Back at it

S - 15,400 yards
B - 70.3 miles (8.25hrs)
R - 23 miles

Time - 16.8 hours

So I suppose it is time to start back to this whole "training" thing. This was, admittedly, a bit of a shock to the ol' system.  What has been languishing for many weeks is now being forced to hop out of bed and go to masters. Run almost every day. Get back on the bike.  All the stuff it HASN'T been doing for quite a while.

On the plus side, I've really enjoyed riding my bike.  Specifically, my mountain bike. I haven't yet put a leg over the brand new road bike but I am sure that will be coming along soon enough. I've also had the time and/or the desire to create some videos from these trips to the trails.

Where has James been?

The first thing you should ask yourself upon a reading of the title of this blog is why the heck am I referring to myself in the 3rd person?  Well, I have no clever answer to that question and so continue on unperturbed.  Where have I been since December 1st you ask?  Well, for a brief and fantastic moment I was in Mexico.  Then, I was back in Murrka doing a fairly foreign thing: relaxing.  This relaxing continued on for quite a while actually. Only now, in mid to late January, will I be discontinuing that protocol.

This extended break was both planned and un-planned I would say. I had quite a long year of training in 2013 (and racing, obviously). I NEEDED a physical and mental break. But I also got sick.  Then I was gone for a week for Inside Out.  So basically it all adds up to roughly 6 weeks of unstructured training.

For the past three weeks I've tried to put a little structure in my life.  Running almost every day (but short), riding trails one or two times a week, swimming as it fancied me. I am in somewhat decent out-season shape I would say.  I proved that to myself by winning a 40' short track race out at the US National Whitewater Center last Sunday the 12th.

There are several fun ways to talk about that race, not one of which involves me actually writing anything so let's go with that methodology as me writing can get kind of boring for everybody out there....

A pictorial article from Pinkbike.com, one of the most well-known mountain biking specific online journalism websites.

A brief video and thread on Slowtwitch (that I started, sorry JB!) about the crash of Mr John Behme, which unfortunately took him out for a couple of weeks with a mild left radial fracture near his elbow (or maybe it was his ulna, but who knows I'm just trying to sound smart).



Another video with footage taken by a Mr Scott Woodbury showcasing the 40' short track race.

W. Weaver is a fantastic action photographer and took a bunch of great event photos

Full Short Track Results can be found HERE

All in all, it was a fantastic and unique event put on by the USNWC, who has an ever-growing portfolio of excellent outdoor activities going on at their facilities.  If you haven't been out there you are seriously missing out on one of the best parts of living in Charlotte.

I did not get the chance to blog about my epic adventures (or myself) as upon waking on Monday morning following that race there were two things to do:

1) Realize how sore I was from that race (concrete is HARD)
2) Pack and fly out to San Jose, California to attend Specialized Body Geometry Fit Level 1 Course.

Now, #1 is fairly self-explanatory.  #2 involves a little more explanation (don't they always)

Specialized has a program that it calls "SBCU," which stands for Specialized Bicycles & Components University.  This set of classes is designed to impart on their retail sales professionals, technicians and fitters and increased knowledge base and skills with which they are better suited to both help customers and sell to customers.  There are retail sales management classes, suspension service classes, marketing and display classes and most importantly, 3 levels of fit "classes."

Since Inside Out Sports sells Specialized aero products, it makes sense that someone in the Charlotte store should attend the BG Fit course.  BG (Body Geometry) represents Specialized's brand philosophy when it comes to apparel, fit, and equipment.

Originally developed by Andy Pruitt, BG Fit is a science based, multi step process that puts the rider in the optimal position for their body on the bike.  Fit Level 1 deals entirely with road bike fit and the pre-fit assessment of the rider.

 This is the van that transported us to Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill, CA every morning.  The class consisted of ~25 retailer people like myself with varying levels of fitting experience. I was the only triathlete-focused rider in attendance so a lot of my preconceived notions were luckily related to aero-fit and not road fit.

 Hard not to be intimidated by a public entrance that features Crowie, Cipollini and Sam Hill.  The headquarters just give off this vibe of awesomeness.  It's really hard to put into words.  You can tell Specialized is a HUGE company and everybody that works there LOVES bikes. If you didn't like bikes, you wouldn't want to work there.  Admittedly, 8 weeks ago the atmosphere surrounding Specialized and its vibe was a little more tense, but I wouldn't put the "blame" of that on the people that work there (except, maybe, for the slightly overzealous legal department).  Specialized is a brand that obviously wants to protect its identity and luckily, because of how big it is, gets to play that card.

Anyway, the class itself consisted of teachings from 4 different people, each of whom has vast experience with BG fit. Day 1 was a lot of classroom instruction and a brief ride. Day 2 was a morning of instruction and an afternoon of lab work (fitting, further lab-specific instruction, etc) and a brief ride.  Day 3 was all lab work (fitting, specific assessment instruction, video demonstrations, etc).

Specialized BG Fit Lab

One of the main highlights was getting to pick whatever bike you wanted from a huge stable for the group rides and the fit sessions.  On day 1 I rode a Venge Pro and on days 2 and 3 I chose an S-Works Tarmac SL4.

The SRAM Hydro recall-affected SL4 Tarmac

On day 2 we also got to tour the ~year-old Specialized Wind Tunnel (more casually referred to as the "Win Tunnel" and the "Breezy Hallway"). Considering I've had a fair amount of experience at a wind tunnel myself (3 visits anyway) and was the only person among the group that had tunnel experience I felt "special" in a way. The tunnel itself is very cool.  Interestingly, a lot of their modeling was done based off A2's construction (Specialized was one of the biggest clients of A2 prior to their own tunnel construction).  .

Engineer Chris Yu demonstrating drafting effect

Speaking of wind tunnels, I have a fairly exciting announcement that will likely wait until nearer to the end of the month...

1 hallway of bikes

At the end of 3 days of instruction and lab work, we all emerge as certified BG Level 1 fitters. What does that mean? Well, at the outset it does not mean much. Many fits down the road there will be a perfected (or at least more fully developed) practice and a bigger base of experience for each of us. At that point, maybe you tackle level 2 (although I would guess that the transition to level 2 does not happen for most Specialized dealers) and aero-fitting? Who is to say what the future holds.

I am very happy to have had this instruction because it means I'm basing what I am doing off more than just intuition and my own experience. I'm basing it off scientifically proven methodologies that have sound grounding and a huge "case load."

All in all, it's been a good, if off, 6+ weeks. I am excited to get back to working out on a regular schedule again. I am excited to start crushing dreams again. Even if they are my own, the time has come to get back to being a real athlete.

My 2014 schedule is not really set in stone yet because I don't really know what I want to do this year in terms of racing, but hopefully that will flesh out a bit in the next month.

Leavin' on a Prop Plane

Digging Holes

I am currently arriving at the end of a fairly long, straight road. I use that metaphor because it's not a twisty turny road full of surprises and fun; it's a predictable four-lane highway-style road. I entered the on-ramp for this classic highway way back on December 2nd.  Well, actually it was about mid-afternoon on December 1st if I am being totally honest.

This is the highway to recovery. To a recharge. To feeling motivated again. It is, really, the opposite of one of my OTHER favorite highways:

That highway is what you get on pre-race. When all you can think about is crushing dreams and taking names. Not necessarily in that order. But sometimes it is.

It's actually been the longest I've gone without Accelerate3 scheduling. I've even got one more week! The travesty of being slow and out of shape is debilitating, mentally.  But I can say with 100% surety that I am going to be friggin' READY when the time actually comes.

I am probably going to whine a lot (heads up) and complain about being slow but in the end I've experienced a great "valley" of sorts. Everyone needs to ride the Valley Highway (I'm slaying it with these metaphors, aren't I?) if they want to improve progressively over time.

Partaking of this recovery period means that I have dug myself a solid hole, however.

But I've dug a good hole. It's a hole that you WANT to be in, to a certain extent.  Too many people think they are digging a nice, round hole but they are really just using bad digging technique and tossing what little dirt they actually dig off to the side (for proper technique see above). You gotta really WANT that hole. Badly.

Have you dug a good hole? Have you used proper technique? Have you ridden the Valley Highway this winter? You should ask yourself all of these questions and then in June, reflect back on how you answered.

Or maybe I'm just saying all this because I'm self-conscious and sad about myself.

Getting Over Stuff

There are things that make me annoyed, frustrated, disappointed, etc. Those things most frequently revolve around racing and what goes into a race and can happen after a race and the consequences of racing in general.

Ok, racing. Yea that kinda covers it.

When you hold yourself to a high standard you ALWAYS want to reach that standard.  When something gets in the way that's out of your control you really can't do that much about it. Crazy swims, windy bikes, rain, heat, etc...can't do nuthin' 'bout them thangs.

But when I do something that I can only blame on myself well...then we've got ourselves a little problem.

I can think of one, very specific example of this from 2013. One shining, stupendous example of my own ineptitude. My lack of care. My poor preparation.

NC State TT

I came into this race off a relative high. I had CRUSHED the SC TT.  My time may not have been otherworldly, but I beat some of the best time trialists in the tri-state area. This little triathlete comes in and takes away their prize. It was SO. AWESOME.

As an aside, there are very few things I love more than taking prizes from roadies. They frequently look down on triathletes so crushing their dreams and making them go home and whine about it to their roadie, weight-weenie friends is spectacular.



24.99 miles in 54:56 at 27.3 mph AP/NP 287/288.

A great, relatively even effort.  Flat course, wind, hot. Great "fun."

Fast forward a bit to the NC State TT. A shorter, more rolling course. Last year I had ridden a 55:35 and come in a (fairly distant) second among Cat 3s and 8th OA.

In 2013 I was coming in with a faster bike, faster equipment, and more fitness. I was hoping to break 54 on the (slightly shorter than) 40k course.  My power was good but my time was not. I was extremely frustrated the last 5' of the race as nothing FELT weird but my time was much, MUCH slower than the year prior. I got off my bike completely flummoxed by what had happened. Something HAD to be wrong, right? Well, it wasn't until I was pushing my bike that I noticed what that might be. In my haste and time-crunched rush before my start time I had plopped my disc in without much care for carefulness.  I had shoved my rear brake and it was rubbing. Not BADLY enough to notice while riding but badly enough to where it wouldn't turn more than 1 revolution when you lifted the rear and spun the wheel.

DAMMIT!



It's important to note that you SHOULD be proud of your success.  You should also be aware of your failures but realize that they, in no way, represent you in your entirety.  They are but one paragraph in a small chapter of your life. They are learning experiences.  They help make us stronger.  Despite my 2+ minutes slower time I was still under 58 minutes. I was still third in Cat 3's. I still beat a LOT of people. Was it as fast as I could've gone? No, no it was not.

But I'll never know what I was truly capable of that day. That is what compels me to write this post. To advocate realizing your own mistakes and failures but to LEARN from them. So many people make mistakes but then never realizes the lessons that were in that failure. Either that, or they take the wrong messages away and let the failure itself bring them down.  Don't miss the forest for the trees.

Two Thousand and Thirteen

2013 was a long year.  But it was also a very short year.  I might venture to say that it is surprising that so much can be crammed into three hundred and sixty five days.  The year went by really fast, but it took just as long as any other year I've had the great joy of experiencing.

My first Mardi Gras

It feels like just yesterday it was January and plans were in the works to make 2013 the most fantastic-est year in the history of my years.  Fast forward a couple of months, a few workouts and some racing and we've arrived at the end of yet another year of life.

Since my life is all about triathlon and triathlon to me is all about racing, let's skip the sappy, emotional parts and get straight to the meat.  So if you're a vegetarian...PEACE.

My year began at the Cary Du Classic, where I opted for the long-course helping. A 5 mile run, a 30 mile bike and another 5 mile run on a rolling venue were enough to sate my early-year appetite.  I luckily managed to snag the win but more importantly raced on my P3 for the last time.

Up next for me was the White Lake Half, wherein I achieved my first 2nd place finish of the year to speedy first-year pro Patrick Wheeler (look at me, referring to a rookie pro like I'm a VETERAN, ha!).  My memories of this race circle mainly around how ridiculously miserable the swim was (sub 55 degree, choppy water) that day and how fast I ran (sub 1:18, setting a new half-marathon PB).

Only two weeks later, I headed down to the home state of Louisiana to participate at the New Orleans 70.3.  I have completed this race 4 times out of 5 editions and while this race was nothing special for me from a performance standpoint, it was a welcome trip home to see my family.

My next venture into the racing world was up in Salisbury at the Buck Hurley Triathlon.  This race, sponsored by local businesses and the YMCA in town, was absolutely spectacular. The friendliness of everyone, the pre/during/post event availability and contact was fantastic (and the prizes weren't too shabby either). In spite of being sick all week and dreary, cold weather (in early May), I managed to snag the win along with Jenny (our first, but not only, double win of the year) by almost 3 minutes.

Once I got healthy and paraded around with my prize-purse purchased pimp cup (just kidding) for a while I raced again in Kings Mountain, NC. I haven't raced Over the Mountain in several years but ended up with the victory. Tyler Jordan, who crossed the line first, was relegated to a lower placing due to a drafting penalty on the bike.  It was a decent performance from me. In hindsight I would have not started the run so hard, but hindsight has (usually) perfect vision.

We carry ourselves to another bustling metropolis of NC: Hickory.  This short but sweet race was good in most respects other than the bike; I ended up in second place There is nothing remarkable about the Lake Hickory triathlon other than the fact that it's a solid, no-frills race with beautiful scenery.

Considering I was doing whatever I could to NOT race Tri Latta in 2013, the choice of the South Carolina State TT Championship as that weekend's racing should come as no surprise. Jenny and I managed to come away with a double win again (and Ross a category victory), me by a mere 1s over TT badass Eric Christopherson and Jenny by a whopping 3 minutes. I am proud of my sub 55 minute 25mi time, but am hungry for more faster-ness.

My next adventure found me up in Williamsburg, VA for the inaugural Rev3 Williamsburg Half. It has been a great many years since I was in the ol' stompin' grounds (William and Mary '07) so I was excited to return.  The course was on roads I traveled frequently on two wheels and the run went right through the middle of new campus...pretty suhweet! This swim was abysmal, as the tidal currents wreaked havoc on the non-elite swimmers among us.  My bike was good and my run was average.  A great weekend though.

Staying closer to home I next found myself at Cane Creek Park in Waxhaw NC, trying my best to win the Tomahawk Triathlon.  This was a first-year event put on by veterans (but new to NC) Start2Finish racing and they also offered a prize purse so there were extra incentives.  My main competition was Tyler again, but the more "normal" length swim of this race (vs Lake Hickory) proved to be good for me and I snagged the win.  This was another double win for ICE Racing, as Jenny won by a fairly commanding 15 minutes.

For the next journey, I went a short ways up the road to Mooresville, NC to compete in the Stumpy Creek International, a race I have done each of the years it has existed.  Matt Wisthoff and Derek Kidwell were both going to make an appearance, so I knew my A game needed to be brought-en.  I raced to win and managed to come away with the win. I was happy to finally beat Matt at a short-course race. He's been the cream of the crop in NC for quite some time so I was happy to give him something to think about. I figured he'd get his comeuppance soon enough...  Stumpy was...yet another double win for ICE, with Jenny winning by a...decent margin (15 minutes again?).

My first "title defense" of the year came at Lake Norman Sprint up in...Lake Norman, NC. I wanted to win and figured I "should" barring any catastrophe. Luckily, my dreams were not thwarted with ill-happenings and I crossed the line in first. The main thing I remember about this race is the awesome quad-copter drone that was flying around at the swim start but I've yet to see any video footage or anything as a result of this curious appearance (maybe it was a UFO?).

The next race was a chance to have a go with Matt again at White Lake International (Fall edition).  This course is flat and fast (and a long bike, as all NC "int'l" triathlons are wont to include) and hot so it was gonnd be a slug-fest.  I ran out of room on the run despite running sub 35 minutes for the first time, losing to Matt by 22 seconds. The 16 seconds I gave up to Matt in transition is something I'd like to have another try at, but that will have to wait a while!

Yet another local race and my last NCTS race of the year was the inaugural Carolina Half in Davidson, NC.  This was going to be a tough course, with a rolling and twisty-turny bike with a very hilly run to follow.  I had a decent swim, a decent bike, and a good run to take the win by ~7 minutes (and set a course record? hell yea! haha).   ICE came away with two wins (yea, Jenny again) and a third (Kenneth in his first race of the year), not too shabby for a small team!

My last "planned" race of the year involved another trip down to Venice, FL for the Rev3 Florida Half. Embarking on the trip with Jenny and Ross in our rented [amazing] mini-van was a dream come true.  I had a solid race and set a new PB of 4:08 and change. It was a controlled race as I knew a bigger event was on the horizon.  Both Jenny and Ross set new PBs as well (Jenny earning money at her first pro race), making it a successful race experience and trip.

My truly LAST race of the year was Ironman Cozumel.  I really just wanted to finish this race. It has been 3 years since I attempted the full distance and 4 years since I finished such an endeavor. I only added this race in late September after getting curious about trying again while spectating Ironman Louisville. It would allow me to finish the year as planned (at Rev3 FL), while continuing training and carrying more fitness into 2014.  Unfortunately, my race didn't go as "planned," but I still had a fantastic experience and enjoyed the race in spite of myself.

My yearly totals were a bit down from 2012 in some respects, but it's obvious where the concentration was versus the year prior (plus, in early 2012 I wasn't working so had all the training time I needed AND spent time in Tucson putting in some SERIOUS hours).

Swimming - 745,300 yards (510,800 in 2012)
Biking - 6,905 miles (8,320 in 2012)
Running - 1,685 miles (1,822 in 2012)

The story isn't told completely by numbers however.  I increased my FTP and my MMP over various time periods, lowered my running paces across all levels setting several new PBs along the way, and dramatically increased my swimming capacity and pace capabilities.

Since Cozumel (December 1st), I have run ~13 miles and have swum ~1200 yards (no biking) so I am feeling a little slower than I was 4 weeks ago. But that is ok. Few people take as much time off as they really should so I am reveling in my readiness to crush more dreams by being more rested so I can better prepare.  And all that good stuff.

All in all, it was a pretty great year. I have few complaints and hope to take advantage of every year I get to race, train, blog and other sweet stuff with good friends! Here's to 2013; you were a good one.

Ironman Cozumel Race Report

So this blog is simply about the race itself.  That's it.  I wanted to get it down while I still remembered it clearly.  I am assuming most who read this know about the course changes (to the swim) and probably already know my result.  Hopefully they also know Ashley's result (9:24:XX) so I don't have to talk about how awesome he is, or how awesome Lori and Jenny were for cheering us both on and being great IM Sherpas.  I will reserve most of that for another blogpost about the pre-race trip and the post-race trip.  But for now: here is my race.

Swim 1.9mi - 38:00 (23rd)

The swim start was a wee bit confusing given the changes.  They let all the pros into the water (which was not too choppy this morning, thankfully) and assembled a paddleboard army to keep the testosterone fueled triathlete egos curtailed at the correct spot.  The line, however, kept creeping up and I was a bit torn between following the requests of the intrepid paddleboarders and not getting left for dead at the sound of the horn.  Eventually I chose option B, and scooted my back over to the right side behind some dudes that all look the same in cap and goggles.  The gun sounded and my first IM attempt in 4 years was underway.

It became immediately apparent that we were moving at a high rate of speed.  How does one gauge this, you might ask? Well, considering the visibility in Cozumel's water is 200' and the ocean floor was a mere 15-20' away I could see how many grains of sand were getting shifted by the ebbing currents.  I could clearly make out fish.  I actually looked down and saw a barracuda coming after the tail end of the pro pack and he could not catch us, so we were obviously moving rapidly through the water.

The start was very fast, as usual, and the pack thinned out relatively rapidly.  I found myself planted behind two feet that were kind of like mine: a nice lazy, predictable kick.  This person also decided to swim out in the channel at or beyond the buoy line.  Since I was on his feet I had no real choice other than to follow.  I then noticed he had a Team Tbb kit on (well, the newer version since TBB is no longer a thing) and figured he might have prior knowledge of the course.  We strayed out to the right and I could tell someone was on my feet as well and way off to the left (inside of us) there was another group.

The course was fairly straightforward, just a straight shot down current until you get to Chankanaab Park/Dock exit.  It seemed to go in and out a bit (the buoy line I mean) and that required a bit of attention.  About 2/3 of the way through the swim my group and the group over to the left "merged" and I ended up behind this guy that was kicking frantically and it annoyed me very much because everytime I tapped his foot he would kick ferociously.  Let's be realistic dude, you're gonna have people tap your feet.  I'm not sorry. I am sorry you feel the need to try and kick me in the face.  Maybe he was extra ticklish? Probably.

As we neared the swim finish (dock) the women's leader came blasting by, so I actually ended up exiting just behind Amanda Stevens so I had already been chicked once.  Alas! It's ok, Amanda Stevens is fun to look at.  Although, to be honest I never saw her again until the run. Womp womp.

I exited the swim feeling happy that I had managed to come out with people and hopeful that it would continue that way the rest of the day (being with people, nobody likes lonely time)!

T1 - 3:37

I had some trouble getting my swim-skin down to my waist, so that took almost the whole way to the changing tent.  Once there, putting on my Pearl Izumi Octane sleeves was somewhat difficult as well, although the volunteers were very helpful.  Once installed into my space suit, I ran with some expeditiousness to my bike, where I mounted mostly by myself and 1000 people watching (no pressure).

Bike 112mi - 5:07:54

As many who read this know, 112mi of biking is fairly boring.  There is no way around that fact.  Well, unless you go to the mountains.  Throughout the entire race, I was passed by 3 people and I passed 2 people (not including the lapped participants).  That's it. It was a very, very lonely and boring ride for me.  But I was ok with that as I figured it would work out that way based on the fairly conservative wattage target Brian had given me.  At first, I was afraid, I was petrified...but then I realized if I ran well it didn't matter what watts I rode or what my time was.

The west side of the island had a nice tailwind so with excitement levels high plus the wind the first 20-30 minutes was a bit too much power.  It was fun though, and I enjoy moving quickly on two wheels.  Plus, Brian had said:

Hour 1: 190 to 195 watts
Hours 2-4.5ish: 180-185 watts
Rest: 190-195

I figured that on a flat course with "regular" wind that would be a 4:55 or so.  Not blazing fast, but that's ok.  Most people bike too hard anyway. In my head I thought the course had three "turns," one at the bottom of the island to carry onto the east side and one at the top of the east side to cut across, plus the one from cutting across back down the west side.  I was wrong, as the road from the west side to the east side is the same road! Surprise! It just kind of bends left around the bottom of the island.  So at some point on lap 1 I started noticing a strong headwind and I was perturbed as I was expecting a turn.  Once we broke out into the open part of the island though it was quickly obvious that we were on the other side.  Strong surf, wind blowing everything, no people or businesses or...anything at all.  THIS was the east side.  This section was tougher for sure.  But, like everything, it too shall pass and I eventually made it to the island cut across.  This was fairly fast as we had a direct-ish cross-wind.  I carried into town where, literally, EVERYBODY was out cheering.

Cozumel population is not that big, and I feel confident in saying that everybody and their mother and their mother's family's mothers were out there cheering for each person like they were winning.  In fact, some people literally did cheer me on like I was winning.  So I got scared for a bit thinking I had cut the course and was the first one through. Then I quickly realized that there were no other options so I enjoyed being cheered for like I was the baddest dude alive.  Some twisty-turnies through downtown and then back on the south-bound road on the west side.  Seeing Jenny and Lori cheering by our place of residence was quite fun and I whistle-tipped at them as I went on down the road.

Southbound I continued, whistling merry tunes to myself to stay interested in what was happening.  At some point past Chankanaab park, Rachel Joyce and Tine Deckers came riding past me.  Dammit, chicked again.  Rachel Joyce, however, is pretty good...so I didn't feel all that bad.  As they carried off into the distance, I noticed some dark clouds hanging over the southern tip of the island.  Those quickly arrived and we, quite literally, got poured on for about 5 minutes.

So that was kind of odd.  On the east side of the island I started to pass some of the first lap people and for some strange reason realized that I had forgotten to put socks in my T2 bag.  I am not sure how I remembered this so well, but I clearly could not recall putting socks into the bag the day before.  So that's basically all I could think about through the rest of the bike race.  Running a marathon sockless is not an option.

I came into town again and when I got to where Jenny was I stopped and told her to go look in my bag and just bring me a pair of socks somewhere on the run course (preferably near the beginning).  I realized this could cost me penalty wise but I didn't care as having the socks was of great importance to me.

Lap 3 was, to be honest, fairly agonizing.  At this point my lower back had been getting more and more annoyed at the continued cycling I was doing so I was having/needing/wanting to stand up out of the saddle and pedal more and more often.  It is ironic to me that in every fit I do I tell people who are new to the tri bike to PRACTICE THE POSITION.  I NEVER ride my tri bike.  I just don't like it that much.  My fit is great, but I have not practiced it - continuously - for more than 2:20 or so this year.  That is my own fault.  I should've realized it would be an issue, but I either didn't notice or didn't care enough to change my training for this "bonus" race.  Oh well, right? Live and learn.

So lap 3 was still a fairly even split but I slowed a bit and my power was a bit more all over the place given how often I was getting out of the saddle to stretch my back. The last road across the island provided a bit of relief as I was finally not fighting the headwind anymore but I was worried about how much my back hurt.  To be honest, I figured I'd start running and it'd go away like most stuff does when you switch from one sport to the other.  I came into T2 and handed my bike off and my legs actually felt pretty good when I got off the bike...a product of the power plan, no doubt. Could I have ridden harder? Of course. But running better is more better than biking better and running worse.

Very even bike splits (not sure what was up with the last 13k, everyone's was "off")

T2 - 2:48

I knew something was wrong at the very beginning of T2.  My bike to run bag was on the lower rack (the bag racks had a top row and a bottom row) and when I went over to grab it I almost fell over as the muscles in my lower back yelled at me for being a stupid b*tch.  I went into the tent kind of running straight up (since I couldn't really bend my lower back and support any weight) and dumped the bags out in the chair. I changed (completely) and noticed that I had indeed forgotten my socks so put my shoes on (although, I had to sit down to do this because I couldn't bend over to put them on, ha!). A kid came over with a jar of vaseline and I said "why not" and grabbed a big handful and spread it everywhere I figured it would be needed....and headed out onto the run course.

Run 26.2 - ain't nobody got time fer dat (DNF)

There were SOOO MANY people right out of transition.  It was pretty cool.  I hoped that I would run and that my back would loosen up and that eventually I'd be fine.  My legs felt fantastic and as a result I was struggling to run over 6:30 pace the first half-mile.



Unfortunately, however, my back just got worse.  I was having to run like I had a broomstick jammed somewhere it shouldn't be up my spine, as any pressure on my lower back muscles caused me to jerk around and whine like a little baby.  I didn't really "give up," however, until mile 4 or so.  Each mile got slower as the pain increased but it wasn't until mile 4 that I said to myself "I don't want to do this." I don't wanna just hurt with real pain the whole run.  My legs hurting, my feet hurting, my face hurting, my ego hurting...that's all ok.  But back hurting is not ok.  Scott has been dealing with back problems for years now.  Bill Robertson had to pull out of his IM because of a back problem.  Nick Baldwin had back problems in his lead-up to IM AZ.  I WANTED to finish an IM, but not at the expense of my health.

So at the turnaround I decided to stop running.  I walked for a bit.  I ran a bit.  I was just going to make my way back into town and turn in my chip.  I saw Ashley coming the other way and a whole slew of people were passing me but I just didn't care. I don't mind sucking (well, I do) but I do mind hurting.  I eventually got to Lori and Jenny, put on the socks she gave me, and sat down.  I watched and cheered with them as we made our way back into town.  Cheering for Ashley, Duran and Laura and stopping then going and getting back into downtown was fun.  I had a bacon cheeseburger, still with my chip on my ankle.  So technically I could have got back on the run course and kept running if my back had improved, but it had not.

My race was over officially when I handed in my chip just after Ashley finished and we found in in the "recovery" chute.

Live to fight another day.  I will be back and I will be very good at this distance.  I have no doubt about that.  Just not in 2013 :)

A brief sojourn

A brief sojourn into my mind on Sunday:

Sometimes I am a little annoyed that I find it so easy to DNF a race.  Well, maybe easy isn't really the "right" word, but I have had more DNFs than other people I know.  I suppose that once you quit once, it's always easier to quit again...but I'm not really sure I believe that I am a "quitter."  I think most people I know have slightly different motivations than I do when it comes to racing.

Over the past several years, each race has just been that: a race.  If there was no money involved it did not have a "higher purpose," as many races do.  Ironman has a "higher purpose" for most people. It involves a huge sense of accomplishment just to finish the damn thing.  It is a long freakin' day.  Then you get into the conditions the race presents; their difficulty and the even more rewarding feeling of accomplishment.  Add in trying to qualify for Kona or set a PR and an IM adds up to being a fairly "higher purpose" race for most.

Cozumel was not that for me.  It was to be the "cherry on top" of a fantastic season.  Swim hard, bike smart, and run strong.  2/3 of those were accomplished for me.  But when my wildcard was dealt I decided to fold.  Walking the whole race (as I wish I had done at Louisville in 2010) would not present me with a sense of accomplishment.  Sure, I did the race to finish but not JUST to finish.  I am a good enough athlete at this point to feel as though an IM is just a long race.  There is nothing special about it, to me.  Partly because I'm not good enough at it to make money in the pro field, and partly because there is nothing for me to qualify for.  I am not going to Kona as a pro.  At least not in the near future.  Not only can I not afford to travel and KQ, I can't afford to travel to Kona itself and race.

So with certain things being "off the table," there was nothing to keep me going.  No incentive. No rabbit. No carrot.  When I first realized that something was very wrong (bending over to grab my T2 bag), I realized that I had not planned for something.  That was almost more annoying than the paint itself.  KNOWING that I could have prevented my issue.  But oh well, time will pass.  Injuries will heal.  Time off will be taken.

I will write a more thorough race report in the upcoming days, but at the end of the season it's important to assess WHY you do things.  So many people say they'd NEVER quit, and that's good...but I'm just not that person.  I didn't WANT the finisher's medal and shirt badly enough to spend another 4+ hours walk/running.  There's no POINT in that, to me.  When I do finish an IM, and I will, I want it to be for the right reasons at the right time in the right place.