Bead’s Blog

Well only 5 months behind on my race report for the JFK 50 and a few weeks behind on my Rome Marathon so I will use my big excuse once for both and get going.

We were very busy planning the wedding and honeymoon.

Excuse over

JFK Race report to begin.

I had to read Antons to refresh my memeory and look at the pictures too.

It was an amazing, draining, emotional, satisfying experience in so many ways. As Anton can attest, I pretty much talked the whole time so that was a personal accomplishment for me.

After work on Friday before the race my bride to be Melissa and I drove down to Gaithersburg to crash with Anton and Mary Lou. We arrived later that expected and they were already for bed. We got settled in and went to bed too. It was going to be a long day on just a few hours sleep.

2:15 am came early and I didn’t want to believe it. I got dressed kissed a half asleep Melissa goodbye and had a quick bite to eat with Anton as we double checked to make sure we had all we needed to get to the start. We got in the car and off to Boonsboro.

It was a chilly morning and the weather report promised that it would stay that way with potential rain and certainly clouds all day. We arrived a little early and relaxed and did a little race prep before going into the building for the pre reace meeting anf pep talk. Since this was my first time I opted for the 5:00 am start , and Anton graciously offered to do the 5:00 am start so he could be my personal trail guide, and ultra guru. He has done this race many times before and finshed in 10 - 10 1/2 hours so I thought I would stick with him.

The meeting ended and we were off to the start line a short walk away. I was shivering thru my several layers and was anxious and a little nervous approaching the start. 50 miles is a long drive and a daunting thought to travel on foot.

Here we were, in the center of Boonsboro, facing an uphill. We started promptly at 5:00 am. The first 2 miles slowly climbed on the pavement. The ultra guru Anton advised we needed to conserve our energy for later so we did some walking up that hill. We followed the trail of flashlights. At the top we took a right onto the Appalachian trail part of our show. There were porta potties there an we took this opportunity for a quick pee break.

It was a bit darker on the trail so I turned my flashlight on too.

We got to the first aid station, had a few muchies and drink and continued to a really steep paved portion of the trail throught the woods. Steep is an understatement. Walking slow up it was difficult. If this was at the end, I would want to hurt somebody.

Thanfully this ends and we get onto some rolling trail as the day starts to break. The light is dim but enough where we can turn off our flashlights. With the better visibility and less steep trail we are able to pick up the pace.

I start feeling better about things and the pre race jitters and anxious are gone. I start goofing around a little jumping once in awhile of a low rock accumulating “style points” and even running out of my shoe.

However, it is all fun and games until someone horrendously twists and ankle. That someone was not me but Anton. He who was cautious while I was getting all my “style points”. I could tell by how the blood drained out of his face that this hurt.

We slowed down, and I asked him if I could do anything for him. Anton just wanted to “walk it off”. At this point he would only have to “walk it off” for another 44 miles.

I have to give him credit. Either he did walk it off or he can hide the pain. We picked up the pace for a couple of miles and it seemed like we were back in business. I was back to my jesterly ways and getting more “style points” when I heard distinct sound of a misstep followed by the loud grunt of pain.

Once again Anton played it tough and walked it off. That didn’t take long and we started picking up the pace again. Then it happened again. We went through this a few times and it seemed like the trail was out to get him.

At some point during all this trauma on the “Ankle Mangle” trail Anton was getting a little down and I gave him the “Some days you are the bug and some days you are the windshield.” talk and that gave him a smile. He certainly felt like the “bug” that day. I was still feeling strong and was having my “windshield” day.

Anton checked his watch at some of the leaders of the 7:00 am start group was passing us like we were standing still. He told me that when he did the JFK in the past that he was usually much father along. Despite all the pain he was fighting I was completely enjoying this experience. He felt a little guilty and kept apologizing for holding me back.

Like I had any shot of winning this thing? I just kept telling him how I was just enjoying my day. After he said it one too many times I did say “You say I’m sorry again, and I’ll pee in your shoe.” No apologies were needed. It was understood I was there because I wanted to do this together. I knew he was in a lot of pain and I didn’t want to feed into his pain and make him feel worse either. Looking at his foot and seeing his ankle the size of a friggin’ cantaloupe was enough.

There was a basic tenet I learned in my youth and reinforced when I was a Marine about never leaving a man behind. I was not going to leave Anton behind. He supported me and talked me into doing the JFK with the full confidence that I could do it. I felt that I could too, and I wanted to make sure he would make it too. I told him I would go on if he really couldn’t make it but I would get him to an aide station before doing so.

He was okay with that idea and we left it at that. It really never came up again.

We got down to the canal path around the 15 mile mark and that leveled out the trail. It is going to be flat for about the next 26 miles. We just completed the hilly 15 mile warmup to a marathon.

We switch to the next phase of the race strategy. Anton sets his watch so we can go with a run/walk plan. It might have started out with an ambitious 5 or 6 to 1 ratio in the beginning.  We also walk thru the incredibly well stocked aide stations every few miles.

The volunteers were fantastic. I can’t say enough about them.

As the miles pass there are some dead spot where I am even having problems coming up with something to say. The beep of the watch goes from warning to something grow to loathe. My legs feel heavy and sore. Once we get in the thirties I felt like I was past the hump but mentally I was a little sluggish. Was this the ”Ultra Wall”? I don’t know since I had never run this far before. 

At the aide station in the mid thirties we pass the wall realizing the light is at the end of the tunnel. Our spirits lift and I am getting my second wind.

On this flat easy trail Anton finds a root that almost trips him up and I see the pain comback. The back ankle again. I thought he was going to quit right ther for a moment. He got it together quickly. We got back to our conversation and “Yellowbeard'’ came into our race strategy. We got a good laugh and that helped us along.

The last aide station on the canal path comes up and we are finally to the 8 mile cooldown after our 15 mile + warmup on the Appalachian trail, followed by our canal path marathon. We get a quick snack, drink and refill our camel baks. It is also time to turn of the beeps.

I just follow Antons lead. Walk the hills and run the flats and downhills. At this stage with 42 miles behind us we question every possible bump in the road to see if it qualifies an an uphill. It become quite the running gag (pun intended). Our emotions ar e running high. We are punchy, fatigued, and certainly in a bit of pain.

The sun is going down. We started in the dark, and we are finishing in the dark. We see the lights ahead. Then a few meters before the finish we see Mary Lou and Melissa cheering is un to finish. Anton and I join hands so we come across the finish line together. 50 miles in 12:43.

I already know I am doing this again in 2008.

We walk inside to the school and get some food. I am hungry and have some pizza and some gatorade. I feel relieved, sore, a little dizzy, and and bit sad that the day is over.

There is a short drive back to Anton and Mary Lou’s where we will crash for the evening.  I get my first glimpse of Anton’s ankle without sock or shoe and it was huge and purple. He was going to be in a lot a pain for a few days.

Melissa and Mary Lou tell us about their day together as Mary Lou prepares some eats and they get out a few beers to celebrate. The first sip is like nectar and the food is delicious but I can’t take more than a few bites before I need to lay down and then get back up to have some more food. I don’t know if it was bonking or just not running anymore and drinking gatorade anymore, but I was feeling nauseous. I took a shower and I had to level out or I was going to throw up. I seem to stabilze a little before we go to bed.

Sleeping was rough. I was twitchy and had to go to the bathroom frequently. I hurt all over.

It a took a few weeks to get back to normal. Months later I still am overwhelmed by the experience. I look forward to running it again this year. See ya soon Anton!

This is a week after the race and I am finally getting to this. It has been a busy few weeks.

I went down to the race with my number one groupie Melissa(it helps that she is my fiancee). We arrived in the Cambridge area Thursday night, got settled in and was able to get a good nights sleep at the hotel. I even slept in on Friday morning.

After a leisurely morning and early afternoon I loaded my bike and a few things back on the car and went to packet pickup. There were only about 200 or so competitors so that went quickly. I drove over to the T1 area, did a few last preperations and tweaks to the bike and dropped off my bike and bike bag. Then we were off to T2 to check that out and check the route there.

Then back to the Hyatt for the pre-race meeting. I met up Garen (a.k.a GFD) there. I only got to chat a few minutes, but It was nice to put a face to another name at Trifuel.

The ChesapeakeMan Race director Vigo, went over some specifics of the race. When that wrapped up it was time for a bite to eat. There was a little Italian/Greek place right down the road from the Hyatt that we saw earlier during outr race recon. I had only half of the pasta they served up so I wasn’t too full.

We got back to the hotel, and I double checked my run bag, run special needs, and bike special needs bag. They were ready to go. Now it was time for my Ironman shave. I had trimmed my legs earlier in the week, so it was easy to foam up and shave off the stubblies. Smooth now. I had my last dose of Ensure and some Gatorade and then went to bed.

It was restless night, which was to be expected. I was glad I got a good rest the night before. 4:00 am came quicker than expected. I got dressed, had a Peanut Butter on whole wheat, some Gatorade and Ensure. I was ready to go so I woke a not so happy Melissa.

We got on the road about 4:45 am. First stop was T1 to drop off my cold bike bottles, then over to T2 to drop off my run bag and special needs bags. last stop was the swim start at the Hyatt.

Since we took care of everything pretty quickly we had some time to spare. I got a good parking spot at the Hyatt close to the start. The seats went back and I was able to catch a quick cat nap for half an hour.

My watch alarm went off. It was time to get body marked and get my wetsuit on. They had free Starbucks and boxes of Clif Shots. I helped myself to both. You can never get enough freebies!!

I lubed up generously with bodyglide and got my wetsuit on, and my chip too. It was a short walk to the beach. The sun was just starting to come up. I got my good luck kiss from Melissa and walked down to the sand and into the water. I put on my goggles and swim cap as i was walking.

A few feet into the water the sand ended and then there was a feeling of dog poo squishing between my toes that sent a shiver through me. I announced to whoever was listening that it felt like poo. And who should I run into? Garen. He agreed about the poo feeling. We wished each other luck. Then the horn blew. The Chesapeakman had started.
 
The swim was began in the man made lagoon in front of the Hyatt. After 50 meters it moved out in to the Choptank river(aptly named I might add). Then it was like punch in the face. Several swimmer were actually pushed back. It crowded the entrance to the river for a moment.
 
The current was supposed to be with us and the RD was predicting PR’s for everybody.
Instead there was a wind coming at us, that made the river very choppy.
It was really tough to get a rythmn an breathe without taking a mouthful of water.
I even felt a little seasick during the swim. The sighting for the buoys was difficult because of the waves.
 
When I stopped to tread water and look around to get my bearings the current pushed me back. So much for the current being with me. The swim PR went out the window too.

1:57 something. I was hoping to get out around 1:15 - 1:20.
 
I got out of the water and I was wiped out. My T1 was not too bad, a little over 9 minutes. The bike route went mostly thru a wildlife refuge and was very flat, and scenic, with minimal traffic and wide shoulders. It was also very windy. I seemed to have a headwind or a sidewind all the time.
 
There was also the start of a brush fire on the side of the road on my first lap. The fire department just got there moments before I did when I was on my first loop.
 
They waved me on and I got to ride thru a big cloud of smoke. YUK!!
 
I stopped to pee and grab my special needs bag at about the 66 mile mark. Melissa decided to help out and volunteered. I also had my first Anton Sighting of the day. he shaved his big bushy moustache for the occasion!!

I was feeling pretty good but more fatigued than expected. The winds were still there. On my second lap I got to the fire again and the emergency personnel stopped me and I had to turn back to the last intersection and the police re-directed me.
 
I had no idea where I was at. I was watching my mileage on the CatEye and I got to 112, while I was still on course. I zero’ed it out. I ended up doing an extra 5 1/2 miles. Finally, the bike finish was in sight. I was riding hard. I made the bike cutoff at 5:00 pm by 3 minutes!!

They redirected the course quickly but it scared the crap out of me when I was running out of time. The bike really kicked my a$$. I was relieved to get to the marathon.
 
My T2 was pretty quick this time, under 6 minutes. Big improvement for me. I walked out an got a picture with Melissa and a quick snack of banana. Anton was there and I had a chance to talk to him for a few moments before heading out on the run. It was nice to see another fan.

The run was 3 laps of flat out and back. I had a rough day and I was hurting so I paced myself for the marathon. The support was great. I talked to anybody I was near and had a great time. When I got to the T2 I got my kilt from my special needs bag for the last lap. I was a hit at all the aide stations.
 
At the very last aide I got my pictures with some girls in their Hula skirts and coconut bikini tops and they saved me a beer at the last aid station.
 
It was the best beer ever!! 

I could see the lights of the stadium ahead, and then the music got a little louder. I approached the T2 area and then ran thru into the stadium. I met Melissa and ran the final 1/2 lap around the track and across the finish line.

Anton was waiting there with his camera. One of the voluteers at the finish handed me a heat sheet and then tried to get a peek up my kilt to see if I was wearing anything underneath. I told her she was naughty, and then got a picture with her.

Overall I had a tougher swim and bike, but I was right on for my nutrition. So despite the pain and suffering I had a great time.

It was nice to meet Garen, to see Anton supporting the cause and to have my fiancee there during the race and at the finish.
 
Now I have a marathon on October 20th and the JFK November 17th with Anton. 

official results

Swim:1:57:01

T1:9:25

Bike:7:50:27*(117.37 miles)

T2:5:55

Run:6:02:07

Finish:16:04:53

This marks the 5th year I have done this event. I consider it to be a benchmark event for me. Each time the event has had slightly different conditions(hot, cold, rainy,etc…)

Saturday I had a wedding reception to attend. The return drive was long. We got to crash at a friends house that was near the race start. I got to sleep by midnight. Five hours of rest before I have to get up and get ready to go. I was very sluggish at 5am. I had a bagel with peanut butter and some Naked Juice for breakfast. I loaded up the car and then we were off to West Point.

We arrived a little after 6am. I went over to packet pick up and got my goods and went back to the car. I got myself prepped, and checked the inflation on my tires. Gathering my stuff I went to the transition area got my body marked and set up. After a healthy lubing up with bodyglide I slipped on my wetsuit, zipped up and went to the beach to get a quick dip in the water before the race started. The water was cool but comfortable.

I got out as the Race Director made his anouncements. The Army crew at West Point runs a great event, very organized and timely. This means the first wave which was supposed to start at 8:00 am, started at 8:00 am. My wave was set to start at 8:06. Melissa wished me luck as my group was ushered into the corral, and over the timing mats. A multitude of beeps followed us from the beach into the water.

It was a treading water start so we had to swim out a few meters to the starting rope. I positioned myself in the middle of the group and behind a few people. I appreciate the swim in this lake because it is so clean. Kicking a little to stay afloat, I had my watch ready in chrono. The 30 second warning was given. Soon after they blew the horn and we began.

8:06 exactly.

I was among about 100 others in my wave so there was some bumping but not too bad. Within the first 50 meters the wave settled and spread out. I felt lethargic so I just settled into an easy pace. The first buoy came up and there was a little congestion from the previous 2 waves. The bumping and kicking returned as I made my way throught the line.

I saw the next buoy and it looked partially deflated, and I felt the rope floating near me. I had a feeling this would affect something and it did later. I made my way around the second buoy and turned toward the beach. As I was sighting in the beach seemed like it was coming up quickly. My hand touched the sand on the down stroke. I took 2 more strokes and stood up and quickly moved out of the water. Checking my watch I had started only a little over 10 minutes ago. Even on my best day have I swam 800 meters in 10 minutes. My heart rate is a little higher than normal too.

I had reached back and unzipped my wetsuit before my feet hit the sand. Amongst the cheering crowd my lone groupie called my name as I crossed the timing mat. I got a quick kiss and was on my way.

Swim 10:47(?)

I ran into the transition area and located my bike quickly. I stripped off my wetsuit, got on my helmet, sunglasses, socks, and bike shoes. I am feeling chily and congested. Grabbing my bike off the rack I ran out of transition so I could mount my bike.

T1 3:33

Outside the transition I got to the mount line and mouted my bike, one shoe clipped in right away. A few pedal strokes to give me some momentum and balance and I was able to click in to my other pedal. I was in a low gear to start so I upshifted a few gears and got moving. I still don’t feel like I have energy, my legs feel heavy.

The bike course starts on the driveway going out of Camp Buckner. When it leaves the course is on the very wide shoulders of a low traffic road(even slower on Sunday mornings).It is monitored by Army MP’s and race officials on Mororcycles. The cadets did a great job of clearing the course of debris too. The entrance to Camp Buckner came up and I made the hard right.

There was a slight incline. This slowly changed into the first hill, then a plateau, then the next longer hill. At my slowest I can see I am only doing about 11 mph. My 2 ring Cervelo tri bike is always a challenge on this course but it is a good workout, and I do get to fly on the downhills. The breeze on the bike makes me feel cold. Now that I have a chance I let a snot rocket fly, both sides and I feel like I expelled a large portion of my brain, though I feel a little less congested. At the top of the hill it starts to level out a bit, and then it approaches the turnaround, which is about 1/4 of the way.

The West Point MP has the little bit of traffic stopped as I move across from one wide shoulder to the other. Now I put it into high gear so I can crank it down the hill. I am down tight in my aero bars and I push the pedals, my cadence is 105 in my highest gear, and I am going 47 mph. The wind is whistling in my ears. The plateau comes again and I drop a few gears and my momentum caries me to the next short downhill. Once again it levels out and I downshift a little. The entrance to Camp Buckner is too my right and Melissa spots me and waves as I pass. Just about halfway now. The energy that I was lacking before is even less now. My heart rate is higher than what I perceive my effort to be but it is steady.

The course rolls slightly and there are a few smaller hills and plateaus. Then I reach the last big downhill and upshift and push it again.Only 41 mph this time. I need to slow it up before I hit the next turn around. Three quarters of the way now. The return goes into a long steady uphill. I feel like I have nothing left. I am down to 10 mph on this climb. When I reach the top know the worst is over.

The last couple of miles are rolling. I see the entrance coming up and make the quick right in. I get another supportive wave from Melissa. A few hundred meters and I see the transition area and slow down. I unclip and dismount slowly, I don’t want to take a spill now. I trot with my bike over the timing mat. 2 out of 3 down.

Bike 52:35 ;-P

Running with my bike thru transition I have my helmet off. I get to my row and rack my bike, and put my helmet on my aero bars. I slip off my bike shooes and slip into my running shoes, put on my knee brace, visor and take a quick swig of gatorade, and I am on my way out the gate.

T2 1:11(not too shabby)

The run is self contained on Camp Bucker and is well manned with cadets and volunteers for support and at the aide stations. My dead bike legs, try to switch over to be even deader run legs. There is a aide station right at the start and I take some water and HEED(?) before I climb up the first short hill. The run course doesn’t have any big hills but it is like a kids roller coaster. I get into my pace, periodically checking my HR which has been running higher than expected even though I don’t feel like I am pushing it. It remains steady, but climbs when I get to a hill. My pace stays consistant.

I grab a quick drink and thank the volunteers when I am at the aide stations. I pass the 1st mile marker. The second mile goes quickly, but I feel like I am on auto pilot. Another round of snot rockets empty my sinus cavity ,but my head is still stuffy. I get to the next mile marker just before I pass the transition area again. Less than a mile to go. I pass by the finish area for a last out an back that has a slight hill. I hit the turn around and up the hill. The last stretch rolls down and then up to the finish. I can’t wait to finish. I get under the clock and it is over. My body is shaking, and I have nothing left, my head is pounding.

1:35:15

Since my first early days as a lurker I liked the mission statement of trifuel found on the ‘About us’ page on Trifuel;

Mission

Our mission is to inform, inspire, and connect endurance athletes.

About

Trifuel was originally created in late 2001 as a personal project to aggregate triathlon training and local services information and offer it to other like-minded athletes. Since that time, we’ve expanded from our original yellow pages style directory to now include gear reviews, race listings and reviews, training articles and content from highly respected coaches, news, forums, blogs, and our newly improved city guides.

I log into trifuel to be informed and I always am. There is not a day I don’t learn something.

Reading through the articles, and forums I find myself inspired to train, to do a little more, be a little better than I was before.

When time come for an event I like to put out the word and maybe, just maybe somebody will want to connect, and a few have.

IM Florida-
Riverbrady
Learn

Disney Marathon Weekends-
Anton
Kona
Brittda(and Hubby)
PJT(and Wifey)

NYRR event
Tankfootlou

In my area
Swimbikeruntri

NYC triathlon
Cayman

My running/biking buddy and ‘incompetent witness’
run_sparky_run

This past weekend, I went down to the DC area. I made plans to meet up with Anton. It was great to bike, and run and talk with a fellow trifueler. We are spread out all over the world but we get closer through our trifuel community, and that gives us an opportunity to move our online community to a real community.

Hopefully I’ll keep adding to my list.

NYC Triathlon-

Everything was going smoothly that weekend. Too smoothly, maybe?

The train ride into the city to drop off my bike and pick up my race packet went well. Meeting up with John (Cayman) went off with out a hitch. We went through the race briefing and even got to see Dave Scott (yes, THE Dave Scott!). Packet pick up was quick. Our numbers had to be on our bike before transition so we took care of that in the lobby of the Hilton. A short walk over to the transition area and we were able to rack our bikes, and shortly after, we were back on the train home to
New Jersey.

Sunday morning I got dressed and had my pre-race breakfast. I woke my fiancé(and one of my biggest fans) Melissa. Bleary eyed she got ready and packed up the Mia, the Havanese puppy we were watching for the weekend, and we were off to pick up John.

No traffic, so we got to Johns house quickly. Still no traffic so we were in NYC by 4:15 am. We drove over 2 blocks from the transition and found a parking spot.

Melissa and Mia stayed in the car to sleep while John and I schlepped over to set up our transition area. Only problem was race participant # 208 racked his bike the wrong way the night before into my 2 square feet of space and I had to have a race official move his bike to the other side.

I was done setting up in a few minutes, and then got body marked.

John and I walked up to the swim start, a nice 1 mile walk to warm up.

We were both in early waves. I was in the water, holding onto a rope, waiting for my wave to start. The temperature was about 70 – 72 degrees, but the water had a funny diesel smell. Which may have been a good thing, it probably masked the decaying smell.

I had done this swim before so I was relaxed and ready to go.

That’s when the “smoothly” ended.

Somebody jumped in and ended up pushing the rope down. I held on to this rope so I didn’t float down river with the strong current. I went under while my mouth was opened and I was taking in a breath. Reflexivly I tried to swallow and breathe at the same time and got some nasty river water in my lungs and swallowed a bellyful.

I surfaced quickly and caught my breath. The diesel and dead fish smell, and taste permeated my mouth and nose. 30 seconds, or less to the start at this point.  I felt very nauseous. I coughed, and then hurled into the river. Thankfully the current pulled it away from me.

Then I heard the sound of the horn and our wave started.

I started swimming and I felt I was actually getting into my groove. The diesel and fish taste, with a touch of Apple Pie flavored Clif Shot and peanut butter, was very strong and the nausea returned. About a 10 minutes in( ½ way?) I rolled onto my back for the moment to get some air and then upchucked some more. I swung my arm over and resumed my stroke. The barge was in sight. A few more strokes and I climbed out of the water.

I ran off the barge, made a right and started my ½ mile run to the yellow transition area. My wetsuit was unzipped and rolled down to my waist soon after. The improvised showers were mounted near the exit so I ran under them and got a little bit of (hopefully) clean water to swish around in my mouth and spit out.

The coughing returned, and I vomited again. The aftertaste was revolting.

The transition area was a long run. I got to my area and did a quick change, wet suit, came off, my number was on underneath, got on my helmet, clipped my strap, put on my socks and shoes, ran my bike out, and mounted up.

The course went back by the transition, and then made a hard right into a steep but short hill. I knew to gear down on the approach so I was able to climb up and out onto the course quickly.

I picked up some speed and went up a few gears as I got onto the Henry Hudson. Once my cadence on the CatEye was at about 85 I settled in.

The road got a little steeper and I had to push a little which caused another wave of nausea. After peaking the hill, and on my way down I puked again, not quite avoiding my leg and back wheel.

About a 1/3 of the way into the course I could see some of the Pro field coming back. They were flying, and making it look so easy.

I was feeling a little shaky as I got to the turn around in the
Bronx. I drank some Gatorade and had a Orange Crème Clif Shot.  My stomach grumbled but I felt a little better.

The route passed back over the bridge and I could see the
Hudson again. There was another small climb and I felt queasy again. I held it until I got a slight downhill and I had to throw up again. Orange Crème and Gatorade don’t taste so good on the way back up.

Only a few miles to hold it together until I got to the transition.

The last turn around and I felt a little relief but I was feeling the effect of running on fumes. I slowed down and dismounted and trotted in to rack my bike. My helmet strap was unclipped and I was ready to slip into my running shoes. Participant # 208 had racked his bike the wrong way again and created chaos in my area and no where to rack my bike.  I had to resist the urge to throw his bike, so I went around and  re-racked his bike to get it out of my way. I got my shoes, and visor on, then ran out of transition.

I grabbed a quick cup of water a volunteer offered at the first table. That went down and stayed down. The first turn out of the park and up the hill came up and I got my running legs. A short  path led me out to

.

It was a flat, fast stretch over to
Central Park. I saw Melissa and Mia just before I got to the park. I ran over to the sidewalk to get a quick kiss from my fans. This at least lifted my spirits. 1 mile down, only 5 to go.

The aide station was right inside the park so I grabbed some Accelerade and water. The Accelerade didn’t taste right and came back up almost immediately. I drank the water and that seemed okay.

I felt so thirsty, shaky and nauseous but there was less than 5 miles now to the finish, so I chugged along.

As the aide stations came up I just drank the water, which stayed down and seemed to make me feel better.  The mile marker just weren’t coming quick enough. I had run numerous races in the park, and done this triathlon before so I knew the course. It just seemed like it was longer today.

Mile 5 came and went and there was a nice downhill. I could hear the crowd and announcer from the finish area and it gave me a little rush of adrenaline. I saw the finish line and focused on it. Then it was done.

I felt completely wiped out, drained(literally) as I walked with other finishers. I got my iced towel, and a finishers hat from the volunteers so that made it all worth it.

It wasn’t my best race day, but I made it.

Once again I made my trek down to Walt Disney World to run.

All 3 races

5k

½
Marathon

Full
Marathon

If you do the ½ and the full marathons they call it the “Goofy Challenge”.

Since I flew all the way down to
Florida anyway I thought I would throw that in too.

Unofficially that is known as the “Dopey Challenge”

My girlfriend accompanied me to run the 5k and be a spectator at the ½ and the full after that. I guess acts of idiocy need to be seen too.

The flight to
Orlando got us there late Thursday night. By the time we got to the hotel and checked in it was 12:30 am Friday. They only had a smoking room left for that night despite the reservations. I had to get up at 5:00 am so I just wanted to get to bed.

Morning came too quick. Race time was 7:00 am and we still had to check in before the race. We managed to get ready and over to Disney by 6:15 am. Then they had a problem finding our names on the registration list. They had us fill out new forms and we got our numbers and t-shirts. I had to have my race t-shirt after all.

The 5k had a Pirate and Princess theme. I didn’t dress up as either a pirate or a princess. It started and ran through the MGM part of Disney

The weather for the weekend was warm and humid. That wasn’t so bad for the 5k.

I took it easy and ran with Melissa.

She was very helpful in making sure I didn’t overheat, and dumped a cup of water on me at the last aide station. (It took 6 months to plot her revenge but she got it)

We got our HUGE 5k medals at the finish.

I ran at her pace so we finished at about 37 minutes. Nothing speedy but a nice run to loosen the legs up for the next 2 days.

3.1 miles down

Another early day. Got to the start area around 4:30 am. We had to be in the corral around 5:00 am for some reason. Lots of standing around.

For the ½
Marathon, my kilt was the racing outfit of the day. I also wore a tech tank top with my daughter’s picture on it.

We met up with Anton who was also sporting the kilted look. He actually had the same Tartan pattern too. Since chafing was not an option we both were wearing shorts under our kilts. It was the popular question of the day as we passed people. Unfortunately, the warm and humid weather got even warmer and humider for this event, so it was probably not the day for kilts.

This race started promptly at 6:00 am at EPCOT and works it way over to the

Magic
Kingdom. Since she was such an enthusiastic fan, I made my way over to her and gave a big, grateful, sweaty hug to show my appreciation. Somewhere near the 6 mile mark I realized I had a bleeder, actually a double bleeder. I forgot my nipguards and thought Body Glide and a tech shirt would be enough to get me thru the ½. The sweat had worn the Body Glide off, and my nipples got chafed. (Not a top 10 place on your body to get chafed!) Lucky for me there was an aide station with blessed Vaseline. A glob of that and I was feeling much better.

Anton and I encountered many on the course (runners and spectators) who mistakenly thought we were wearing skirts. Of course we had to respond in our best brogue “IT’S A KILT!!!” Then there were questions to follow about what was under them.

The aid stations were plentiful, and the bands, DJ’s, and even a choir, along with the spectators kept you moving along.

If that wasn’t enough, Anton and I talked (okay maybe it was mostly me talking, his ears were bleeding) through the race. With the finish line in sight we made an effort to high five every costumed Disney cast member until we crossed the finish line at the 2:03:59 mark. I heard my cowbell as I did.

I am looking forward to those race pictures.

The Donald Duck ½ marathon medals were given out, and the Goofy wristband was changed for tomorrow.

13.1 miles down for today, 16.2 miles down so far.

Sunday was another early day. Arrived at Disney around 4:15 am today. It was a little cooler and not quite as humid but a bit foggy.  I didn’t want to overheat on the longer course so no kilt today.  I wore my tank top (with the blood washed out) and my DeSoto 4 pocket tri shorts to give my quads some support. They were lighter than the kilt and should keep me cooler in the long haul. Anton also skipped on the kilt. We headed over to the corral around 5:00 am again. I had Neosporin and waterproof Band-Aids to protect my previous days’ chafed nipples.

We bumped into Britt in the corral while we were waiting for the race to start.

The race once again started relatively on time at 6:00 am.

I probably over-hydrated the day and night before knowing it was going to get hot and stay humid during the marathon. I also was trying to replenish what I depleted the day before. The only downside to this was several more pee breaks than I anticipated. No biggie, this weekend was for fun.

We circle Epcot once and then off to the

Magic
Kingdom. I was sweating early and I took advantage of every aide station. I walked thru and drank the Powerade and some water.

Sweating began early. When we got to the

Magic
Kingdom I met my imported fan Melissa, with the cowbell clanging loudly.

With the sun coming up the heat started to become a factor just after the halfway mark. The drinking and walking strategy at every aide station since the beginning was paying off. Passing a few runners who dropped because of the heat was definite proof of that. When we went thru Animal Kingdom they brought back the small roadside signs with little factoids, or questions to contemplate every ¼ mile or so. “Do radioactive cats live 18 years?” I don’t know, but it certainly sparked a new tangent on the conversation.  We would come across an area where they were playing music and we would jump in and do some impromptu Karaoke. There was the aide station around mile 21 supported by the local Hash House Harriers (ON! ON!) which had some “ice cold beer, here”. How could you not partake of such thoughtful hospitality? That was my argument to Anton, which seemed to work. As we slowed down to sip the icy nectar of the gods and went up a short incline the DJ stated playing “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen. We joined the ‘Boss’ and sang along loudly (and probably badly). That little break gave us a little boost and got us on our way. Soon we saw MGM and knew were only a few miles out. MGM went quickly and we were hitting the last leg into EPCOT.  Saw a few more runners dropping off. (Though the race staff was right there to help out.) I was quite fatigued, hot, and my quads were getting sore (even the Biofreeze was not helping anymore). Talking and singing and just goofing around kept our heads in the game and our spirit light. In EPCOT we caught up to a woman with KELLY on the back of her shirt. I started singing the “Kelly” song Woody on Cheers sang to his girlfriend. (Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, K.E.L.L.Y, Kelly) Anton picked up with the “Name Game” song (Kelly, Kelly Bo Belly, me mi mo Melli…….etc). She was a great sport about it but she ran ahead as we hit the last aide station. Shortly after that we caught up with our new buddy Kelly and went through the singing again. At this time we were getting quite punchy so everything was still funny. The last ½ mile around EPCOT and we finally saw the choir. Only 2/10 of a mile to go. Anton and I came to the last stretch and saw the crowd. , and the finish line. A surge of adrenaline pushed me across the finish. Anton had a big smile, knowing I would probably shut up for a while.  Finish time was close to last year 4:37. I may not be fast but I am consistent. We got our Mickey medals.  Melissa handed me my 5k and ½ marathon medals over the fence so I could get my picture with my full race “Bling” on. I walked thru the Goofy Challenge tent and got my last medal. Anton and I got our Goofy Challenge picture together. It was time to hit the pool and take a nap.

42.4 miles, done!

I changed jobs a few weeks back. I had to end my gym membership to the Y near my old job. I finally got my paychecks coming in at the new job so I got my membership at the Y closer to home. I was going to try and get there over the weekend and bring the girls(I got the family membership) but it didn’t work out. They wanted to go outside and play at the park rather than swim at the pool.

The iPod was charged up, and my gym back was packed so I had my first day at the new Y. I had been there before so I was familiar with the layout. I got onto the elliptical for about 45 minutes with a 5 minute cool down. I skipped the weight machines(for now) and went to the pool. It felt good to swim again. I did an easy 1/2 hour.

It had been about a month since I closed out my old gym membership and had been in the gym. Feels good to get back in the groove.

Well, it is finally Friday. I wore a Hawaiian shirt for the first time a the new job. My boss liked it, so now it will be a institution here.
I am almost over Bronchitis. I was hoping to get my long run in tomorrow but the weather looks craptacular. Snow/freezing rain? Where is the spring weather?
I’ll be up at 6am to decide. Cross your fingers.

Well here I am!! Okay, no more applause. Well this year my main goal will be the ChesapeakeMan Iron Distance tri in Maryland September 30th. I will do a bunch of sprint tri’s, a few olympic and maybe a 1/2 IM if I can squeeze it in.
My other goals are to complete 3 marathons. I have 1 done so far as part of the Goofy Challenge down in Disney. My next is the NJ Shore Marathon which is at the end of April. My fall marathon will be the NYC if I can get in and if not the Baltimore Marathon.
I will fill in the gaps with some 5k’s, 10k’s, some bike events when possible.
I want to spend more time on the bike than last year, I felt that was my weakest event. Hopefully I can fine tune the swim and the run as well.
I have met several trifuelers in the past year and I hope to meet many more. I will post whatever event I am doing and maybe get a trifuel contingent going.
Now the next trick is to get the training log going too.