 I suppose I should have thought HTFU at that very moment, but I didn't.
Let me explain. I'm about 2 miles from the finish line at the inaugural Ironman Kansas 70.3 race in Lawrence this weekend when I make a left turn to finish the last part of the final run loop. But instead of running the last two miles a volunteer blocks my way, points toward the finish line, and says, "Sorry but we've called the race because of weather; you're all done!" I make a hard left into the finisher's chute, cross the line, and they hand me a water bottle, finisher's medal while at the same time strip the chip from my right ankle. Before I know what to say I'm standing in the wet grass looking up at the threatening sky's and wondering exactly what just happened. The entire finish to my race lasted about 5 seconds...and that's probably being generous due to my utter and complete confusion at being pulled from the course so abruptly. There was no: - Savoring the last mile of the run like the cherry on top of the 70.3 mile cake - Sprinting across the finish line to beat another racer - The traditional calling out of my name and hometown by the race announcer - Huge wave of relief to finally be able to stop running and moving - Welcoming arm or arms of volunteers ready to catch me should I stumble No: - Cheering crowds - Waiting family - Exhausted but jubilant finisher's - Post race feed - Post race nap in the sun - Post race waiting for my friends to finish - Satisfaction for completing a brand new race
Instead, I overheard somebody saying that if you've parked your car in the grass (which of course I had along with everyone else), it would be a smart idea to move your car immediately before it gets stuck in the mud that was sure to come from the gathering storm clouds. So I sprinted back to the transition area as the clouds opened up and the rain came. I (very hastily) gathered my still sweaty stuff and raced to get my car on hard pavement before the make-do grass parking lot turned into a river of mud.
And sure enough when I got back to my car several larger cars were already stuck in the muck. I managed to move my car and that's when it struck like the thunderbolts from the sky, I had just completed 95 percent of the first Kansas 70.3 and I felt completely cheated of all of the things that make finishing any long endurance race (be it a marathon, long distance swim, or century ride) such a treasure for the age-group everyman athlete. And that's when I thought HTFU. If you are not familiar with HTFU, it stands for...on second thought I better use the urban dictionary to define the term; "Harden The F@#@ Up
Used to tell a weak person or persons that they have become far tooweak, and to prevent further embarrassment to the human race, they mustHarden The F@#@ Up.
1. I see that you are on the side of the road witha flat tire. What, you, a fully grown man can't change a tire yourself,and you're waiting for a tow truck? HTFU!" When it comes to endurance racing and more specifically the Ironman distance in triathlon HTFU is normally used when things get tough. As in from Kona Shelly's Blog: "I kept wanting to walk up the steep hills, but I kept telling myself "your competition isn't probably walking, HTFU". But I have to be honest here and say that for the most part I'm not really a HTFU kinda guy...at least not when it comes to most races. I enjoy the ironfit lifestyle. That is to say I really enjoy having a training goal like an Ironman, century ride, or marathon, but I'm usually not the one out for blood at any cost. I'm not fast enough to qualify for Boston, or Kona, or even the 70.3 championships in Florida. So for me the race is most certainly about the living in the moment. That's why I felt so bad when the moment you know "THAT MOMENT", of crossing the finish line was denied to me and hundreds of others. From the Ironman web site: "Ironman 70.3 debuted in Kansas today, featuring both some outstandingracing but also the difficulties of dealing with unsettled weather.Safety concerns due to severe weather conditions forced race organizersto shorten the run course for about a third of the field." It seems such a casual statement to write, "Safety concerns due to severe weather conditions forced race organizersto shorten the run course for about a third of the field." And I suppose that's why I wrote this story today. I thought it was important for us non HTFU everyman types to be heard. Just in case they don't get it the Ironman HTFU crowd and the race organizers need to get an up close and personal look and get a first person view of how we feel when "unsettled weather" strikes. This is not about blame or second guessing the decision to stop the race. Instead, this is just one story of several hundred unfinished tales. The business man in me would strongly suggest that the race organizers go out of their way to give the athletes that were unable to finish a second chance next year. But the athlete in me says just suck it up, HTFU, and move on. * Post Script: If you look at the photo above you'll notice that my friend Dave raced this very difficulty course (read hot, humid, hilly and very windy) on a hybrid mountain bike. He was also denied the opportunity to finish his first 70.3 by the unsettled weather. P.P.S # 2: I looked up my race results and it turns out that I was beat by a bunch of Clydesdale who ran a sub 54 minute half marathon. It seems that the race organizers have a bit of a mess on their hands when it comes to figuring out who ran the entire half marathon and who set a new world record for 13.1 miles. ;-)
I want to start by thanking everyone who supported me in this race and took the time to track me as the race progressed. The support is much appreciated.
As you know I had two goals for IMCdA, I wanted to get a time in the rage of 12:45 and I hoped that would be sufficient to place me in the top 10 of Clydesdales over 40.
I beat my expectations by posting an iron distance PR of 12:31:21! I have always figured I should be able to produce a time like that but then again I have never come close. My previous PR was 14:27:15 at the Oklahoma City Redman in 2006. I have been doggedly pursuing the iron distance trying to figure it out, trying to achieve the performance I thought I could and apparently I have learned some things but I will say this, one thing I know better than anything else is that it doesn’t matter who you are on any given day you can face the Ironman and come out on top or be stopped cold. The race must always be approached with respect.
According to the scales at packet pickup my official race weight for IMCdA was 215.
I think everyone I spoke with agreed that the swim at IMCdA this year was the most violent thrashfest they had ever experienced. I know that for maybe the first 400 meters of the swim I never put my face in the water I just swam as hard as I could while looking up for fear of taking a serious shot to the face. The swim was a two loop rectangle and for the first leg of the first loop we were like a bag of rats crawling all over each other trying to fight for space. I did take one pretty good shot to the face and had my goggles knocked off and ended up doing the whole swim with one lens partially filled with water. It wasn’t until the second look that I was pretty much able to consistently get some of my own water to swim in. My swim of 1:12 and change matched my previous swim PR at Kentucky, which was an easier swim by far.
The bike course was pretty tough. While the hills were not as frequent as those in Kentucky they were steeper so I think it is pretty much a toss up as to which is more difficult but I think I would lean more toward Kentucky as being the harder bike course because CdA has a fantastic long section coming back into town that is generally flat or downhill and it lasts for about 12 miles whereas Kentucky’s flat heading back into town is only 10 miles and is just flat and not really downhill.
I have stripped the computer from my bike and don’t use my Garmin or anything to track my speed and I just ride by heart rate. I figure that your performance is strictly based on how well you have trained and no matter how much you might wish it to be otherwise you will only go as fast as you are trained to go. I realized last season that knowing my current speed and average speed on the bike just messes with my head.
The bike was two loops and I had a HR plan that was pretty much laid out in 30 mile increments with the first 30 miles being ridden at the lowest HR. For probably the first 80 miles of the bike I was flying past people on the downhill sections and flats and people were passing me in droves on the uphill sections. By mile 90 I started passing some people, albeit slowly, on the uphill sections. I’ve gotten used to the fact that the further up front I am the fewer people I pass and stay passed because I am racing with a stronger group of athletes.
After the first loop I also decided to ride the second loop a bit more conservatively, more in line with my first 30 mile HR plan. I did this because I was riding very well and I wanted to make certain that I had my running legs when the time came. The whole time I was on the bike I kept reminding myself not to get greedy and just ride within my plan. I am pretty sure that if I did know my average speed I would have tried to keep it higher and would not have backed off at all. As it turns out I was picking up speed through mile 56 and backed off just a bit for the second half of the bike. I also drank like crazy and probably downed 8 bottles of Gatorade and 3 or 4 bottles of water as well as Nuun and some gels and powerbars.
When I came off the bike it took me a mile or so to get my running legs but they eventually came around. Once again I was in the position of having many people pass me but I just kept looking at my HR and stuck to my plan. I also ran the marathon like an ultra-runner in that I mostly walked the up hill sections and I walked every aid station unless it was on a downhill section, then I grabbed what I needed and ran out the downhill and walked an equal distance once I was on a flat again.
The run course at CdA is much harder that Kentucky because there is a fair amount of climbing but at least the heat and humidity wasn’t there which was nice. I was running well until somewhere around mile 17 when my stomach went a little bad but the worst thing was that I was overcome by dizziness and became a little confused. The sensation was a lot like what happened to me at IMAZ but instead of trying to push through it I took immediate action and switched to a one minute run and one minute walk. That was not working so I just started walking until I felt better. I also tried to eat and drink everything they had to offer but it was no good, everything made me sick. I probably walked just over two miles and it was at about a 20 minute per mile pace. It was killing me to see what had been a great race falling to pieces right before my eyes but I knew that it was likely that I would feel better if I just kept walking.
There is a saying among ultrarunners, “No matter how good you feel or how bad you feel it will soon change.” I just kept that in mind and before I knew it I was running hard again and able to make up some of my lost time.
I honestly had no idea how well I was doing because I had my watch set to only show me my HR. It wasn’t until I was at about mile 24.5 on the marathon that I overheard one guy ask another what time it was and the answer was “7:15.” I immediately knew that a time of about 12:30 was a real possibility if I just maintained discipline and kept doing exactly what I had been doing the whole race.
It was a pretty emotional experience when I was headed for the finish line and the time had just rolled over to 12:30! I knew this was my Ironman ability and I have finally found it and made it a reality. Much to my chagrin it turns out that this year’s batch of Clydesdales over 40 are basically equal to the fastest gathering of Clydesdales the race has ever seen, in 2004 when the course was different.
So, here are the unofficial results as obsessively compiled by me:
1. NUGENT, TERRY HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO 10:13:20
2. GOCH, DAVE BETHESDA, MD 10:48:09
3. BEHLER, MIKE SANTA ROSA, CA 10:49:35
4. MARTIN, DAN BOZEMAN, MT 11:02:12
5. DELUCCHI, DAVID APTOS, CA 11:08:48
6. GOOLKASIAN, MICHAEL IPSWICH, MA 11:46:30
7. GRANT, CRAIG MISSION, BC, Canada 11:53:58
8. BRYAN, JEFF STATELINE, NY 11:54:41
9. PHILLIPS, RICHARD SPOKANE, WA 12:01:15
10. MERRITT, JAY L BOISE, ID 12:11:45
11. RADER, JOHN ORLANDO, FL 12:19:38
12. PILGRIM, BRIAN RIO RANCHO, NM 12:31:21
12th place out of a field of 64 at a national level race; I can’t complain at all! I guess I’ll just have to do better at Ironman Arizona later this year. I know that I still have room to improve my training, plenty of room if I really want to compete for a top slot and I do.
As in, fifty. Five-Oh. 50 yards underwater. 8 lanes across, 8 lanes back.
Remember when I compared this feat to climbing Mount Everest? Admittedly, that analogy was a little overblown – but what’s important is that I finally knocked the bastard off. Even better is that I actually had a witness.
Normally our swim group does two 25-yard underwater lengths at the end of workouts, which typically average about 2500 yards. But on the day that I broke the 50-yard barrier, some unusual circumstances during practice helped embolden me to the task.
On this particular day, only a few of us showed up, and we all got a late start in the pool, so our group workout ended up about 500 yards shorter than usual. Afterward, one of the guys had to leave quickly, and the other wanted to do some drills, so I was left on my own with the underwater laps.
Therefore, I was able to take a longer than normal rest break before the attempt. Regaining my breath while holding onto the wall, I felt a sense of determined assurance suddenly wash over me; in a split second, I simply knew that I was going to do it. The time was now.
I waited a few seconds longer before asking the lifeguard to watch. He likes to monitor us when we do breath holding stunts (I’ve always appreciated him for that), and he knew that I’ve been gradually stretching out my underwater distance. Even so, he seemed a bit surprised when I asked him, Hey, (lifeguard) - can you keep an eye on me? … followed a second later by, I’m going to go up and back.
That’s right … I said it. This wasn’t exactly Babe Ruth calling his shot, but it felt pretty awesome to declare it out loud like that, fully confident that I’d be able to make it happen. All that was left now was to do it.
In the aftermath, I knew that I would write a blog post about the accomplishment – that was a no-brainer. What took me by surprise were the parallels I kept drawing between the underwater 50 and the 100-mile race coming up in a couple of weeks.
(Then again, maybe I shouldn’t have been that astonished. My thoughts are consumed by Western States lately – it’s the only thing I can focus on. I think one of my kids had a birthday last month, but that sort of stuff is kind of hazy nowadays.)
So here’s the anatomy of a 50-yard underwater swim, complete with my thought process at key landmarks across 8 lanes in one direction, and 8 lanes back. Afterwards, go ahead and call me an idiot if this doesn’t also sound like the internal dialogue in the course of a 100-miler. *
Start–5 yards: There’s no way, this is crazy … it’s too far, I won’t make it. This was a stupid idea.
Yards 5-20: Relax … be confident … be brave … get focused … strong strokes … keep good form … smooth movements, conserve energy.
Yards 20-25: Quick touch and go, don’t waste time … stay relaxed … you can do it!
Yards 25-30: Halfway done! … don’t get excited, there’s still a long way to go … keep relaxed, it’s about to get painful …
Yards 30-40: It’s too much, I can’t do it … I need to breathe … this hurts.
Yards 40-45: Oh my God this hurts … keep fighting … give up! … stay focused ... it doesn’t really matter … no fear … don’t give up …
Yards 45-50: I’m dying … I’m going to make it … I’m dying … I’m going to make it … I’m dying … I’m making it … get there get there GET THERE!
Finish: *blank*
Finish (30 seconds later): Everything hurts … I feel great … that was incredible!
*
Seriously … just double all of those numbers, replace “yards” with “miles”, and the psychology of the two feats seems pretty much similar. In other words, the underwater challenge offers all the emotion of an ultra, in less than a minute. No wonder it feels so intense.
Of course, I’m so neurotic that I couldn’t simply enjoy my achievement on its own; after the initial exhilaration, I worried that the extenuating circumstances of the workout made it less than genuine. Then I worried that maybe the swim was a Bob Beamon-like happenstance, never to be duplicated again in future attempts. (I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating here: I can find the downside of anything.)
So this week, after a regular swim workout, I did it again. Just like the first time, it punished my body, but strengthened my spirit - all of which makes me believe that it’s even more like ultras than I thought.
I guess that's why I enjoy it so much.
 I love my birthday. I haven't worked on my birthday in almost 20 years. It's MY day to play. In birthdays past, I've run up Pikes Peak, done 7 hours rides and now, I've added this new element....the BFIT Bday challenge. This years was the most fun I've had with any of the birthday "treats" I give myself each year.
As noted in a previous post, I was a tad concerned about the length of the swim. In addition to being behind the curve with swimming, I have horrible chlorine allergies. One of my close Christian brothers, Aaron McHugh, called me yesterday to invite me to his country club for the swim portion. The pool is outdoors and it's saline, not chlorine. This pool is awesome!! I felt great. NO allergy issues. So much so that I went longer than the three miles. Aside from one 1250 set we did, it was all pretty easy swimming. I finished the three mile portion in 1:25.
I ate two Snickers Marathon Bars on the drive home to refuel for the bike and was ready to roll. The goal for the bike was to go hard. Living in Colorado Springs, hills are always part of the equation. I made sure to include some of the classic climbs on the Air Force Academy and Roller Coaster Rd in Black Forest. The wind picked up significantly for the last 15 miles which added another challenge. I pushed beyond my comfort zone to finish my 39 miles in 1:51:15. My legs definitely felt the climbs by the time I got home.
I made a quick transition and then headed out for my run. Like the bike, the goal was to run hard. I just didn't know how hard I would go having completed the BolderBoulder 10k three days earlier. The wind was still blowing so I made sure to run into it for the first half. The temperature was climbing rapidly and I forgot to bring a drink. Uh-oh... Well, I was able to push through the dehydration and complete the 9 miles in 1:00:16 which I was pretty happy with. As I was coming down the last stretch to the house, my wife and two daughters were waiting for me. My 10 year old ran the last 200 yards with me which was pretty cool. My overall time ended up being 4:16:31. It was a great training day. It was just what I needed to get a feel for where I am this early in the season (I'm not racing my main race, Ironman Arizona until late November).
My family treated me to some tri specific b-day toys such as a new bike computer, some swim cords and the old standby...multiple tubes for all the flats that inevitebly occur. Thanks girls...I love you and you're the best!!
f you have the chance to swim in a saline pool, please do so. It's easy on the skin and just feels good.
Spending the first part of the day with Aaron was pretty special. Thanks for joining me brother!
Now the key question is....beer or cake? Somehow I think cake is going to win this round.
 Hello everyone! Just checking in to report on my BFitBDay.com Silver Challenge for my 40th birthday! I originally was to do the gold challenge, but as I have a half-ironman in a week, I decided to do the silver challenge for the sake of my now forty-year-old body! My photos are on my website: http://kellymay.hi5.com
I really enjoyed myself and the challenge was a very useful one, this close to my next race! My challenge worked out to roughly 2150km swimming, 23km biking, and 5.3km running everyday for 3 days. As I live in Mexico, my brain just works better with the km distances! I enjoyed the swimming the most, as it was longer than I usually swim and to do that 3 days in a row, I felt a dramatic improvement in my confidence and endurance! (Plus, I did a 6.5km open-water swim last fall, and had missed the feeling of being in the water that long, and the physical fitness boost that long-distance swimming provides!)
The bike was actually somewhat of a break, as I have been training longer hours/distances, but as a birthday present, I received a aero-helmet, so that was immensely satisfying, cruising around, feeling like a rocket! The best part about the run, was that I did it as a brick all 3 days, following the bike, and it just felt good to do those 5.3kms after a light bike. Looking forward to my half ironman and a full ironman in November. 40 feels pretty good! Thanks BFitBday for a fun challenge and Good Luck to all my fellow triathletes out there! Kelly :)
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Team,
Happy Summer and Happy B-Day to all of the very fit athletes that completed the B-Fit Challenge in May.
A total of 15 athletes went for Bronze, Silver, and Gold last month.
Now it is your turn to vote (left side of main page) for the man and women who did the best job in conquering the B-Fit B-Day Challenge in April.
Please visit http://www.bfitbday.com/ to vote and/or take on the B-Fit Challenge for yourself.
The athletes (1 man and 1 women) with the most votes will get a brand new shinny Rudy Project TT Helmet.
For all of you racing Eagleman this weekend, I have some news from our man Andy.
Her writes, "I believe about 10 or so members of RA are going to be present at
Eagleman this weekend. I am trying to coordinate a dinner for
Saturday night with everyone. Can you please make a team announcement
with the following information?
Eagleman Pre-Race Dinner/Social Meet up with other members of RA and the Final Kick Tri Club for a social dinner Saturday Night (location TBD)
The plan is to meet at the Expo site around 6 PM and head out.
Contact Andy Winz for more details, ehcalum@gmail.com
Good Luck to everyone racing and congrats to every athlete that conquered the Challenge in May.
A HUGE congrats to Lana: http://www.bfitbday.com/profile/LanaFor winning last weeks contest by placing the B-Fit B-Day badge on her web site and having our official judge (Tommy) pull her name out of the Rudy Project Helmet. 
Lana gets the super fast 2XU race shorts and really cool badge for her Blog. I want to personally congratulate Annn, Jan, Sub 6, Pat, GG Iron Guy, Charlie and Dave for finishing the B-Fit Challenge this month. You guys are uber fit and deserve a big B-Day Cake!If you've completed the B-Fit Challenge in May please make sure to add your results to the Finisher's Tent in the forum to qualify for May Sponsor Premium HERE. This month we are giving away a terrific Rudy Project TT (areo helmet 0.00 value) to one man and one women who completed and best documented their B-Fit B-Day Challenge. In order to be included in the voting, your times must be posted in the Finisher's tent. So if you have not posted your times, please do so ASAP as I want to include you in the up coming vote. Finally, thanks to everyone who has helped make this a fun and growing online endurance community. I really enjoy reading your B-Fit Challenge and Race Reports. Keep them coming! Train Hard and Race Safe, Roman
I just finished listening to this great Podcast of an interview with some guys over at MIT regarding bikes and aerodynamics. What they had to say floored me. I knew that being aero mattered, but if you had asked me prior to listening to this I would have told you that power was more important if you wanted to be fast. Not so.
They said the typical triathlete creates about 6 lbs of drag on the bike. By using a wind tunnel they were able to look at different things that might help reduce this drag. High on my list would have been the ever coveted disk wheels. They are the sexiest item that you can add to your bike and you would probably be faster just for having them right? Well, they stated that having an aero helmet decreases drag 2 to 4 times as much as having disk wheels. What? So for a $200 investment I could be faster than using a $1800 wheel set? That's right mon frere. An aero helmet will reduce your drag coefficient by 1/2 a pound. That's nearly 10%. So over the course of a 40K (24.8 miles) the average triathlete will save 30 seconds to a full minute. I'm sold.
What about the aero drink? I think most people know this but the cylinder is the biggest enemy of aerodynamics. Having a bottle mounted on your down tube greatly increases the amount of drag you produce. Switching to a bottle mounted in your aero bars is not only an improvement, it's actually better than having nothing there at all. The bottle actually breaks up the wind and decreases the turbulence around the head stem thus reducing your drag. Who woulda thunk it?
They also discussed the straw coming out of the bottle. If you reduce the length of the straw by 10cm you can reduce the amount of drag on the straw by 1/10 of a pound.
How about the bent-o-box? It's been given the same kudos as the aero drink. It's actually a benefit to have a bent-o-box breaking up the wind coming off the stem of the bike as opposed to having nothing at all.
Lastly, body position. A lot of people try to improve their aerodynamics by buying a sleeker bike, but the bike only accounts for 15%-25% of wind drag. The rest is the triathlete's body. Spending a couple of hundred dollars on a bike fit will benefit you 3 times over what you could get out of spending a few thousand on the latest TT bike. You need a fit that is aero, but also comfortable so you are not having to get out of the aero position to stretch or relax your back. Staying in an aerodynamic position for the ride is key in reducing drag.
So stop eating beans and rice trying to save for the latest Zipp wheels. Go frugal and buy yourself a decent aero helmet and scorch the competition this season.
Tailwinds...
Editor's Note: We just got this email from teammate John Little. Please help if you can.
Dear Family and Friends,
You know I’ve become a triathlon nut, now I’m trying to figure out to make a little good come of it. Several of us who are training for Ironman Wisconsin have joined forces to raise money to get some bicycles for kids who don’t have them. Every kid should have a bike. Many of the children who participate in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Johnson County don’t have bikes and their families can’t afford them. My bike shop, my colleagues in Ironman madness and several other sponsors have joined forces to raise enough money to give 150 kids a bike, a helmet, a little love and some biking instruction.
Please, please, check out our web site: www.140milesforsmiles.com Click on “Meet the athletes,” then “Donate to John,” (bad labeling, I don’t get a penny, of course) and with a few clicks you can make a 100% legitimate, tax deductible donation that will be used entirely for its intended purpose (no administrative costs here!).
Thank you, most sincerely, and please forgive the electronic intrusion.
Cheers,
John Little
PS This training is not without its dangers. I just heard that one of our nine athletes has been taken to the hospital with a broken collar bone, after a car cut in front of him on a training ride this morning and he went over his handlebars.
And the 2XU Race Top Winner is.....
Congrats to Sean K who was the first athlete to correctly spot the F in the new logo. Yes, you can also see a couple of "B's" and perhaps a "P" and some other letters, but the designer who designed the new logo confirms that the correct answer to the question:
"How many letters are in the New B-Fit Logo (excluding the word raceAthlete), and what are they?"
is B...F...B as in "Be Fit Birthday"
So Sean---you get the 2XU race top.
Congrats!
In an effort to share the wealth, to get the word out about the B-Fit Challenge, and to keep the contest thread on the forum going we are adding new chance to win a 2XU race shorts this week with a new contest.
This one requires a little bit of ingenuity on your part.
All you have to do is add the B-Fit B-Day Challenge badge to your Blog or Web Site. You'll find the badge located on the bottom right of the main B-Fit B-Day page, or just follow THIS link to get to your own badge (instructions on how to add the badge code are also included)
Once you've added the code just reply to this post with the word "Done" and a link to your Blog or Web Site.
Next week, I'll put all of the athlete's names who added the badge this week to their Blog or Web Sites in a hat, and to keep it really fair and fun I'll let my 11-year-old son draw out a winner.
That could be you.
Let the new contest begin ;-)
The link to the new contest thread is HERE.
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