One foot in front of the other.
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Louisville: Race Report Part 1 – Before the race
On race day, August 29, 2010, I woke up at 3 o’clock AM. The reason I got up so early was too afford myself the time to follow my usual, daily routine. I know it may seem silly to some, but for me having the time to wake up, eat breakfast, shower and basically just give myself the time to get in gear is imperative.Also, since the transition area opened at 5:30 AM, I wanted plenty of time to get there, park and get to my bike.
I arrived at the transition area at about 5:10 AM. Already there was a huge mass of people waiting to be let in to transition in order to make final adjustments and nutritional additions to their bikes and transition bags. In my past experience, people are always early for these types of pre-race tasks, but due to the nature of the swim start, it was especially important in this race. You see, the swim start for Ironman Louisville is a time trial start. The reason for this is that the swim was taking place in the Ohio River, and the first third of the swim led athletes upstream in between Towhead Island and the shore. Therefore, there was not nearly enough room for the traditional Ironman mass start.
As it turned out, we were allowed into transition a few minutes early. I headed straight to my bike to fill my Speedfil (filled with 3 hours worth of my custom blend from Infinit Nutrition) and to top off my tires. I had done pretty much everything I needed to the day before, so I was all prepared and headed with the a boat-load of other people on the 3/4 mile walk to the swim start. As I walked, there were people literally hauling ass by me to get a decent place in the line to start. The reason for this (and a HUGE complaint for me) is that the line for the swim start had ABSOLUTELY NO RHYME OR REASON. It was entirely first come, first serve. I will go into this more in my review of the parts of the race that I experienced later, but as you can guess, I think the way it starts is crap.
I, like many others, had someone holding a place in line for me. While I imagine that had I not been fortunate enough to have this, I would have been furious at those who did. However there was/is no rule against it and that opportunity presented itself, so I took it. I was placed very close to the front of the line and knew I’d be in the water quickly once the cannon sounded.
As time drew nearer, volunteers were gathering morning clothes bags about 45 minutes before the actual start. This was a problem for many (including me) because it left us standing there, with no water, clothes or anything else we may want for 45 minutes (again, I’ll go into this more in my review later). I did run to the bathroom at one point, which meant going quite a way from where I was standing (many thanks to my line buddy for holding my spot). This was sort of easy, though the bathrooms were situated right beside the line for going in the water so it looked like some sort of spandex-clad M.C. Escher drawing.
I picked my way back to my spot in line, past a throng of not-so-pleased athletes, and waited. The professional start was right at 6:50 AM and we were to go off ten minutes later. In that ten minutes, a very talented trumpeter played the Star-Spangled Banner as well as My Old Kentucky Home. Then things began to get energized.
When the cannon went off, the lines we were in moved super fast. I put on my cap and goggles and watched my fellow competitors jumping off two separate docks. Swimmers were going in two at a time off each dock basically one on top of the other. It was actually quite dangerous looking and you really had to be careful not to jump on the swimmer in front of you.
I walked out on the dock and jumped.
To be continued…
Polar and LOOK, the inventor and leader in clipless pedals, have merged their expertise to introduce the first clipless pedal that measures power output and cadence. Kéo Power is a must-have novelty for the ambitious cyclists who want to reach their maximum potential.
Polar P5 power transmitters and Look Kéo Power pedals comprise together the first-ever power measurement system integrated in the pedals. Easy to attach to cranks and switch between the bikes, each pedal comes with eight embedded gauges for extreme precision in power measurement. The two power transmitters relay the data from the sensors directly to a compatible Polar cycling computer on the bike’s handlebars.
Kéo Power gives instant feedback by measuring accurate power output in watts from both the left and the right pedal separately. By revealing the cyclist’s left/right balance between the legs, the system helps perfect cycling technique. In addition, current and average cadence is essential for those willing to optimize their cycling economy.
The system is compatible with Polar CS600X and CS500 cycling computers and works with any crankset on the market. The CS500 displays power output and cadence, whereas the CS600X reveals the left/right balance and Cycling Efficiency Index as well. The Polar LOOK Kéo Power system will become available in spring 2011.
My trip to Louisville, Kentucky began at about 6 o’clock AM on August 26, 2010. Since I had so much stuff to bring, including my bike, helmet(s) and all my other race gear, some of which is quite bulky, I had decided to drive down rather than fly. From New York City, where I live, it is about a twelve hour drive. To be completely honest, the drive was rather boring and uneventful.
Upon arriving in Louisville and checking in to my hotel, I immediately headed to a nearby Wal-Mart super center to pick up some groceries. I was trying to keep my meals as on track as possible leading up to the race and, say what you want about Wal-Mart, but they had everything I needed to have the meals and snacks that Coach Jeff prescribed. After eating dinner and taking a bit to digest, I got right into bed and went to sleep.
The next morning, I didn’t have a very strict schedule of anything to do. So, after eating breakfast, showering and such I headed down to check myself in to the race and to visit the expo. Checking in was relatively painless and went by in about 15 or 20 minutes. The check-in process went like so:
After doing the check-in thing, it was on to the expo. A quick side-note on that; I think WTC (Ironman‘s parent company) is making a huge mistake by only having themselves as the sole vendor of general multisport “stuff” at these events. There are of course, other companies at the expo selling their products, but not really any multi-sport retailers other than Ironman. For instance, I needed two extra eight ounce Fuel Belt bottles. The Ironman store in the expo only sold Nathan products (that I could find) which do not fit in my Fuel Belt. So, I had to drive across town to what was actually a really great local multisport store, VO2 Multisport to find the bottles I needed. My point is, unless Ironman/WTC can somehow manage to have fewer exclusive deals and carry a wider range of products in their “store”, I think they’re hurting themselves and the athletes by boxing out stores that might be able to provide some of the things they cannot.
In the expo, I made my way through the companies that were there to visit Pam, Ian and the crew from Newton Running (I’m sure you’re completely shocked that I spent time there!). It was really great to hang out with them for a few and to talk about everything from shoes to the challenges of running (and hiking and biking and…) with babies, toddlers and beyond. I had put out the call for a tweet-up lunch thing meeting at the Newton booth at noon, so in the time I had before then, I ran back out to my car to take care of a couple of errands and to scope out the area. On my way out of the Galt House Hotel, where the expo and such was being held, I got recognized by a racer named Alvaro (I’m pretty sure). I’m constantly shocked when this happens, but he was such a nice guy and I truly hope his race was everything he’d set out to accomplish.
I got back to the Newton booth right at noon and waited around until 12:30 for people to show. The tweet-up ended up being just me, but that’s OK, because I like me (most of the time)! I think that a lot of the time, people are a bit shy about crossing the bridge between the virtual and real worlds and don’t want to speak up. So, if you’re reading this and you DID show up, but you just weren’t sure what to do next, SAY SOMETHING TO ME!! Chances are you know what I look like, but I probably don’t know what you look like!
After I had my lunch, I went back to my hotel to rest a bit and to shower and such as I’d be heading to the athlete’s dinner and meeting that evening. The meeting itself was the usual stuff; the directors of each portion of the course, and the race director went over rules and cautions, helping to give us the safest and best race experience.
Afterward, I headed back to my hotel. My plan was to begin to get my gear together and into it’s assigned bag. Below is the video of those details:
After all that, I headed to bed with my alarm clock set to wake me up and get down to the practice swim the next morning.
The practice swim was pretty uneventful. The race was NOT wetsuit legal as the temperature was about 86° F. I took the swim to feel out how I would react to the fact that we would begin the race by swimming upstream and against the current of the Ohio River. I also wanted to feel the downstream current as I was expecting to feel more pull than I actually did. The swim felt good and the water was MUCH better to swim in than the Hudson River!
After the swim, I took my bike to the Ironman wheel rental counter to get my race wheels put on (special thanks to @Indianabackdoc for helping facilitate this). I then had a short, easy bike ride of about 30 minutes in order to get my legs spinning. This was followed by a short, roughly 15 minute run. Both of these felt great and I was really beginning to get excited for the next day.
I went back to my hotel and got my gear together to check in. In Ironman races, you are required to check in your bike and transition bags the day before the race. Generally, you will have access to them on race day, but it pays to be ready ahead of time. I got my stuff all checked in and that pretty much ends the preparation!
After taking a short nap and lounging around my hotel room for the afternoon, I met up with Trevor and Kristine (Twitter friends and teammates on Team PRS Fit). We went to Lynn’s Paradise Cafe and had an awesome dinner with excellent conversation. It was so amazing to have met these two and to get to spend some really amazing time with them (more on this later). They really and truly made my trip without my wife and daughter that much more bearable and I cannot thank them enough for all they did for me.
I got back to my hotel at about 8:30 and set my alarm for 3 AM. I closed my eyes, and surprisingly, sleep came easily.
To be continued…
Because I am driving back home today (Monday), my podcast will be this Thursday, September 2 at 8pm EST.
My Top Ten Tips for Beginner Cyclists
Baker’s Review of the Catlike Whisper Plus
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In late July, my friend Brandon posted about Catlike’s 2010 Whisper Plus helmet. Supposedly, the lightest and coolest (from a temperature standpoint) helmet on the market and I had to have one! They were available for purchase in the US on August 2nd, which is when I placed my order, then anxiously checking the Fedex tracking each day to watch it’s progress. Yes, I was excited.
The Whisper Plus retails for $280.00 which puts it on the pricey side of things. My justification was simple, it was designed to protect my head making it invaluable riding accessory. It arrived in a black hard-shell carrying case, very similar to an expensive pair of sunglasses. I immediately inspected and tried on the helmet, being very impressed with its design. It is an extremely light helmet, yet feels very rugged.
I chose ‘Cervelo White’ as the color of my helmet which seems appropriate as I ride a Cervelo P2. The whites on both do in fact match.
The following morning in Central Park I noticed a number of interesting differences in this helmet as opposed to my old Bell. It has an adjustable back strap that sits right at the bottom part of the skull, keeping the helmet tight but still breathable. If necessary I was able to (with one free hand) reach back and tighten or loosen this device to find a happy medium while riding.
It’s most notable feature is the wind coming through the vents and across the top of your head. It was pretty amazing and really did keep my head cooler than I was used to.
As far as ‘looks’ go (come on people, we all like to look good when racing) it is great from the side angles and has an aerodynamic quality. From the front it looks very alien with its multiple honeycomb vents, which is a minor drawback compared to it’s cooling function. Overall, it looks very professional and may mark the beginning in a new era of helmet design.
I have been wearing it on training rides a lot with no dissatisfaction. In fact I love it. As far as races go, I haven’t tested it yet as I have only had a few ‘Sprints’ since owning it. Probably, I would wear it in any race greater than a Half Ironman as you hardly know you’re wearing the helmet which is a huge plus.
I would definitely recommend this helmet to any serious cyclist or triathlete.
Big thanks to Baker for writing this awesome review for me! You can visit his website and check out more of his stuff at: BeyondDefeat.com
If you’ve ever shopped for quality bike gear, whether it’s clothing, parts or accessories, then you know that the world or bike stores can be a very expensive one to navigate. I’ve put together this list of store where I like to shop online. I avoid shopping in brick & mortar store as much as possible because of the huge markups and the internet is the new bargain bin of retail! This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is one that includes some of my favorites.
If you’ve got a great site that you’d like to add to this list, PLEASE leave it in the comments!
Serves: 4
Whisk vinegar, oil, dill (or oregano), garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and feta; toss to coat.
Tip: If you don’t have cooked chicken, poach 1 pound chicken breasts for this recipe. Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water (or chicken broth) to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 15 minutes.
Per serving: 343 calories; 18 g fat (5 g sat, 7 g mono); 89 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrates; 31 g protein; 3 g fiber; 618 mg sodium; 656 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (140% daily value), Vitamin C (45% dv), Folate (31% dv), Potassium (19% dv), Calcium (15% dv).
1 Carbohydrate Serving
There are so many tips for beginner cyclists floating around the internet that to cover them all could be a complete website unto itself (and probably is!). This list is the top ten things that I think every beginner cyclist should know (assuming you’ve already got a bike). Please leave your own beginner cyclist tips in the comments!
Again, this list is by no means comprehensive. Please leave your tips in the comments!
In full Ironman events (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) you are given five plastic bags at check in. One bag for transition one (swim to bike), one for transition two (bike to run), one morning clothes bag (for clothes and whatever else you may want to keep around before entering the water) and one bag each for about the halfway point on the bike and the run. Each of the special needs bags will be waiting for you with whatever you want to have in it. Here’s what I’ll have in mine…
Bike Special Needs Bag
Run Special Needs Bag
That’s all I can think of for now, and I’m sure I’ll add a few things along the way, but I’m trying to be a bit minimalist about it. You are told that you likely won’t get your special needs bags back, so it’s best not to put anything in them that will be sorely missed.
Check back soon for more race prep!
Sole Dual Layer Performance Socks
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am an opera singer living and trying to make it in New York City. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
Who: This contest is open to anyone and everyone in the U.S. and Canada (also APO)! Tell your friends!
What: Stuffitts! I have spoken about these simple yet awesome shoe savers in the past. Click here to read more about them. I cannot say enough how great they are!
When: Starting NOW! This is an ongoing contest that will be every month, or until every person on the planet has nice, fresh smelling shoes!
Why: Because Stuffitts are awesome! The folks at Stuffitts are being SUPER generous and I also want to give you guys something that I think is a great addition to any athletes arsenal!
How: On the last podcast episode post of each month (example: Episode 99 on June 28 HERE) entrants should leave a comment (however long you'd like). On the following week's show (the first show of each month) I will draw, by random number generator, one winner! That's it!
Good luck!
