Let it Flo

My new favorite website: www.flotrack.org. I love watching the workouts and seeing what some of the top runners in the world do when they go to the track.


Here's what it takes to win a bronze at the olympics. It's a lot more than just running.




There's also www.floswimming.org. Not sure I see the point of this workout....

It's all perspective...

I guess bad days are all about perspective. Here's a picture from Hurricane Ike. How's that for a bad day? Having your house burn down during a hurricane? Talk about adding insult to injury.

More Ike pictures: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

Bad day...Gun Show!

I had a bad day at work...again. It started with a very frustrating meeting that ended with more work for me which puts me even further behind. I'm not sure why that bothers me anymore since we're so understaffed I haven't been caught up in years, but it's getting to me this year.

Luckily, I brought my bike in and planned to ride the gun show at lunch. I haven't done the gun show in quite a while and I wasn't sure if I would be able to hang with the group because I haven't fully recovered from the IM yet, but I thought I'd give it a go. After the meeting, I knew it was going to be a sufferfest for me. I had some steam to let off.

Since I haven't written about the gun show in a while... if you're unfamiliar it's our weekly ride (race) where we go out and beat up on each other for an hour. We start with a neutral roll out through Verona. Once we hit Range Trail, it's on until the stop ahead sign (the first sprint point). Then we regroup at the stop sign and do it again. There are 3 sprints total and then we head back to work.

Before I give you the gun show report, I should mention that my max HR is 185. I hit 187 once last year on a very hot, humid day, but it's rare for me to even hit 185.

We start out by picking up the Saris guys but they didn't have anyone today so it was just us and a few guys we pick up in Verona. As we were heading through Verona, we got pulled over. Yep, all of us. I figured it was for running the stop sign we ran right in front of him. Nope, he told us to ride single file when a car is behind us because it's safer and cars don't always react well to cyclists taking up the road. Then he said when there are no cars, we have the whole road to ourselves. He was really cool and it seemed like he was more interested in our safety than anything else. Maybe he's a cyclist.

After that, we turned onto Cty M, then Range Trail and the pace picked up. I tried to stay in the pack and stay out of the wind figuring my legs wouldn't have the strength to do much pulling today. I didn't have any plans of going for the win until I found myself in position to take it so I sprinted and opened up a gap. I thought I was alone out front so I let up and coasted to the sprint point and got beat at the last second. That'll teach me to let up. Max HR = 189.

The second sprint starts out a little slow as we recover, then we turn onto Sayles and the attacks begin. The second sprint is the hilliest so it's pretty tough. Ryan and Lee attacked and opened a gap and I stayed in the group as we tried to reel them in. We closed the gap a bit, but the pace was too slow to catch them before the sprint so I went up front and figured I would close the gap and then be too exhausted to sprint so someone else would take it but I just couldn't let the breakaway survive. I pulled hard, closed the gap and caught Ryan who dropped off. Lee was still out there so I kept pushing and apparently dropped the group in the process. I couldn't catch him, but I came close and got second. Max HR = 187.

The last sprint is the longest at 4.3 miles. I stayed in the group as much as I could to conserve energy and recover from the first two sprints. I still had some steam to let off so I wanted to go hard. I also wanted the win. I was upset from the meeting and a little upset with myself for letting off on the first sprint. The last sprint has an uphill followed by a downhill before it flattens out where the sprint point is so it gets pretty fast. I knew there would be an attack on the hill so I stayed up front so I could respond. Sure enough, Greg and Michael attacked...hard. I stood up and gave it everything I had but couldn't hang with them. They opened up a small gap and then they didn't attack the downhill hard enough and I was able to close the gap. Michael had the lead and Greg was fading a bit so a gap was opening. I wanted him to close it, but he didn't. I figured he refused to because he didn't want to pull me to the finish so I had to move in there and get on Michael's wheel before he got away. Later Greg told me he was tired and fading. Once I got on Michael's wheel and Greg faded a bit, I knew the sprint was mine. It was just a matter of waiting until the right moment. As soon as I saw him starting to stand for the sprint, I unloaded my frustrations and kept sprinting through the line even though I had enough of a gap to let up. I hit 38 mph - I wish I had my power meter on today so I could see what my max wattage was. Max HR = 186.

I didn't get my heart rate above 170 much in my IM training so this was new ground this year and I came very close to throwing up after the last sprint - even though my HR didn't get as high as the first two sprints, it was above max much longer...




It was a day of highs. A high heart rate just tells me I had a good ride so that's cool. Plus I need to get used to that if I'm going to train for a 10K.

But...out of curiousity...I took my blood pressure after work and it was the highest it's ever been. 146/77. Four weeks ago it was 130/80. Work has gotten too stressful this year and I'm seriously starting to believe it's time to move on. I love working in this industry, but I can't take this much longer.

On a more positive note, Cheri and I discussed our Italy plans a bit last night. We're thinking we might start the trip with a couple of days in London. We have some friends in London and it would be really cool to drop in on them (unannounced of course) and see the city, maybe go out to a pub and have a few too many drinks and get ourselves into a spot of bother. Good times.

Taking it to the track

Today marks Cheri's return to running after 3 weeks off due to Runner's Knee - a very common knee injury. She wanted to start running last week but I convinced her to give it one more week. She's not training for anything so a few more days off won't do any harm. Running too soon will, however.

I also convinced her to buy a pair of neutral running shoes, so I'm really hoping I'm right about her support shoes being the source of the knee pain. I told her to get a pair of neutral shoes, but she was thinking of going to the extreme and buying a pair of racing flats. We went to Dick's and found the perfect compromise - Adidas Boston Classic. It's a race shoe with more cushioning for longer distances. Basically, it's right in between a racing flat and a neutral shoe.

I spent some time last winter working on the Pose method of running, and while I never came close to perfecting it I did change my form a bit and ran 1,000 miles so far without an injury. I don't think I ever went more than 250 before. So Cheri wanted to learn a bit about the Pose method and see if it would help her out too.

The rain let up for a bit today so we went to the track at the Verona High School to do a workout - the first track workout for both of us. Track workouts are typically pretty tough and probably not the best place to start your training after an injury, but I thought it would be perfect if we kept it super easy. It's a soft surface and we could run one lap (400 meters - 1/4 mile) at a time focusing on form. Then we'd rest a bit and do another lap. [not to mention my legs are still sore from the Ironman - mainly because I couldn't resist the aquathon Thursday - running a 5K 4 days after an IM is a horrible, horrible idea]

We started with 2 laps super easy to get warmed up. Then I taught Cheri what little I know about the Pose method. Mainly we're focusing on getting her to land on the ball of her foot or mid foot instead of landing on her heels first. We're also working on shortening her stride a bit and getting a faster turnover rate (cadence). She's currently running at an 82 cadence (meaning her right foot hits the ground 82 times per minute) and we'd like to get that above 85. Maybe as high as 90 by spring.

After working on the Pose method for about 20 minutes, we did a few drills that I thought would be easy - high knees and butt kicks. Not so easy. In fact, they were pretty tough. They'll definitely be a part of my 10K training.

Then we did 3x400 with 2 minutes rest between each lap. We kept the pace really slow and focused on form - landing on the balls of our feet and taking short strides with a quick cadence. Fast feet.

Then we did some strengthening. We did some walking lunges, side lunges and squats. Then we came home and did a core workout.

All total we ran 1.65 miles. Not much, but it's a start. Best of all, Cheri didn't have any knee pain. Her calves are really sore though, but that comes with the territory when you start landing on the balls of your feet.

Monday she'll do some more strengthening exercises and Wednesday she gets to run again...maybe as many as 2 miles!

Hopefully this will be the start of a long injury free streak for her.

Moo

Pretty cool finisher's medal, huh?

I'm not a big fan of cows - although I do love a good burger - but I thought it was appropriate since they call Ironman Wisconsin Ironmoo. The funny thing is that you probably won't see any cows if you come race IMMoo. There's only one farm I can think of on the route that has cows, and I didn't see them during the race. I did, however, see Satan on one of the hills. Maybe they should call it IronHell.

My parents have offered to have my finisher's medal engraved (thanks) with whatever I want on the back. I'm thinking of putting my time on there, and if you have any suggestions for something else let me know. I can't think of anything.

Now that the race is over, I'm going to focus on improving my running. I want to become a better runner, so that will be my main goal for the winter. I need to get stronger on the bike too, but I think it's my running that needs the most work. In a few weeks, I'll start training for my first 10K, the Berbee Derby. I'm looking forward to ramping up my mileage again and focusing on speedwork.

Next year I think my big race will be the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman. I feel like that race got the best of me because I didn't do very well with my nutrition and hydration so I want to go back and see what I can do. I'm also looking forward to doing more sprint and olympic tris next year as well as some time trials and maybe some bike races. Maybe I'll do one of the accenture tris. Those look fun. Maybe the Janesville triathlon will make a comeback. That was my first tri, and I swallowed a good part of Kiwanis Pond (or Atlas Pit or whatever they call it now) so I'd love to do that race again.

Then in the fall, Cheri and I are planning a trip to Italy. It's her reward (mine too) for putting up with me and my triathlon obsession.

Then... Ironman Wisconsin 2010. The team is already coming together. Cheri and I know three people she works with - Bob, Marty and Steve - that say they're on board for 2010 and they're all good athletes so she's already calling us the Fantastic Four - or something like that (I hope it wasn't the Fabulous Four) - and claiming there will be t-shirts. Ryan at work said he almost got in line this year, so I suspect he may sign up for 2010. That makes 5. There's a lot of time for things to change, but I may know quite a few people doing the race in 2010. Could be a really fun year.

Bob will be in the 60+ age group and wants to take a shot at qualifying for Kona (it would be Kona 2011). Right now he's fighting an ankle injury so he has his work cut out for him, but I think he's got a really good shot at it. He has a few IMs under his belt and he's tough as nails. The only problem (other than his ankle) is that his age group only gets one, maybe two, Kona slots so he needs to go into the race expecting to win his age group.

I'll be in a new age group too. 35-39. The final Kona qualifier in that age group this year finished in 9:54 - 90 minutes faster than my time. The final qualifier in 2007 finished in 10:13.

To qualify, I would need to plan for a sub 10 hour Ironman. Sub 10! That's crazy fast. That's all I have to say about that.

Here are a few IM pictures Dennis took...

Race Report: 2008 Ironman Wisconsin

Pre-Race: I didn't get much sleep, but I did get a few hours which is all I was really hoping for. I woke up at 3:45, ate some breakfast and had some coffee. Then, yes, number 2. After that I prepared my bottles for the bike, woke up Cheri and made sure we had everything.

We got to transition about 5am and I went straight to the end my bike was on. Security told me I couldn't enter on that end and that I had to go the other end. I complained that my bike was right there (I could practically touch it) and that I would have a marathon in before the race if I had to walk to the other end. They didn't care, but one of the race officials heard me and led me through security - very cool. So I put my bike computer and water bottles on my bike and pumped up my tires. I came out of transition and told Cheri I was surprised there was no one there yet. Then they announced they were opening transition and Cheri and I noticed there was a huge line at the other end. Smooth.




After that I threw my vest in my bike bag and some perpeteum in my run bag and dropped off my bike special needs bag.



Then we headed down to the water to get ready for the swim.



N-E-R-V-O-U-S





Here's our friend Johnny about to get in the water..



The Swim

Goal: 1:10

My plan was to line up on the inside and swim inside the buoys. You can go on the inside as long as you swim on the outside of the corner buoys. There were a bunch of us there with the same plan. Right before the start they said all of us had to start on the outside of the first buoy, which really made things crowded. I knew the start was going to be rough, and it was but only for the first 200-300 yards. After that it wasn't too bad, and starting on the inside was shaping up to be a good plan. It's a 2 loop swim, and there was more contact on the first loop than I expected. I knew there would be in the beginning, but I figured things would thin out a lot after rounding the first 2 buoys and heading back down the back stretch but things were still pretty tight. The second loop was much better. Some of the people in our group started to fade so the pack thinned out and there was very little contact on the second loop. Overall, the swim went well although I got a little bored out there.

Official time: 1:09:40



They have wetsuit strippers that pull your wetsuit off for you, which is cool. Then you have to run up the helix - you can see it in the background of that picture - which is fun because it is lined with spectators. Then you grab your transition bag and get ready for the bike.

T1 Official Time: 7:28

The Bike

Goal: 5:45

The bike went well. I started out really conservative and kept an eye on my power the whole time and didn't worry about people passing me, although that gets annoying sometimes. When you ride with power, you get really annoyed by people who do nothing but attack hills and I was surrounded by a group of four of five of those riders all day. They would pass me on every hill like I was tied to a pole - while I'm putting out 250-300 watts. Then on the backside and the flats I would pass them like they were tied to a pole putting out 180-210 watts. It gets old.

But I tried not to be bothered by them and stick to my plan - nutrition and power. My power goal was 190-195, but I averaged about 185. I started a little too conservative and when my average power was 185 after the first loop I knew there was no sense working really hard on the second loop to get my power above 190 and I had an average speed of 19.3 so I was really happy with that. At the start of the second loop black clouds rolled in and the winds picked up quite a bit which slowed us down. The rain held off, but the wind made the first half of the loop pretty slow and my average speed dropped to below 19.

As I came through Verona on the second loop the crowd around the barricades was thick, but really quiet and I was the only cyclist coming through so I pumped my arms a bit to get them going and the crowd lit up. I'm sure they were wondering who I was and why they were cheering for me, but it was really fun. I did this a few more time throughout the day just for fun and motivation. It's a rush.

We got a good tailwind coming back into town and my bike computer said my average speed was 19.4, but I ended the bike with an official average of 19.1. I guess that must be from the 2 bathroom stops, which added a few minutes to my time. I missed my goal by a bit, but I was really close and I stayed on top of my nutrition plan and kept my power under control so I was really happy with the bike.

Official time: 5:51:46 (19.1 mph)


Here I am coming into the Verona aid station on lap 2. I just spotted Cheri and my parents.




Here I am right before T2, not sure what the smirk is about.



T2 Official Time: 2:52


Run

Goal: 4:00

I figured I would be starting the run about 7 hours and 10 minutes into the race, so I was really hoping I could run a 3:50 and finish in 10:59. I knew that was a long shot, so I was hoping for a 4 hour marathon or, better yet, just under 4 hours. The beginning of the run was really tough, but I knew I just needed to give it time. On my long brick a few weeks ago, my legs didn't come around until the 4 mile mark so I figured I just needed to give it 4 miles and then I'll get into a good rhythm.

I wanted to start with an 8:50-8:55 pace, but I accidentally ran the first mile in 8:39. Mile 2 was 8:55. The 9:05, 9:05, 9:01...I was feeling a little better and starting to find a rhythm. I was also fading a bit because I was well off an 8;45 pace and it was clear from mile 2 that a 3:50 marathon was out of the question. I was way too tired to pull that off, and I was realizing that 4 hours was probably not going to happen either. I could feel the fatigue setting in, and I was thinking that I just don't have enough running miles in my legs yet to run a 4 hour IM marathon. At this point, I didn't care. Eleven hours was an aggressive goal and at this point I just wanted to get to the finish line.

About mile 10 things started to get really tough. I drank my perpeteum, which was probably a mistake. My stomach was shutting down, and the perpeteum made me belch...A LOT. For the rest of the marathon I was belching perpeteum and waiting for the vomit. It never came, but I was sure it would.



At the halfway turn around, I was really hurting and starting to wonder if I could run the whole thing...or even finish. I didn't want to eat anything and I was sure I was going to vomit. Cheri said I looked horrible when they saw me heading back in to the turn around point.

The crowd there is great and I saw my family. My brother in law somehow got a spot along the fence and set up his tripod for his camera and snapped some great pictures. The crowd and my family helped and I started feeling a little better. Cheri thought I stopped at special needs because she said I looked a lot better heading back out than I did coming in.





The second half of the run was really tough, and I faded a lot. After running through Camp Randall, Mark biked a long side me for a while which helped. He encouraged me, and if nothing else, it was a distraction from the fatigue. I hadn't eaten anything in a few miles and he reminded me to keep eating and drinking even though I didn't want to so I walked the next aid station to get some Gatorade. After he headed back to the stadium I took another gel and got some more water. My stomach didn't want anything, but I knew I couldn't do a half marathon without more calories.

I walked Observatory hill the second loop, although I probably would've been better off running it because it was really tough to get going again after walking. My legs were getting stiff and sore already and my hip flexors were really sore. I stopped looking at my watch and just kept telling myself to put one foot in front of the other and keep my legs turning over and moving forward.

Official Time: 4:12:46

Overall Time: 11:24:32

One of my co-workers made fun of my Spirit of Racing finish line picture because it was a picture of me turning off my watch, like the OCD-time-obsessed-triathlete I am. Until then, I had put no thought into my finish line picture, so I thought about it and decided I would ignore my watch, raise my arms and get a good picture. Then I thought, when I raise my arms should I do the #1 signs with my fingers or just do closed fists? I figured since I'll be far from #1 (384 to be exact - tough to do with your fingers), I'll go with closed fists. Makes sense. Check it out, one closed fist, one #1.



A few times I jokingly promised a trip to the medical tent. It was no joke. A few minutes after finishing, I knew a trip to the med tent was in order. I was very light headed and felt like I was going to pass out. My hands and lips were numb.

The first thing they do at the med tent is weigh you. I was only down 3 lbs, so it wasn't dehydration. They took my blood pressure and it was really low. So they sat me down and made me drink some chicken broth. Then I had a soda and started to feel better after about 10 minutes so we grabbed my gear and headed home.



The plan was to go home, take an ice bath and go back to watch the finishers. I came home, took an ice bath and then both Cheri and I didn't feel like going back. We were tired, and my legs had stiffened up and walking was quite a challenge.

Today, we've decided to go to the awards banquet so we're heading out in a few minutes. My legs are really, really sore and I'm having a tough time walking. I couldn't imagine going to work today.

I never thought the Ironman was going to be easy, but I'll admit that it was tougher than I thought it would be. I really thought I was in shape to feel good through the 20 mile mark on the marathon, but I started struggling at mile 2. It was really tough and I have tons of respect for anyone that has done the distance.

People I want to thank for supporting me and cheering for me at the race: Cheri, (Her support was incredible and a big help. Having her with me definitely made my Ironman journey much more enjoyable.) my parents, my sister, my brother in law, my nieces, my nephew, Cheri's family, Mark at Swimfast (it wouldn't have been a 1:10 swim without his help), Dennis, Abby & Toby, Mark & Jessica, Heather & Tad, Stephen & Emily, Jordan, Brent the tank, Jim T., Steve W., Ryan O., Nick & Nicole, Andy, the Wimmers, Bob, Jessica and Pete. I hope I didn't forget anyone. Thanks.

Wisconsin weather

Dropped off my bike and gear bags this morning. I wish the race was today, because the weather is perfect. Partly cloudy, 68, slight breeze...exactly what I was hoping for. Tomorrow, not so much. Here's what it's going to look like when I get on the bike....





With weather like that, there have been a few changes. I'm not wearing red/black since that gear is almost all mesh. I'll be wearing grey/black. I'm going to start the bike with knee warmers (under 70 degree rule), arm warmers and a Pedro's vest (can't find my Schwinn vest - my favorite). If the weather turns nice I'll ditch the vest at special needs about mile 50. I wasn't going to use those bags, but I've decided to throw a rain coat and leg warmers in my bike special needs bag just in case it rains all day and I get cold. This way my bag will be out there so I can ditch my vest if I need to.

Registration

Today I registered and picked up my numbers and gear bag. I guess that's what I needed, because it finally feels like Ironman weekend. I'm excited, anxious, nervous...

After registering I went to the Ironman store and bought a visor. They have the M-dot logo on everything - frisbees (why?), dog leashes (to go with the frisbees?), mouse pads, beach towels, coffee....you name it. They also had Ironman Wisconsin tri and cycling gear that was pretty cool, and it's made by Sugoi. Our parent company owns Sugoi. Hmmm..... might have to see if I can get a deal.

I wanted to get a ticket for the awards banquet Monday for Cheri, but they wanted $35...for lunch! Not a chance. So we're skipping the awards banquet. I have a gift card for Quaker Stake and Lube, maybe we'll go there instead.

Later in the evening we went to the athletes meeting. That was kind of fun and definitely got us in the Ironman mood. On the way home, Cheri talked about wanting to do the Ironman someday after she finishes her Masters. I think it would be really fun to watch her do the Ironman...and I think she would do well too.

After the meeting I started getting things ready. I put my numbers on everything and got my transition bags ready.



Cheri has her spectator gear ready to go...



Tomorrow morning I'm going to go for a short swim on the course. Then I'll come home and go for a very short ride to warm up my legs and I might run about a mile. We'll see. Then it's back to the Terrace to check in my bike and drop off my transition bags. Then we're going to Dean's wedding. After that, dinner and final preparations and then I'll go to bed and try to sleep.

I'm really excited for the race and I think I'm going to have fun. I've predicted an 11 hour finish, but I'm not going to hold myself to that out there. I don't want to feel pressure to push too hard because of a time goal. I just want to enjoy the day and take it all in. If I finish by 6 pm, great. If not, no big deal. I cared more about my time when I started training but now that the race is here I don't care as much. I feel like I trained as hard as I could and whatever my time is, it is.

The numbers are in...

I just finished the last workout of my Ironman training. My training started the day I signed up last year, but quickly cooled off as I had to take time off (7 weeks off running) to let my torn tendon heal. Mid December I started back up and have been going strong since. Here are the numbers 9/10/2007 - 9/4/2008...


Total Training Hours: 574

Swimming
Time: 125 hours
Yards: 311,999
Miles: 177
Ave Workout = 2400 yards

Cycling
Time: 301 hours
Miles: 5323
Six 100+ mile rides
Longest Ride: 119.5 miles
Ave Ride = 27.5 miles

Running
Time: 143 hours
Miles: 980
Two 20 mile runs
Ave Run: 5.5 miles

Gatorade Swim

This morning I got up early to meet a few co-workers at the Gatorade swim and swim the course before work. I got there at 7am and it was 50 degrees, raining and the water was very choppy. My co-workers went back to bed, as I figured they would (they're not doing the IM) so I didn't wait for them.

I think choppy water is kind of fun so I didn't mind, and the water temp was fine, but they only had part of the course set up so I didn't get a chance to swim the whole thing like I wanted. And I felt like I swam really slow so I'm not happy about that. Plus, they didn't hand out water bottles like they usually do. Screwed again by Corporate America.

For some reason, it doesn't feel like Ironman weekend. It's like I've trained for this so long that I don't believe it's actually here. I figured swimming the course would make me feel like it's really here, but no. I think most people are coming into town today, so the majority of the people at the swim this morning were locals. I recognized almost everyone there so it just felt like a group swim.

Tomorrow I took the day off work so I'll register, check out the expo and get reacquainted with my couch.

Saturday, short warm up workout, check in my bike and gear bags, go to the wedding, dinner, then try to sleep. Busy day.

Here's the forecast for Sunday...



Looks like I might be adding arm warmers to my transition bag.

IronMoo: The Plan

This is more for my benefit than yours, but if you're interested in my plan here it is...

Race Morning: Wake at 4:00, eat small serving of Egg Beaters, plain white bagel, orange juice, coffee, fruit, Perpeteum (600 calories). Do a duece. Drink some water. Stretch. Leave the house about 4:45.

Pre-Race: Priority number one (after the duece, that is): pump up my tires. I use Latex tubes and they lose about 20 lbs of pressure overnight. Even though they have pumps there, I'm taking my own to make sure I get my tires pumped up. Then it's off to bodymarking, and then sunblock even though you're not supposed to apply sunblock before swimming in your wetsuit because it's bad for the suit. My suit is trashed. I'm not even bothering to seal the many slices. Don't care.

The Swim: I'll take a caffeinated gel before the race to get a few more calories. I think I'm going to start on the inside and swim inside the buoys most of the front stretch. Everyone says to start on the outside, so I figure if that's where everyone is going to line up I'm going to the inside. I'm also not putting my swim cap over my goggles like everyone says to. That makes my swim cap fill up with water. I'd rather risk someone knocking my goggles off. There are 2450 athletes competing in IMWI this year. Here's what the swim will look like....



Swim to Bike Bag: Aero helmet, bike shoes, glasses (Rudys), race belt with number, Garmin - for the run

Bike: Be conservative and focus on keeping my power around 200-210 (that usually gives me an average power of around 190-195). Stick to my nutrition plan and drink enough water. I'm not going to worry about my speed or getting passed in the beginning of the bike. It's all about power. On my bike I'll have 6 gels taped to the top tube - alternating caffeinated and non-caffeinated, one bottle of perpeteum (5 scoops), one bottle of water and one bottle of Gatorade. Lastly, I need to remember to turn on my Garmin with about 10 minutes left in the bike so it can find the satellites before the run. Here's the nutrition plan (I plan on eating something every 20 minutes)..




Bike to Run Bag: Running shoes, socks, visor, glasses (Smith -orange lenses - ditch the Rudy's), race belt with gels, Perpeteum flask, water bottle

Run: The plan is simple: 8:45-9:00 miles and hope for the best, expect the worst. Nutrition plan is simple on the run. Start with Perpeteum and then do gels the rest of the way eating something about every 30 minutes - more if needed.

No special needs bags.

For those spectating, this is what I'm wearing...





On the bike, just look for these. They're far from cool, but oh so comfy...Post Race: Ice bath, food and then back to the finish line (assuming I finish early enough) to cheer on everyone else and see Frank (79 years old) finish...