Re connecting with all my college classmates at the Creighton game. Ypg
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Things are just growin!
The goal this year is to produce around a thousand pounds of garden goodness.
So far Ive harvested around 20 pounds of radishes and a few pounds of lettuce.
The tomatoes, peppers, peas, mellons, pumpkin, zucchini, and cucumbers are all in the ground. we'll see what the poundage is in a few months
have a great summer, folks!
jp
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| garden goodness |
So far Ive harvested around 20 pounds of radishes and a few pounds of lettuce.
The tomatoes, peppers, peas, mellons, pumpkin, zucchini, and cucumbers are all in the ground. we'll see what the poundage is in a few months
have a great summer, folks!
jp
Monday, February 20, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Stupid with Zeros On The End...
 |
| stupid with zeros...bent giant tcx 'cross bike |
as rd would say, 'doouude, there are two types of people in this world...those that drive their car into the garage with their bike on top and then there are those that lie about it."
as josh stampers would say, ruining a perfectly good bike, a bike that you really love to ride, is more effective than syrup of ipecac...
as i would say..."now that's stupid with zeros on the end."
but wait, this story has a happy ending...everybody likes a happy ending, dont they?
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| oh boy oh boy oh boy! spankin' new! |
bazinga!
now i just need to find the time to do it...
onward and upward
have a great weekend, folks
Friday, January 13, 2012
New Goals
The bike is still packed up and I have been easing back into working out. So I have set some goals to get back into the groove.
Next on the list this year
We are also going to try to get under 200lbs this year...Im thinking that will improve the swim/bike/run times. That means cutting out barley pop, soda, and sweets.
Happy Friday, Folks!
You can quit and they dont care...but YOU will always remember.
Next on the list this year
- DirtyKanza 200
- IronMan Boulder 70.3
- IronMan Kansas 70.3
- GravelWorlds
We are also going to try to get under 200lbs this year...Im thinking that will improve the swim/bike/run times. That means cutting out barley pop, soda, and sweets.
Happy Friday, Folks!
You can quit and they dont care...but YOU will always remember.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
we thought this was a good idea...
today emma started to kick a little more...looks like we're gonna need to change the frame layout...
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
It's another new year that's full of opportunity!
Last year was great! Emma was born and joined Jamie and I at the B2B Ironman.
So what's next this year? Will Emma get a baby brother or sister? Well, we'll see about that. The garden was expanded last fall and so I may dabble in growing hops and grapes. As far as riding, I plan to resume commuting this winter and would like to get in around 5000 miles this year on the aluminum steed some how some way. I also have the goal of keeping up with the big fellas on the Wednesday Night Ride. That's always a fun challenge. In the pool I am aiming for about 200 miles with the nanas...Thats always a fun time. The folks I swim with are sarcastic enough to make you want to come back the next day.
Cheers to you and yours and all the best in 2012!
James Jamie Emma and Fenway...
It's another new year that's full of opportunity!
Last year was great! Emma was born and joined Jamie and I at the B2B Ironman.
So what's next this year? Will Emma get a baby brother or sister? Well, we'll see about that. The garden was expanded last fall and so I may dabble in growing hops and grapes. As far as riding, I plan to resume commuting this winter and would like to get in around 5000 miles this year on the aluminum steed some how some way. I also have the goal of keeping up with the big fellas on the Wednesday Night Ride. That's always a fun challenge. In the pool I am aiming for about 200 miles with the nanas...Thats always a fun time. The folks I swim with are sarcastic enough to make you want to come back the next day.
Cheers to you and yours and all the best in 2012!
James Jamie Emma and Fenway...
Sunday, November 27, 2011
2011 Beach2Battleship Race Report
this is a little late getting out..things have been busy around the peters household, but there's been some free time this week to crank this out..
just a quick recap of the events that went down at wilmington, nc for the 2011 Beach2Battleship Ironman...err I mean Iron distance triathlon. (dont wanna get sued by the WTU)
First thing. I have to recognize my wife Jamie for all the patience and putting up with my absences during the 37 weeks of training, the seven weeks of training with a newborn, and then the quest to North Carolina with little Emma. She's the real deal...ironwife and ironmom. I also want to thank my sister for joining us at the race. it's always fun to share an experience with other folks!
short version:
long version: here goes...
So, this is the first time that Jamie and I have ever traveled with an infant and yea, for a 12-pound seven-week old, we needed somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pounds of gear to get this kid out the door. car seat carrier, base, stroller, changes of clothes, diapers, gate check bags, diaper bags, carry on bags...yaowza! Everything except the kitchen sink fit inside the 'Bru. The day was early and there was plenty of time for hiccups...
Hiccup number one. My dad was nice enough to drive us to the airport because we dont pay for parking. After unloading, we hugged, said our goodbyes when my dad says, "Say, we're gonna be out of town when you guys get back...Who's gonna pick you up?" Jamie and I looked at each other..."Uhh, umm...Well, we'll figure that one out" Jamie gives me the look when we get inside the airport. I'm like, "Sorry, I didn't put those two together....We'll figure it out."
This is the point where I explain that Jamie has a planner-type personality. Type-A. She plans for 100% of the contingencies. Me? I'm an 80/20 guy...not laid-back laid-back, just laid-back. I have a good idea of how things will work out and then deal with the surprises that come along the way.
Hiccup number two...I gotta say that this kid was a great way to make friends with the ticket counter agents. We chatted with the ladies at check-in and they thought Emma was just adorable. All three agents took a peek at our little traveler. We check our bags without issue and passed through TSA insecurity when Im pulled aside and hear, "Sir, these items cannot go on the plane." Four items are laid out on the table...A pedal wrench chain whip combo, chamois cream, a pair of pliers, and a long pair of scissors.
The supervisor says he'll allow the scissors and pliers, but the wrench and chamois cream have to be thrown away or put in our checked bags. I totally forgot about TSA insecurity when I packed my carry-on...but I was a little surprised the sharp-ended objects were allowed on the plane but the wrench and chamois cream were contraband. Did they think the wrench could loosen the bolts on the cockpit door? or better yet, disallowing the cream would prevent myself from lubing up and squeezing through a door opening and get into the cockpit. Jamie looks at me and is like WTH...I walk back to the Delta spot and reacquaint myself with the ticket lady. Debbie remembers my name and retrieves my bag...She's like "You have that suitcase, right? The black one about this size?" she's motioning with her hands and smiling...airline humor. I give her a little better description and she brings the bag right out. I secure the prohibited cream and deadly 15 mm chain whip wrench, say thank you and make my way back through TSA insecurity.
Thank you Delta for preboarding. The additional time to get settled really makes a difference. Thankfully, the take offs and landings were not an issue today. Little Emma was a trooper and slept through both flights and the ride from the airport. phew!
We arrived in the Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area later in the afternoon. Sunny skies. 75 degrees. a perfect conditions. Our hotel room looked across the waterway and faced the USS North Carolina. The battleship served as the backdrop to the race finish. After unpacking our stuff we stretched our legs and checked out downtown Wilmington.
The downtown area had a good vibe to it, sort of a larger version of the Old Market, but with more hipsters. Many folks were walking around, taking in a drink, and generally enjoying the late afternoon/early evening. The WB was filming One Tree Hill near our hotel. This accounted the large aggregation of tennie boppers. We grabbed some food and walked it back to the hotel.
Thursday was a walk through. I prepped my items and then picked up my bike. Jamie and I chatted up a few of the other racers at the shop and then met up with Steve and Sharron for a quick ride. Steve is 1/3 of the Tri-Bros. Sharron is Steve's better half. The Tri-Bro name was born while we worked and trained together. The short 10 mile ride was just to survey how everything on the bike felt. Afterward we drove over to the swim start and took in a half hour swim. The wetsuit made the 70 degree water feel alright. When we got back, Chad, the other 1/3 of the tri-bros arrived. Steve and Chad grabbed some food, Jamie and I headed to the airport to pick up my sister, Sandy.
I have heard that it's not the night before the race, but the night before the night before the big race is when you try to get your best sleep. Thursday night sleep was perfect. A solid nine hours. Emma slept well, too!
Friday was a day of rest and final preparations. First order of the day was breakfast. Jamie, Emma and I walked Front Street in search of some greasy breakfast. We found the Dixie Cafe. Think Louie M's or Lisa's Radial Cafe but with grits and BLTs with fried green tomatoes. Great biscuits and gravy. Good stuff.
After breakfast it was off to the pre-race meeting. I grabbed a chair with some folks and listened to war stories about xyz Ironman. After learning this would be my first Ironman, the folks I sat with said I was in for a treat. I kinda smiled, raised my eyebrows, and was like, "well, we'll see what happens." Alot of the folks I met would say to me, "are you nervous?" My response was "I dont know. Am I supposed to be?" I was pretty tranquil throughout the event and the events leading up to the event. When you think about it, this is the easy part. The hard part was finding time for over the course of 37 weeks to fit in 15-22 hours of training each week. The hard part was getting up at o'dark thirty and riding your bike two hours before work. The hard part was getting your ass handed to you on Wednesday nights rides by guys who all they do is ride bikes really really fast. So, yea, I wasn't too nervous. The hard part was done. I was more excited to strap on my wetsuit/helmet/running shoes and get to the finish line.
Racer check-in was easy...The volunteers were quick, organized, and helpful. We grab our stuff and headed back to the hotel to pack my transition bags. With two transition sites, this event required some planning. There was your pre/post race bag, swim-to-bike bag, bike special needs bag, bike-to-run bag, and your run special needs bag. Nothing special, just white garbage bags with your race number written on the side. Each bag required a different colored label that was provided.
Bike check-in was a mess. too many folks parking cars and moving bikes in a small area. The swim-to-bike and bag drop off area was the size of about two football fields. One field dedicated entirely to bikes. During check-in I got a bad case of bike envy...some of those bikes looked fast standing still! Some rides were carbon everything and with wheel sets worth more than my roadie. Very nice rides. Jamie and I drop off the transition bags at the school buses and uhauls parked in the area. Each vehicle had a marking that corresponded to the colored tag on your bag.
It was chilly during check-in and only going to get colder with the steady breeze.(joy) On the way to dinner, Sandy suggested grabbing a hoodie and some slippers at Target. A lot of these races require a lot of standing around before things get underway, so keeping warm with a cheap hoodie was a great suggestion. Because the transition area was near, but not exactly next to the water, we needed to run about 400 yards over pavement to reach the first transition area. Steve said that your feet would be cold enough that you wouldn't feel anything. But I have some tender feet and it'd be my luck to stub my toe or catch some gravel and hurt my chances of finishing. Sandy's suggestion to buy slippers was spot on. We grab some dinner after check-in and talk a little about the big day, little Emma, Ma and Pa, and stuff that wasn't race related. I didn't think I was nervous, but Sandy said I wasn't my chatty self.
Friday night sleep didn't happen. I was in bed by 9 but slept maybe a total of three hours.
Race Day. Was. Amazing.
My race day game plan was simple:
We arrived at T1 for final preparations and body marking. The tire pressure looked good and the nutrition supplements were secured on the bike. Body marking was a little uncomfortable for one reason. You strip out of your wetsuit so some stranger can squat inches from your junk to mark your thighs and calves with a sharpie. Yea, that's always gonna be awkward.
Everything is ready. Let's do this. I hop on the trolley to the race start...and wait...in the cold wind. Sandy's Target hoodie suggestion kept out the cold and wind during the hour and a half wait at race start.
More and more folks began to occupy the trolley drop off point. There was talk about how things would go today, how many ironmans folks have done, how some folks never trained in cold weather, others how this is their first open water swim. A nice buzz in the air. Then folks started to migrate to the starting line. During the 200 yard walk through cold sand some guy sang the Star Wars "Imperial March" which got a lot of chuckles.
I had lost track of Steve and Chad after body marking, but they come out of nowhere right before getting in the water and were like, "You ready to do this, Young Gun!" They had already taken their warmup swim and were excited to hop back in the water. We congratulated each other for getting to the starting line, wished each other good luck, and promised to see each other at the finish line.
After singing the Star-Spangled Banner, race director Jeremy Davis gave us some final words while "Eye of the Tiger" and other motivational-get-you-pumped-up songs played on their stereo. He said there were nearly 1000 volunteers out there to make our experience possible and that this would be one of those days you will remember for the rest of your life. His final words were, "Have fun out there! Smile and we'll see you at the finish line!"
Folks funneled through the starting gate to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" blasted. The water felt great. Steve was somewhere ahead on the left when Chad and I entered on the left side of the mass. I wanted to swim with Chad for a while and then follow some fast feet to the finish line. I lost sight of him after a minute because, well, everybody looks the same in their black wetsuit and blue swimcap. There is always a bit of trepidation during the swim start...I think its something to do with the number and the level of swimmers around you, not seeing the bottom of what you are swimming in, and the fact that you really are on your own during this leg of the even. There were some sea kayaks out there, but swimming is one of those things that requires exertion even if you want to rest. During training I was able to get in a few open water swims to get more used to that initial anxiety in open water. What takes more practice getting used to is that feeling when folks swim so damn close to you. There were some collisions followed by a "whoops" or "sorry"...and then there times where folks swam over you or when you swam over them. That's just the nature of the swim I guess.
The ideal open water swim is point to point while sighting every dozen or so strokes. Sighting is a skill where the swimmer focuses on some large object in the distance and gauges their distance from the object to to hopefully swim in a straight line. So that whole shortest distance between two points thing...yea, that' wasn't me. I zig zagged. Coast to coast, baby! Like a blind manatee. When nobody was near me, I knew that I strayed from the pack and headed back towards the mass.
The strategy during the swim was to take a peek at where I was going ever 10 strokes. Having some sort of game plan helped because the stroke counting developed a calming rhythm. I swam this distance twice in the pool at the College of St Mary and it wasn't pretty. There was some cramping and a few nanas in the lane next to you doing water aerobics. There were no nanas, but we were in wetsuits, in salt water and with a tide. The running joke between the Tri-Bros was that the swim would practically take care of itself. The 10-stroke counting worked well. The buoys were coming and going, pretty soon I saw the water tower and then the dock before letting out an "aww hell yea!" a couple hundred yards from where we would exit. Seeing the swim finish pushed a surge of energy through my arms and legs. I motored to the docks where some nice volunteer helped me out of the water and another helped me out of the wetsuit. Those wetsuit strippers were aggressive. No kidding. If you weren't holding onto the back bench when they pulled that wetsuit off you, they'd pull you off the bench pretty quickly. Out of the water and out of the wetsuit, I found my Target slippers and headed to T1. Looking at the time I was like, "huh?" A 50 minute swim was better than I could have done in the pool. the tide offered a helpful push.
T1 was okay. I grabbed my stuff, put on my PCL kit and headed towards the bike. The one regret I have with the bike is that I did not bring my thermal bibs. This time of the year you gotta pack everything. The forecast earlier in the week predicted race day temps in the 60s. They were off around 20 degrees. Today's bike would be 45 and windy with a light mist for part of the 112 miles. The long sleeve fleece that I did bring made all the difference. I hop on the bike, wave at Sandy, Jamie, and little Emma, and then start cranking out the miles.
As it would turn out, the 70 degree water would end up being the warmest part of the day.
The rollout through town was okay, some guy passed me right out of the gate was just hammering it....I thought it was awfully early to be spinning in that chain ring, and wished the guy good luck. My plan rolling out of town was to take it easy the first half hour to get my legs used to riding before getting into my race pace. I also needed to get some fluid in me before getting down to bidness. The biggest problem during training was keeping fluid levels up. I think the strategy to start off a little slower than usual, make sure everything felt good, to hydrate/recover from the swim, and fuel for the run worked well.
Any gain produced from the fast swim was lost during the bike. The wind was angry that day, my friends. Like an old, angry and belligerent protester. In your face at all times. The wind. never. stopped. My goal was to maintain a 19mph pace during the entire ride. The 15-20mph blowing in your face the first 75 miles adjusted that expectation to 16-17mph. Even in the aero position, the wind prevented progress.
The bike course was pancake flat and the pace was subdued by the wind and light mist. Lots of folks dont go out to ride in weather like this, but these are the days you wanna go out and train. As Rafal would say, "Dude, these are character building rides!" Race day was similar to the Bacon Ride we did earlier in the year. Bacon, gravel, winds, cold temps, and rain is what was served. Today was the same, but on roadies and no bacon. The wind and cold temps made this a challenge, so all i did was focus on each mile and thought about all types of stuff as the miles ticked away. I thought about people like, Jamie, Emma, the fam, and things like what i was gonna plant in the garden next spring, projects around the house, etc...And you had a ton of time to think about this stuff. Because riding side by side was considered drafting and most folks barely said a word during a pass. You were out there all by your lonesome.
The folks at the aid stations were a relief. Some volunteers really got into it and dressed in costumes and had some tunes playing to liven up the time they spent aiding the athletes. I learned pretty quickly though to not spend much time at the aid station because hopping back on the bike wasn't fun. After you got off the bike, you would continue to sweat, but getting back on the bike meant facing that wind again with some sweaty clothes. The first few minutes on the bike after every stop was spent shivering.
Around mile 60 a course marshall passed me on his motorcycle and slowed a bit while his buddy behind typed something into a keypad. I kinda looked at the guy ahead of me and thought that I prolly was going to be penalized for drafting or something. It turns out I did get penalized for not clearing the draft zone soon enough. oh well.
The bike dragged on. The pace and speed were constant, but the wind was tiring and my shoulders were hurting from riding in the tuck position for hours. Two things that broke me out of this slump was some text spray painted on the asphalt. The first note said "Caution Ahead," I didn't know what to think. Then I saw the caution notice again with an arrow pointing to the side of the road..."Caution!!! Gigantic Chicken Crossing Ahead." No joke, on the side of the road at the apron of some guy's driveway was a large chicken statue. Think of a five foot tall rooster on a three foot base. This was no ordinary lawn jockey, this was a massive Cock. That made me smile! The next pick-me-up was a few more miles down the road where some guy had spray painted a guitar on the pavement with a note stating "Pedal Faster!...I Hear Banjos!"
Both messages provided comic relief from the headwinds. Some blue skies came out around mile 50 and 60, but it was mostly cloudy the until the last 10 miles. Mile 75 had to be the best part of the ride. The wind was finally at your back during the home stretch to Wilmington on 421. Wind blowing in your face and whipping in your ears wears on you...but after making that right turn, my spirits were lifted and things got real quiet. All you heard was the hum of your tires on the smooth asphalt. Heck yea! For the next 40 miles, the pace jumped from 17 to 23 mph
I spent the last 20 miles finishing up the food and water I carried. Nutrition will be one of the things I mix up next time around because I was getting sick of the taste of Perpetutum and granola bars. The Hammer products worked great, but the constant chewing of the cafe-latte-flavored horse pills became an effort. The bike ride into town was perfect, the temps were getting a little warmer and all you had to do was go for a run and the day would be over. I was now looking forward to the run and thought to myself, "Hey, all i have to do is go for a short run and then I can have some guilt-free beer." At the final aid station before T2, another big guy came right up behind me as i was getting up to speed. The Iron Turk was just chuggin along! He smiled and said, "Well whadda ya know Yungun! How goes it, 79!" We chatted a bit and rolled into T2 together.
On the way into T2, Jamie, Emma, and Sandy were right there with their sign and cameras ready. What a relief to see some friendly faces!
I took my time at transition. My goal was to be out of there in eight minutes. That turned into 20. There was no hurry. I had nothing to prove. Chad entered the changing tent while I was taping my foot and we decided to run the first mile together. That didn't happen. We jogged just the first quarter mile before I told the Prince of the Pavement to go ahead. Chad's strength is running. He's done six or seven marathons and his stride is smooth. I have to admit that I have a man crush for his smooth stride. Chad really doesn't run, he just glides. For me, running is a chore, for Chad, he makes it look easy.
The marathon course is one loop repeated twice. The strategy to finish this was to break the run into manageable segments. I convinced myself that all I was doing at was a few three- or four-mile runs. I then broke that down further into intervals of running for four minutes and walking for one minute. This worked well and I was near my goal of doing the half in 2.5 hours. After the first lap, I changed shirts and grabbed my beanie cap and gloves to keep warm. The sun was going down and the temp was dropping Running when you are cold isn't fun. Trying to do the other half under 2.5 hours was going to take some effort. The body felt good, but walking felt great....On the way out I spotted some fans drinking and they offered some Michelob Ultra. I stopped, but declined thinking that I dont want to introduce anything into the bod while still having to run another 13 miles. I'll asked them to leave an unopened one next to the generator and I'll grab it on the way back.
I walked up the first two bridge and then started to shuffle along. The miles ticked by and the folks on the spectator-friendly course cheering you on lifted your spirits. The event committee offered spectators access to a free water taxi between the transition area and mile three. This allowed the fam to see me running six times during the run. On the run you heard a lot of "Good job, #whatever" or "Way to go! Almost there!" Comments like these were always welcomed.
My sister has done the NYC marathon a few times. When we went to see her run her first one, it was around Halloween. So there were some folks running in costume. At this race there was only one guy dressed up for the occasion. He competed as red devil. "Aw, Hell Yea!" is what I said to him as he passed me in red makeup and horns with a cape and pitchfork. Like the banjo note and big huckin chicken, this added some fun to the race.
There were a few stressful parts of the run. At mile seven there was a dog on the loose. This wasn't your friendly lab or retriever that I would have loved to have met. No. This was a pit bull. Running the course without a leash and no owner in sight. I am not a fan of pit bulls on facebook or in real life. Some people like them. I don't. This other Clydesdale and I froze. I thought, "oh shit, this could ruin our day." before saying "Who let that bitch out!" as i tiptoed away from the dog.
Excitement started to build around mile 18. I had only run 18 miles once in training. My body was a little tired, but I felt great! Instead of the usual banana and Heed/water combination at the aid station, I switched to some chicken broth. The warm broth's saltiness hit the spot! Mile 19, 20, 21, 22 just ticked by. I did experience just a slight bit of cramping around mile 20 and mile 25, but a little walking, some electrolytes, and stretching subdued the cramping. By mile 23 I caught up with Steve. We talked and walked for a bit, but I think he wanted to spend the last few running and talking with his daughter.
Mile 25 had two challenging bridge climbs. My feet were starting to hurt, so I took my time on the ascension. On the final bridge I noticed a few runners coming towards me. These folks were starting their second lap. I have a lot of respect for those folks starting their second lap. It's gotta be tough to see all those folks so close to the finish when you are 13 miles from the end. It takes courage to keep going when there are fewer and fewer folks on the course cheering you on.
The final mile. I smiled and thought, alright, what a way to finish my last run of the year. As I was coming into the finish area, I looked for the place the folks who had offered an Ultra and it was there. Nice and cold. I cracked it open and had a few sips before winding through the final chute to the finish line. "Aww right!"
Approaching the finish line put a big smile on my face, I gave Jamie and Emma a little kiss when I saw them and then jogged the final 50 yards to the finish line. "I did it!" I thought and smiled. What a journey. It was finally over. A lot of racers were milling around, taking in some fluids, and getting something to eat. I was a little tired, but felt great to have finished. Jamie said that I looked pretty good for being in motion for 13 hours. She was worried about me because I would come back from runs or bike workouts and look like hell.
I grabbed a bit of food, headed to the transition area and collected all my transition bags before hopping on the water taxi. Thankfully our hotel room was next to the taxi shore station. It was time to wash up before heading up to Steve's room for a post race celebration and beer.
The feeling of getting to the starting line after a long season of training was rewarding. The feeling of sharing the race experience with the folks you trained with after the race was even better. The post race beer shared with the tri-bros was worth the wait of the self-imposed dry spell.
Surprisingly, my body did not hurt as bad as I thought it would. The quads hurt a bit walking down the stairs, but it was more soreness than pain. My shoulders ached a bit when picking up Emma's carrier, but that was about it. This feeling was shared with all of the Tri-Bros...I think the post race non-stiffness had a lot to do with the level of training that we all underwent.
So I think that about covers it.
Final thoughts...Well, doing an Ironman is possible. it's a bit of a chore at times, but what worked for me is to break the training and into many many short term goals. If you start to worry about doing all three, then the task gets overwhelming, but short term goals and a positive attitude make seeing progress possible. Then, getting to the starting line is completely possible and just a matter of time.
Here are some things that worked for me
wow, that was really long...
The little Cheerleader...Isnt she cute
just a quick recap of the events that went down at wilmington, nc for the 2011 Beach2Battleship Ironman...err I mean Iron distance triathlon. (dont wanna get sued by the WTU)
First thing. I have to recognize my wife Jamie for all the patience and putting up with my absences during the 37 weeks of training, the seven weeks of training with a newborn, and then the quest to North Carolina with little Emma. She's the real deal...ironwife and ironmom. I also want to thank my sister for joining us at the race. it's always fun to share an experience with other folks!
short version:
- We arrived when it was nice.
- Race day was cold and windy.
- The water was the warmest part of the day and the swim was fast. Focusing on the buoy ahead made the swim much easier.
- The bike was cold. Everybody endured headwinds for the first 75 miles and light rain for about 30 miles of that. This made the going a bit tough. I focused on a nice and easy cadence and pace while constantly hydrating and fueling for the run.
- Breaking the marathon into smaller segments makes the run manageable. Focusing on running cycles four minutes and walking a minute made this run go by a lot faster.
- The family and the fans on the course made the run fun
- running down the chute to the finish line felt awesome. All the work paid off when they say, "Put your hands together for #79, from Omaha, Nebraska, James Peters!"
- and then its over. ahh rest!
long version: here goes...
So, this is the first time that Jamie and I have ever traveled with an infant and yea, for a 12-pound seven-week old, we needed somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pounds of gear to get this kid out the door. car seat carrier, base, stroller, changes of clothes, diapers, gate check bags, diaper bags, carry on bags...yaowza! Everything except the kitchen sink fit inside the 'Bru. The day was early and there was plenty of time for hiccups...
Hiccup number one. My dad was nice enough to drive us to the airport because we dont pay for parking. After unloading, we hugged, said our goodbyes when my dad says, "Say, we're gonna be out of town when you guys get back...Who's gonna pick you up?" Jamie and I looked at each other..."Uhh, umm...Well, we'll figure that one out" Jamie gives me the look when we get inside the airport. I'm like, "Sorry, I didn't put those two together....We'll figure it out."
This is the point where I explain that Jamie has a planner-type personality. Type-A. She plans for 100% of the contingencies. Me? I'm an 80/20 guy...not laid-back laid-back, just laid-back. I have a good idea of how things will work out and then deal with the surprises that come along the way.
Hiccup number two...I gotta say that this kid was a great way to make friends with the ticket counter agents. We chatted with the ladies at check-in and they thought Emma was just adorable. All three agents took a peek at our little traveler. We check our bags without issue and passed through TSA insecurity when Im pulled aside and hear, "Sir, these items cannot go on the plane." Four items are laid out on the table...A pedal wrench chain whip combo, chamois cream, a pair of pliers, and a long pair of scissors.
The supervisor says he'll allow the scissors and pliers, but the wrench and chamois cream have to be thrown away or put in our checked bags. I totally forgot about TSA insecurity when I packed my carry-on...but I was a little surprised the sharp-ended objects were allowed on the plane but the wrench and chamois cream were contraband. Did they think the wrench could loosen the bolts on the cockpit door? or better yet, disallowing the cream would prevent myself from lubing up and squeezing through a door opening and get into the cockpit. Jamie looks at me and is like WTH...I walk back to the Delta spot and reacquaint myself with the ticket lady. Debbie remembers my name and retrieves my bag...She's like "You have that suitcase, right? The black one about this size?" she's motioning with her hands and smiling...airline humor. I give her a little better description and she brings the bag right out. I secure the prohibited cream and deadly 15 mm chain whip wrench, say thank you and make my way back through TSA insecurity.
Thank you Delta for preboarding. The additional time to get settled really makes a difference. Thankfully, the take offs and landings were not an issue today. Little Emma was a trooper and slept through both flights and the ride from the airport. phew!
We arrived in the Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area later in the afternoon. Sunny skies. 75 degrees. a perfect conditions. Our hotel room looked across the waterway and faced the USS North Carolina. The battleship served as the backdrop to the race finish. After unpacking our stuff we stretched our legs and checked out downtown Wilmington.
The downtown area had a good vibe to it, sort of a larger version of the Old Market, but with more hipsters. Many folks were walking around, taking in a drink, and generally enjoying the late afternoon/early evening. The WB was filming One Tree Hill near our hotel. This accounted the large aggregation of tennie boppers. We grabbed some food and walked it back to the hotel.
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| USS North Carolina |
Thursday was a walk through. I prepped my items and then picked up my bike. Jamie and I chatted up a few of the other racers at the shop and then met up with Steve and Sharron for a quick ride. Steve is 1/3 of the Tri-Bros. Sharron is Steve's better half. The Tri-Bro name was born while we worked and trained together. The short 10 mile ride was just to survey how everything on the bike felt. Afterward we drove over to the swim start and took in a half hour swim. The wetsuit made the 70 degree water feel alright. When we got back, Chad, the other 1/3 of the tri-bros arrived. Steve and Chad grabbed some food, Jamie and I headed to the airport to pick up my sister, Sandy.
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| Jamie and Emma at Wrightsville, Beach |
I have heard that it's not the night before the race, but the night before the night before the big race is when you try to get your best sleep. Thursday night sleep was perfect. A solid nine hours. Emma slept well, too!
Friday was a day of rest and final preparations. First order of the day was breakfast. Jamie, Emma and I walked Front Street in search of some greasy breakfast. We found the Dixie Cafe. Think Louie M's or Lisa's Radial Cafe but with grits and BLTs with fried green tomatoes. Great biscuits and gravy. Good stuff.
After breakfast it was off to the pre-race meeting. I grabbed a chair with some folks and listened to war stories about xyz Ironman. After learning this would be my first Ironman, the folks I sat with said I was in for a treat. I kinda smiled, raised my eyebrows, and was like, "well, we'll see what happens." Alot of the folks I met would say to me, "are you nervous?" My response was "I dont know. Am I supposed to be?" I was pretty tranquil throughout the event and the events leading up to the event. When you think about it, this is the easy part. The hard part was finding time for over the course of 37 weeks to fit in 15-22 hours of training each week. The hard part was getting up at o'dark thirty and riding your bike two hours before work. The hard part was getting your ass handed to you on Wednesday nights rides by guys who all they do is ride bikes really really fast. So, yea, I wasn't too nervous. The hard part was done. I was more excited to strap on my wetsuit/helmet/running shoes and get to the finish line.
Racer check-in was easy...The volunteers were quick, organized, and helpful. We grab our stuff and headed back to the hotel to pack my transition bags. With two transition sites, this event required some planning. There was your pre/post race bag, swim-to-bike bag, bike special needs bag, bike-to-run bag, and your run special needs bag. Nothing special, just white garbage bags with your race number written on the side. Each bag required a different colored label that was provided.
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| Bike Check In |
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| A Little Chain Love Goes a Long Ways |
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| Number 79 In Your Program...Number 1 In Your Heart |
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| Just a Little Bike Envy Here... |
It was chilly during check-in and only going to get colder with the steady breeze.(joy) On the way to dinner, Sandy suggested grabbing a hoodie and some slippers at Target. A lot of these races require a lot of standing around before things get underway, so keeping warm with a cheap hoodie was a great suggestion. Because the transition area was near, but not exactly next to the water, we needed to run about 400 yards over pavement to reach the first transition area. Steve said that your feet would be cold enough that you wouldn't feel anything. But I have some tender feet and it'd be my luck to stub my toe or catch some gravel and hurt my chances of finishing. Sandy's suggestion to buy slippers was spot on. We grab some dinner after check-in and talk a little about the big day, little Emma, Ma and Pa, and stuff that wasn't race related. I didn't think I was nervous, but Sandy said I wasn't my chatty self.
Friday night sleep didn't happen. I was in bed by 9 but slept maybe a total of three hours.
Race Day. Was. Amazing.
My race day game plan was simple:
- Focus on the task at hand
- Don't drown. Sight ever 10 or 12 strokes and get into a rhythm.
- Hydrate on the bike. Take a drink every 15 minutes
- Fuel for the run on the bike. Take some perpetutum and electrolytes every 30 minutes
- Tranquilo on the bike. Don't hammer it and save something for the run
- Run every four minutes and then walk one minute
- Take some water whenever possible.
- Hand out free high fives and atta-boys
- Have some fun out there
We arrived at T1 for final preparations and body marking. The tire pressure looked good and the nutrition supplements were secured on the bike. Body marking was a little uncomfortable for one reason. You strip out of your wetsuit so some stranger can squat inches from your junk to mark your thighs and calves with a sharpie. Yea, that's always gonna be awkward.
Everything is ready. Let's do this. I hop on the trolley to the race start...and wait...in the cold wind. Sandy's Target hoodie suggestion kept out the cold and wind during the hour and a half wait at race start.
More and more folks began to occupy the trolley drop off point. There was talk about how things would go today, how many ironmans folks have done, how some folks never trained in cold weather, others how this is their first open water swim. A nice buzz in the air. Then folks started to migrate to the starting line. During the 200 yard walk through cold sand some guy sang the Star Wars "Imperial March" which got a lot of chuckles.
I had lost track of Steve and Chad after body marking, but they come out of nowhere right before getting in the water and were like, "You ready to do this, Young Gun!" They had already taken their warmup swim and were excited to hop back in the water. We congratulated each other for getting to the starting line, wished each other good luck, and promised to see each other at the finish line.
After singing the Star-Spangled Banner, race director Jeremy Davis gave us some final words while "Eye of the Tiger" and other motivational-get-you-pumped-up songs played on their stereo. He said there were nearly 1000 volunteers out there to make our experience possible and that this would be one of those days you will remember for the rest of your life. His final words were, "Have fun out there! Smile and we'll see you at the finish line!"
Folks funneled through the starting gate to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" blasted. The water felt great. Steve was somewhere ahead on the left when Chad and I entered on the left side of the mass. I wanted to swim with Chad for a while and then follow some fast feet to the finish line. I lost sight of him after a minute because, well, everybody looks the same in their black wetsuit and blue swimcap. There is always a bit of trepidation during the swim start...I think its something to do with the number and the level of swimmers around you, not seeing the bottom of what you are swimming in, and the fact that you really are on your own during this leg of the even. There were some sea kayaks out there, but swimming is one of those things that requires exertion even if you want to rest. During training I was able to get in a few open water swims to get more used to that initial anxiety in open water. What takes more practice getting used to is that feeling when folks swim so damn close to you. There were some collisions followed by a "whoops" or "sorry"...and then there times where folks swam over you or when you swam over them. That's just the nature of the swim I guess.
The ideal open water swim is point to point while sighting every dozen or so strokes. Sighting is a skill where the swimmer focuses on some large object in the distance and gauges their distance from the object to to hopefully swim in a straight line. So that whole shortest distance between two points thing...yea, that' wasn't me. I zig zagged. Coast to coast, baby! Like a blind manatee. When nobody was near me, I knew that I strayed from the pack and headed back towards the mass.
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| Iron Distance and JP's Iron Distance Swim |
The strategy during the swim was to take a peek at where I was going ever 10 strokes. Having some sort of game plan helped because the stroke counting developed a calming rhythm. I swam this distance twice in the pool at the College of St Mary and it wasn't pretty. There was some cramping and a few nanas in the lane next to you doing water aerobics. There were no nanas, but we were in wetsuits, in salt water and with a tide. The running joke between the Tri-Bros was that the swim would practically take care of itself. The 10-stroke counting worked well. The buoys were coming and going, pretty soon I saw the water tower and then the dock before letting out an "aww hell yea!" a couple hundred yards from where we would exit. Seeing the swim finish pushed a surge of energy through my arms and legs. I motored to the docks where some nice volunteer helped me out of the water and another helped me out of the wetsuit. Those wetsuit strippers were aggressive. No kidding. If you weren't holding onto the back bench when they pulled that wetsuit off you, they'd pull you off the bench pretty quickly. Out of the water and out of the wetsuit, I found my Target slippers and headed to T1. Looking at the time I was like, "huh?" A 50 minute swim was better than I could have done in the pool. the tide offered a helpful push.
T1 was okay. I grabbed my stuff, put on my PCL kit and headed towards the bike. The one regret I have with the bike is that I did not bring my thermal bibs. This time of the year you gotta pack everything. The forecast earlier in the week predicted race day temps in the 60s. They were off around 20 degrees. Today's bike would be 45 and windy with a light mist for part of the 112 miles. The long sleeve fleece that I did bring made all the difference. I hop on the bike, wave at Sandy, Jamie, and little Emma, and then start cranking out the miles.
As it would turn out, the 70 degree water would end up being the warmest part of the day.
The rollout through town was okay, some guy passed me right out of the gate was just hammering it....I thought it was awfully early to be spinning in that chain ring, and wished the guy good luck. My plan rolling out of town was to take it easy the first half hour to get my legs used to riding before getting into my race pace. I also needed to get some fluid in me before getting down to bidness. The biggest problem during training was keeping fluid levels up. I think the strategy to start off a little slower than usual, make sure everything felt good, to hydrate/recover from the swim, and fuel for the run worked well.
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| Bike Start |
Any gain produced from the fast swim was lost during the bike. The wind was angry that day, my friends. Like an old, angry and belligerent protester. In your face at all times. The wind. never. stopped. My goal was to maintain a 19mph pace during the entire ride. The 15-20mph blowing in your face the first 75 miles adjusted that expectation to 16-17mph. Even in the aero position, the wind prevented progress.
The bike course was pancake flat and the pace was subdued by the wind and light mist. Lots of folks dont go out to ride in weather like this, but these are the days you wanna go out and train. As Rafal would say, "Dude, these are character building rides!" Race day was similar to the Bacon Ride we did earlier in the year. Bacon, gravel, winds, cold temps, and rain is what was served. Today was the same, but on roadies and no bacon. The wind and cold temps made this a challenge, so all i did was focus on each mile and thought about all types of stuff as the miles ticked away. I thought about people like, Jamie, Emma, the fam, and things like what i was gonna plant in the garden next spring, projects around the house, etc...And you had a ton of time to think about this stuff. Because riding side by side was considered drafting and most folks barely said a word during a pass. You were out there all by your lonesome.
The folks at the aid stations were a relief. Some volunteers really got into it and dressed in costumes and had some tunes playing to liven up the time they spent aiding the athletes. I learned pretty quickly though to not spend much time at the aid station because hopping back on the bike wasn't fun. After you got off the bike, you would continue to sweat, but getting back on the bike meant facing that wind again with some sweaty clothes. The first few minutes on the bike after every stop was spent shivering.
Around mile 60 a course marshall passed me on his motorcycle and slowed a bit while his buddy behind typed something into a keypad. I kinda looked at the guy ahead of me and thought that I prolly was going to be penalized for drafting or something. It turns out I did get penalized for not clearing the draft zone soon enough. oh well.
The bike dragged on. The pace and speed were constant, but the wind was tiring and my shoulders were hurting from riding in the tuck position for hours. Two things that broke me out of this slump was some text spray painted on the asphalt. The first note said "Caution Ahead," I didn't know what to think. Then I saw the caution notice again with an arrow pointing to the side of the road..."Caution!!! Gigantic Chicken Crossing Ahead." No joke, on the side of the road at the apron of some guy's driveway was a large chicken statue. Think of a five foot tall rooster on a three foot base. This was no ordinary lawn jockey, this was a massive Cock. That made me smile! The next pick-me-up was a few more miles down the road where some guy had spray painted a guitar on the pavement with a note stating "Pedal Faster!...I Hear Banjos!"
Both messages provided comic relief from the headwinds. Some blue skies came out around mile 50 and 60, but it was mostly cloudy the until the last 10 miles. Mile 75 had to be the best part of the ride. The wind was finally at your back during the home stretch to Wilmington on 421. Wind blowing in your face and whipping in your ears wears on you...but after making that right turn, my spirits were lifted and things got real quiet. All you heard was the hum of your tires on the smooth asphalt. Heck yea! For the next 40 miles, the pace jumped from 17 to 23 mph
I spent the last 20 miles finishing up the food and water I carried. Nutrition will be one of the things I mix up next time around because I was getting sick of the taste of Perpetutum and granola bars. The Hammer products worked great, but the constant chewing of the cafe-latte-flavored horse pills became an effort. The bike ride into town was perfect, the temps were getting a little warmer and all you had to do was go for a run and the day would be over. I was now looking forward to the run and thought to myself, "Hey, all i have to do is go for a short run and then I can have some guilt-free beer." At the final aid station before T2, another big guy came right up behind me as i was getting up to speed. The Iron Turk was just chuggin along! He smiled and said, "Well whadda ya know Yungun! How goes it, 79!" We chatted a bit and rolled into T2 together.
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| The Support Crew |
On the way into T2, Jamie, Emma, and Sandy were right there with their sign and cameras ready. What a relief to see some friendly faces!
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| Bike Done. |
I took my time at transition. My goal was to be out of there in eight minutes. That turned into 20. There was no hurry. I had nothing to prove. Chad entered the changing tent while I was taping my foot and we decided to run the first mile together. That didn't happen. We jogged just the first quarter mile before I told the Prince of the Pavement to go ahead. Chad's strength is running. He's done six or seven marathons and his stride is smooth. I have to admit that I have a man crush for his smooth stride. Chad really doesn't run, he just glides. For me, running is a chore, for Chad, he makes it look easy.
The marathon course is one loop repeated twice. The strategy to finish this was to break the run into manageable segments. I convinced myself that all I was doing at was a few three- or four-mile runs. I then broke that down further into intervals of running for four minutes and walking for one minute. This worked well and I was near my goal of doing the half in 2.5 hours. After the first lap, I changed shirts and grabbed my beanie cap and gloves to keep warm. The sun was going down and the temp was dropping Running when you are cold isn't fun. Trying to do the other half under 2.5 hours was going to take some effort. The body felt good, but walking felt great....On the way out I spotted some fans drinking and they offered some Michelob Ultra. I stopped, but declined thinking that I dont want to introduce anything into the bod while still having to run another 13 miles. I'll asked them to leave an unopened one next to the generator and I'll grab it on the way back.
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| Run Start |
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| Mile 8 |
My sister has done the NYC marathon a few times. When we went to see her run her first one, it was around Halloween. So there were some folks running in costume. At this race there was only one guy dressed up for the occasion. He competed as red devil. "Aw, Hell Yea!" is what I said to him as he passed me in red makeup and horns with a cape and pitchfork. Like the banjo note and big huckin chicken, this added some fun to the race.
There were a few stressful parts of the run. At mile seven there was a dog on the loose. This wasn't your friendly lab or retriever that I would have loved to have met. No. This was a pit bull. Running the course without a leash and no owner in sight. I am not a fan of pit bulls on facebook or in real life. Some people like them. I don't. This other Clydesdale and I froze. I thought, "oh shit, this could ruin our day." before saying "Who let that bitch out!" as i tiptoed away from the dog.
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| Mile 23 |
Excitement started to build around mile 18. I had only run 18 miles once in training. My body was a little tired, but I felt great! Instead of the usual banana and Heed/water combination at the aid station, I switched to some chicken broth. The warm broth's saltiness hit the spot! Mile 19, 20, 21, 22 just ticked by. I did experience just a slight bit of cramping around mile 20 and mile 25, but a little walking, some electrolytes, and stretching subdued the cramping. By mile 23 I caught up with Steve. We talked and walked for a bit, but I think he wanted to spend the last few running and talking with his daughter.
Mile 25 had two challenging bridge climbs. My feet were starting to hurt, so I took my time on the ascension. On the final bridge I noticed a few runners coming towards me. These folks were starting their second lap. I have a lot of respect for those folks starting their second lap. It's gotta be tough to see all those folks so close to the finish when you are 13 miles from the end. It takes courage to keep going when there are fewer and fewer folks on the course cheering you on.
The final mile. I smiled and thought, alright, what a way to finish my last run of the year. As I was coming into the finish area, I looked for the place the folks who had offered an Ultra and it was there. Nice and cold. I cracked it open and had a few sips before winding through the final chute to the finish line. "Aww right!"
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| Ironman Done. |
I grabbed a bit of food, headed to the transition area and collected all my transition bags before hopping on the water taxi. Thankfully our hotel room was next to the taxi shore station. It was time to wash up before heading up to Steve's room for a post race celebration and beer.
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| Post Race Pizza and Beer |
The feeling of getting to the starting line after a long season of training was rewarding. The feeling of sharing the race experience with the folks you trained with after the race was even better. The post race beer shared with the tri-bros was worth the wait of the self-imposed dry spell.
Surprisingly, my body did not hurt as bad as I thought it would. The quads hurt a bit walking down the stairs, but it was more soreness than pain. My shoulders ached a bit when picking up Emma's carrier, but that was about it. This feeling was shared with all of the Tri-Bros...I think the post race non-stiffness had a lot to do with the level of training that we all underwent.
So I think that about covers it.
Final thoughts...Well, doing an Ironman is possible. it's a bit of a chore at times, but what worked for me is to break the training and into many many short term goals. If you start to worry about doing all three, then the task gets overwhelming, but short term goals and a positive attitude make seeing progress possible. Then, getting to the starting line is completely possible and just a matter of time.
Here are some things that worked for me
- Patience: Don’t sign up for an Ironman tomorrow, if you haven’t already completed a half ironman. It can be done, but you’ll be so much happier if you have patience and work up to the distance over time. Do some other less costly races and races where you are in motion for hours at a time.
- Partners in Crime: Find some folks who like to swim, ride, or run. I joined Master's swimming a few years ago and realized how much I need to improve. This was especially true when nana would lap you and you would have to stop every few sets to catch your breath. Finding some guys to ride with really pushes you too. The PCL and some guys from Omaha do a lot of gravel grinders that really push you mentally and help you improve. And they are all pretty nice folks to ride with who want to have fun and get a good workout.
- Dedication: There is a lot of training and it will become a grind. Especially when it gets towards the end of the day and you haven't finished your workout...dedicate some time everyday to working out and stick to your training schedule. If you pay the price during the long training period, race day will be the fun part!
- Will: You have to want it. If you dont want it, then you are not committed and no the training plan will really prepare you. If you don't have the will to tough it out when things start to get hard, you are wasting your time. When you have that fire in your belly and the will to put in the work that it takes, then it's time to register.
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| The Tri-Bros! |
wow, that was really long...
The little Cheerleader...Isnt she cute
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| Little Emma |
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
FW:IMG00386.jpg
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Now you can track my every movement...
well, not every movement, but my split times at the B2B Ironman
Check it out! http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=live_timing&eventID=1722
Bib Number 79 in your program, but number 1 in your heart!
The numbers can be plugged into the the website and you provides a better idea of where im at in the race.
amazing this new technology is, eh?
Check it out! http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=live_timing&eventID=1722
Bib Number 79 in your program, but number 1 in your heart!
The numbers can be plugged into the the website and you provides a better idea of where im at in the race.
amazing this new technology is, eh?
Monday, October 24, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
tick...tick...tick
it's hard to believe the IM was 30 weeks away...now it's less than 30 days away.
with lil' Emma now in the picture, finding time to train is getting to be a little harder.
thankfully there is only a month left of training before the big day.
none of the workouts have been extremely difficult, but stringing them all together makes it a challenge. am i ready? who knows...but there's only one way to find out.
but whatever happens, it's been a fun journey so far.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Introducing...
Introducing Emma Katherine Peters
Born late last week...
Weighing in at Nine Pounds Eleven Ounces and Twenty-One and a half inches!
Healthy and Happy!
Jamie and I couldn't be more excited!
Whoa Baby!
Born late last week...
Weighing in at Nine Pounds Eleven Ounces and Twenty-One and a half inches!
Healthy and Happy!
Jamie and I couldn't be more excited!
Whoa Baby!
Monday, July 18, 2011
training...so far so good
so the ironman training is going well. so far so good. this week the tri-bros and i enter into the competition phase of the 36 week program. 14 weeks of higher intensity workouts, two weeks of taper, and then the big event.
there have been lots of things seen out during training rides...deer, geese, turkey. skunks have stopped me in my tracks.
but one thing knocked me down and made me feel pretty silly
i was running intervals at westside the other day and found this little nugget with my foot.
yea, that felt great on the way down.
happy monday, folks!
there have been lots of things seen out during training rides...deer, geese, turkey. skunks have stopped me in my tracks.
but one thing knocked me down and made me feel pretty silly
i was running intervals at westside the other day and found this little nugget with my foot.
yea, that felt great on the way down.
happy monday, folks!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
It's a new year full of new opportunities!
Well, it's 2011 and a new year full of new opportunity. we are gonna see if i can get back into the whole blogging thing on the internet machine.
home improvement, biking, and gardening are the big todos this year. this whole house thing always keeps you busy. never a dull moment. especially when you have a little puppy roaming around and randomly chewing on things. so far Fenway has been well behaved. but that was after she chewed up our dining room table legs. badddd puppy.
as far as biking goes. rafal wanted me to do the Royal 162, but i think im just going to do the Almanzo 100 as a primer for the Dirty Kanza 200 and the Kansas 1/2 IM. Gravel beats you up a bit, but it's a great challenge and you dont have to worry about cars too much because nobody rides the roads we hit up. so fun to have the road to yourself! the other races on my list include Gravel Worlds and the Bacon Ride of course...But the grand daddy of them all is The 2011 Beach to Battleship Ironman challenge. it's gonna be tough, but will definitly be worth it.
Training has officially started...the toughest part of the training will be no booze.
no beer until I cross that finish line.
we'll see how that goes.
off to swim tomorrow morning.
i'll leave you with this.
home improvement, biking, and gardening are the big todos this year. this whole house thing always keeps you busy. never a dull moment. especially when you have a little puppy roaming around and randomly chewing on things. so far Fenway has been well behaved. but that was after she chewed up our dining room table legs. badddd puppy.
as far as biking goes. rafal wanted me to do the Royal 162, but i think im just going to do the Almanzo 100 as a primer for the Dirty Kanza 200 and the Kansas 1/2 IM. Gravel beats you up a bit, but it's a great challenge and you dont have to worry about cars too much because nobody rides the roads we hit up. so fun to have the road to yourself! the other races on my list include Gravel Worlds and the Bacon Ride of course...But the grand daddy of them all is The 2011 Beach to Battleship Ironman challenge. it's gonna be tough, but will definitly be worth it.
Training has officially started...the toughest part of the training will be no booze.
no beer until I cross that finish line.
we'll see how that goes.
off to swim tomorrow morning.
i'll leave you with this.
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Gravel World Championships
first of all, i'd like to thank all all the PCL folks for putting on an event that was: 1) well organized 2) challenging 3) fun 4) didn't cost an arm and a leg and 5) full riders who were skilled and friendly. special thanks to Cory for putting on the event and thanks to CVO for providing some mobile oasis action to riders on the route.
rafal and i headed to lincoln on friday night for rider check-in and enjoy some yia-yia's pizza with the PCL crew. after that, we ready the bikes and hit the hay. 4am, we are up and at em for the 515 rider check-in and pre-race meeting. we make small talk with the folks who we met the year before. 6am we are on the road. a flurry of bike lights hit the road in search of gravel glory. pretty soon the really fast group pulls away around mile 3, followed by the fast group around mile 5. the high dew point and fast pace quickly soaks your kit. no worries though, the low 70s temp makes things aight.
i pull into the first checkpoint feelin great! 38 miles down in under 2.5 hours. the really fast guys have come and gone. i fill up the water bottles and am back in the saddle. everything is going well until mile 50. hello cramps. i take it easy, push some electrolyte tabs and continue on. the temp continues to climb, but im feeling great. i arrive in in malcom, around mile 70 in under five hours. im feelin great. i push some calories and some fluids. miles 70-80 are cake and im cruising with a north wind. the oasis location at mile 80 proved to be a very welcoming place. shade, cool water, and friendly folks. i fill up two more water bottles, take a double shot of gatorade concentrate, enjoy some tasty tomatoes, make some small talk about oasis-host Jane's garden and am back on the road. Miles 80-100 were so so....and then...pain. my pace up to this point was somewhere around 14-15mph. From mile 100-111 the pace slowed down as the temps rose. it was at that point i realized there's no shame in walking up a hill at 4mph when you can only ride up it at 5mph. my strategy was to sprint down the hills, coast for a bit, and try to maintain as much momentum as i could on the uphill portion of the rollers. that works great for hills that are close to each other. not so much for the long 1/4mile hills. i pull into some shade, drink some water and some electrolyte tabs and assess the siuation. only 10 miles left to hickman, water supply is going down, and im starting to get headaches. the breaks are getting more frequent and longer. i know something wasnt right when i kept refering to my cue sheet every few minutes, stopped sweating, and started getting goose bumps. this is not good. i gotta hand it to CVO. that guy was crusing down the road and was filling up everybody's waterbottle. i fill three water bottles and hit the road again. the gas tank was empty. the last 10 miles took around 90 minutes. i pull into hickman and see jamie and fenway relaxing in some shade. jamie said i looked like hell and wasnt speaking in very coherent sentences. with 90+ temps and high humidity, i decided to pull the plug with 40 miles to go.
the takeaways from this are to maintain a better hydration plan. although i drank 14-some bottles of fluid, i should prolly pack a camel back for an extra 100oz of cold water. one positive takeaway was that I got to 111 miles faster on this ride than to 100 miles on the dirty kanza 200. This trend of DNF's will have to stop if i want to maintain any type of gravel glory. or maybe i just need to get some more training rides in hot weather or race when it's cooler weather.
rafal and i headed to lincoln on friday night for rider check-in and enjoy some yia-yia's pizza with the PCL crew. after that, we ready the bikes and hit the hay. 4am, we are up and at em for the 515 rider check-in and pre-race meeting. we make small talk with the folks who we met the year before. 6am we are on the road. a flurry of bike lights hit the road in search of gravel glory. pretty soon the really fast group pulls away around mile 3, followed by the fast group around mile 5. the high dew point and fast pace quickly soaks your kit. no worries though, the low 70s temp makes things aight.
i pull into the first checkpoint feelin great! 38 miles down in under 2.5 hours. the really fast guys have come and gone. i fill up the water bottles and am back in the saddle. everything is going well until mile 50. hello cramps. i take it easy, push some electrolyte tabs and continue on. the temp continues to climb, but im feeling great. i arrive in in malcom, around mile 70 in under five hours. im feelin great. i push some calories and some fluids. miles 70-80 are cake and im cruising with a north wind. the oasis location at mile 80 proved to be a very welcoming place. shade, cool water, and friendly folks. i fill up two more water bottles, take a double shot of gatorade concentrate, enjoy some tasty tomatoes, make some small talk about oasis-host Jane's garden and am back on the road. Miles 80-100 were so so....and then...pain. my pace up to this point was somewhere around 14-15mph. From mile 100-111 the pace slowed down as the temps rose. it was at that point i realized there's no shame in walking up a hill at 4mph when you can only ride up it at 5mph. my strategy was to sprint down the hills, coast for a bit, and try to maintain as much momentum as i could on the uphill portion of the rollers. that works great for hills that are close to each other. not so much for the long 1/4mile hills. i pull into some shade, drink some water and some electrolyte tabs and assess the siuation. only 10 miles left to hickman, water supply is going down, and im starting to get headaches. the breaks are getting more frequent and longer. i know something wasnt right when i kept refering to my cue sheet every few minutes, stopped sweating, and started getting goose bumps. this is not good. i gotta hand it to CVO. that guy was crusing down the road and was filling up everybody's waterbottle. i fill three water bottles and hit the road again. the gas tank was empty. the last 10 miles took around 90 minutes. i pull into hickman and see jamie and fenway relaxing in some shade. jamie said i looked like hell and wasnt speaking in very coherent sentences. with 90+ temps and high humidity, i decided to pull the plug with 40 miles to go.
the takeaways from this are to maintain a better hydration plan. although i drank 14-some bottles of fluid, i should prolly pack a camel back for an extra 100oz of cold water. one positive takeaway was that I got to 111 miles faster on this ride than to 100 miles on the dirty kanza 200. This trend of DNF's will have to stop if i want to maintain any type of gravel glory. or maybe i just need to get some more training rides in hot weather or race when it's cooler weather.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
a long way to gravel glory
well, the DK200 was a hard day of cycling. here's a quick recap.
RD, EB, and I rolled into a windy, hot, and humid Emporia, Kansas during the middle of Friday for the pre-race check in and orientation. We met the race directors Jim and Joel, both high-class guys who know how to put on a top notch event. registration and orientation went well and it was time to hit the hay. i didnt sleep too well. pre-race jitters make sleeping the night before these events a little difficult. i may take a page from RD and sneak a little nightcap in before hitting the hay.
raceday started with a 415 wakeup call. the 'stach crew pounded some food and liquids prior to rolling out with the lincoln guys at around 530. the lincoln guys are great cyclists, pretty laid back, and fun to hang out with. everybody is there to have fun and take care of business on the bike when it's time. we rolled to the starting line in front of the Granada theater and watched the riders accumulate. there were about 160-some riders at the start line when we began the neutral roll out with the emporia police escort. i hung out in the middle of the pack as we started to hit the gravel and the race was on. then, on like the first bump, and my two rear water bottles pop off. snap! 500 feet into the race and im already in last place. i secure the bottles in my jersey and play catch up.
the first 10 miles of gravel were flat and easy going. after that, the steady diet of climbs, rocky flint, and wind chipped away at your morale. the humid morning air was not too bad because the headwinds and crosswinds cooled you off. however, the winds were relentless. after finishing some climbs you were totally exposed to the wind that tried to push you over. 15-20mph winds continued all morning long. oh well, glad RD and I got some training in on some windy days in early may, otherwise that would'a been much more difficult of a day. i was passing lots of the slower riders but not making too much ground on some of the faster riders. i think i try much harder when there's an element of a pursuit, like there is in the wednesday night ride. anyways, i was fooling myself, the fast group is really fast. they were pushing a 17mph pace where I was maybe pushing 13 the first two or so hours. at around mile 40 the headwinds and crosswinds finally turned to a tailwind as the next 20 or so miles would be with the wind at our backs as we cruised to the first checkpoint. things were going well until flat-city. around mile 42 there was a great descent. i was rolling a little too flat and hit a cattle grate and heard a hissing sound. arg...first flat. luckily there was some shade that the cows were not occupying. i try to fix the pinch flat but abandon that because i couldn't locate where the hole was. too much wind made it difficult. i fix the flat and then hop on the bike. at about the same time i noticed none of my four water bottles had any contents. thankfully some riders shared a bit of their commodity before i spotted a farm house and filled up again.
i hit the first checkpoint feeling ok. a little dehydrated, but ok. i stocked up on fuel and then hit the road. the next 40 were with a tailwind, so that was nice, kinda. tailwinds make it hard to cool off and the temp had climbed into the 90s. Ouch. Around mile 80 i began to question why was i doing this. in all of these races, there's a little voice in your head telling you to keep going and to not quit. that voice was telling me to take it easy and not kill myself. i switched to a long sleeve collared shirt to protect me from the sun. it helped, but i was beat. the breaks became frequent and there was no drive to keep going. at checkpoint #2 i called it a day. my head hurt and my legs were cramping.
there were many folks who called it quits at that point in the race. it was 3pm and i still had a 100 miles to go. no mas. luckily, i ran into a guy who i rode with on the Good Life Gravel Adventure and he was able to give me a lift back into Emporia. Ahh, air conditioning...
I spent the next few hours eating and enjoying some nice tallgrass wheat beer with some construction guys.
it's a long way to gravel glory. i'll be back. no DNF next time. better training means a better chance to cross the finish line.
****photo credit to Corey Godfrey for the Best Western greeting photo
****photo credit to Corey Godfrey for the Best Western greeting photo
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
ridin' dirty!
the Dirty Kanza 200 is right around the corner.
i may have put in <750 miles since march and am a little nervous about the race... but who knows how it will go.
you never know until you go out there and give it your best effort.
my primary goal? finish. secondary goal? average ~12-13mph over the 200 mile stretch. even though my miles may not be where they should be, finishing a tough century ride during a gusty weekend provided confidence and progress. we'll see about this heat we are supposed to get, but if i ride within myself, i'll be there to cross the line. special recognition to RD for setting a tough pace to follow and the trek store's wednesday night rides to see what it's like to pedal with the big fellas. cheers!
i may have put in <750 miles since march and am a little nervous about the race... but who knows how it will go.
you never know until you go out there and give it your best effort.
my primary goal? finish. secondary goal? average ~12-13mph over the 200 mile stretch. even though my miles may not be where they should be, finishing a tough century ride during a gusty weekend provided confidence and progress. we'll see about this heat we are supposed to get, but if i ride within myself, i'll be there to cross the line. special recognition to RD for setting a tough pace to follow and the trek store's wednesday night rides to see what it's like to pedal with the big fellas. cheers!
Sunday, May 09, 2010
ridin' dirty
rafal and i have been doin some pretty sweet gravel routes this spring. who knows, i may even get into the dirty kanza 200...keep your fingers crossed. more news to come
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Where does the time go??
whoa!
it's been quite a while since the last entry in the ol' blogo
here's a quick recap of what's been going on.
it's been quite a while since the last entry in the ol' blogo
here's a quick recap of what's been going on.
- mucho landscaping and earth moving to get the garden in
- riding to work every day since 1 March
- ive started riding bikes with guys who know how ride bikes reeeealy fast. the only thing i know is that if you dont keep up, you'll never catch up...
- work has been exactly that...work.
- 1/2 iron man is coming up quickly...im hoping the hammie is up to the challenge
- were gettin a dog pretty soon
Friday, January 01, 2010
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
lots of new news!
Big recaps coming soon....marriage, house, dealing with plumbers and real estate agents...whoa
lots of fun stuff to write about.
lots of fun stuff to write about.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Good Life Gravel Adventure Recap
About a week ago Rafal and I embarked on our first endurance race of the year by touring some unpaved country roads surrounding Lincoln, NE. It was a perfect day for the race. Cool temps early in the morning that rose to maybe 80 degrees in the afternoon. For those of you who think that riding around Nebraska means riding the great plains with no hills...you are mistaken. This ride was one hilly mutha! the tough part about these hills was their spacing because you lost all momentum from the descent before climbing the next rolling hill. The race started out with 40-some riders at about 615 in the morning and included checkpoints at mile 40, 65, 81, and 106 before finishing back in Lincoln for mile 142. I was doing well the first 60 miles before leg cramps set in and thought, "oh shit, not good" so, i walked the bike for a minute or two, stretched out, and took it easy while increasing the fluid and electrolyte intake. One thing i learned on this race was to push as much fluid and food as possible because you burn tons of calories while spinning and climbing the rollers.
another thing i learned is that i should have brought my ipod or something to pass the time. mile after mile of gravel gets kinda boring and all you have is time to think about all sorts of things. the wedding, work, bikes, where you've been, what you wanna do, getting a house, the fam, friends, all types of stuff. Eventually you run out of things to think about and you just stare at the road and try to find the smoothest line to take your bike through. finding a good line seemed to always be the task at hand. you could be pt-cruising and then run your bike through some soupy gravel which drops your momentum and cadence...then you just hafta work your legs back up to it.
One of the toughest segments of the race was the last 35 mile leg. typically the wind blows out of the south and we would have had a great tailwind to push us home. instead, we had a wall of wind to welcome us back to lincoln. luckily there were some strong riders from kansas to ride with that decreased the workload. these fellas were strong and kept a quick pace, especially their leader, Warren, a 50-year-old former Marine who still looks like one. I hope to have this guy's endurance and biking proficiency when I'm his age. We knew things were gonna be ok when we hit the flat Mo-Pac trail for the final two miles to victory lane. the feeling of completing something that i thought would be a stretch was great. im wondering if i can do another 60 miles on top of that....the Dirty Kanza 200 is next May...we'll see. for the time being, i'll stick with shorter rides out to Platte for some sweet bacon
another thing i learned is that i should have brought my ipod or something to pass the time. mile after mile of gravel gets kinda boring and all you have is time to think about all sorts of things. the wedding, work, bikes, where you've been, what you wanna do, getting a house, the fam, friends, all types of stuff. Eventually you run out of things to think about and you just stare at the road and try to find the smoothest line to take your bike through. finding a good line seemed to always be the task at hand. you could be pt-cruising and then run your bike through some soupy gravel which drops your momentum and cadence...then you just hafta work your legs back up to it.
One of the toughest segments of the race was the last 35 mile leg. typically the wind blows out of the south and we would have had a great tailwind to push us home. instead, we had a wall of wind to welcome us back to lincoln. luckily there were some strong riders from kansas to ride with that decreased the workload. these fellas were strong and kept a quick pace, especially their leader, Warren, a 50-year-old former Marine who still looks like one. I hope to have this guy's endurance and biking proficiency when I'm his age. We knew things were gonna be ok when we hit the flat Mo-Pac trail for the final two miles to victory lane. the feeling of completing something that i thought would be a stretch was great. im wondering if i can do another 60 miles on top of that....the Dirty Kanza 200 is next May...we'll see. for the time being, i'll stick with shorter rides out to Platte for some sweet bacon
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Summer Time!
Finally! The garden is producing a summer bumper crop of tomatoes! These 'maters will be enjoyed after this Saturday's tri at Manawa. Mmmmm tomato with pesto sandwiches and BLTs. Tasty!
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