The title to my first blog post seems appropriate for this moment...
It's time to start.
It's the night before the race. I am full off my pre-race dinner. My family is all off having dinner somewhere else giving me some wonderful alone time and letting them deal with possible food complications I do not have to when I cook for myself. It just so happens that there is a Rocky marathon on TV so I am dining with the Italian Stallion for dinner and loving it.
The gear is checked in. All my gear bags are packed. My piles of "I need this for the swim", "I need this in the morning", "I need this after the race" are getting more consolidated. I am ready. It's time to start.
I am feeling great right now and am so excited for tomorrow and all the unknowns that will come my way. It is going to be a long day but one I will never forget and one that I want to soak in and savor every chance I can. There is nothing more I can do but enjoy myself. I have to be smart but the biggest thing I want to do is have fun.
Tomorrow's goals..... finish the race, smile a lot, thank as many of the 4,000 volunteers as I can, smile every time it gets hard, sing every pump up song on my triathlon playlist when I feel tired, and finish strong with a big smile for my finish line photo! If I can do that, the day will be a success. I am in control of all of those things, besides the finish of course, but i have done my preparation. I am ready. So, I am in control of my success.
A quote found by the captain of Team Ironathan, my lovely wife...
"Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
It's time to start...
Follow along if you want on http://www.ironman.com and search under bib number 377
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
3 Days...Penticton Episode #1
Well we made it to Penticton and are getting settled at the race site. I am completely bagged after a day of getting things together, officially registering, a short training brick, and a spaghetti and meatball dinner that knocked me out. My body is flippig into race mode and I am getting to the point I am eating everything I can get my hands on, and feel like I need to sleep constantly. It happens every race and I am loving every minute of it!
I will write more tomorrow but made a little video earlier today.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
10 Days
This is funny regardless, but it is SO much funnier if you live in my world.
10 days out and I am feeling good. I am as ready as I will be and have been doing some good tapering workouts this past week. Up the intensity, lessen the time. My 5 hour rides have turned to 2 or 3 and my swims have gone from leisurely and smooth to some moments of hard hard swimming. This is supposed to keep the muscles ready, engage some muscles that don't normally get going when you are in Tortoise mode (versus Hare mode...get it?). My goal is to just stay strong, healthy, and prepare mentally for what is coming up next week.
One half of my family has made it to Victoria so the reality of this is starting. Them being here means we are getting close. It's funny though what makes you realize the time is near. I opened my latest carton of milk and the expiry date was Sept. 3rd. "I will be an Ironman by then" I said out loud as I mixed up my smoothie. When the milk will still be drinkable after the race...that means the race is close!
I got my race number (377) this week and they just sent out the 2009 Race Participants package. Another few items that make this pretty real! Single digit countdown starts in a few hours and I AM SO EXCITED TO GET THIS THING GOING ALREADY! Because, after all, it's all about performance! :)
10 days out and I am feeling good. I am as ready as I will be and have been doing some good tapering workouts this past week. Up the intensity, lessen the time. My 5 hour rides have turned to 2 or 3 and my swims have gone from leisurely and smooth to some moments of hard hard swimming. This is supposed to keep the muscles ready, engage some muscles that don't normally get going when you are in Tortoise mode (versus Hare mode...get it?). My goal is to just stay strong, healthy, and prepare mentally for what is coming up next week.
One half of my family has made it to Victoria so the reality of this is starting. Them being here means we are getting close. It's funny though what makes you realize the time is near. I opened my latest carton of milk and the expiry date was Sept. 3rd. "I will be an Ironman by then" I said out loud as I mixed up my smoothie. When the milk will still be drinkable after the race...that means the race is close!
I got my race number (377) this week and they just sent out the 2009 Race Participants package. Another few items that make this pretty real! Single digit countdown starts in a few hours and I AM SO EXCITED TO GET THIS THING GOING ALREADY! Because, after all, it's all about performance! :)
Where it all began...
This is my race report from my very first triathlon in 2006. I can still remember that day. Although my "norms" are totally different now, and the 44k race I did then seems so small by comparison to Ironman, the essence of why I am doing this is still there. A few people have asked me recently "Why are you doing this?" For awhile I didn't really have an answer. I knew why, but couldn't really put into words what that was. After reading this, I know. I am doing this because of the excitement of doing something you never thought you could do. I am doing this because the confidence you feel after reaching a goal is captivating and inspiring. I am doing this because I love the feeling of working REALLY hard towards something, and then arriving...with a smile on my face.
Ironman is going to be hard. I know that, but I can do it. 4 summers ago, the Cowichan Challenge was hard too. For me, then, where I was, that was my Ironman! What is your Ironman? :)
--------- Race Report - Cowichan Challenge July, 2006 --------
Well it is official...I am a triathlete! It was an AMAZING DAY/EXPERIENCE/EVENT/RACE/EVERYTHING! I had to wait until the "official" race results were in to send you all the update. For all you stats dorks here is my race...for the rest of you...just play along because I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS RACE!
Swim (1000m) - 24:37
Bike (34k-21miles including transition time) - 1:28:58
Run (9k - 5.5 miles) - 52:42
TOTAL - 2:46:17
I JUST EXERCISED FOR 2 HOURS, 46 MINUTES, AND 17 SECONDS STRAIT...TRAVELED 44 KILOMETERS/27 MILES....ON PURPOSE...AND LOVED IT!!
The race was incredible. It was a huge rush to wake up after very little sleep and know "this is the day." We got to the race site and I quickly realized these people are serious. There were a ton of really, REALLY nice bikes there. Expensive road bikes, not the hybrid commuter bike that I had (the people that passed me during the bike kept saying "Wow, nice job on a mountain bike!"...and I became known to those around me as "the guy on the mountain bike"...I don't know if that is a good thing or not, but I need lighter bike if I really want to do this...someday right?).
We got to the race site about 6:50 and it was already packed full of people. I spent the first 45 minutes getting my gear set up, getting my body marked (and no I haven't washed the parts of my body that my number was drawn on yet...I want that number to stay on me as long as possible!) and waiting in line for that last trip to the bathroom so you don't have to poop somewhere along the 44k trip. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the beach for the start. I got down there and looked out across the lake. All but about 10 of the 109 people that started were wearing wet suits...I started to second guess my choice there of not wearing one, but the water turned out to be pretty nice. Then as I looked out across the lake I saw the first buoy we had to swim around, the second one, and then there was this other one WAY down at the far end of the lake. I immediately thought "Oh that is just an extra one they pulled off to the side if they needed it." Nope. Wrong. This 1000 meter swim looked a hell of a lot longer from the beach than it did in my head. But, the 8:00 hour was drawing near and I wasn't going to back down at that point. Spit in your goggles so they don't fog up and get ready to go Nathan!
The horn sounded and the white water started to splash up from everyone dashing out in the swim. I stayed back a little and off to the side so I didn't have to fight for position or get kicked in the process. The start of these races is notorious for being very physical and it is not uncommon for swimmers to get knocked around a little. I was pretty much in the clear on the outside. I got into my groove and before I knew it I was around the the first buoy (one corner of the triangle). I laughed a bit under water once or twice as I said to myself "I am doing a triathlon" with a little disbelief. It was totally surreal to be swimming with 100 or so others and racing...I was in a race! The swim went really well and as far away as that far corner looked I was there in no time. Rounding the corner for home I felt really strong still and managed to swim along side a couple others, pacing myself off of them. My one goal for the swim was I didn't want to be the last out of the water. Well, not only did I pass 2 people in the last 300m, I was 86th out of the water...I beat 23 others! Plus doing it in 24 1/2 minutes was probably faster than I have swum before!
The transitions were a little crazy but after battling socks on wet feet and downing some water, "the guy on the mountain bike" was off. Jenn and our friends were on the shore cheering and taking pictures so it felt pretty good to have a fan club! I felt pretty good on the bike, but it was amazingly HILLY! No really.....AMAZINGLY HILLY!! They called it "undulating rural roads"....HILLY! The downs were fun but fast, the ups were steep and took a very long time! I befriended this older woman (in the female 50-54 yrs category) and we went back and forth the whole bike section. I would pass her on the hills and she would pass me....well, everywhere else. The great part about it was that no matter if you had some little 17 year old whizzing past you or someone much older (there was one woman in the middle distance race in the 70-99 years old category!! And she was bouncing after the race...no worries at all for her!), no matter who passed you they did it with a word of encouragement! Incredible people. I got to meet a lot of them...because I got passed A LOT! I was 101st off my bike out of 106 people still in the race but I did it with a smile on my face...I was having WAY TOO MUCH FUN. 1:28:58 and I was back to the transition area. Now...only 9k to go.
The running felt great. I thought I would be wobbly and all over the place like I had been a couple times in training, but my legs were still strong. I took the advice of some other runners and didn't want to compete in the "Swim, Bike, Walk" version of the triathlon, not having enough left in me to run. Now it was time to play. Somewhere between January and July I became a runner and feel really comfortable just going out there and pounding away. This was again a challenge though because of the hills! WHAT DID THEY DO...FIND THE HILLIEST PLACE NEAR A LAKE A SAY "Perfect spot for a triathlon!"? It was a bit crazy, but after awhile you just keep going. By this point I have already been going for almost 2 hours strait and I kept saying to myself "Your legs will keep going if you just think they will." Yes, I was talking out loud to myself, and maybe a couple four letter words were exclaimed through some of the FREAKISHLY STEEP HILLS, but I was still smiling! We had to run two laps of a looped course and on the first lap I had marked in my head the "give'r" zone, the place where I could just let it all go and run like hell for the finish. Leave nothing on the course! But, still smiling! I have to admit, one of the best parts was passing 3 people in the last kilometer. I may have been slow in the bike but my run time was 83rd or 106 which is pretty dang impressive if you ask me. To go from 101 in the bike to 83 in the run...too bad those weren't the total place in the race. Regardless, the last stretch felt incredible. Pushing the whole way but loving every minute of it. 6 months of incredible work and dedication..something I had personally never done before and here I was...crossing the finish line.
I guessed I would finish in 3:00:00 so when I finished with a time of 2:46:17 (yes I have that memorized already) was very impressive to me. I finished 95th overall but I came in fourth place in my age group! I got a ribbon and everything! Thank you to all of you who helped me, supported me, thought of me, sent me good energy, or offered to buy me a beer after wards (wow did that taste good by the way). Your support means the world to me and have this under my belt also is thanks to you all. I feel like a new person and I have a new energy about life....IT FEELS INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Thanks again to all of you who help, supported, cheered me on from the sidelines wherever you were. And I highly encourage any of you who have been waiting to do "that one thing" you have been meaning to do or have been putting off something until later on....go for it. A little extra work, hard work, whatever it takes...it feels so good to look back and see your progress. Sure it might be a lot of work, but if you just decide to do it, have the mental strength (thanks Kiku) to do it, it is amazing what you can accomplish!
Take care of you and thanks again!
The triathlete,
-Nathan
Ironman is going to be hard. I know that, but I can do it. 4 summers ago, the Cowichan Challenge was hard too. For me, then, where I was, that was my Ironman! What is your Ironman? :)
--------- Race Report - Cowichan Challenge July, 2006 --------
Well it is official...I am a triathlete! It was an AMAZING DAY/EXPERIENCE/EVENT/RACE/EVERYTHING! I had to wait until the "official" race results were in to send you all the update. For all you stats dorks here is my race...for the rest of you...just play along because I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS RACE!
Swim (1000m) - 24:37
Bike (34k-21miles including transition time) - 1:28:58
Run (9k - 5.5 miles) - 52:42
TOTAL - 2:46:17
I JUST EXERCISED FOR 2 HOURS, 46 MINUTES, AND 17 SECONDS STRAIT...TRAVELED 44 KILOMETERS/27 MILES....ON PURPOSE...AND LOVED IT!!
The race was incredible. It was a huge rush to wake up after very little sleep and know "this is the day." We got to the race site and I quickly realized these people are serious. There were a ton of really, REALLY nice bikes there. Expensive road bikes, not the hybrid commuter bike that I had (the people that passed me during the bike kept saying "Wow, nice job on a mountain bike!"...and I became known to those around me as "the guy on the mountain bike"...I don't know if that is a good thing or not, but I need lighter bike if I really want to do this...someday right?).
We got to the race site about 6:50 and it was already packed full of people. I spent the first 45 minutes getting my gear set up, getting my body marked (and no I haven't washed the parts of my body that my number was drawn on yet...I want that number to stay on me as long as possible!) and waiting in line for that last trip to the bathroom so you don't have to poop somewhere along the 44k trip. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the beach for the start. I got down there and looked out across the lake. All but about 10 of the 109 people that started were wearing wet suits...I started to second guess my choice there of not wearing one, but the water turned out to be pretty nice. Then as I looked out across the lake I saw the first buoy we had to swim around, the second one, and then there was this other one WAY down at the far end of the lake. I immediately thought "Oh that is just an extra one they pulled off to the side if they needed it." Nope. Wrong. This 1000 meter swim looked a hell of a lot longer from the beach than it did in my head. But, the 8:00 hour was drawing near and I wasn't going to back down at that point. Spit in your goggles so they don't fog up and get ready to go Nathan!
The horn sounded and the white water started to splash up from everyone dashing out in the swim. I stayed back a little and off to the side so I didn't have to fight for position or get kicked in the process. The start of these races is notorious for being very physical and it is not uncommon for swimmers to get knocked around a little. I was pretty much in the clear on the outside. I got into my groove and before I knew it I was around the the first buoy (one corner of the triangle). I laughed a bit under water once or twice as I said to myself "I am doing a triathlon" with a little disbelief. It was totally surreal to be swimming with 100 or so others and racing...I was in a race! The swim went really well and as far away as that far corner looked I was there in no time. Rounding the corner for home I felt really strong still and managed to swim along side a couple others, pacing myself off of them. My one goal for the swim was I didn't want to be the last out of the water. Well, not only did I pass 2 people in the last 300m, I was 86th out of the water...I beat 23 others! Plus doing it in 24 1/2 minutes was probably faster than I have swum before!
The transitions were a little crazy but after battling socks on wet feet and downing some water, "the guy on the mountain bike" was off. Jenn and our friends were on the shore cheering and taking pictures so it felt pretty good to have a fan club! I felt pretty good on the bike, but it was amazingly HILLY! No really.....AMAZINGLY HILLY!! They called it "undulating rural roads"....HILLY! The downs were fun but fast, the ups were steep and took a very long time! I befriended this older woman (in the female 50-54 yrs category) and we went back and forth the whole bike section. I would pass her on the hills and she would pass me....well, everywhere else. The great part about it was that no matter if you had some little 17 year old whizzing past you or someone much older (there was one woman in the middle distance race in the 70-99 years old category!! And she was bouncing after the race...no worries at all for her!), no matter who passed you they did it with a word of encouragement! Incredible people. I got to meet a lot of them...because I got passed A LOT! I was 101st off my bike out of 106 people still in the race but I did it with a smile on my face...I was having WAY TOO MUCH FUN. 1:28:58 and I was back to the transition area. Now...only 9k to go.
The running felt great. I thought I would be wobbly and all over the place like I had been a couple times in training, but my legs were still strong. I took the advice of some other runners and didn't want to compete in the "Swim, Bike, Walk" version of the triathlon, not having enough left in me to run. Now it was time to play. Somewhere between January and July I became a runner and feel really comfortable just going out there and pounding away. This was again a challenge though because of the hills! WHAT DID THEY DO...FIND THE HILLIEST PLACE NEAR A LAKE A SAY "Perfect spot for a triathlon!"? It was a bit crazy, but after awhile you just keep going. By this point I have already been going for almost 2 hours strait and I kept saying to myself "Your legs will keep going if you just think they will." Yes, I was talking out loud to myself, and maybe a couple four letter words were exclaimed through some of the FREAKISHLY STEEP HILLS, but I was still smiling! We had to run two laps of a looped course and on the first lap I had marked in my head the "give'r" zone, the place where I could just let it all go and run like hell for the finish. Leave nothing on the course! But, still smiling! I have to admit, one of the best parts was passing 3 people in the last kilometer. I may have been slow in the bike but my run time was 83rd or 106 which is pretty dang impressive if you ask me. To go from 101 in the bike to 83 in the run...too bad those weren't the total place in the race. Regardless, the last stretch felt incredible. Pushing the whole way but loving every minute of it. 6 months of incredible work and dedication..something I had personally never done before and here I was...crossing the finish line.
I guessed I would finish in 3:00:00 so when I finished with a time of 2:46:17 (yes I have that memorized already) was very impressive to me. I finished 95th overall but I came in fourth place in my age group! I got a ribbon and everything! Thank you to all of you who helped me, supported me, thought of me, sent me good energy, or offered to buy me a beer after wards (wow did that taste good by the way). Your support means the world to me and have this under my belt also is thanks to you all. I feel like a new person and I have a new energy about life....IT FEELS INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Thanks again to all of you who help, supported, cheered me on from the sidelines wherever you were. And I highly encourage any of you who have been waiting to do "that one thing" you have been meaning to do or have been putting off something until later on....go for it. A little extra work, hard work, whatever it takes...it feels so good to look back and see your progress. Sure it might be a lot of work, but if you just decide to do it, have the mental strength (thanks Kiku) to do it, it is amazing what you can accomplish!
Take care of you and thanks again!
The triathlete,
-Nathan
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rained on but a little more Canadian!
So I am getting ready for a run. The southern view out my window looks beautiful and the air is pretty warm even late into the day. A rarity in Victoria. So, I lace up the runners, strap on the HRM and I am off. I hit the front door of my building and it is worth noting I am now facing north. A whole different view. 
After a moment or two of "Should I really be doing this?" I swallow the fact that I am probably going to get wet. I am not going to melt so I head out anyway. For those of you who don't live in Victoria, it can be a wet place to live. It's no Vancouver or Seattle, but most of November, December and January can get pretty rainy. I remember many nights heading out for a run in the rain, soaked through fairly quickly and having to mutter the mantra "It this was easy, everyone would be doing it!" That had a nice ring to it then, and I caught myself smiling as I said it out loud again today as the rain started to fall. If this was easy, everyone would be doing it!
I will say I must be doing something right because I ran past Jasper Blake on my run. We were going in opposite directions for the record so no, I did not run faster than a Ironman champion two weeks before our race. It is so inspiring to be out and have the professionals running the same streets as you are. And, if Jasper is out in the rain, why aren't I!?
Today was also a monumental day in my life as well. I have lived in Canada for just over 4 years and in all that time there is one thing I had yet to do, until today. One thing that took courage, preparation, knowledge and tact in order to complete successfully. Today I used the word "eh" publicly for the first time! Now you Americans might laugh at that, but it was my goal to use it CORRECTLY rather than tagged on the end of every sentence like some Americans do to try and make fun of Canadians.
Yes Canadians you do say it. If you are my in-laws you might use the variation "hey" rather then the strait ahead "eh". Either way, it's out there. It gets used. But, there is a strict code of when it is appropriate and when you just sound dumb. Today, I think I passed!
It was nasty out, I was drenched and the rain was still coming down hard. About a block away, I saw him coming, my target. Over the past few years I have attempted this three times and was spoiled by my target's nearly invisible headphones, blocking our momentary interaction. Not today. Today was my day. As he approached I took a deep breath, rehearsed the line one last time and let it fly.
"Great day to be out for a run eh?"
I waited for a reaction.... was it going to pass? was it going to elicit that blank stare received when some cleaver American says something like "Hi, eh?".... I waited...
"It just doesn't get any better than this does it?" he replied with a smile.
It was official. I am now just a little more Canadian!
After a moment or two of "Should I really be doing this?" I swallow the fact that I am probably going to get wet. I am not going to melt so I head out anyway. For those of you who don't live in Victoria, it can be a wet place to live. It's no Vancouver or Seattle, but most of November, December and January can get pretty rainy. I remember many nights heading out for a run in the rain, soaked through fairly quickly and having to mutter the mantra "It this was easy, everyone would be doing it!" That had a nice ring to it then, and I caught myself smiling as I said it out loud again today as the rain started to fall. If this was easy, everyone would be doing it!I will say I must be doing something right because I ran past Jasper Blake on my run. We were going in opposite directions for the record so no, I did not run faster than a Ironman champion two weeks before our race. It is so inspiring to be out and have the professionals running the same streets as you are. And, if Jasper is out in the rain, why aren't I!?
Today was also a monumental day in my life as well. I have lived in Canada for just over 4 years and in all that time there is one thing I had yet to do, until today. One thing that took courage, preparation, knowledge and tact in order to complete successfully. Today I used the word "eh" publicly for the first time! Now you Americans might laugh at that, but it was my goal to use it CORRECTLY rather than tagged on the end of every sentence like some Americans do to try and make fun of Canadians.
Yes Canadians you do say it. If you are my in-laws you might use the variation "hey" rather then the strait ahead "eh". Either way, it's out there. It gets used. But, there is a strict code of when it is appropriate and when you just sound dumb. Today, I think I passed! It was nasty out, I was drenched and the rain was still coming down hard. About a block away, I saw him coming, my target. Over the past few years I have attempted this three times and was spoiled by my target's nearly invisible headphones, blocking our momentary interaction. Not today. Today was my day. As he approached I took a deep breath, rehearsed the line one last time and let it fly.
"Great day to be out for a run eh?"
I waited for a reaction.... was it going to pass? was it going to elicit that blank stare received when some cleaver American says something like "Hi, eh?".... I waited...
"It just doesn't get any better than this does it?" he replied with a smile.
It was official. I am now just a little more Canadian!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Duluth…. Running and swimming down memory lane
5 days back in my hometown with 25 days left to go to race day. I was a little nervous to be traveling so close to the race given I have my peak workouts on the road. This is about the last of the time where my training actually can help me improve my race; I am doing my longest workouts and doing my final race simulation at the long distances. AND I AM TRAVELING WHILE DOING IT! Thankfully things have gone well and Duluth had some great moments.
I got in on Saturday night and on Sunday did my first real long run since my injury. I have come to realize that running the full marathon is not going to happen. It’s not that I am doubting my ability, but rather accepting the reality that very accomplished veterans Ironman triathletes walk portions of the marathon. So, why not plan for it?! I decided to do 10 and 1’s for the marathon (run 10 minutes, walk 1, repeat as long as necessary) and went out for my long run to test this out. 1:55:00 running and walking, eating gels, drinking Gatorade and really felt great! No knee or leg pain and felt steady the whole run. I did some math and realized if I can pull this off, I can still run a moderate pace, walk every 10 minutes and not spend 8 hours out on the run course. It’s all about the second half of the run. Those 21k are the ones that are going to test me. Those are the ones that are going to make me ask why the hell I am doing this race. My hope is the 10/1’s put me in a place that I am still feeling relatively good for that last push to Penticton.
Now the run itself was hilarious. I literally ran through my childhood and adolescence over the course of the 2 hours. For any of you not from Duluth, this might be boring, for me, it made me laugh out loud. First stop was my middle school, Woodland, and all the pubescent memories it brought back, silk shirts and rolled pants. Then cruised past Liz’s house and our many conversations came flooding back. Jodie’s house came next and with a nod I was cruising towards Woodland Ave again. A minute later it was the turn off I took regularly to either see Danielle or Sara depending on the era; lots of right turns there and two amazing people to see. Crystal and Jen’s house were up the block next just before I went past my little league baseball field; picture me about a foot shorter, 50 pounds lighter and unable to hit a ball if it was laying on the ground in front of me…that was my little league career. Yes, I laughed at that one. Rounding the corner I came across the spot where some of us had a run in with the cops after a night of TPing; it always looks so easy to get away in the movies! Oh the stupid stuff you do in grade 9, and no, no criminal record with that one. Up Woodland Ave. further and cruised past Joe’s place, the setting of many a good time from grade 8 and on…years of flashbacks came with that one. Then a weird memory of Matt’s house where I watched Thriller for the first time in grade 9, and then cruised past the place I learned to ice skate when I was 9. Up past Piggly Wiggly, the local super market, and was on my way towards my Aunt and Uncle’s old house. I am reaching the edges of town by now only to come across a string of houses that I truthfully had forgotten about. All these friends from back in the day that I hadn’t thought of in years but vivid memories, most cloaked in pubescent adolescence, came flying back. Shannon’s house, Carrie’s house, Julianne’s house, circling back into town was Paul and Liz’s house, even back to Sue’s house where I couldn’t help but see her big white Samoyed puppy from back in the day. Rounded the corner by my old high school, thought through four years of random thoughts, many strangely having to do with the crappy brown Toyota I used to drive and park on that street, and then it was back down 4th st. It is getting long in the run and time to start heading for home, but I had to do one last push up the hill past the corner store where Scott and I met almost daily to buy a bottle of mountain dew and a pack of baseball cards back in 1987. The Twins were hot back then and a Kirby Puckett card or a Mark McGwire rookie card were worth trading your Reese’s peanut butter cups and the free bottle of pop you just won from under your bottle cap. Oh the memories…. The mental flip book was a flying that day. An incredible run and if only Ironman could be as stimulating, I would be so distracted I wouldn’t even know I was working!
Another eventful workout and trip down memory lane came from a swim up at Pike Lake. I needed a long swim and found just what I was looking for. Some friends live about 2500 metres from the public landing. What does that mean? It means instead of dropping in via the driveway, I swam past my dad's old house on the lake, around the lake, up to the dock and knocked on their door dressed in a neoprene wetsuit. The look on their faces was priceless! I took a pit stop, sucked down a gel, some water, a few good stories and it was back to the lake to swim home. 56:00 there and 52:00 home again for a total of 1:48:00 swimming! Pretty damn impressive if I do say so myself!
Thanks Duluth for the trip down memory lane!
Oliver Half Iron Race Report....Past Due
Oliver Half Ironman 6/7/09... Better late than never! Here a few notes I took and never posted from my race in June. I had the goal of 5:45 and with this race met my second goal of the season!
Race Morning
- Had a decent night’s sleep. No pre race nerves.
- One of three alarms set did the job, the other two didn't go off. 5:45 wake up call
- Quick breakfast of bagel and cream cheese, banana
- Cool over cast morning. Perfect race weather
Set up
- 1100 athletes… it was huge! But got a good spot near the end. Pays to be a keener who registers early and gets a race number under 100
- Porta potty line was ridiculously slow. I had a couple moments of panic but realized “this is something I HAVE TO do so it will take as long as it has to”. Everyone else was doing the same so that just part of morning
- Listened to “That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it in the porta” Weird
- My rack had 20 bikes and close to $100,000 worth of gear. Lots of Cervelo bikes and race wheels. It was hot. This is not a cheap sport if you want to drop the money on gear.
- Had a piper who led the athletes to the beach where Steve King’s voice took over for the day. Second time in three weeks I got to listen to him do his thing. It is a gift
Start
- The start was supposed to happen at 7:30 but the safety boat wasn’t working. Seemed like a valid reason to wait a few moments. By 7:40 we were underway.
- 3 waves, blue, yellow and green, with us males under 45 starting it off. 1,100 people in wet suits on a beach is pretty impressive sight.
Swim
- It was a rough start. Didn’t feel comfortable for the first 10 minutes or so. Even had the “maybe this just isn’t my day” thought.
- Super murky water and you could barely see 2 ft in any direction. Couldn’t tell if you were about to swim over someone else and they didn’t when they were about to swim over you. Awesome.
- Got pretty wavy pretty quick. No white water but more than a few breaths turned into mouthfuls of water.
- Pushed way out to the outside and just found some space. My geometry lessons on the hypotenuse of a triangle started flashing through my head as I tried to figure out how much extra distance I would be swimming by taking the wide path. Figured it wasn’t much further, got an “A” in it in grade 9, so I just took my wide approach to the first turn.
- By the first turn, we were feeling better and smoother.
- Singing “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” by the Killers for most of the swim. Good tempo!
- Started seeing the yellow caps…. Okay so those people are all at least five minutes faster than me. Then the green caps. Damn those people are TEN minutes faster. Just shut up and swim Nathan.
- Found the beach in about 41 minutes. 1 min slower than the plan, but considering my comfort, that was all good.
T1
- Took advantage of the wetsuit strippers. Take this moment to apologize for any urine that was splashed on you all today. Triathletes at the end of the swim are like thoroughbreds at post time. We both pee. Sorry, it’s the truth.
- The run to transition was ridiculous. Best guess would be .4 kilometres. No shoes, No sandals. Concrete roads and side walks that were actually very well swept for all of us, but running bare foot on the road is just no fun. Once in transition, I only had to run….all the way across to the far side. Passed nearly 30 rows of bikes to get to mine. Great part was that I just had to pop out once I had my bike!
- There were 2 other bikes still on the rack so I wasn’t the slowest guy…good feeling… and had plenty of room to get my gear ready.
- Attempted to put on sunscreen but the pump was pretty empty and not working right. This would either be a good choice and save a minute or so, or turn out to be a horrible painful decision a few hours later. We’ll have to wait and see.
Bike
- I was excited to get out and ride. After Shawnigan, I knew I had the legs to push and would be okay afterwards.
- Super smooth roads
- Head wind going down hill and it pushed us back up the hills. Probably the best wind scenario we could have had. Flipped it would have been hell.
- Legs felt really good and it wasn’t long until I was passing some people and finding some room of my own.
- I was never alone. There were always people around and just when you would get in a rut and feeling slow, a wave of 5-10 bikes would come cruising past. From where I don’t know but I jumped on quite a few groups for motivation. Not drafting, just a speed wake up call.
- Stayed aero for 95% of the ride. Felt really comfortable for the most part, and the parts that were a bit off went numb shortly after the discomfort J
- Kept the 31 kph speed a goal and knew if I could hold that I would have my 3:00:00 ride. 93k later… I had it!
- Caught Jenn’s cheers a few times as I rode past. Little beats hearing her voice as I am racing. Immediately I get stronger, faster, and more positive about what is going on.
- Had a brief moment of panic with 15k to go. Just after the aid station, I was trying to put my new bottle in its holder. Poor planning lead me to try and do this as I was rounding a few sharp corners, one shortly after another. The first lap, sans water bottle, I took these turns too fast and nearly went into some ugly dirt/curb/gravel, so slamming on the breaks one handed while fiddling with my bottle holders and launching my full bottle of Gatorade out onto the road where it exploded in a fountain of Lemon Lime fury didn’t make the second lap any less exciting.
- Kicked off the shoes with about a half a kilo to go and road the last with my socks on my shoes. Still not as classy as my friend Cecelia who has this great barefoot picture of the same. What can I say, I have sensitive feet.
T2
- Popped in. Since my rack was right there, I was free of the bike very quickly.
- Felt like I had a fast transition
- Loaded up on some fresh gels, changed shoes, my Wildflower visor and we were off
Run
- Had "the voice" give me a shout out as I start out on the run “Here comes Nathan Geroggensen from Victoria, a veteran at the Half Iron distance but is coming back for Ironman this summer for the first time. He’s a teacher out in Victoria. Have fun out there Nathan!” (cue fist pump here!)
- At about the 15k mark, I couldn’t remember if this was 21k or 22k race. Second guessing myself after my poor race time plan of last summer where I forgot one kilometer.
- Had the floppy legs for the first 15 minutes or so. Tried to just go slow, but “slow” ended up being about 5:10/k which is a pretty good clip. Weird.
- I can now feel my body digesting all the race food. Gels, Gatorade, water. They all feel a bit different and I can tell now when I need what and can tell how long it will take for them to get into my system. Pretty cool to know your body this well.
- Was very steady the whole run. My thought was a little extra effort every kilometer means I don’t have to hammer away really hard at the end to try and reach my goal. A little always versus a lot all at once. I hung out just under 5:30/k all day long
- Weird sprinkle came and went through the run. It was sunny and at first I thought it was a runner near me who was splashing sweat around. He was going for it pretty hard and swinging the arms. Sure it’s a gross idea at any other time, but it was impressive at the time. Impressive until I felt him splashing sweat at me from 100 metres away. That WOULD have been impressive. Silly rain playing tricks on me.
- Just before the halfway turn around, I saw Jenn snapping pictures and managed to sneak in a kiss as I went past her again. This was the first race I knew my legs would start up again after stopping to lay one on her. I got a “Hey! There’s no kissing in triathlon!” and I guess she got a “I hope you know that guy!”
Finish
- With 1 kilometre to go, I went for it. Long long strides and just tried to maintain a tall posture. I could see the crowd that was formed near the finish line and the loudspeaker was getting louder and louder. I knew I had my goal time by this point, but I still wanted to finish strong. I was as fast as I could carry myself, legs whipping past, arms pumping, smile broadening. There was a sharp turn down hill to the finish line and it was everything I could do just to stay upright. Cue finish line fist pump here!
- Mother to her 5-6 year old daughter, “Now honey, we need to remember that Daddy’s been exercising since we had our cereal this morning. We need to take it really slow with him.”
- Plopped down on the first thing I could find to sit on. I think it was for the volunteers to take our timing chips off, but at that time I just didn’t care. It was flat, it wasn’t moving, and I could sit on it. It was barely a foot and a half off the ground so getting up was tough, but I was blissful for that moment.
Final Times
2k Swim - 41:51
T1 - 4:47 (there was about a .5k run to transition!)
93k Bike - 2:58:08
T2 - 2:13
21k Run - 1:56:02
Total - 5:42:59
Race Morning
- Had a decent night’s sleep. No pre race nerves.
- One of three alarms set did the job, the other two didn't go off. 5:45 wake up call
- Quick breakfast of bagel and cream cheese, banana
- Cool over cast morning. Perfect race weather
Set up
- 1100 athletes… it was huge! But got a good spot near the end. Pays to be a keener who registers early and gets a race number under 100
- Porta potty line was ridiculously slow. I had a couple moments of panic but realized “this is something I HAVE TO do so it will take as long as it has to”. Everyone else was doing the same so that just part of morning
- Listened to “That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it in the porta” Weird
- My rack had 20 bikes and close to $100,000 worth of gear. Lots of Cervelo bikes and race wheels. It was hot. This is not a cheap sport if you want to drop the money on gear.
- Had a piper who led the athletes to the beach where Steve King’s voice took over for the day. Second time in three weeks I got to listen to him do his thing. It is a gift
Start
- The start was supposed to happen at 7:30 but the safety boat wasn’t working. Seemed like a valid reason to wait a few moments. By 7:40 we were underway.
- 3 waves, blue, yellow and green, with us males under 45 starting it off. 1,100 people in wet suits on a beach is pretty impressive sight.
Swim
- It was a rough start. Didn’t feel comfortable for the first 10 minutes or so. Even had the “maybe this just isn’t my day” thought.
- Super murky water and you could barely see 2 ft in any direction. Couldn’t tell if you were about to swim over someone else and they didn’t when they were about to swim over you. Awesome.
- Got pretty wavy pretty quick. No white water but more than a few breaths turned into mouthfuls of water.
- Pushed way out to the outside and just found some space. My geometry lessons on the hypotenuse of a triangle started flashing through my head as I tried to figure out how much extra distance I would be swimming by taking the wide path. Figured it wasn’t much further, got an “A” in it in grade 9, so I just took my wide approach to the first turn.
- By the first turn, we were feeling better and smoother.
- Singing “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” by the Killers for most of the swim. Good tempo!
- Started seeing the yellow caps…. Okay so those people are all at least five minutes faster than me. Then the green caps. Damn those people are TEN minutes faster. Just shut up and swim Nathan.
- Found the beach in about 41 minutes. 1 min slower than the plan, but considering my comfort, that was all good.
T1
- Took advantage of the wetsuit strippers. Take this moment to apologize for any urine that was splashed on you all today. Triathletes at the end of the swim are like thoroughbreds at post time. We both pee. Sorry, it’s the truth.
- The run to transition was ridiculous. Best guess would be .4 kilometres. No shoes, No sandals. Concrete roads and side walks that were actually very well swept for all of us, but running bare foot on the road is just no fun. Once in transition, I only had to run….all the way across to the far side. Passed nearly 30 rows of bikes to get to mine. Great part was that I just had to pop out once I had my bike!
- There were 2 other bikes still on the rack so I wasn’t the slowest guy…good feeling… and had plenty of room to get my gear ready.
- Attempted to put on sunscreen but the pump was pretty empty and not working right. This would either be a good choice and save a minute or so, or turn out to be a horrible painful decision a few hours later. We’ll have to wait and see.
Bike
- I was excited to get out and ride. After Shawnigan, I knew I had the legs to push and would be okay afterwards.
- Super smooth roads
- Head wind going down hill and it pushed us back up the hills. Probably the best wind scenario we could have had. Flipped it would have been hell.
- Legs felt really good and it wasn’t long until I was passing some people and finding some room of my own.
- I was never alone. There were always people around and just when you would get in a rut and feeling slow, a wave of 5-10 bikes would come cruising past. From where I don’t know but I jumped on quite a few groups for motivation. Not drafting, just a speed wake up call.
- Stayed aero for 95% of the ride. Felt really comfortable for the most part, and the parts that were a bit off went numb shortly after the discomfort J
- Kept the 31 kph speed a goal and knew if I could hold that I would have my 3:00:00 ride. 93k later… I had it!
- Caught Jenn’s cheers a few times as I rode past. Little beats hearing her voice as I am racing. Immediately I get stronger, faster, and more positive about what is going on.
- Had a brief moment of panic with 15k to go. Just after the aid station, I was trying to put my new bottle in its holder. Poor planning lead me to try and do this as I was rounding a few sharp corners, one shortly after another. The first lap, sans water bottle, I took these turns too fast and nearly went into some ugly dirt/curb/gravel, so slamming on the breaks one handed while fiddling with my bottle holders and launching my full bottle of Gatorade out onto the road where it exploded in a fountain of Lemon Lime fury didn’t make the second lap any less exciting.
- Kicked off the shoes with about a half a kilo to go and road the last with my socks on my shoes. Still not as classy as my friend Cecelia who has this great barefoot picture of the same. What can I say, I have sensitive feet.
T2
- Popped in. Since my rack was right there, I was free of the bike very quickly.
- Felt like I had a fast transition
- Loaded up on some fresh gels, changed shoes, my Wildflower visor and we were off
Run
- Had "the voice" give me a shout out as I start out on the run “Here comes Nathan Geroggensen from Victoria, a veteran at the Half Iron distance but is coming back for Ironman this summer for the first time. He’s a teacher out in Victoria. Have fun out there Nathan!” (cue fist pump here!)
- At about the 15k mark, I couldn’t remember if this was 21k or 22k race. Second guessing myself after my poor race time plan of last summer where I forgot one kilometer.
- Had the floppy legs for the first 15 minutes or so. Tried to just go slow, but “slow” ended up being about 5:10/k which is a pretty good clip. Weird.
- I can now feel my body digesting all the race food. Gels, Gatorade, water. They all feel a bit different and I can tell now when I need what and can tell how long it will take for them to get into my system. Pretty cool to know your body this well.
- Was very steady the whole run. My thought was a little extra effort every kilometer means I don’t have to hammer away really hard at the end to try and reach my goal. A little always versus a lot all at once. I hung out just under 5:30/k all day long
- Weird sprinkle came and went through the run. It was sunny and at first I thought it was a runner near me who was splashing sweat around. He was going for it pretty hard and swinging the arms. Sure it’s a gross idea at any other time, but it was impressive at the time. Impressive until I felt him splashing sweat at me from 100 metres away. That WOULD have been impressive. Silly rain playing tricks on me.
- Just before the halfway turn around, I saw Jenn snapping pictures and managed to sneak in a kiss as I went past her again. This was the first race I knew my legs would start up again after stopping to lay one on her. I got a “Hey! There’s no kissing in triathlon!” and I guess she got a “I hope you know that guy!”
Finish
- With 1 kilometre to go, I went for it. Long long strides and just tried to maintain a tall posture. I could see the crowd that was formed near the finish line and the loudspeaker was getting louder and louder. I knew I had my goal time by this point, but I still wanted to finish strong. I was as fast as I could carry myself, legs whipping past, arms pumping, smile broadening. There was a sharp turn down hill to the finish line and it was everything I could do just to stay upright. Cue finish line fist pump here!
- Mother to her 5-6 year old daughter, “Now honey, we need to remember that Daddy’s been exercising since we had our cereal this morning. We need to take it really slow with him.”
- Plopped down on the first thing I could find to sit on. I think it was for the volunteers to take our timing chips off, but at that time I just didn’t care. It was flat, it wasn’t moving, and I could sit on it. It was barely a foot and a half off the ground so getting up was tough, but I was blissful for that moment.
Final Times
2k Swim - 41:51
T1 - 4:47 (there was about a .5k run to transition!)
93k Bike - 2:58:08
T2 - 2:13
21k Run - 1:56:02
Total - 5:42:59
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