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…
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…
My Top Ten Tips for Beginner Cyclists
Baker’s Review of the Catlike Whisper Plus
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Sole Dual Layer Performance Socks
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Sole (AMAZING SOCKS, and sandals….)
Smith Pivlock V90 Max Sunglasses
Smith Pivlock V90 Max with Prescription lenses
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Infinit Nutrition (Use code “ironbrandon” for FREE shipping!!)
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New York City Triathlon Results (I’m bib number 4788)
Me on the Official Newton Blog!
Infinit Nutrition (Free shipping with code: ironbrandon)
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While I am an admitted fan of Google Maps and an avid Apple supporter, I have to admit that Microsoft really stepped up its game when they created Bing Maps. Now, Bill Gates & Co. have given us an application that will give you the dirt on each and every stage of the 2010 Tour de France.
Not only does this app give you the obvious in the form of pretty satellite pictures of the route, but they go several steps further. You can automatically zoom in to both the beginning and end of each stage which will get you a lot closer than sitting in your living room will! You can also see the results of each stage (information for the app data provided by Podium Café)
To see the app in it’s full, yellow jersey wearing glory, click the link here!
To me, about three years ago, the Tour de France was just this bike race that took place in France. Lance Armstrong was really the only cyclist I could name off hand. Then I started getting increasingly involved in endurance events, along the way falling in love with Le Tour (and other races as well).
This coming Saturday, July 3, 2010 marks the beginning of this year’s Tour which promises to be one of the most intensely contested races in a long time. One of the main reasons for this is the intense rivalry that developed last year as then Astana teammates Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador exchanged words, looks and mental gamesmanship. Since that time, Lance has walked away from Team Astana to form Team Radio Shack, taking along with him eight out of the nine members of the 2009 Team Astana (the same team that won the team title in the 2009 Tour).
Apart from the most watched rivalry is the the vast field of strong riders with widespread talent and teams that hope to guide their leaders to the podium on the Champs-Élysées. Perhaps the most watched among these riders is the second place finisher in the 2009 Tour, Saxo Bank rider, Andy Schleck who, along with his brother Frank, gave an amazing performance in last year’s Tour and promised to be at the front of the cycling world for many years to come.
If you’re not a fan of cycling because you find it boring or tedious, this year promises to be an incredible race to watch. Whether the Armstrong/Contador rivalry truly plays out or if the real challenge come from one of the new teams hitting the road in this year’s Tour, such as Team BMC or Team Sky, you can be sure that cycling’s best will be throwing down the gauntlet every single day between July 3rd and July25.
You can follow Tour coverage online at: http://letour.fr as well as on Versus. Additionally, Versus will be playing each and every stage live on it’s television channels and replaying it throughout each day. The Tour begins with the Prologue in Rotterdam tomorrow.
Win a free entry to the Salinas Valley Half Marathon!
Stuffitts (Comment on this post and win a free pair!)
Know your body’s quick-cooling spots
IronBrandon’s Podcast: Episode 99 (player temporarily being stupid. Click here to play)
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I want to begin by saying that whoever wins this, I AM SO JEALOUS! Now, on to the contest…
The First Annual Salinas Valley Half Marathon is a race that struck me as one that has so much to offer. From taking place in beautiful Northern California along Monterey Bay to finishing by running through the vines at the Pessagno Winery, this race promises to be one that many may have trouble “racing” because they’ll be distracted by their surroundings. The course is USATF Certified (certification # CA10002TK).
So, I have ONE (1) entry into this race that I am giving away to one of you guys! Here’s how the contest works:
Help Support IronBrandon (Thank you!)
Salinas Valley Half Marathon (Win a free entry!)
Infinit Nutrition (Use discount code “ironbrandon” for free shipping!)
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Many remember last year’s finish of the mens race at Ironman Boise 70.3. In that race, Chris Lieto came around the final turn down the finish chute in the lead…until Craig Alexander came around the corner a split second later and took the win over Lieto by less than two seconds! This year’s race was almost just as exciting, with Lieto and Alexander coming out of T2 side by side. Shortly thereafter, Lieto pulled out of the race with abductor issues, but Alexander then had to deal with the very hard charging Ben Hoffman. Ultimately, the reigning, two time Ironman World Champion, Alexander, pulled out the win by only ten seconds over Hoffman.
In the womens race, after a very tough outing at Rev3 Quassy last weekend in Connecticut, Julie Dibens got redemption with an impressive wire to wire win.
Click here to see the full report from Ironman.com
Click here for the full results of the 2010 Ironman Boise 70.3
*Side note: Age Grouper Joesph Pellegrino of Missoula, Montana threw down a 59:28 run to finish 8th overall! Holy crap!
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Mooseman 70.3: Race Report Part 3 – The Race…
After being presented with my medal and refusing, then reconsidering and seeking warmth under a Mylar blanket, I began to make my way through the sodden post-race festivities. The athletes food tent had hamburgers, hot dogs (one only, please), chowdah’ (see: chowder), potato and pasta salads and some other things. I dug in and tried to find some shelter under which to down my well earned sustenance.
I forgot to mention a couple of things in my earlier posts, so I’d like to get to them now. First, the plan for this race had been for my wife, Danielle, my mother-in-law, Kathy and my daughter, Sydney, to drive up for the race on race morning (coming from the Boston area) in time to see me come in on the bike and throughout the run. However, as fate would have it (and completely unbeknownst to me until well after the race) the power at my in-laws house had gone out early that morning and the rain which I was seeing was also coming down where they were. The decision was made for them to stay home as dragging my two month old daughter two hours in the car and then standing around in the mud and rain would be less than fair to her (not to mention Danielle and Kathy). Because she couldn’t get hold of me as I had already ditched my phone earlier, Danielle spent a good deal of the morning fretting over me not seeing them when I expected to. I’d like to say a big “Thank you!” to Ari, Kevin, Jeff and many of my other Twitter and Facebook friends for keeping her calm and not so worried. I will say that I held out hope that they were at the race, but had relegated themselves to sit out the rain in the car somewhere with a view of the course. Just knowing that their support was coming my way was enough.
The second thing I want to mention is a guy I met named Dennis. Dennis and I met on the slopes leading up to the S.O.B. hill and had some really nice conversation battling the inclines. In situations like that hill, it really is nice to just let your legs grind it out with someone who is offering their own encouragement and grinding it out themselves. Dennis and I passed each other a couple of times on the bike (with him finishing ahead of me by a bit) and passed each other going in opposite directions on the run. Each time I saw Dennis on the run, he was giving me words of encouragement and support, even as he was throwing down run splits himself that were much faster than the splits his surgically repaired knees could handle! Thank you, Dennis!
Eventually, Dennis and I decided to go grab our stuff from transition. I still had to drive back to my in-law’s two hours away, and he was waiting for a friend to finish, and he suspected it could be a while (it ended up being another hour and a half, waiting in the rain and cold). By the this time, transition looked like a war zone. Mud, grass, spandex, wetsuits, bikes and general debris littered the ground. What had been small puddles now looked like they could have hosted the swim portion of the race. I gathered my things (still in the rain)and began to make the slow, long, wet and muddy hike back to my car…3/4 of a mile away…in the rain…and mud…and 62° air…
Upon getting to my car (stepping in every clean-ish looking puddle along the way at an attempt to get the mud out of my shoes), I did my best to get packed and get my dry clothes on. The “parking lot” now looked as though it belonged in a war movie. Cars had dug tire channels so deep they looked like earthen berms perfect for a firing line. In fact, upon getting briefly stuck myself, I had to put my car into four wheel drive until I got out of the morass.
I cranked the heat, and headed home.
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Mooseman 70.3: Race Report Part 2 – Race Morning…
Beach starts in triathlon tend to be a full contact affair. This is especially true just behind the front of the pack. If you’ve placed yourself in that spot, there’s a decent chance that you’ll get kicked in the face by the guy in front of you and/or punched in various parts of your body by the guys on either side of you and/or dunked and swum over by the guy behind you who may be faster than you. All accidents, of course.
Since I expect to be one of the faster swimmer in any race I enter, I always place myself at the front of the pack in both water and beach starts. In triathlons I’ve done that have pool swims it is incredibly frustrating to be relegated to swimming behind people who’ve WAY overestimated their speed, and having to pass them. So, for this race I was at the front of the pack when the horn sounded.
The run into the water was fairly smooth with the bottom dropping off to swimming depth in probably about ten feet. The pack broke up quickly and myself and a few others pulled away off the front. The swim course itself was a rectangle (see picture) and was protected from and waves kicked up by wind by the shoreline to the East. As we reached the first turn, quite a few waves appeared, I have to assume because we had come around from the lee side of a point of land, and the wind was now kicking up a bit.
At about the halfway point, I noticed that another swimmer from my wave (I could tell from his powder blue cap like mine) and I seemed to be staying right with each other. Shortly after I noticed this, my opponent disappeared and I assumed that I had dropped him. By this time, I had been swimming through swimmers from waves that had gone off ahead of me from about the 1/4 mark on. Every now and then, either I would accidentally run into one of these swimmers or they would run into me. This is when I noticed that someone kept hitting my heels. I snuck a peek back and saw that the swimmer with whom I had been dueling had taken a comfortable spot in my wake and was now drafting along and taking it easy. While drafting is illegal in the bike leg of a triathlon, there is nothing wrong with drafting in the swim. I guess I didn’t mind so much and I wouldn’t have even known the difference if it weren’t for the fact that my heels were getting tapped every thirty seconds or so. Annoying.
The concern I had coming into this race with regards to my neck never really came to fruition. To be honest, I was being a bit conservative (which is evident by my less than stellar time) and definitely felt fatigued in my shoulders more than I usually would, but true pain never affected me.
Swim time: 27:17
Swim pace: 1:25 per 100 meters (boo)
Age Group Place: 5th
Overall Place: 28th
Most of us are aware of the potential dizziness that comes with standing up too fast. I have even fallen over several times because of this. In a triathlon, the same thing takes place. You’ve been swimming for however long, thus you’ve been essentially laying down. All of a sudden, you ask your body to stand up! This problem can be compounded by the fact that your upper body is doing most of the work on the swim and so most of your blood is hanging out there to supply your muscles. Further, if you’re wearing a wetsuit, there is a bit of compression being applied to your lower extremities which keeps your blood even more focused in your upper body. So, when you then stand up to run out of the water, all that blood suddenly drops, and sometimes you do along with it!
As I stood, I was ready for the dizziness and I was not disappointed. Upon exiting the water, there was about a 20 yard (if I remember correctly) run to the wetsuit strippers. This is not some weird, wetsuit fetish exotic dancing area but rather, a group of race volunteers whose job it is to get you out of your wetsuit as fast as possible. All you have to do as a racer is flop on your back on the ground and they will grab your wetsuit and peel it off of you in a flash. The problem with this is the dizziness thing. You’ve just come out of the water, gotten dizzy and then after a few seconds, you throw your body back to being flat again for a few seconds (legs in the air, mind you) and then pop up AGAIN. This makes for a rather world-spinning few minutes.
I made my way into the transition area and found my belongings in fairly short order. By this time, it had been raining for about thirty minutes and everything was wet. I removed my socks from their dry sanctuary inside my cycling shoe, inside that grocery bag I spoke about. Now let me paint you a picture of what I was doing. I was trying not balance on one foot at a time, while my head was spinning, putting dry socks onto wet feet (try putting on sock directly out of the shower some time), while desperately trying not to step into the mud and puddles that now surrounded me. All this time, my head refused to stop spinning. Good times. I eventually got my crap together, even having to literally DUMP water out of my helmet, and was on my way out of transition. Slow.
Transition 1 time: 4:14 (Dear LORD, that’s awful)
To be completely honest, a lot of the bike portion of the race is a blur. It rained the entire time, often very hard. For the beginning six or so miles on the bike, I let my legs warm up well, pushing, but not pushing to the point of exhaustion. At about mile seven or so, the climbing began.
Leading up to this race, I had checked elevation charts and was not prepared for what I encountered. The first, largest and longest of the hills that we encountered was awful. First, we were climbing this hill in the rain, which gave you the appearance in spots of riding upstream in a river with an asphalt bottom. Second, this hill went to gradients of 16% for large sections at a time. To give you an idea of what a 16% grade is, the famous Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France has an average gradient of “only” 8.9%. Many people were forced to walk this hill and I must admit that I glanced at them with envy, but I stayed on my steed.
Several of the descents on the course were long and sweeping and gave you time to rest your legs. Other descents were so dangerous even without the rain that the officials had told us the day before that they would be strictly enforcing a 35 mph speed limit.
Apart from the 16% S.O.B. hill, there were a couple other climbs in excess of 10% as well as some deceptively “flat” sections that seemed to sap energy from the legs. The road conditions were only OK. You were forced to stay constantly aware of the pavement in front of you due to the fact that for 99% of the course there was a large crack (hastily patched but still pitted) meandering across both sides of the road.
Somewhere around halfway through the bike, my Garmin 305 went haywire. I went to take a peek at my heart rate and the screen was flashing from display to display, and not making any sense. I tried to turn it off and couldn’t. So I took it off and put it in my jersey. Now, for the rest of the race, I would have no idea where my pace of my heart rate were. I would be running purely on feel and perceived effort.
The toughest part of this bike course was grinding through it the first time and knowing you had to come back and hit it again. 16%’er and all. My nutrition, which if you know me, you know I have struggled in the past with this, was perfect. I had three hours worth of my “blend” from Infinit Nutrition in my Speedfil and rotated water bottles from aid stations in my one bottle cage. I finished my Infinit blend with about six miles to go on the bike, so, just to be safe, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade Endurance Formula and dropped a bottle of water into my Speedfil. I also grabbed a banana at some point during the bike (can’t remember when) just because I knew it wouldn’t affect me adversely and it just looked good.
I didn’t do exactly what I wanted to do on the bike, in terms of speed, but I was consistent and I think that is just as important. I also learned a lot of what I need to do moving forward.
Bike time: 2:57:16
Bike pace: 19 mph
Age Group Place: 44th
Overall Place: 217th
By the time I hit T2, my feet had been soaked for over three and a half hours, but were holding up fine (I actually have a lot to say about my Sole insoles on the bike that I’ll write about later). However, I though it would behoove me to put on dry socks. This was frickin’ stupid. It was still raining and I was still surrounded by mud and puddles. I have no idea why I thought that changing my socks would make a single bit of difference, bu I did anyway, and again, I had a terribly slow transition.
I grabbed all my gear, which wasn’t that much after I got my shoes and dry (dumb, dumb, dumb) socks on. This included my new Fuel Belt H2O, which was holding two bottles of my Infinit blend, each with an hours worth of nutrition. As I ran out of transition, my shoes were wet and muddy within thirty seconds.
Transition 2 time: 3:26 (Oy to the vey)
I was really looking forward to this run. I have been running really well off the bike and I planned to make no exceptions on this run. The course itself was quite beautiful, albeit seen under cloudy skies that were still ridding themselves of any moisture they held, much to our detriment. It was fairly flat to rolling. The biggest obstacle(s) came in the form of a nasty little hill that was about 1/3 of a mile long at about mile 2 or so and again at about mile 8.5.
Because my nutrition and hydration had been so good on the bike, I had to pee almost as soon as I began to run. I waited until the first aid station at mile one and stopped to answer nature’s call. I actually ended up having to pee twice, and it bears mentioning that it went well (it bears mentioning due to my previous experiences during races when I’ve stopped to pee).
The course was two loops of an out and back that had as it’s outside turn around point, about a half mile of dirt (read: mud) road that ended in a cul-de-sac. On this stretch of “road” there were some incredibly nice and supportive volunteers and even a barbershop quartet in one of the driveways serenading the runners as we went by.
I felt great on this run. I did struggle a bit with not being able to tell my pace of heart rate. Because of this, I laid off a little on the third quarter of the run, before picking it back up a bit on the home stretch. I didn’t want to wind up completely gassed for the run in. I passed a lot of people wh had passed me on the bike and that was quite good for my morale. The rain never really let up, but I felt solid nonetheless. I truly think I would have been able to do more on the run had I known where I was in terms of pace.
Run time: 1:35:08 (1/2 marathon PR by 12 seconds)
Run pace: 7:15 per mile
Age Group Place: 22nd
Overall Place: 104th
(more detailed splits to come once they are available)
Overall Time: 5:07:21
Age Group Place: 34th
Overall Place: 132nd
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Mooseman 70.3: Race Report Part 1 – The Day Before…
Four AM on race morning arrived to find me well rested (relatively speaking) and ready to go. I have tried hard to make myself sleep when I need to by telling myself that all the preparation is done, there’s nothing left now but to race. That seems to work, most of the time.
I got myself up and went through my usual morning routine. I took a shower, got dressed and watched the news while I ate three pieces of whole grain toast (OK, so I lacked a toaster and it was just bread) topped with peanut butter and grape jelly. I did a few, last minute checks of everything and then began to pack my car.
I was on the road to the race site at about 5:30 AM, which put me at the race at about 5:55 (give or take). Along with the other racers, I made my way through the now muddier parking lot, for the 3/4 of a mile trek to the race site, bike and gear in tow.
Upon arriving at the race site, everyone was being funneled through a narrow-ish corridor where body marking was taking place. I know that body marking has to get done, and I know that this seems like and efficient way to make sure everyone gets it done, BUT, when you have hundreds of people, packed to the gills with gear and often bikes as well, this is a tricky prospect. Bikes and gear and the clothes that we had to wear in the cool morning air were falling to the ground and tripping their wearers and everyone else.
By the time I got to my transition area, it was about 6:30. The first thing I noticed was that racer number 702 (the numbers went in order but on alternating sides of the transition racks, therefore, on my side of the rack were the odd race numbers and on the other, the evens) had set up hi entire transition in my area on the wrong side of the rack, leaving me absolutely no place to go. I pointed this out to a volunteer in the area, as racer 702 was nowhere to be found, and she moved his belongings to the proper side. I began setting up, putting everything in its designated place to make for a smooth transition.
At 6:45 the transition area was closed as the start of the race was scheduled for 7:00 AM. As I was leaving transition, the rain began. Rather than my usual shoe setup of cycling and running shoes set up in their respective row on my mat, I had placed my cycling shoes inside a plastic grocery bag (along with my other cycling needs) and placed that bag on top of my running shoes. This insured both pairs of shoes stayed mostly dry.
I headed down to the water’s edge, putting on my wetsuit along the way. As I walked toward the start, Maria found me and we both got in for a short warm-up swim. The water temperature, which I had expected to be frigid, was actually really nice and was a great compliment to the wetsuit legal swim. Just before the pros started the announcer informed us that they may be trying to send the waves off with a smaller time gap than the four minutes that were scheduled. (Side note: the National Anthem was actually quite good. I’m not sure who it was, but it was a good baritone.)
I made my way to the start and waited for my wave (powder blue swim caps and all) to be called to the line. This race was a beach start, which meant a great opportunity for some full contact racing. In this environment, kicks to the face and being swum over (by me) is not out of the ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. The starters gave us sectioned countdown. First we got the ninety second call…then sixty seconds…I didn’t hear the thirty second call, and there was no countdown from ten or even five seconds for that matter. I was clearing the fog from my goggles when the horn went off.
It was on.
This past Sunday, June 6, 2010 was the Ironman Mooseman 70.3 triathlon in Newfound Lake, New Hampshire. Beginning from my arrival in New Hampshire on the day before the race, this is my report.
My original plan was to drive directly from my in-laws home in Hingham, MA, straight to my hotel (located a short drive away from the race site in Campton, NH), check in and then head over to the race site to sign in. Just to make sure I would be able to check in, I called ahead to the hotel and was told that check in time was 3 o’clock PM and since I would likely arrive at about noon, that was not going to happen. So, I reset my GPS to take me right to the race site.
The staging area for the race itself was to take place in Wellington State Park, which lies on the Western shore of Newfound Lake. As I got close to the race area, there was a mass of people heading toward what was the parking area for the weekends festivities. These people were the racers and spectators from that day’s Mooseman International Distance Triathlon, and they were wrapping up their day and heading home. As I mentioned, cars were being funneled into a parking area that was essentially a huge field, and I do mean huge. The problem, which became increasingly clear as I drove deeper and deeper into the grassy expanse of this “parking lot” was that the rain which had rolled through the area that morning with such severity that race organizers were forced to cancel the swim portion of that day’s race, was that this field was rapidly turning into a huge mud pit. To be fair, I’m not sure if the park itself had the parking necessary to fit all the cars attending the races but, as I soon found out, this parking area was (depending on how far back you had to park) about 3/4 of a mile away from the race area.
Once I had made the trek from my car to the park entrance and race staging area, I found my way to the “expo” and began the fun of waiting in line. At this event, like other Ironman (WTC) owned events, you have to go through a series of check-in’s. The first of these is to check in with USA Triathlon (USAT), the sport’s governing body in the United States. At this area, you must present your USAT license or, as was the case with my friend Jay at Ironman Wisconsin, you can present a picture I.D. and the USAT representatives there are able to look up the validity of your license. Now, you are not required to have an annual license to compete and you are permitted to buy a one day license for $10 if you so choose. My license, which was set to expire on 5/31/10 but which I had renewed on 5/23/10, had not yet come in the mail when I left town (of course, it was in the mail when I came home). Based on what I had seen in Wisconsin, I thought I would still be fine and my information would be able to be looked up by the USAT at the race since my license number and everything was still the same AND since I had my (expired) license. I was wrong.
The USAT representatives were not working from a computer where they could just look up a racers’ information, rather, they had an old-school list of names printed out, with a column beside each name saying whether they were good to go or whether they needed to buy a one day license. My name, since the physical license I had with me was expired, fell into the latter category. I was pissed. Realizing that I would have to fight this battle later via email with USAT (I emailed them as soon as I got into my hotel room asking for my $10 back), I asked if they took credit or debit cards. Cash only, and I lacked any cash. So, now it seemed my only option was to walk the 34 of a mile back to my car, drive to find an ATM somewhere in rural New Hampshire, or borrow money from a kindhearted stranger. I then remembered that a woman who also coaches with Jeff, whom I was going be meeting up with later that day, might be at the race site. So I called her (Maria) and she and her husband were indeed on their way to the race site at that moment, and she was so kind as to lend me the necessary $10 to get things going.
The next step in the check-in process is signing in with the event itself. So, yet again, I waited in another line, and in pretty short order got into the tent. This part was very quick and well organized. Soon enough, I was done with the sign-in process and made my way to the “expo”.
The reason I keep putting quotes around the word expo is because this was an expo in theory only. The vendors at the expo were: MC Cycle & Sport (a local multisport retailer) and then Ironman itself. That’s it. MC had a small tent where they sold a few race day necessities and, to be fair, they had a small but well thought out selection. They were also providing last minute bike tweaking services (for a fee, of course) for those that wanted a quick tune up or something. The Ironman tent, as at all Ironman events, was selling Ironman branded everything, from wine glasses to onesies. Note: I don’t have a problem with this at all, I just wanted to be clear that this was the extent of the vendors. All that said, this was not an “expo” in term of what I would expect from a WTC event. Oh well.
Maria, John and I planned to head back to our respective lodgings for the next couple of hours and then meet up at 4 PM to ride a short bit of the course and then head to the 4:30 PM athlete meeting. I headed to my hotel, still an hour ahead of normal check in, and the desk clerk was kind enough to let me check in early. I went to a local grocery store to pick up some much needed sustenance, and then went back to my hotel to relax for a minute before heading out once again.
At 4 we all met as planned and began our short ride. I noticed a problem with both of my wheels that has happened before. I was running clincher type tires and the bead of the tire was not seating properly in the channel in the rim itself that it is supposed to. This is not really a make-or-break problem, but it is one that you really want to fix as it would likely result in a very sore ass after a long ride (it feels like there is about a 3 inch flat spot on the wheel that has this issue).
The meeting was short and sweet. The race directors and officials presenting were very well prepared and ran over their points quickly, answering any questions that arose along the way. After the meeting we headed over to check out the transition area. Uh oh.
At Ironman Wisconsin, the transition consisted of a separate bag for each transition and a clean, carpeted of concrete surface and chairs to sit in. This was not the case at Mooseman. The transition was to be like any other triathlon on a local level. Bikes were racked according to number and your transition area was to be set up beside your front wheel. My particular rack was set behind a tree that, when you cam around said tree, you were looking at two rack rather than just one. The largest problem that was already shaping up in the transition area was the ground. After that morning’s rain, the ground had become soft and was already turning to mud in the aisles from the foot traffic. Oy.
Maria, John and I bid each other a good night’s rest and went our separate ways. My evening was spent working on my tires and packing my race bag to be set up quickly in the morning. I got to bed at about 10 o’clock PM with my alarm(s) set for 4 AM and 4:15 AM, just to be safe.
Part 2 (coming soon)
This Sunday, June 6, 2010, I will be racing in Ironman Mooseman 70.3 in New Hampshire. While I have done a full Ironman, this marks the first ever half-iron distance race that I will do. I had hoped to have a weeks worth of daily update videos, but with work, training and life getting in the way sometimes, you have to let it go. So, I’m writing this as a prelude to Sunday’s race. I’m sure I’ll have more to say as I get closer but, four days out, this is what I’m thinking:
Swim: For about the past three weeks, I’ve been having trouble with my neck. It began as a nagging thing on the right side near the rear, base of my skull. I made sure to not stress that part of my neck and then, as soon as it began to feel a bit better, I slept oddly and woke up with significant pain on the left side of my neck, this time radiating down into my trapezius. The real problem with both of these pains is that they have hampered my swimming. That being said (and without any amount of arrogance) what is slow for me, is really fast for most triathletes. That knowledge, however, does not assuage my personal expectations. Also, the water temperature for this weekend’s race is a whopping 69° Fahrenheit, but I’m thinking that may actually hold off some of the neck issues long enough to get it done.
T1: Believe it or not, I’m still undecided on what helmet to wear. The weather on Sunday is calling for 72° Fahrenheit and a chance of a shower. The heat, which would usually be the cause for concern in my helmet choice, isn’t a factor (I’ll explain in a second). It’s the fact that my neck could (it hasn’t in my training) begin to bother me, and if I’m wearing my aero helmet, it could actually impede my position. The helmets I have to choose from are:
Specialized Propero
or:
Giro Advantage 2
Bike: One thing I kind of regret is that I haven’t done much training with other people in a group setting. It isn’t so much that I don’t enjoy training alone, but I just have a hard time gauging my speed. I would go to my Garmin info, but since I have to deal with New York City traffic, this is often not a good measure. Rather, I must rely on my consistency. For instance, I know that my right quadriceps tend to flare a bit if I’m not careful. this is an easy fix, just one that I must keep in 
mind. As for nutrition, I have once again affixed my Speedfil to my bike and will fill it’s forty ounces with my personal formula from Infinit Nutrition which will be all may calories, electrolytes, etc. on the bike and on the run. I do have an additional bottle cage that will be for water which I will rotate out at aid stations. I’ll be running new Continental 4000s tires as well as racing for the first time on my Adamo Racing² from ISM. I need to remain in control of my ego and emotions and race my race on the bike, being sure to NOT get sucked into a drag race.
T2: Not much to say here except that I am going to pick up a new Fuel Belt H2O. Each 8 oz. bottle on my belt will be holding a concentrate of my Infinit blend, which accounts for one hour of activity. As on the bike, I will get my water from the aid stations.
Run: Over the past several months, since I began coaching with Jeff, my running has come 
light-years beyond where I thought it could. In my last long-ish brick workout, I came off of 1.5 hours on the bike and ran for an hour averaging 7:03 per mile on the run. I grant you, the bike on Sunday will be longer, as will the run, and I will NOT make any pace predictions. However, I really feel good about the run, which is something I never thought I’d say. I will be racing in my Newton Gravitas‘ which are the same shoes that got me through Ironman Wisconsin. Hopefully, they will get to run a lot more this time around.
So that’s it! I’m excited and quite antsy. I feel ready to go, and I can’t wait for race day to come!
June 6, 2010
I am bib number 703 in Mooseman on Sunday! Live tracking at http://ironman.com.
Sports Illustrated is reporting that Haile Gebrselassie, the marathon world record holder, will likely be announcing his U.S. Marathon debut this coming November in the New York City Marathon. Celebrating National Running Day with 1,200 school children today at Icahn Stadium, the fastest marathoner ever will be aking an announcement about his plans at about 12:30 PM, EST.
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Arguably one of the most prestigious events in running, the 2010 version of Comrades Marathon starts this Sunday, May 30, 2010. The event, now in it’s 85th year is one of the most sought after titles in ultra-distance running. The race this year will come in at 89.28 km (55.58 mi.), which makes it 110 meters longer than last year’s version of the event. Runners from all over the world, including the 50 km American record holder, Josh Cox. Best of luck to all those running!
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Carl Lewis to Run the Houston Marathon
Triathlete Attacked by Alligator
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Now that we’re officially in race season across the country, and the world for that matter, I wanted to give a shout out to some friends who’ll be racing soon.
Kevin from KC Tri’s (and fellow Newton Running devotee), whom you may remember was a massive help to me and my wife during Ironman Wisconsin last year, is about to do his first ever marathon! Kevin will be running the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon this Sunday and his bib number is 929 (race tracking HERE). Kevin has been and continues to be a huge supporter of me and my show and I could not be more excited for him to take this huge step toward his first Ironman (Ironman Wisconsin 2011)!
Also racing this Sunday is my friend Ari from Run Ansky Run! Ari is always an amazing supporter of my site and show and he’ll be running the Pocono Mountain Run for the Red Marathon! Ari has been coaching with my coach, Jeff, and ALL signs are pointing to him busting out a huge PR!
Finishing out the across the country marathon weekend is Colin from Resurrected Runner. Colin is also about to do his first ever marathon this Saturday in the Windermere Marathon in Spokane, Washington (for those from the South, like me, that’d be “Warshington”) Colin has been a tireless supporter of me and my site, always in the live chat for my streaming shows. I have a sneaking suspicion that Colin is going to completely destroy his expectations in this race and I cannot wait to see the results!
On the triathlon front, I am so excited to see Incredible Jane go kill it in the UBC Sprint Triathlon this Sunday! I’ve been following Jane since day one of her quest and through ups and downs and finding that “life happens” more than we can ever expect, Jane has been an amazing force of positive energy. Also coaching with Jeff, Jane has seen herself crossing the finish line at the Rock ‘n Roll Las Vegas half marathon and starting a regular running group and training session with the awesome folks at Sugoi! I’m so excited to see what she can do!
Not this weekend, but on May 30, Lam of The Running Laminator fame, is debating running the Buffalo Marathon. His original spring marathon had him running the New Jersey Marathon a couple of weekends ago, but alas, the bubonic plague or something saw him shivering in bed for the week leading up to the race (though, I assume he lost several brain cell due to his illness as he STILL found the balls to run the half marathon at the same event!). As you may or may not know, Lam is a very fast and very smart runner. He is aiming for a sub-3 hour marathon this year and I, for one, think he’ll have no problem attaining that time. His body (for the moment) may have other ideas according to him. In any event, I look forward to seeing Lam kick some more ass.
I’m positive I’m missing people, and if you’re of of the missing, please don’t be offended. Send me your information (name, race name and bib number) and I will be more than happy to put the word out!
Do you want to go the distance…all 26.2 miles across the five boroughs of New York? Team Lifeline is ready to give you the chance with the first ever “Team Lifeline New York, New York Video Contest.” In this contest, avid and aspiring runners are invited to submit a short video that will convince a panel of distinguished judges why they deserve the opportunity to run in the ING New York City Marathon, the world’s largest marathon. Twenty lucky individuals will win exactly that — guaranteed entry into the marathon, which takes place on Sunday, November 7, 2010.
Team Lifeline encourages creativity, so don your director’s cap, pick up your flip camera and start shooting. Video submissions must be two minutes or less and should convey why you, the runner, deserve a spot in the marathon. Be spontaneous, hilarious, serious or dramatic, but go the distance to win one of the highly coveted spots. The videos will be posted online for the public to view at www.teamlifeline.org and on Team Lifeline’s Facebook page. Submissions will be accepted through May 24th, 2010, and the winners will be announced May 28th, 2010.
“As the song goes–If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere–but first, you do indeed have to make it there,” said Ari Weinberger, Team Lifeline Captain. “Team Lifeline is thrilled to offer this amazing opportunity to runners around the globe. We hope that the first ever video contest will help raise awareness and funds for a truly inspirational organization.”
Team Lifeline is an endurance training program that proves that “you can go the distance,” by providing individuals of all ages and skills with the tools to complete a marathon or half-marathon. In exchange, team members raise much needed funds for Chai Lifeline, the international children’s health support network dedicated to bringing joy and hope to seriously ill children and their families. The funds raised by Team Lifeline are earmarked specifically for the organization’s Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha Special, incredible overnight summer camps designed to meet the unique medical and social needs of children and teens with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses.
Last year, over 300 dedicated Team Lifeline runners laced up their running shoes for the ING New York City Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon, and ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, raising more than $1.35 million for Chai Lifeline programs and services. This year marks the first time that Team Lifeline will be participating as an official charity team in the ING NYC Marathon.
A remarkable story from the Toyota 10K held in conjunction with Flying Pig Marathon race weekend: The women’s leader, Shari Klarfeld, had probably a 20-yard lead when she started to stagger and fall. Instead of breezing by for the win, the second place female, Amy Schoenfeld of Cincinnati, stopped along with race director, Iris Bush, and helped the Shari cross ahead of her. An extraordinary example of sportsmanship. Ironically, Amy was second in the 10K the year before!
[UPDATE] I did some digging on the after race details of this event. While it’s pretty clear that the race director coming to the aid of a racer is in violation of USATF rules and would normally result in a disqualification, in this event it did not. The reason? Well, a race representative in the original YouTube video made the following comment:
Thanks for your comments and for watching our video! The Flying Pig Marathon does not offer prize money, so our rules are not as stringent as if there were cash on the line. Similar to earphone rules: It is our choice to let people know they shouldn’t wear them, but we won’t disqualify them (like some events) if they do.
05/02/10, Timothy Carlson LAKE SAN ANTONIO, MONTEREY COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
[FOR COMPLETE WILDFLOWER RACE RESULTS CLICK HERE]
Michael Raelert of Germany and Julie Dibens of Great Britain, both the reigning World Champions at the half Ironman distance, dominated strong professional fields at the classic 28th Avia Wildflower long course triathlon Saturday.
Raelert, 30, who dominated the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater Florida with a record 1:09 closing half marathon, set the second-fastest winning time at Wildflower’s 1.2-mile swim in 61-degree waters, a punishing hilly 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run over rugged dirt trails. Raelert ‘s winning time of 3:55:57 gave him a 6-minute, one-second margin of victory over runner-up Joe Gambles of Australia and was 2 minutes 14 second back of Terenzo Bozzone’s course record win in 2006.
“There were a lot of great guys in the field and I was quite happy to beat then,” said Raelert of competitors who included former long course World Champion, Ironman Hawaii second place finisher and two-time Wildflower runner-up Eneko Llanos of Spain and former ITU long course medalist and two-time $200,000 winner of the Hy-Vee Triathlon Rasmus Henning of Denmark. Llanos finished third in 4:03:34, Great Britain’s 21-year-old phenom Philip Graves finished fourth in 4:03:54 and Henning fought off a sore back to finish 5th in 4:05:42.
Julie Dibens of Great Britain, led start to finish in 4:27:53, which gave her a 7:09 margin of victory over runner-up Desiree Ficker of Austin, Texas and broke the course record set by Samantha McGlone in 2006 by 3 minutes, 9 seconds.
Dibens started her day with a 25:26 swim that gave her a 1:46 lead over defending champion Virginia Berasategui of Spain then really poured it on the field. Dibens’ race-best 2:30:57 bike gave her an 8:41 lead over Berasategui, 10:32 over off road specialist and three-time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid of Canada and 10:59 over Ficker, whose career high point was a second place finish at Ironman Hawaii in 2006.
While Ficker,. who finished 10th at the 2009 New York City Marathon, ran the women’s-best 1:24:47 half marathon run and passed Berasategui and McQuaid, that only whittled Dibens’ lead by 3:41.
“It was awesome — one of the best and hardest races at the half Ironman distance in the world,” said Dibens. “There are a lot of hills out there and the field was one of the best of the year, so I never felt I could let up at all. It’s definitely a special race and quite possibly my favorite race to do.”
Dibens’ win comes on a career hot streak that started with her win at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship last November, where she became the first woman to break the 4-hour barrier at the half Ironman distance. The streak continued with a $50,000 win at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March.
The professionals were joined by 2,600 amateurs who also tackled the long course event . In addition, 1,200 amateurs tackled an off-road, mountain bike triathlon which included a 1/4 mile swim, 9.7-mile bike and 2-mile run held at Monterey County Parks and Recreation grounds at Lake San Antonio.
The 2010 May1-2 Avia Wildflower Triathlon Festival concludes Sunday morning with an Olympic distance triathlon field of 3,280 that includes a collegiate teams division, a triathlon clubs division and amateur age groups.
The Avia Wildflower Triathlon Festival, known popularly as the Woodstock of Triathlon, attracts 30,000 spectators annually and is produced by Tri-California.
28th Avia Wildflower long course
Lake San Antonio, California
May 1, 2010
Swim 1.2 miles/ Bike 56 miles/ Run 13.1 miles
Pro results
Men
1. Michael Raelert (Germany) 3:55:57
2. Joe Gambles (Australia) 4:01:58
3. Eneko Llanos (Spain) 4:03:34
4. Philip Graves (Great Britain) 4:03:54
5. Rasmus Henning (Denmark) 4:05:42
6. Martin Jensen (Denmark) 4:06:43
7. Joe Umphenour (Colorado Springs CO) 4:09:22
8. Maik Twelsiek (Germany) 4:09:57
9. Kevin Everett (Boise ID) 4:10:50
10. Conrad Stoltz (Republic of South Africa) 4:13:14
Women
1. Julie Dibens (Great Britain) 4:27:53
2. Desiree Ficker (Austin TX) 4:35:02
3. Virginia Berasategui (Spain) 4:39:46
4. Magali Tisseyre (Victoria BC, Canada) 4:40:04
5. Melanie McQuaid (Victoria BC Canada) 4:43:28
6. Haley Cooper (Spokane WA) 4:47:24
7. Linsey Corbin (Missoula MT) 4:48:32
8. Julia Grant (Ashburton USA) 4:49:32
9. Amy Marsh (Austin TX) 4:50:06
10. Lesley Paterson (Scotland) 4:50:31
I wanted to mention a new race coming up in California that is an absolutely perfect place for a weekend getaway with an awesome half marathon thrown in for good measure! The Salinas Valley Half Marathon takes you through the vineyards and near Monterey Bay with a scenic point-to-point course.
I’ll be posting more this race soon, but I wanted to tell you NOW that I’ve got a $5 discount code for registration right now! Click the link below to the registration page and use the discount code: “IronBrandon” and sign up now!
SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 /PRNewswire
Escape from Alcatraz™ Triathlon Three-time Winner Andy Potts, from Colorado Springs, Colo. is set to compete on Sunday, May 2, in this year’s race going for a fourth straight win. Potts will join more than 1,800 amateur and professional athletes to conquer the 1.5-mile icy cold swim from Alcatraz Island to the shore, the 18-mile hilly bike ride and grueling 8-mile run through San Francisco for the 30th Annual Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.
“I look forward to participating in this, the 30th year of this amazing race and being a part of its ongoing history,” said Potts. “This is a first class race that attracts top athletes from around the world and takes place on a truly unique course only made possible in a great city like San Francisco.”
A handful of professional triathletes are returning to participate in this year’s Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon including: 2005 Champion Hunter Kemper from Colorado Springs, Colo.; four time winner Chris “Macca” McCormack, from Australia; two-time winner Leanda Cave, from Tucson, AZ; and seven-time champion Michellie Jones, from Carlsbad, Calif.
Several physically challenged athletes including U.S. Marine Corporal Evan Morgan – double leg amputee, U.S. Army Combat Engineer Ben Crowley – single leg amputee and U.S. Army Battalion Sergeant Major John Blue – single leg amputee will also compete in this arduous race alongside thousands of able-bodied athletes. All three soldiers suffered a permanent disability while serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan and take part in Operation Rebound which helps injured veterans “get back in the game.” These amputees will compete in this difficult race to demonstrate to other challenged athletes and injured soldiers that sports can be a powerful force for recovery.
The race will take place on Sunday, May 2, at 8 a.m. on the Marina Green, in San Francisco. The public is invited to watch the race and attend the free all day Fitness Festival & Expo. The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon is owned and produced by IMG Worldwide with race direction provided by Premier Event Management. For more information visit www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com.
WASHINGTON, April 28 /PRNewswire
The Nation’s Triathlon™ to Benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is sold out, but you can still participate by joining LLS’s Team In Training® program.
Taking place on September 12, 2010 in the nation’s capital, The Nation’s Tri will mark its third year of bringing together triathletes for the common cause of helping raise funds to support blood cancer research while taking on one of the country’s premiere athletic events.
TNT participants benefit from four to five months of weekly training sessions with certified coaches to help them meet their personal goals, and the camaraderie of a supportive team. In return, participants have the satisfaction of knowing they are raising money to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and support services to help improve patients’ lives.
“The Nation’s Triathlon to Benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society offers a magnificent setting
on a world-class course filled with historic sights, and Team In Training will help get you to the finish line, while also giving you the satisfaction of helping other people,” said Nancy L. Klein, LLS chief marketing and revenue officer.
To learn more or to sign up, visit: www.teamintraining.org/nationstri or call 1(800) 482-TEAM.
New York City, Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees centerfielder, is making his charitable mark on New York City with the Grand Kids Foundation and the 2010 ING New York City Marathon.
Granderson’s charitable team, Team Granderson, will raise funds for the Grand Kids Foundation in conjunction with the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7. A limited number of spaces are available on Team Granderson. Registration is available to runners already registered for the Marathon and those who did not receive entry into the event. Granderson will not be running in the race itself.
“The ING New York City Marathon is one of the premier road races in the world today. I am honored that the Grand Kids Foundation will be given charity spots for runners to help raise money and awareness for the need for stronger educational programs for our nation’s youth,” says team founder Curtis Granderson. “Millions of dollars are raised each year for a variety of charitable causes through this event, and I am excited to see how much money the runners of Team Granderson can raise as well. I look forward to having a strong team of runners.”
Fundraising minimums on Team Granderson range from $1,000 for those already registered for
Curtis Granderson
the Marathon to $2,500 for those who were not awarded a spot in the race. To participate as a member of Team Granderson each runner needs to complete an online application found at www.grandkidsfoundation.org/nymarathon.
Each member of Team Granderson will receive access to online training programs, their marathon registration fee paid, Team Granderson running shirt and shorts, transportation to the starting line the morning of the marathon and team building events hosted by Granderson. Also available are discounted hotel rates and shoes provided by Spira if needed.
The Grand Kids Foundation began in 2008 while Granderson was a member of the Detroit Tigers. The Foundation’s mission is to enforce educational initiatives to youth and to help bring the sport of baseball back to the nation’s inner cities.
The Foundation has a unique opportunity to donate every dollar raised to fund the educational programs and initiatives to help students because it has zero operating costs. All donations fund school supplies and books for needy families and under-funded schools. It also establishes baseball programs that include equipment, facilities and scholarships.
Along with the Grand Kids Foundation, Granderson is an ambassador for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to fight obesity. He has also served as an ambassador for Major League Baseball in Europe, South Africa and China. Granderson was acquired by the New York Yankees through a trade before the 2010 season.
Team Granderson is forming now for the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7. For more information or to submit questions runners can contact the Grand Kids Foundation by email at grandkidsfoundation@gmail.com
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This link may be pulled down after a bit, but here’s live coverage!!!
To watch the 114th running of the Boston Marathon live online you can view it via WBZ-TV at this link (I am getting some reports that this is not working outside of New England, but it’s worth a shot):
Alternatively, WBZ Radio says they will have audio coverage of the men’s elite start. You can listen to that station here:
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!
