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
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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
Sole (AMAZING SOCKS, and sandals….)
Smith Pivlock V90 Max Sunglasses
Smith Pivlock V90 Max with Prescription lenses
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Stuffitts Winner @Ironsunflower!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Leave a comment on this post and win a pair of Stuffitts for free! (it takes 2 seconds!!)
Infinit Nutrition (Use code “ironbrandon” for FREE shipping!!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
New York City Triathlon Results (I’m bib number 4788)
Me on the Official Newton Blog!
Infinit Nutrition (Free shipping with code: ironbrandon)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Win a free entry to the Salinas Valley Half Marathon!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Help Support IronBrandon (Thank you!)
Salinas Valley Half Marathon (Win a free entry!)
Infinit Nutrition (Use discount code “ironbrandon” for free shipping!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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!
At the behest of Zach, I am posting side-by-side photos of me from a race last year and this past Sunday in my wetsuit. Even I’m surprised!
June 2009
June 2010
Since I began this site I have tried out quite a few products. These things range from a cold weather headband with headphones built in to tech clothing and everything in between. You’ve probably actually heard me on my show or in posts on the site mentioning these things and what I think of them. However, every now and then, something has a huge impact on me and then I feel it is incumbent upon me to let you know the circumstances of that impact and how greatly I was affected.
This past Sunday during the Ironman Mooseman 70.3 triathlon in New Hampshire, it rained. In
fact, it started raining just before the start of the race and did not stop until I was driving on my way home about 30 miles away from the race. With the skies falling out the way they were, there was no way to avoid being completely soaked through on every inch of your body (at least not without taking the time to put on rain gear). This meant that my feet, the things which would be receiving the most punishment throughout the event, would be completely soaked for about SIX AND A HALF HOURS (including warm-up swim and standing around after the race).
Now, excuse the details, my feet have come to be able to handle a lot of punishment, but almost all of that comes when they’re dry. Once I hit the bike in this race, I was worried about any callouses becoming soft and the skin on my feet breaking down, which would the destroy my ability to run. This, however, never happened.
In my cycling shoes, which are admittedly not the best you can buy, I have Sole Thin Sport Custom Footbeds. These are custom in that you put them in your oven for a couple of minutes and upon taking them out, place them in the shoes you are using them with. they then conform to YOUR foot. During my race, where any wiggle (by way of looseness or stretching from being wet) of my cycling shoes likely would have resulted in skin being worn off my foot and/or blisters, my feet remained cradled and right where they needed to be.
I don’t wear any footbeds, other than what is already in my shoes, when I run. However, I’ll have these footbed in my cycling shoes for a long time to come.
Not only have I tried and approved of the Sole Thin Sport Custom Footbeds, I heartily recommend them.
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.
I am so excited about my upcoming interview with the one and only Craig Alexander! The reigning King of Kona, defending his 2008 win on the big island in 2009, Crowie has been an inspiration to me and to many. His poise during grueling races, overcoming what he has called a “bad day” to win his second world championship, drives me to become a more complete racer.
My interview with Crowie will take place this coming Monday night at 9:30 PM EST, after I record my regular weekly show. I will do my best to broadcast the interview live HERE, but it will also appear on an upcoming episode of my show.
If you have any questions you would like me to ask Crowie, please send them to me at: info@ironbrandon.com and I will do my best to get them on the air.
Since the World Triathlon Corporation, the owner of the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 brands, announced their rules limiting prize purses and cranking up license fees, much has been made by many people around the sport. Recently, Chrissie Wellington , who had kept mum until now, weighed in in the U.K.’s 220 Magazine:
As a professional athlete I feel the need to voice my opinion on the new policy changes that have recently been instigated by the company with the monopoly over long-distance triathlon – the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). While the new policies are focused on professional athletes I think it’s important for me, as World Champion, to articulate my views and encourage everyone involved in triathlon to take an interest in how our sport is being run.
The WTC’s new polices and rules can be found at www.ironmanusa.com, but briefly are as follows: pros wishing to do Ironman or 70.3 races must register with the WTC’s Professional Membership Program. The cost is US$750. This provides free entry to all of the WTC’s Ironman and 70.3 races (aside from the Ironman and 70.3 World Champs where athletes still have to pay the entry fee), as well as membership to the new WTC anti-doping programme. In addition, significant changes have been made to prize money payment and the distribution of pro slots for the World Championships.
The new ruling states that athletes must now finish within 8% of the winner’s time to win money (not 10% of second place as before), with any ‘un-won’ prize money being redistributed between the prize-winning men and women. So, for example, say the third to 10th place women don’t win anything then the rest of the women’s money will go to…
Click here to read the full article
Subscribe to IronBrandon in Itunes (It’s FREE!)
Subscribe to IronBrandon With Your Favorite News Reader (Also FREE!)
Get Automatic Email Updates From IronBrandon (Yep, STILL FREE!!)
Infinit Nutrition (FREE SHIPPING WITH CODE: ironbrandon)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Nestlé Performance Nutrition and its PowerBar brand, and the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), owner of the Ironman and Iron Girl brands, today announced an exclusive product sponsorship and licensing partnership to develop a line of premium Ironman-branded sports drinks. The deal is an extension of PowerBar’s longstanding global partnership with Ironman and its role as the official global energy bar and energy gel supplier of all Ironman and 70.3 events.
Through the agreement, the companies will introduce new Ironman Perform ready-to-drink sports beverage in June 2010. New Ironman Perform sports drink features PowerBar’s state-of-the-art C2max carbohydrate blend, found to deliver 20 to 50 percent more energy to muscles and improve endurance performance by 8 percent.
“We have a fundamental goal and shared mission with Ironman, which is to help athletes perform at their best,” said Phil Annett, Global Business Head at Nestlé Performance Nutrition. “Applying the latest sports science to get the right balance of performance benefits, taste and stomach comfort in the new Ironman Perform sports drink was a long yet essential development process designed to help athletes achieve optimum performance.”
C2max, the unique, high-octane carbohydrate formulation found in new Ironman Perform sports drink, was developed based on groundbreaking research published in the February 2008 issue of Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. The study showed that consuming an optimized blend of glucose and fructose carbohydrates allowed athletes to perform better, increase fluid delivery and experience less perceived exertion following exercise.2 PowerBar, through the Nestlé Research Center, continues to support a series of follow-up carbohydrate performance field trials with lead research author Dr. Asker Jeukendrup and his team at the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham. The aim of these trials is to apply this breakthrough science to the development of new sports nutrition tools, such as new Ironman Perform sports drink, for endurance athletes.
President and CEO of Ironman, Ben Fertic commented, “Ironman is the pinnacle of endurance sports and we believe in having the latest tools available for our athletes. As Ironman celebrates its 32nd anniversary, we are excited to offer the world’s top athletes a new product that is designed to enhance their training and race day experience.”
Designed for athletes who take part in intense workouts or who exercise in the heat or humidity and experience significant fluid and electrolyte loss, new Ironman Perform sports drink also enhances performance by delivering essential electrolytes, including 190 mg of sodium per serving, to replenish what athletes lose in sweat and to help avoid skeletal muscle cramps and dehydration. The convenient ready-to-drink beverage is also made with natural flavors and without the use of high fructose corn syrup.
Through the new agreement, Ironman Perform will be the official sports drink for the following events in 2010: Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, Ironman 70.3 Racine, Rohto Ironman 70.3 Miami, Ford Ironman Lake Placid, Ford Ironman Louisville, Ford Ironman Wisconsin, Ford Ironman Florida and Ford Ironman Arizona. Additionally, both the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship and Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 events will include Ironman Perform on-course, and the product will be on course at upcoming Aflac Iron Girl events throughout the 2010 season.
“I have been testing out the new Ironman Perform sports drink in training and it has a light taste and was easy on my stomach,” said Samantha McGlone, Ironman Champion. Ironman Perform is the most convenient way to meet all my hydration and nutrition needs during hard racing and training. It will be key for me to now have its performance-enhancing formula on course when it counts this season.”
PowerBar’s heritage with the sport of triathlon traces back to the company’s beginning, and triathletes worldwide have come to rely on PowerBar’s sports nutrition products for top-level training and competition. Through the company’s Team Elite™ ambassador program, Ironman and 70.3 athletes have contributed to PowerBar’s product development programs for elite athletes, and this new sponsorship and licensing agreement is a natural extension of the long-standing relationship.
New Ironman Perform ready-to-drink sports beverage will be available on June 8, 2010 in three flavors—Lemon Lime, Orange Mango and Mixed Berry—via powerbar.com, shopironman.com for a suggested retail price of $1.49 per 20-fluid-ounce bottle.
Subscribe to IronBrandon in Itunes (It’s FREE!)
Subscribe to IronBrandon With Your Favorite News Reader (Also FREE!)
Get Automatic Email Updates From IronBrandon (Yep, STILL FREE!!)
Donate and Help Support IronBrandon.com!
Infinit Nutrition (FREE SHIPPING WITH DISCOUNT CODE: IRONBRANDON)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Well known Australian triathlete, Greg Bennett , has decided to don a different flag to show his support for his wife, American triathlete Laura [Reback] Bennett, as she aims to qualify for the 2012 Olympic triathlon team.
Bennett, who possesses a dual citizenship in both Australia and the United States, made a request of Triathlon Australia to be freed of duties representing that country.
Doug McCard
On Monday’s show, I reported on a triathlete named Doug McCard being attacked by an alligator while out for a training swim in Lake Mary Jane (insert joke here) in East Orange County, Florida. After the attack, authorities were on the lookout for the animal in an attempt to capture it. Well, fortunately for those who may also enjoy a dip in Lake Mary Jane, the rogue gator has been captured. Click the link below for the full story.
The other day I found myself watching the NBC coverage of the 2007 Ironman World Championship from Kona. Amongst all the tear-inducing moments that the annual broadcast manages to show was a story that I found so inspiring and encouraging. The story was on of professional triathlete, Rutger Beke who, from mile ten of the marathon to the end, found himself walking and ultimately finishing the race in a time of 11 hours, 13 minutes, 58 seconds. But he finished. The four years leading up to that race, Beke was a top five finisher. Here is a link to the original article from Ironman.com which catches up with Beke after that race [LINK].
I should also note that in the same race, professionals Desiree Ficker, finished 643rd in 10:40:43. Joanna Zeiger placed 774th in 10:55:46.
Carl Lewis to Run the Houston Marathon
Triathlete Attacked by Alligator
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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!
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!
