover the stamina I lost after being out of action for 3 months.

My coach, Paul Kinney, has been working me hard, harder than I’ve trained over the last 2 years since I started doing triathlons.

Want an idea of my training week, I know you do?

• Monday – Rest day, stretch out a little
• Tuesday – Up at 4:45am, in the pool at 5:30am for an hour swim, about 2200 yds or so, then on the way home from work hit the gym for an hour of strength training
• Wednesday – Head to Sports Basement in Walnut Creek after work with my bike & trainer for an hour and 20min of spinning
• Thursday – Up at 4:45am again for another hour swim, once I get home after work head out for a 45min run down into Danville and back
• Friday – Supposed to head into the gym for another hour of strength training (don’t tell Paul, but I sometimes skip this one)
• Saturday – Long bike ride (OK, not too long yet, but they’ll be getting longer), head out at 8am for a 2 hour ride followed by a 15min transition run
• Sunday – Long run, head out at 8am for an hour run, 5-6 miles

And that’s it, 6 days a week, 8 workouts. As the months progress the distances will start to increase and my hour swims will be closer to 2 hours, my 2 hour bike rides closer to 4 and my 1 hour runs closer to 2 or 3. I’m particularly looking forward to the brick workout later in the season that consists of a 2 hour bike ride followed by an hour run, 3 times! That’s nine hours…

And I’m doing all this for a great cause, I’ve teamed up with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) this year to raise $10,000 to support their cause.

CAF help people with physical disabilities pursue an active lifestyle through physical fitness and athletics, to give those with the desire to live active, competitive lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love. As you can imagine this is a cause near and dear to my heart and I really hope you can help me raise $10,000 for those with disabilities, including children, war veterans, policeman and fireman injured in the line of duty. By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

Spinning Ironman Style

My Ironman training kicked off in earnest this week and I’ve been getting back in the pool and back on the bike.

My coach, Paul Kinney, has me working out 8 times a week…8 I hear you say, but there’s only 7 days in a week. Well, on Tuesdays & Thursdays I swim at 5:30 am, go to the office and then I’m supposed to be lifting weights or running in the evening…10 months to go and counting!

Whilst I was swimming this week, Coach Mike had his Flip camera and kindly video’d me in the pool, so now you can see what it’s like to swim one handed…definitely need to pick up the pace a bit if I’m going to make that 2.4 mile swim in under 2 hours.

An Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike and finally a full marathon, 26.2 miles…all in one day. And the mecca for Ironman events is the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii…birth place of Ironman. Since I’m unlikely to qualify for Kona as a world class athlete, I’ve instead submitted an entry into the Ironman lottery as a challenged athlete. They pick 5 athletes from those that apply, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

This will be the biggest physical/mental challenge I have faced to date, without a doubt. I have 10 months of training ahead, 6 days a week for the next 42 weeks. In between I’ll be throwing in an Olympic triathlon or two, a Half Ironman event, a triathlon including a swim from Alcatraz and maybe a half marathon for good measure.

As part of my bid I plan to fundraise for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), these guys have a mission to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics, they provide support for athletic endeavors by providing grants for training, competition and equipment needs. As you can imagine, a cause near and dear to my heart.

So here goes, day one of training done, my first swim since my accident, nice to know it hasn’t affected my swimming ability, next will be to see how I fair on the bike…wish me luck.

Elbow After Surgery

I’ve been recovering fast after my surgery a few weeks back. It’s been a real case of deja-vu, it was like losing my hand all over again. Since my arm had swollen too nearly twice it’s size after the surgery (much better now) I couldn’t wear my prosthetic, so it was back to making do with one hand again. It was surprising how used to my i-Limb hand I was…I really miss it!

The surgery was successful, if a little long (over 5 hrs). My collar-bone now has a plate holding it together, which is great since it stabilizes the shoulder nicely. My elbow was a bit of a surprise, however. I didn’t expect to end up with so much metal work: a plate, screws, pins and even some wire, as you can see from the fluoroscope images. It’s amazing the amount of damage I did.

Shoulder Surgery

Elbow Surgery

Now that my arm is back to normal size my one challenge is that, with all the metal work in my elbow its circumference has increased and my prosthetic sockets still don’t fit. Fortunately I still have my original socket from a couple of years back, and whilst it’s not ideal, at least it fits…which means I can drive again.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t have to get new prosthetic sockets made, only time will tell.