B2B Saturday part 3

B2B Saturday, part 3 Running around the perimeter of the large hall of the center but on a padded path. Grabbed my T2 bag from a volunteer and ran to the mens tent. Off with the helmet and shoes but kept on the arm and leg warmers.  Put on a second thin pair of socks. Put on my race belt. Put on my shoes, grabbed my hat and gloves and ran into the bathroom. Scooped up some Vaseline to prevent chaffing. Went into a stall and did my business. Walked out towards the exit of the building and realized I should be running. Over the timing mat.  I was feeling good to be off the bike and taking it easy, but soon saw my heart rate was like 155 so I needed to maybe slow it down. I was running 8:30 to 9:00 pace so that was good. The crowd of spectators was cheering us on. Because our first names were on out bib number they even called out our name.  Thru the downtown and past the finish line. Along the river on the boardwalk. Across the river at the battleship park a reggae concert was going on. The music was awesome. You could "smell" the concert clear across the river.  Thru the cobbled streets and up the super steep hill onto Front street. Settled into a good pace. Around the lake we ran it seemed like forever. I was feeling good. Grabbed some pretzels at an aid station and some cola. I was craving the cola. One or two ounces in little paper cups.  I passed two ladies tied to each other as they ran. The one lady said to the other they were about to cross over railroad tracks. I tried to figure that out. The next day I would find out the one lady was blind! Turn around at about mile 7 and back toward downtown. I saw a plaque that explained not to feed the alligators. I looked out into the lake for them but didn't see any.  I started running with a guy that was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. He had been to Afghanistan and Egypt recently but was now at Fort Rucker Alabama. We talked about that and racing and all kinds of things. We ran with each other for about a half hour or more til I dropped him around mile 12. Had been doing about a 9:00 pace.  I accidentally headed into the finishing chute and the announcer called my name. I froze and turned back to a small opening for where the full marathoners were supposed to go. The announcer had fun with that and I was a little embarrassed.  I kept eating and running. Mostly gels. But I wanted the Espresso flavor ones only.  The sun was getting low but it was still warm.  I had taken my gloves off at mile 2 or 3 and wondered if I should have left them.  Back around the lake. I headed into a porta-potty at about mile 18 for a few minutes and also an aid station. Started taking electrolye pills and water. Sometimes chicken broth or HEED. Lots more Coke or Pepsi.  Saw a guy with a top that had a CF logo or something on it. CF I thought had something to do with Cystic Fibrosis. Also the night before as I was laying in bed watching the late news there was a piece on B2B athlete that had severe CF and was doing the full race. As I came up on the guy I asked if he was on the news last night and so forth. Turns out he was the one! He is a medical student in Chapel Hill, NC (Duke probably). He was indeed struggling with the CF during the event. I told him I could kind of relate as I had moderate asthma and knew from attacks what it was like to struggle to breath. I wished him luck and passed by. I was getting slower. The two miles that included the bathroom took over 22 minutes. My legs were getting weak but I never stopped to walk. Hit the turn around point which was about 19 miles. It was getting dark and I took my sunglasses off.  The light plants were getting turned on and as I passed by them the fumes were sickening.  My pace was about 10:00 or 10:30. Cramps were starting to give hints so i had to be careful. Mile 24 to 25 took 11:24. The last 1.2 miles I was able to pick up some speed as I ran toward the crowd at the last 1/2 mile. I ran across the timing mat and finishing line at almost the same time as 2 years ago. I was surprised at that. My watch showed like 11:56 but the official clock showed 11:58. I thought it was wrong since I started my watch even before the swim start. But it was a mute point. I was done. I got my medal put around my neck, my timing chip taken off, and made to get some PJ bottoms. Then I walked slowly onward and a guy said "are you all right?". He sat me in a chair. I could not do on my own. Sat there a while then another guy came and they put a silver blanket around me helped me up and walk into the warming tent.  I sat in front of a hot blower for awhile and they kept asking how I was. My calves were tingling like when a limb falls asleep and then you wake it up. I got up and shuffled around in the tent and got some hot chicken broth. Later I went outside and got 2 pieces of pizza and came back in. Feeling better after maybe a half hour. Put my PJ bottoms on and tied my blanket on good and headed for the convention center. My truck key was in my saddle bag.  Got my key and headed to the truck many blocks away. Drove to the center and loaded up my bike, T1 and T2 bags. Off to the hotel I drove. 

B2B Saturday part 2

B2B Saturday, part 2 So into the water I went. The temperature was reported at 71 degrees. There were many swimmers ahead and many behind. All around 700 or so of us. The first taste of saltwater hit the back of my mouth and it was not pleasing. It seemed to burn my throat.  I just swam and occasionally looked for a buoy. Supposed to be several along the way. A large crane in the distance, a large water tower. What should I follow?   I should mention that despite my plans in the summer to get prescription contacts, I didn't. I could not see well. I just sort of went with everyone else. I bet a view of me from the air showed a zig zag pattern.  I had a bandage wrapped around my right thumb over a burn. I had to pinch it to my pointer finger as I swam.  Standup paddle-boarders and kayakers lined the way.  After about 45 minutes of swimming I saw the bright orange triangle shaped buoy.   This is where we would turn left. The straight swim of about 1.5 to 1.8 miles up Banks Channel took me almost an hour before I got to the buoy.  There were now houses on the north side of the channel. My arms were really starting to tire. The tide that usually helps the swimmers in this race was perhaps just now starting to come in. Another 5 or 10 minutes I was turning right and headed toward what I could barely see as the finishing dock. A bright orange flag flew there. I was soon along side large boats tied up. Hoped I would not get a mouth full of gasoline or diesel taste.  Got to the dock and was able to climb up the first ladder of many. People were there to help I guess but that is against the rules. I ran along the dock and up a ramp to the concrete walk. I began removing swim caps and goggles. A guy helped strip my wetsuit off as I lay on my back. Off and running again and into a warm shower tent. This took a minute but got the saltwater off my head. Running again towards the T1 area.  A 400 yard run total with bare feet on asphalt so it was tiptoe running. Many people lined the street cheering us all on.  Crossed over the first timing mat and into transition. 1 hour and 19 minutes.  Headed directly toward my bag and grabbed it. Ran to the mens changing tent and in. Nowhere to move. I went back outside. I used the large hotel towel to dry off my head and tri-suit as best I could.  It was very cold and I struggled to put on a jersey. Then arm warmers, leg warmers, head cover and helmet.  Sat down and dried off my feet and put on socks, bike shoes and full shoe covers. No cold feet for me. Shoved my wetsuit, towel etc into my bag and tied it up. Ran to my bike and decided to put on my rain jacket also for added warmth. Gloves on too. Ran out with bike over timing mat (about 15 minutes in T1) and onto the road. Mounted my bike and started going slow.  It was cold but sunny. Biked a twisting course slowly and then over the metal drawbridge. I began passing riders soon. Started getting into a rhythm. I passed many riders that were better swimmers than me. Up Military Cutoff Road. Police seemed to be at every intersection. Soon we were on I-140. Cyclists on the interstate. We had the fast lane and motorists on the right.  I remember looking at my watch and seeing that 2 hours had gone by and I was surprised how fast it had gone by. Started seeing waterbottles dropped along the road. I continued to pass riders. Must do it in 15 seconds once you enter a zone within 15 feet of them.  At mile 20 I went by a aid station and decided to grab a bottle of HEED, a product from Hammer nutrition. I had my own stuff and really didn't need it yet, but I had an empty water bottle cage so just an impulse.  Northward we went into a headwind. I expected it from the forecast. At about mile 22 there were some railroad tracks. The guy ahead of me crossed over them and a waterbottle flew out of his behind the seat waterbottle cage. As he looked back at it he lost control of his bike and crashed what looked like pretty bad. I crossed the tracks and stopped and grabbed a couple of water bottles and handed them to him. I told him to rest and regain his bearings.  Another guy started helping him. I took off. About 5 miles later he would pass me! The miles went on. It was a four lane divided road for a long ways. Riders ahead and behind as far as you could see. I kept seeing "litter" of pills, GU packets, bottles, CO2 canisters gloves and so on.  Oh yea. My speedometer was not working at all but that didn't really bother me. I was watching the heart rate on my Polar watch and using my perceived exertion level as a guide.  I think at mile 40 or so there was another aid station. I stopped to get some Hammer gels and to volunteer gave me 4. Right before this station I had pulled over on a side road for a nature break.  I saw a guy pass me around this time. I guessed he was a half iron rider and one of the faster ones. His butt said "Duncan - USA". A nationally ranked rider with an official USA rider outfit. He was smoking fast.  Compared to 2 years ago I was feeling warm. Well dressed and no rain. Felt good about that. But my left front hip was already hurting and my area where the saddle contacts my sit bones was hurting. Was going to be a long painful ride.  Finally at about mile 50 we turned west. Soon the middle aid station with my special needs bag and the half way point. Also I hoped the headwind would subside.  Got to the aid station and they yelled my number and got my back very quickly. He pulled out my can and handed it to me.  I can't even remember stopping. After I passed the station I decided to pull over. I drank my chocolate shake. I also took off my rain jacket. I was wet with sweat inside it. I jammed the jacket into my jersey and took off maybe spent 4 minutes there.  Much better that 2011 and they hypothermia shaking.  Mile  60 or 70 or so I pulled over for another nature break. I was feeling good after the chocolate shake but the pain in my hip was worse.  I began to sit up and even stand up and stretch it as I coasted. The saddle sore was painful as well and I tried to shift my weight off the small spot of pain.  At about mile 80 we headed south. I still was passing people but began to be passed by riders I had passed. Every 5 miles I would coast, stand up and stretch my left hip. I would stand and pedal and sit upright too. The aero tuck was hard to stay in. I struggled to ignore the pain and peddle hard and aero. The headwind remained. I was expecting a tailwind by this point, but I was disappointed.  I passed the next few aid stations.  I had started a second Powerbar. Mile 100 went by. Mile 110 went by and I was so ready to be off the bike and start running. We came into Wilmington and climbed over the very large draw bridge and downhill toward the convention center. I saw runners out on the course. The crowd there was large and noisy.  I screeched to a halt at the dismount line and almost fell over. Ran with my bike up the ramp and handed the bike over to a volunteer. Time to run. 

B2B Saturday part 1

B2B Saturday, part 1 Got up at 3:40 am and began the frantic activity. Ate a Powerbar and started a banana. had a good bathroom movement and hoped that would be all til at least I was done with the swim.  Putting on my tri suit was easy. Putting on my wetsuit is very hard. I use mineral oil to help it slide on.  It is very tight. I put on an old hooded sweatshirt and old shoes too. The hoody and shoes would be abandoned at the beach for donation for Goodwill (not sure the shoes would be wanted though). Got my T1 bag and special needs bike bag and duffle bag for after. Drove downtown parking on a unrestricted street. Walk down to the Hilton at 5:15. Get on a bus and sit next to a lady from Denmark. She was temporary living with her husband in Virginia due to his work. She had torn ligaments in her shoulder but still wanted to race before she had her surgery.   Her goal was 15 hours.  Got to T1. Our bus nearly got hit as it did a 3 point Uturn in the street. I handed in my T1 bag and then my spec needs bag. It only had a can of Walmart brand chocolate shake like a Slim-Fast.  Had to Go no 1 so I hit a portapotty.  Had to undo wetsuit arms do my business and struggle to get arms back in suit.  Got on a trolley car for the beach. I was the last one on this car unfortunately as I will explain.  I think it was 6:15 at this point.  Sat next to a guy from Florida who wasn't used to the cold temperature. We talked about this and other races.  So anyway this trolly had NO WINDOWS! The announcer at T1 who kept yelling at us to go get on a shuttle bus/trolly said they were all heated. So the nice breeze as we traveled in the 38 degree air was just great!!!!  And then the driver took a wrong turn at the island and finally someone told him. We got going back in right direction again. 6:30 or so drop off at beach area. 1 hour to go. Went where there was three big propane heater units and some non athlete guys could not get them to start or at least two wouldn't. I got into it and got one of them (with missing knob) to start after reading the directions. It did not heat well. Worked on another one with another athlete and it got going after 10 minutes of work.  Bladder was starting to feel full, but was not going to remove my wetsuit. I was in a crowd of people. Stage fright. I had to put myself in a zen like trance while leaning against the box van (Goodwill) just a certain way.  After 5-10 minutes success. It was a wonderful feeling. But now my shoes were wet so not so good. This is a rare occasion when it is acceptable to pee in your pants. You have to grab those opportunities! At about 7:20 or 7:25 the officials began herding us toward the beach start area. We walked about 3 minutes thru the dunes to get there. I took off my shoes and hoody and ran up to the other athletes in the huddle but turned around and got my shoes and coat back on. This was during the time they were saying a prayer and then the national anthem. It was so cold!  In a few minutes I took them off again and the starting horns sounded. I was near the back of the pack but didn't care. Off into the water I went. 

B2B Friday

B2B Friday So I got to Wilmington at 7 am Friday after maybe 3 hours of sleep. That sleep occurred off the side of the road at some dumpy old restaurant near the state line. I should have left for Wilmington at 8 pm and gone interstate as much as possible and gotten there about 2 am. Then slept 2 to 10 am.  Anyhow, I drove around downtown awhile then parked way out from downtown on a free (no parking meters or restrictions) street. Walked around downtown and used the bathroom at Cape Fear Community College. Went back and slept for a few hours but not well. Got back downtown to the convention center at 11:45 and the packet pickup line was long. missed the noon athlete meeting. So with time to kill i shopped at the expo. Got valve extenders for my spare tubular (the spare may have been useless otherwise). Got some special Yankz shoelaces and a Powergel (Kona flavored).  The shoelaces were to replace regular ones on my Asics shoes I might wear on Saturday.  So I went into the ballroom for the 2 pm athlete meeting at about 1:30 and sat at a big round table. I talked to a lady from Raliegh NC. She was going to do her first 70.3 race.  The meeting from 2 to 3:30 ish.  Drove to T1 or Wrightsville Beach. Took 30 minutes due to heavy traffic and construction on the draw bridge to the island.  Unloaded and prepared the bike. Lubed the recently cleaned chain and pumped the tires to 110 psi. Went and racked the bike and walked around trying to visualize how I would run in and where my bike would be amongst the 2200 bikes.  Drove back to the downtown area and walk to convention center (with a duffle bag containing all my stuff for T2 and then some)  at about 5:30 pm. I went to the athlete dinner (4 to 6 pm). It was while the 5 pm athlete meeting was occurring so the place was packed full of people.  It was a great buffet style meal. Pasta, some grilled chicken etc Realized I had to turn in my T2 bag by the 6pm cutoff. Got it in at 5:58 I think.  I chose my Zoot shoes and hoped they would be ok for a marathon. Went back to buffet and ate more dessert.  Left and got to truck about 6:30 pm and headed to hotel. Had to check in, unload all my bags to the room. I relaxed a bit but still had to pack T1 bag and organize for the morning. Watched some TV and got on Internet. Set alarms for 3:30 and after.   Didn't get to bed til midnight. Bad me. 

Beach Bound

Beach Bound I'm headed to the coast (Wilmington NC) this Thursday night. Driving scenic highways at night (SC 76 & 34) May sleep soon. Don't want to wake up late Friday morning and have a long drive.  Burnt the heck out of my thumb at work Wednesday. Size of a nickel is worst area. Huge bubble blister. Very painful.  Got a glob of molten plastic on it. Not sure how to best protect it Saturday.  Fire ants maybe bit me Monday as I changed my oil. Must have been in their path. Swollen and sore. My hips hurt and my left quad is still not right. Weak and worst if I squat. Right knee pain sometimes still. Kneecap gets sticky after a long ride.  It is going to be 36 degrees Saturday morning. I have stuff to wear but it is never easy to judge what best to use. Warm up to 64 maybe during the day.  So I guess I am prepared to suffer. The run will be toughest. Hope I hold up. Will be looking forward to finishing and being able to rest. 

Oct 7 thru 17: bad luck

10/7/13 - 10/18/13 Beach 2 Battleship Iron distance triathlon on Oct. 26. Only a  week away.  I am not sure what to say about my training for this period except it is not good outlook due to the dog incident and previous left hip injury.  On Tuesday October 8, I headed out for a few hours on the bike. I crested a hill and began to descend. I notice a woman walking with her dog in the road. The dog was unrestrained. I went slowly and as far away from them as possible. Then the dog, a large boxer type, charged after me , caught up to me and ran into my front wheel.  I hit the asphalt on my right side. I was badly hurt.  I will omit the details of the incident after that but I went home and treated my wounds. Went to the doctor the next day. A lot of skin missing on my hip but also elbow, hand, and shoulder. No broken bones but severe bruising.  I'm hoping it all will heal up for B2B and I think the skin will be renewed well enough. I can't swim for awhile. Went to gym and simulate swimming movements with weights.  I have been able to do some biking. My only hope of holding onto my fitness rests in my biking.  Some short runs reveal my left hip still has a lingering pain.  I am unsure if I will be able to finish the marathon at B2B. Will the pain become too much in my left hip?  Should I even try?  I will have to just wait and see. 

sept22 to oct6

September 22: Sunday night after 3rd day of work ran 3 miles easy pace (28 minutes). Then ran 3 miles at a fast pace (22 minutes). Then ran 2 miles easy pace for 8 miles total. Ended this 7 days [5 day (65 hours) work week} with about 11 hours of training. Sept 23 - Monday: 70 mile ride on the tri bike. Mostly rolling hills. Hard effort, but temperatures were luckily in the mid 70's so that was nice. 18.8 mph average. Later in the day swam 1000 yards. Sept 24 - Tuesday: 22 mile bike ride then a big swim of 3000 yards. Sept 25 - Wednesday:just work, it was raining anyhow. Sept 26 - Thursday: 9 mile run after work. Sept 27 - Friday: 36 mile ride then ran a 5K and did some upper body and core exercises. Sept 28 - Saturday: rode 98 miles in the mountains on my heavy Specialized bike. climbed 8000 feet. Paris Mountain, Ceasars Head, Dupont Forest, Flat Rock, Watershed, home. On the way down a big hill right before crab creek road a big van passed me and went into the other lane giving me plenty of room, but there was a small car coming at me and they freaked out and swerved into my lane then back into their lane just as the van was getting back into my lane. That was a scary situation. The van driver should have waited for a clearing or the small car should have applied their brakes. Anyhow after I got home I ran 5 miles hard/fast. I used a few calories today. Sept 29 - Sunday: Wait I woke up at 12:30 pm. I made French Toast with 6 or 7 pieces of whole wheat bread and 4 eggs and milk. Got to get some calories. Went to the Y (on my bike with panniers) and swam 100 laps or 5000 yards or 3 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Take the long way home, slow and easy in Greenville for about an hour; so I biked maybe 16 miles today. This last week got in 22.5 hours of training. I think this will be my peak number. Sept 30 - Monday: ran zero miles after work. October 1 - Tuesday: Ran after work. First mile slow (10:00), 2nd mile medium (8:00), 3rd mile all out (6:12). Thought I was going to pass out at the end. My arms were hard to hold up. I walked for a few minutes to catch my breath. Then ran a mile at 9:00 pace and a 5th and final mile at 8:00 pace. October 2 - Wednesday: Rode the tri bike again late in the day. Wade Hampton to SC14 to SC 80 to SC101 south to Woodruff. I made the 25 miles to Woodruff in 1 hour and 8 minutes. Back home with 20.7 mph average. I used a water backpack thing (like a Camelback) which is not what a road biker is supposed to do but it was convenient. Went to the Y and swam a mile without stopping. Went to gym and did upper body strength training for 15 minutes. October 3 - Thursday: Mid afternoon rode the heavy bike to the Swamp Rabbit trail and changed into my running shoes. Locked up the bike at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Ran 8 miles (out 4 and back) at a good pace. Rehydrated and took off again. Got slower and left buttocks and hip got sore and very minor soreness in the right knee. At 16 miles i almost gave up due to the hip pain and the lateness of the day. I went and ran a half mile before I realized I left my cell phone on the picnic table next to my bike so I turned around and went back. That was it. I changed and got back on the bike and went home. 18 miles on the bike. oct 4 and 5: just work. Oct 6 - Sunday: after work and internet, etc I started to run. about a half mile into the run the pain in the left hip came back very bad and I had to stop running. For about 10 minutes i walked and stretched in a church parking lot. It was dark. I saw a deer run into the woods. Actually I had seen many deer lately run into the woods as I approached in the dark. Anyhow, I resumed running very slowly and with very small strides. the pain was minimal. I continued this way until i completed 3 miles. The pain was at bay so I did another 3 miles up Broad Street. The pain started to slowly come back as I came back to the start and it started to rain. Got 6 miles in total. The pain in my left hip is a big concern and I will have to stop or curtail the running for awhile. Only 3 weeks until B2B.