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

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.

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.