Ironman Hawaii World Championship 2008

This is a pretty good re-cap of the pro race, but I'd turn down the music.

Thetis Lake

A great hike with Rach, Rex and Kona!

Kona - The Heat is On

First off, I would really like to thank all of my HPR team mates that came down to Kona this year.
When things were tough on the day, it was the fact that I wanted to get back and share the day with you guys that kept me going.

I have actually lost track of how many Ironman's I have done so it is safe to say that I have a pretty locked in routine race morning. With this being my 9th race in Kona, I have a certain way of going about the morning at this particular race. 3:45, wake up from a restless night of sleep. 4:00, breakfast and coffee, 4:30 head out the door to transition. This year was a bit different because we were staying a few miles outside of town so we had to drive into Kona and park. This was much less of a problem than I had anticipated. One of the cool things about Kona is walking towards the Pier in the early morning darkness. You basically walk along the final stretch of the run course towards the bright lights of the finish line and you know that these are the same few hundred meters that will end a year long journey. It is hard to describe the emotions; anticipation, excitement, nervousness, dread, take your pick. All I know is that when I walk these steps in the morning I do a quick visualization of how I want to feel when I am traveling the same steps that afternoon.

A quick bit of history. The last two years I have been 32nd and 21st respectively. I have been the top Canadian at the race which is cool, but I have wanted to be the top Canadian in the top 10. In both of these races I suffered a poor swim and took myself out of the running early. This year I came in to the race knowing that the first 15 minutes of the day would be crucial for me. To contend in Kona you need to be in either the first or second group out of the water. Although my swimming has been going well and I feel much stronger in the water (big thanks to Neil Harvey and Patrick Kelly for their help) I was trying not to stress out about the importance of the swim. I think that is one of the things that was hindering me. I was just thinking about it too much when I just needed to swim. (Don't think, it can only hurt the ball club - Bull Durham)

When the cannon went off this year I got off to a good start and when I saw a split beginning to happen I went with it (in the past this is where I fell off). I was at the tail end of a very big group and I had to work a bit to make sure I stayed there. The pace seemed to ease up and I was right there as we made the turn at the far end of the course. My positioning at the back of this group was a big mistake. The pace seemed to slow as we were heading back and it became way too easy swimming back to shore. Unfortunately I was stuck and just swam in the bubble I was stuck in. It turns out that a group of swimmers on the front of this bigger group split off and came out just over a minute up on us. This group included some of the big bikers (Stadler, Beke, Hellriegel). I don't know if it would have made a big difference the way my day played out, but it would have been nice to execute this part of the plan a little better.

When I finally hit shore, I grabbed my transition bag and started running around the Pier, this is when I had an athletes biggest nemesis creep in; doubt. My achilles had been a problem all week and I wasn't sure if I would be able to run at all. This run around the Pier on concrete in bare feet didn't put these doubts to rest. I jumped on the bike and went very hard for the first 10 miles. I saw where I was in relation to everyone else and was still confident that I could move up into a good chase group. As it turns out I ended up being the lead of a chase group for a number of miles. It wasn't until about 30 miles in that Steve Larsen and a couple of the other slow swimmers/fast bikers came by. I went with these guys for as long as I could which took me away from the pack I was pulling but also proceeded to hurt me pretty good. At the turn around I noticed that I had pretty much put myself in no man's land. There were a couple groups ahead and a couple groups behind and me in the middle. Oh well, I had done a solo time trial here just a few weeks earlier so I just rode as hard as I could. Coming up to Waikoloa I heard that I was in 45th place. I didn't recall seeing that many guys ahead of me at the turn around so this was a bit of a surprise (and not a welcome one). I continued on a pretty lonely journey all the way back to Kona, picking off the odd rider who had completely blown to pieces. I was about to head into the unknown.

T2. I dropped my bike, ran around the pier again and hit the change tents to get ready to run? I headed out and it hurt. My left achilles was like a tooth ache. Fortunately, it wasn't a stabbing pain, it just ached and felt uncomfortable every time my foot hit the ground. I ran past the HPR gang about 500m in and they were their wildly enthusiastic selves. I wasn't running with nearly the same spring in my step as normal, but running past everybody gave me the much needed ability to suck it up and keep going. I kept running expecting to see Rach around the first mile. I wanted to let her know how I was doing and see what she would say. Basically, I was looking for someone to tell me to stop. I should have known better than to expect Rach to give me this kind of advice. When I finally saw Rach at the 4 mile mark I told her that it really hurt and her response was "is it getting worse?'. It really wasn't getting worse, but it was causing my running form to get worse and worse which in turn was causing me to slow down. I went from running 6:30's - 6:40's to running 7:00 - 7:15's out on the Queen K. Normally when I am "on" I will go from running 6:20's to 6:50's and I really felt like I had that type of fitness. Seeing the times I was running and not really being able to do much about it was disheartening as I went through the second half of the marathon. Coming out of the energy lab I knew that hitting the finish line today would be a victory in itself. In the end I closed with a 3:03 marathon and finised 26th (top Canadian) in 8:57.

The thought of dropping out did go through my head more than a few times on this day. I had gone to Kona knowing that on a good day I could crack the top 15 (a good run would have seen me achieve this), if everything worked out in my favour and I had an amazing day a top 10 was possible. It is hard in the midst of pain and discomfort to reconcile the fact that you are not going to meet the goals that you set for youself. If I have learned anything over the years, it is that not meeting goals or realizing a dream on a particular day does not mean that the goals or the dream should somehow go away or die. When you are in the midst of seeing a dream fade, I believe it is extremely important to hold onto what you have accomplished and salvage what you can out of that moment. I truly believe it brings you closer to realizing the dream or, at the least, it brings meaning to what is even more important; chasing it.

Some Race Day Pics

1 Hour to Go!

20 Minutes to Go

Turn Around on Kuakini Highway About 8km in

About 9km into run (notice that there is no lift off of that left leg)

Finish Line in Sight!

8:57

Another Ironman in the books. Not a bad day, but not what I had come here to do.
I will write a longer report when I have had a little more time to reflect on the race, but I am extremely proud of the fact that I was able to finish yesterday. I went through the entire swim and bike not knowing if I would be able to run. I had an achilles issue flare up after my run last Saturday (I have no idea why or how) and I had not been able to run since. I tried to run a couple of times through the week but had to shut it down after 10 minutes. I actually rode the bike like there wasn't going to be a run and that cost me a bit on the way back from Hawi. I tried to stay with Steve Larsen for about 15 miles and paid for it dearly. When I finally got to the run it hurt, but it was just a dull pain. The only problem was it was a dull pain every time my left foot hit the ground. I was still clicking off 6:40 miles throught the early part of the marathon so it was bearable. When the 6:40's turned into 7:10's out in the lava fields, that is when it got hard. I actually took a good tumble on the run because I wasn't getting any lift off that foot. I managed to scrape the ground and did the old drop and roll out in the energy lab. My first road rash from running. It is hard when you know you didn't do what you are capable of, but sometimes just giving all you have is a reward in itself. I did that yesterday.

Thank You's

Because they simply don't get said enough!

Rach! Anyone who knows us, know that I am a successful athlete, a better coach and a better person because of her.

A big Thank You to all my athletes, team-mates and friends that have sent emails or put posts up on the HPR site. You guys are the best. I am extremely lucky to have such a great group of people in my life.

I am also lucky to have great sponsors that have stuck with me for a long time now. PowerBar, New Balance, Pro City Cycles - Trek Store Victoria, Attila Apt. Thank You.

My family! They have put up with me chasing this Ironman thing for a long time now and never once asked me what I thought I was doing with my life. How can you possibly thank your parents enough for allowing you to be who YOU want to be.

Randy Zabukovec. My coach since 1999. He has taught me a lot more than just how to be a good athlete and coach. He has taught me what it means to have integrity and honour in all that I pursue. Thank You.

Last, but not least! A BIG Thank You and an early Congratulations to my great friends and team mates Michael Brewer and Erin Nowinski who will be tying the knot this weekend. We will be thinking of you and wishing we were there!

Twas the Night Before.......Ironman

Luke explaining the concept of Days Rest Interval to me once again. I've tried telling him that clocking with a calendar is meant as a joke.

The Last Swim before it counts!

I will be brief since my head is all over the place right now. Highlights from the past couple of days;
-I was finally able to get hold of my Mom and wish her a Happy Birthday. The place we are staying doesn't have a phone so I had been heading over to the local pay phone, but kept getting a busy signal or no answer.
-Pro meeting yesterday. Always the same stuff, but with more questions this year thanks to Sindballe who seemed to have a laundry list of questions. Dude, you go to the front and ride hard. End of story.
- Got to see HPR team mates Karyn Kowal and Kevin Suckling (Unfortunately Karen Suckling was back at the condo waiting for lost luggage) for the first time yesterday at the swim.
-Had all you can eat breakfast buffet and watched Underwear run.
-Went to PowerBar Breakfeast buffet (too full to eat at this one).
-Did final workouts early this morning. Because the Pier was such a zoo yesterday we all just went over to White Sands Beach and did our swim from there. It was perfect (see above pictures)
-Chilled out, had a nap and then took the bike to the Pier for check in. This is the only bike check in I have ever done that has a paparazzi. I just put in the ipod and tried to get in and out as quickly as I could. Had a nice volunteer that took me through the whole area. Thanks Pat.
-The whole gang is out snorkeling and boogie boarding today so Rach and I just finished my usual pre race meal. (Pasta, Tuna, Pesto, Bread, Olive Oil for those that are interested).
-Now it is time to chill out and watch some more of The Wire before a restless night of sleep. Actually I usually sleep really well until midnight and then I am up and checking the clock every half hour or so.
This time tomorrow I should be sitting with my feet up and enjoying a cold one.

Tension Breaker

Just saw this on The Comedy Channel. Always good to get in a good laugh the day before the biggest race of the year.

Rach

Swimming with Dophins (and the criminal)

We all had one of the coolest experiences of our lives this morning. Rach, Luke, Heather and I were swimming out to the Coffee Bar on the course (I am not kidding about this) and as I was swimming I grazed something. This something that I grazed was big, gray and it had a fin. At first you can imagine what my initial thought was. I froze and looked up to see one of the lifeguards on a kayak having a chuckle. She had seen the oncoming collision. What I thought was a shark ended up being a dophin. The coolest thing is that there wasn't just one dophin, I had swam into an entire pod. I was treading water and watching Rach swim towards me. She was still unaware that they were there until two swam right in front of her. She had that initial moment of panic too and then her face just lit up. We just kept diving down and watching them and then coming back to the surface and saying "COOL"! We were off to the side and it was amazing how many people were race focussed and either swimming with their eyes closed or oblivious to the fact that they were in fact swimming with dolphins. We hadn't planned on running into Ben (the criminal) but he was there too. I asked him how long he had been out and he said he had been swimming in circles watching them for 45 minutes. How could you not. The coolest part was watching them go down to the bottom, reverse course and then with what seemed like two or three tail movements, launch themself to the surface and up out of the water. They put on a spectacular show and I think they were enjoying it. I know I was extremely grateful to have seen it.

Sunset

Perfect!

10 X 100

Finishing warm up with a little kick

5,4,3,2,1, GO! Rach was on deck keeping us on track.

Much faster than when we were here for the camp a few weeks ago

Turn! Turn! Turn! (gotta love a 25 yard pool)

This morning Ben and I did our last tough swim at the Kona Aquatic Centre (with Uber Swimmer Darcy Musselman). I tested out the Orca Swim suit again. It is fast!
10 X 100 @ 1:30.

Race Week

4 Days!

VOG

Contemplating life? No, just checking email!

I am sitting here on the lanai watching people pounding out sub 6 minute miles along Alii drive. It always amazes me how many people look like 8 hour Ironmen during race week and then only a few actually do it on race day. Unfortunately I think a lot of people get caught up in the excitement of being on the race course and actually have their best runs on the Monday or Tuesday of this week. If there is one thing I have learned here, it is to resist the temptation to hammer out the training sessions the week before the race. As I mentioned to Ben earlier today; it only counts when the TV helicopters are hovering overhead.

On the weather front; the days have been really strange here. Clear blue skies in the morning and then the Vog (Volcanic Fog) seems to settle in mid day and everything gets very gray. Supposedly this stuff is really bad for your lungs, but I haven't really noticed any effects from it. Will it be a part of the story race day? We shall see.

Pro City Design

A close up of Troy's work.

Just Add 140.6 miles of water and pavement

This Years Set Up

Swim
Safety Human Powered Racing Race Suit
Orca RS1 Swim Skin
Aquasphere Kaiman Goggles
PowerBar Race Belt

Bike
Trek TTX 9.9SSL
Sram Red 11-23 cassette/ 54(FSA Big Ring)/39
Bontrager Speed Limit Brakes
Bontrager Aeolus Carbon Clincher Wheelset (6.5 Rear/ 5.0 Front)
Bontrager RaceXLite Time Trial Tires
Bontrager Aero Bottle (cut to hold spare and Co2)
Bontrager XXXLite Base Bar
Vision Carbon Extensions with Custom Water Bottle cage holder (courtesy of Troy Woodburn at Pro City Cycles)
Fizik Airione Tri Saddle
Look Keo Pedals
Carnac TRS9 Shoes
Rudy Project Syton Aero Helmet
Rudy Project Rydon Sunglasses

Run
New Balance Socks
New Balance 903's (lightweight trainer)
PowerBar Visor
Rudy Project Sportmask Sunglasses

Nutrition
PowerBar X 2 - 3
PowerGel X 15
Snickers X 1
Infinit Nutrition (Custom blend) X 2
Gatorade Endurance
Red Bull
Vantage O2
Thermolytes X ?
Advil X ?

Fish Acting Strangely

A few shots of today's run, coming and going!

Today started off with a good swim of the entire course with Rach and Ben. Rach is something else, this was her longest swim in months and she still hung with us the entire way. I think it might have been the fact that she doesn't like sharks (or at least the thought of being alone out there with them). Speaking of sharks, when Ben and I were here for the camp a few weeks ago there were shark warnings at all the beaches. This was a bit of a concern. The newspaper here offered a few things to watch for to limit your chances of encountering a shark. Apparently one of the things to watch for is fish acting strangely. Does anyone know what fish acting strangely looks like? I was quite certain I saw some fish acting strangely today, but luckily it did not lead to a shark sighting. Of course our cabbie here one year told us that "for every shark we think we saw, 7 or 8 saw us and swam away." Words I don't think I will ever forget.

The only other workout today was a 50min run with some tempo over the middle 15 minutes. Rach rode along side on the bike and took today's pictures.

Rach and I are now crashing here by ourselves for a few nights. Ben has gone off to his own condo and Luke and Heather don't arrive until Tuesday. Luke and Heather have stayed with us the last two years and it has been great having them with us. Luke is able to keep things pretty relaxed in any situation.

I would like to say a big thank you to Ian, Eileen and Eric. Rach and I had a great dinner tonight at Lava Java. Thanks Guys!

The Wire

White Sands Beach - The beach I am not hanging out at. Rach took this picture today.

Another day down, another day closer.
Training today included a hard swim at the break of dawn, a solid 2 hour ride mid day with some intervals thrown in and then an easy 30 minute run this evening with Rach. Saw Macca and Stadler out on the ride this morning (at different times) and then again on the run tonight. I wish I had had a camera this evening because they were actually running together and chatting. If you had followed the lead up to last years race this would have been very unlikely.

Boredom is setting in between workouts, but this is a good thing. I have been doing a lot of chilling out, reading and resting in the condo. I also picked up the 5th and final season of the HBO series The Wire for this trip. If you ever get the chance, watch this series from the beginning. It is by far the best thing that has been on TV in a long time. Back to episode 3.

Swimming with a Criminal

"Rach, Catch"

Ben getting ready for a ride

Easy day today. We woke up early on west coast time, had breakfast and then hit Lava Java for a coffee before going down to the Pier for an easy 45min swim. The water was extremely warm and clear today. This was nice until we hit the sea lice out on the course. Ben described it as feeling like being "tasered". I didn't know Ben had been tasered before, and I didn't follow up on this comment. After the swim it was up to Walmart to pick up a few things. (interesting fact; if Walmart were a nation it would be China's sixth largest importer of goods). After Walmart, it was nap time. I slept hard for a good hour. I love these naps. You wake up feeling heavy, but you know that it is just energy being stored up.

The only other training on the agenda today was a 2 hour spin to loosen out the legs. Rach, Ben and I all rode together on this one. The legs felt like absolute lead starting out on the ride but they loosened up by the second hour and actually felt good by the end. There were only a few other athletes out on the highway, but a very fit Cameron Brown passed us on the way into town. I hope he has a good race. I have met him a couple of times and he really seems like a down to earth, humble guy.

Well, that is it for today. A big hello to all of the HPR gang in Victoria and Columbus. I know I will see a few of you down here in a few days. Travel safe!

Landed

We have made it! A big thanks goes out to my Aunt Sandra who has been my unofficial sponsor ever since I started this sport and I would go down to train at her place in California. As part of her job my Aunt travels A LOT and builds up quite a few air miles. She has sent Rach and I to Kona every year since I started doing this race in 1999. She has even come down herself to watch a couple of times. Thank You Aunt Sandra! Whatever I accomplish here, you are a big part of it.

Travel today was fine. A 6am flight from Seattle to San Francisco and then a 20 minute layover before hopping the flight to Kona. We had no issues along the way and we are now cruising town in a very cool electric blue PT Cruiser (please note that this is sarcasm). I will get Rach to take a picture of it in all it's coolness. After a trip to the grocery store we went to our condo out by the run turn around on Alii Drive. The place is incredible. We have a nice big wrap around porch. We are also on the third story so we have a great breeze blowing through and an amazing view of the sunset.

The bikes are together, the bags are unpacked and food is in the fridge. The goal now is to chill out, have a nice dinner and wait for Ben to arrive (he is crashing with us for the first few nights). Tomorrow the race prep workouts begin.

I will post some pictures a little later. I am hoping to get a few shots of the sunset if the clouds co-operate.