Chasing the Impossible: Check your attitude at the Door and have some RESPECT !!!!

This is going to be a long post but it will accurately and descriptively tell my tale of what its like to race in a Ironman 70.3 race at Buffalo Springs Lake in Lubbock, Texas. Here are the results

As I rustled around in the sheets I peer over at the alarm clock. It read in bright red lights 6:13 am. It dawned on me then that hotel sheets at a Holiday Inn are not that nice, and it reminded me why I spent $80 dollars on my sheets I have at home. Anyways, it was Saturday morning and after falling asleep to a TBS movie at 9pm I arose quite early. After all I woke up at 4am on Friday morning. The room was still dark and cool so I decided to sleep some more. As the day moved forward I lay asleep and still in my hotel room. I ended up sleeping until 8:30 am. This was a nice change of pace for me a long nights sleep.

After I awoke, I headed to the EXPO one more time and ended up buying a crazy wild speedo, that I am planning on wearing in the upcoming DISCO Triathlon. Check out the link.

My first impressions of Lubbock reminded me a great deal of the city or lack there of that I once lived in called Lavonia. The city of Lubbock to me just seems like a place that many people never leave, and if they do leave they don't come back. I find it hard to understand why anyone would ever want to go to school there but they do. Some 30,000 people go to school there. If the information some co-workers provided me with is correct, Texas Tech, including graduate students has about 50,000 people. This accounts for nearly a 1/4 of the population in the city. Crazy huh?

So I headed to eat Brunch at an IHOP, not exactly the best dining, but you take what you get in Lubbock. There were numerous other Triathlete’s eating there as well. I sat alone and they seated another fellow triathlete next to me. We carried small talk about racing and the course in general. After this I packed up my car with my wetsuit, bike, and other supplies and set my compass for Ransom Canyon and Buffalo Springs Lake. See one may think that oh well your racing in Texas, it must be a flat and fast race. Oh the contrary, the race begins and ends in a canyon. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. All that I had seen was the elevation profile seen in my previous post.

Approaching the lake, the land was flat and barren. Much of the fields were plowed and desolate. Black and white images from an 8th grade history book suddenly came to life in vibrant colors. I thought of one thing the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression. It occurred to me that had all of the pictures I had previously seen that were tied in context to the subject of the dust bowl been in color, it would not have been so depressing. The color of the dirt is a bright and rich copper brown. It’s a bold color to say the least. Once past the gates of the park I scan the horizon and all I could see is a vast canyon off into the distance with a sliver of blue-green lake penetrating the middle depths. I snake my car around the perimeter of the canyon catching glimpses of the spring fed lake below, wondering when will I get to the bottom, how far do you have to go to get to the start. At that moment it felt like time stood still and I would never get to the transition area. Needless to say this would not be the last time I felt like this.

I finally arrived at the bottom and saw the transition area and beach. I parked my car and got out and got my wetsuit on and went for a practice swim. I swam about 7 or 8 minutes just to get a feel for what the temperature of the water was and if it’s really dirty or what, mainly so there are no surprises on race morning. The swim was relaxing and refreshing in the hot semi arid climate of Lubbock. As I made my way back to my car another person had just parked and was getting his bike ready for a ride. We began casual small talk about the water. Then as we both readied our bikes to ride he realized he left his helmet at the hotel. He was quite upset about this and was worried about being disqualified for riding without a helmet. Another and myself assured him this was only on race day that they would DQ for riding without a helmet.

This is also when I met Rich from Minnesota. He indicated as we mounted our bikes that he was going to ride the run course. This was precisely what I had intended to do. So we both set off for a casual easy ride to survey the run course that we both would eventually be taking on the next day. We set out and talked about various triathlon related things, bikes, training, swimming, etc. etc. As the time passed we completed our ride and Rich suggested we both drive the 56 mile bike route. I had considered this earlier in the day and wasn’t planning on doing it until his recommendation. See it was earlier in our short ride that learned that Rich had raced in some 12 Ironman distance races. He had been racing triathlons for some 20 years. I knew that Rich had a wealth of knowledge to share and if someone who has raced has much as him suggest to drive the bike course, I am going to listen. Not to mention I enjoyed the company. It can be weird going to races in different cities where you know no one, mostly boring until race morning. A friendly face is always welcome in my book.

So Rich parked his car outside the gates of the park. This was some 4 miles from the transition area. See the bike leg of this course goes like this: Hill, Flat, Hill, Flat, Flat, Flat, Flat, Hill, etc. etc. However those hills are challenging. We will get to that later. So we drove the course and parted ways. We agreed to meet a little before the pre-race meeting then go to grab some dinner later. It was at the pre-race meeting that we were treated to a traditional Indian song and dance ritual. I found this to be very interesting and have video taped a little bit of it an posted it for you to view on my blog site or embedded depending on the where you read this.

Indian Dance at the Pre Race Meeting

So Rich and I spent the next hour or two hanging out talking and eating dinner. We shared a bit about our backgrounds and families at home and so on. As it turns out we both like to eat pizza before a race. This was nice, because this has sort of become a ritual of mine before all my races and big training days. Before I knew it I was back at the hotel and climbing into bed.

Before I turned off all the lights I called to front desk to ask for a wake-up call. I requested a wake up call for 3:15 am. You might think this is early, but the race started at 6:40 am and it takes about 15 minutes to drive to the park plus time to eat breakfast, shower, and pack the car. The guy on the other end of the phone simply laughed and said "Wow your the second earliest wake up call." I asked what was the first and he indicated it was 3am.

Well as anticipated I woke up to phone ringing precisely at 3:15 am. I was thinking to myself the entire time that some of my friends were still probably awake at this time drinking or doing something crazy. I on the other hand was calm and excited to start my race. I showered and started my normal routine as always. I had my oatmeal, banana, Gatorade, water, and cliff bar for breakfast. Once I was done with that I was ready to pack my car.

Careful to not leave anything behind at the hotel I prepared everything that I would need for the race day on the extra bed I wasn’t using and laid it out very organized. I checked my list and crossed everything off. As I slowly packed my car with all of my race day essentials, I noticed in the distance lightening. I was worried of this and hoped that I would not cancel the race. I recently read of some others whose 70.3 race was cancelled due to lightening. I would have been furious just as they were if the race was cancelled. It was then that I reminded myself that I can’t control the weather and that I need not to worry of the weather but instead focus on what I can control, and that was mentally preparing for the upcoming race.

I arrived at the lake with plenty of time to spare. In fact I sat in my car for almost 30 minutes just sitting there listening to music and hoping for the rain to go away. I had a certain calm about my mind that morning. I don’t know if it was from confidence that I knew I could do the race but also uncertainty in the sense that I didn’t know how I would take on the hills before me. I guess you could say that I was confident but cautious. I knew that one way or another this race would be a challenge.

As the time passed I set up my transition area, covered my skin with sun screen, and pulled on the wetsuit. I made my way to the beach and hopped in the water, surprisingly the water was actually warmer than the air temperature. See it had rained the night before and the outside air temperature had cooled significantly. The water felt good, and warmed the body from the outside in. I swam a short distance to where to the starting line was and climbed back out of the water.

At this point an Indian prayer was chanted and the race was ready to begin. The race directors lined all of the triathlete’s up and readied them for the race to begin. I was set to go in the second wave of swimmers, so I was curious to see the pro’s then Age Groupers in front of me start. I was uncertain how the actual start of the race would be whether it was a mass running start or what. As it turns out it was a beach start and the water is so shallow that most of the Pros actually ran along the banks of the lake as long as they could for almost 30 or so yards then jumped in and began to swim. This was a little unorthodox but I figured what the hell when in Rome right?

So The gun went off and before I knew it I was in my rhythm running along a jagged rocky shore and then finally taking the plunge face first into the water to begin a 1.2 mile swim. I just started swimming like I do in the pool. Stroke after stroke, breath after breath, I found my groove quickly. I should have sighted a bit more right out of the gate but there were 2 buoys that were close together and I started swimming for the wrong one, and then quickly corrected my mistake. As with every triathlon I do looking back on it the swim always goes by in the blink of an eye. I finished my swim with a time of 30:19. This time puts me at a 1:34 per 100M pace. I am very pleased with this time. I was able to shave over 6 minutes off of my previous time of 36:45 in my last half Ironman.

On to the bike leg, the hills were tough. I knew what to expect, and got what I expected. There were numerous climbs as you can see from my previously posted elevation profile (see last post link). I took each hill one at a time, and just repeated the words I say to myself when ever I ride a hill, “JUST KEEP SPINNING” All that I try to concentrate on is keeping a high smooth cadence and minimizing all other energy expenditures, all the while getting my breath into a rhythm. This has never failed me before, and I don’t think it will anytime soon. My bike split ended up being 2:52:57. This averages out to a 19.4 mph for the entire 56 mile ride. I feel that this is a significant improvement over my last race because the last race had nearly ZERO elevation change and I finished with a 2:45:18. So while I went up by nearly 8 minutes I feel if right now I went back and did the same course from my last race I would easily better my time by almost 10 plus minutes. I look forward to doing this next year. What I wasn’t prepared for was how my body was going to react after riding all of those hills. I felt I had trained well and did plenty of Brick workouts, but I had never been able to ride hills then do a run.

On to the run, needless to say, my legs were toast. Right from the get go, I usually find a rhythm after about 2 miles and it just never clicked for me. I am ashamed to say I ran a 2:02:09 half marathon. This is the worst half marathon I have ever ran. I averaged 9:19 per mile. This was were I really lost the race in my opinion.

It’s always good to be humbled by a race, and this course truly did just that. I have a great deal of respect for the course hence the title of this posting. As it turns out I am not the only one who thinks this course is really challenging. A PRO athlete named Mirinda Carfrae mentioned in her wining acceptance speech how challenging she also thought the course was. Check out this link about Mirinda. http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Get_to_know_Mirinda_Carfrae_208.html

To me hearing a PRO athlete say that about a course I just raced, really puts things into perspective. There are not many people who can relate to a PRO athlete the way an Age Grouper triathlete like myself can. That is what makes this sport beautiful. After the rest of awards were presented Rich, whom I previously mentioned hung out for a while talked about triathlons, and drank a few beers and listened to the live band they had for us. It was a nice way to end the day. The next morning we agreed to meet for breakfast. We met the next day for breakfast and went to IHOP. It was a great way to end the weekend. One of the many things I took away from this weekend is that this sport is not just about personal records and performances, but a lifestyle. Its about travel, and friends. Rich was a great person to meet, who helped to inspire me to become a better triathlete. I went to a city all alone didn't know anyone, but yet I walked away feeling accomplished and having got to meet someone who is very accomplished in this sport. Rich has been blessed with opportunity of completing I believe 12 Ironman races, including 8 at KONA !!! I think that is correct. If you reading this Rich feel free to correct me. Not to mention he is still faster than I am and quite a few years older than I am. I think its amazing what this sport will give back to you, when your willing to give up yourself to it. I have made friends, traveled new places, and experienced great things all through TRIATHLONS.

I also have some new goals for the time being, I really want to break 5 hours in my next Half Ironman Distance race. This way I can begin to get closer to being able to qualify for KONA or CLEARWATER. Baby steps though baby steps. Don't want to get ahead of myself seeing as I have yet to even race a full Ironman. The way I see it though is why not, as much ground that I have progressed in a year, anything is possible.

I see two things that I need to do in order to break 5 hours in the 70.3 race. These are ride about 100+ miles per week, with one long ride of 50 – 70 miles each week. Along with run about 25+ miles per week, with at least 3 miles being a brick workout and around a 10 mile LSD run (long slow distance). I will take this week off and start back with un-structured workouts and begin my formal training the following week. I will put my workout plan together with the goal of racing a sub 5 hour 70.3 in Austin. I know my swims will continue to improve and I can expect a few more minutes to be shaved off my total time along with my bike. I really just have to combine my running speed, that I know I have, and use it in the race. I will close with pictures from the race.