This is the race that I built my whole season around and picked my rache schedule just so I could qualify and earn my entry. All that work paid off and my work with Coach Hirsch has me feeling strong. Needless to say I’m VERY excited to race and VERY ready to taper.

I just got a new aero helmet that I can’t wait to rock this weekend too! I love it.

Last weekend I had two more days of hard workouts before starting my taper. It was raining so I took my 2 hour bike onto the trainer. Once I warmed up, no matter how hard I pushed I couldn’t get my HR above 135 or the life of me. It was just stalled. That is completely not normal for me. I don’t think that has EVER happened to me before. Or at least I’ve never noticed it before.  I cut the workout short and focused on stretching, massage, some time in my Recovery Pump boots and some good nutrition. I immediately booked a massage with Soar Body to get my muscles rubbed down and refreshed.

I talked to Coach and he said that my decision to back off was a smart one. My body was cooked and that is why my HR wouldn’t rise. Looks like my taper is starting early this time around!

Now I’ve got some easy swimbikerun sessions to keep the muscles fresh and loose, but I also need to make sure I don’t go stir crazy.

I felt a little scratch in my throat and started freaking out that I was getting a cold. I’m also relentlessly checking the Burlington weather forecast for this weekend. What looked like it could have been a really wet race, looks like it might be pretty sunny. Still, it is one more thing that I can stress out about forever, but don’t have any control over. I’ve gotta focus on preparing and not waste any mental energy on all that other crap.

So time to go have some under water fun! I can ALWAYS have fun taking stupid pictures of myself in the pool.

The rest of my To-Dos this week include cleaning my bike, degrease and lube my chain, eat healthy and get LOTS of sleep.

See you in Burlington!

Here is my own personal plan:

General Nutrition Principles

1) Dont over think it. I used to obsess over how many calories of different mixes and gels I would take at different points of the race. Carefully calculated timing, caloric density and nutritional make up was the name of the game. It didn’t make me any faster and actually distracted me from racing smart.

2) Focus on quality, not quantity. I used to tape a half dozen gel packets to the top tube of my bike frame along with two water bottles full of calories. WAY too much for a 25 mile bike. I could have survived out there for days and had backups in case my backup nutrition dropped off and fell on the road.  For a 2-3 hour race, your HR is going to be so high that your stomach won’t have the ability to digest very many calories the first place. My legs have enough stored energy to go about 2 hours without any supplemental calories at all, so my race nutrition doesn’t have to be very calorie heavy. Since my stomach will only digest a finite amount of calories during an olympic distance race, don’t give it any more than it needs and choose my carbohydrate, sugar and electrolyte sources wisely.

Pre Race Nutrition

Since my race nutrition strategy is all around taking in only what little calories my stomach can absorb, pre-race nutrition is key. It is also important to stick with what my stomach is used to. On the average morning, I’ll wake up and have a bowl of Frosted Flakes and water. If my pre-race butterflies are kicking in, I’ll substitute cereal with sipping on a flask of EFS Liquid Shot and wash it down with some water. (Total ~300 Calories)

Race nutrition was designed to go down smoothly under harsh stomach conditions, why not use it when you aren’t even racing yet?

30-60 minutes before the race start I’ll finish off a water bottle of EFS with one scoop of Pre Race. (Total ~100 calories) Pre-race is an awesome supplement that helps your muscles work harder with less fatigue. Despite the name, it is also great to use for key high-intensity workouts too. It is also loaded up with caffiene, so if you aren’t a coffee drinker, make sure you test it out before race day. Coffee can make me REALLY jittery since I don’t drink it often, but PreRace gives me a nice smooth boost. I don’t feel like I’m disoriented and unfocused like I would if I pound a couple of espresso shots.

Here is a whole mess of research on the ingredients in PreRace if you are interested in geeking out: http://www.firstendurance.com/pdf/pre_research_packet_1.4.pdf

Race Nutrition: The Bike

Exiting the water, I’ll grab a cup of water just to wash out my mouth. Once I’m out of T1, I’ll keep it simple, I only loaded one bottle of grape EFS  (two scoops) on my bike. (Total ~200 calories) I suck down as much as I’m feeling I need, but make sure I’m at least 3/4 of the way through the bottle at mile 20 of the bike. That gives me time to absorb anything that is left in my stomach before I start out on the run.

Race Nutrition: The Run

The run is the simplest of it all. Because my HR is higher, I won’t be able to absorb much at all. Plus, by the time I take something in at mile 1, it’ll just barely have time to soak in and feed my legs by the time I get to mile 6. With that, I don’t take in ANY calories at all because they’ll either sit in my stomach like a brick or will only make me feel stronger AFTER the finish line.

I’ll take in water at aid stations as needed to keep my mouth from drying out, but that is it. Skip the sports drinks and gels completely for the run.

Post-Race Nutrition

I’ll usually have a water bottle with two scoops of Ultragen Cappuccino (no water) waiting for me back at my transition area. I’ll head over there within 20 minutes of finishing, fill it up with cold water, shake and chug. Gotta replenish the legs ASAP so I can recover and get back to training for the next race!

Natalie explained that most athletes completely over think nutrition, taking the pleasure entirely out of eating. This was a major overall theme of our conversation and really refreshing to hear. Natalie reiterated that fueling an athlete’s body should be pleasurable and nourishing. For refueling after a long practice, it makes sense to ensure that you have the proper levels of fat, protein and carbs, but not the the point where you are counting every gram and completely draining enjoyment from the process. Nutritional value is always something that is in the back of her mind, but is not the primary driver of the food choices that she makes.

It was interesting to hear an Olympic-level athlete with 11 medals focus so heavily focused on the pleasure of food and not not over analyze the nutritional value to optimize performance. Athletes can easily get caught up in trends like loading up on carbs days before a race, or on protein just after a hard workout, without any focus on actually enjoying the calories that we are consuming.

One of Natalie’s favorite healthy snacks is dried plums. She chooses them because they are very sweet, packed with nutrition and come in single serving packs so she can always have a few stuffed in her swim bag for after a workout. Nutritional value is key, but obviously so is portability when you spend so much time training at the pool.

I asked Natalie what favorite recipe she’d pull out of her hat if she ever was on the other side of the Iron Chef judging table and had to go against Mario Batali in “Battle Plum.”

Without hesitation, she whipped out Vietnamese-style bahn mi with dried plums. (Something I had honestly never heard of before. Think of it like a meatball sandwich.)  She loves its ethnic flavors and the sweetness that the dried plums give it. The recipe is here if you want to check it out along with an instructional video from Natalie.

Before we parted ways, I had to ask if she had any advice for both young swimmers starting out as well as the swim team moms that support them.

The biggest problem that Natalie sees is parents over scheduling their kids. Without having the time necessary to be successful in any one sport, parents are setting up their kids for failure. Whatever sport they get enjoyment out of, the overall goal is to stay physically active and to stick with it. From there, encourage them to foster relationships with their teammates, enjoy the challenges and rewards of competing and benefit from the discipline that an organized sport involves and your young athletes. From there, they’ll be in a good position to succeed.

Warm And Visible Tights

Comfortable and warm running tights are essential gear for offseason triathlon training. But for some reason, 90% of the running tights out there are all black. I don’t know about other people, but in the middle of winter it is dark when I wake up, dark when I get home from work and I can’t sneak out in the work day for a training session. So why dress like a ninja when you are training out in the dark and the cold? Saucony has a whole “visibility” line of gear called “ViZi Pro.” I recently picked up their Omni LX Tight and am a big fan. It isn’t as stretchy as some of my other pairs of tights, but are a little thicker and warmer and has bright orange side panels and reflective pieces to make sure I don’t get run off of the road or pushed into a snowbank. And at $65, they are a lot cheaper than a lot of other tights out there.

Fun Swim Gear

In the summer, I do at least half of my swim training in open water, but that obviously isn’t possible with Boston winters. When the temperature drops I spend a lot more time in the pool staring at the black line down the middle of the lane line. B-O-R-I-N-G. There are no clouds to look at, fish to sneak up on or sunsets to chase, but I refuse to let my winter swim training stay boring.

Most guys stick to plain black jammers, but I refuse. All men’s swimwear is pretty ridiculous looking and doesn’t hide nearly as much as you think it does. Trust me guys, if anyone at the pool had any interest in checking out how much “heat you are packing” it doesn’t matter if you are wearing jammers or briefs. It would be pretty easy to do the math, so you might as well own it and have fun with it, right?

I don’t own either of these, but these are some great seasonally festive briefs from Splish. Those guys rock and will help you out making a custom suit too. You can even go ITU style and get your name across your booty. SwimOutlet.com also has plenty of colorful swim gear to avoid falling asleep while doing 100m repeats at the pool this winter.

Plus, Splish has a Cyber Monday sale today. 26% off all orders until midnight tonight (PST) with the coupon code “HOLIDAY.”

Triathlon Calendar

Some crazy Europeans made a hot naked chick triathlon calendar. Awesome. Athletic chicks without silicone, what isn’t to like? Well, it turns out with the exchange rate and international shipping brings the whole calendar to around $42.00. For a calendar, that is a little tough to swallow, but some of the proceeds do go to charity. For any single athlete guys out there, this would be a pretty awesome addition to your man cave….

Speedfil Hydration System

I got this frame-mounted water bottle this summer to prep for Rev3 Cedar Point and LOVE it. To be honest, I’m not sure wh more people don’t use it. For a water bottle, it is a little pricey at around $100, but the time and frustration that it will save you is more than worth it. I love being able to take a water bottle from an aid station, dump it into my speedfil and ditch the empty. No having to juggle multiple bottles or unscrewing water bottle caps. And all the water I can drink is available right from the aero bars through the long straw.

Lazer Tardis Helmet

Scientifically, an aero helmet is a lot cheaper and will save you a lot more time than deep dish carbon wheels. They also make you look pretty nerdy, but I love the look of the Lazer Tardiz helmet. I haven’t actually worn or tested it, but definitely have helmet envy over this one. Plus, it has a hole in the top for spraying water on your head to cool you down during hot mid-summer races. Awesome idea, eh? Santa, wanna drop one of these under my tree?

First Endurance EFS Liquid Shot – Wild Berry

I’ve been a huge EFS liquid shot since I first started using it. It only came in vanilla flavor, which is pretty good. A few times throughout the year the Team Trakkes crew has been helping out First Endurance with race testing a new flavor, Wild Berry. It quickly became a huge team favorite and is finally becoming publicly available. The first limited batch is only available to subscribers of the First Endurance email newsletters. And trust me, that email is one of the best blasts of nutrition knowledge that you can take to your noggin. You won’t regret it. I’m already amped to get the big 30 oz refill bottle of Wild Berry Liquid Shot.

Triswim Shots

Good anti-chlorine shampoo is essential, especially in the Winter when I’m not doing any open water swimming. It is increasingly important if you share a bed with someone else. I’ve been kicked out of bed many times by Sam for swimming after work, but forgetting to shower with Triswim and making the bed smell like chlorine. They’ve got little travel sized shots of their shampoo, conditioner, lotion and body wash that make great stocking stuffers. I can’t recommend this stuff highly enough.

Trigger Point Quadballer

Another product that I haven’t tried, but have only heard obsessively positive reviews of. This year I’ve outgrown my foam roller and it just wasn’t doing the trick for me anymore. I don’t know if it has just gotten worn down over the years or if my quads are just so strong that my foam roller can’t handle it (hopefully the latter) but I’m in need of an upgrade to keep my legs happy and healthy. Recovery is just as important as training! More info on the quadballer here.

Pop Up Changing Tent

Say what? Yeah. This is probably the most unique item on my list this year, but it should be on more athlete’s gear list. During my training this year I did a lot of clothing changes out of the trunk of my car. Because of this, I always kept two towels in my trunk. One to dry off after a swim and one to wrap around my waist and avoid getting arrested. For anyone who isn’t as talented at getting changed underneath a towel or is a little more modest, a pop-up tent would be perfect to stow away in your trunk. You can grab on at Amazon.com for around $40.

Kestrel 4000 – Sram Red

Okay, so this speed machine might be more realistic as a dream item under your Christmas tree this year, but it is pretty damn sexy. Sure, Kestrel is a Team Trakkers sponsor but you have to admit that the new paint job (courtesy of Betty Designs) is sexy. Plus, Andy Potts just signed with Kestrel and rode his 4000 on his way to winning Ironman Cozumel. But for me, even if I got a poster of this carbon beauty to hang in my man cave, I’d be a happy boy. Plus, I’m partial to blue bikes…

Happy Cyber Monday Everyone!

Kim: “When are you and sam getting married?”

Okay, let’s back up for those out of the loop. Sam is my girlfriend. We both went to Quinnipiac University and started dating just before our junior year. Three(?) years later we moved in together. Now we’ve been dating for 7 years and EVERYONE is asking me the same question. And I don’t really blame them. Seven years is a hella long time for a girl to put up with my shit without a ring on her finger.

I love the hell outta this girl. She is my world. My best friend. My partner in crime. Marriage is coming, very soon. She knows it. And we are both really excited about it.

But the thing about weddings is that it is all about the girl. I understand that. I have no complaints. I know I won’t be in control of 99% of the things that get decided about our wedding. As long as it has an open bar, great music and a big dance floor and I get to dance with Sam, I’ll be the happiest guy alive.

The ONE THING in this whole equation that I get to control is the actual proposal, and I’m planning on taking full advantage of that and going it my way. And that is all I can say about that. The rest is top secret. :-X

Meredith: “What is your favorite pre-race meal?”

Okay, after Kim went straight for the gut with the first one, this one is easy-peasy.

The morning before a race, my favorite  meal is probably a salad with grilled chicken on top. I think carbo-loading the night before is complete bullshit. Maybe I’ll have some bread or a baked potato, but I’m never going to stuff myself with pasta like I did in High School. Give me something light with plenty of calories, that is easy to digest and that my stomach is used to and I’m a happy boy.

The morning of the race, I’m usually pretty bad about having anything that actually resembles a “meal.” I usually start taking in “athlete food” from the second I wake up. I’ve done cereal before, because that is what I have on 99% of mornings, but starting off with some sports drink, gels or gummy things is my new favorite race-morning food. I know my stomach will like it no matter what sort of mental condition I’m in and it will help “empty the tank” at the pre-race port-o-poties.

Meredith: “What is your favorite meal that has absolutely nothing to do with swimbikerun?”

A big greasy bacon cheese burger with onion rings and BBQ sauce on it. Bacon makes everything better. Period.

Boston has recently been blessed with a bunch of new Five Guys restaurants and their burgers area personal favorite.

All the fat and salt in it will definitely make me a little slower on race day, but I’m fine with that….

Because we know good food is essential to triathlon training, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite winter belly-warming recipes in a series called “Warm Stomach: Happy Athlete.” Starting with my favorite: Chipotle Chili.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of fire roasted tomatos
• 3 dried chipotle chilis (If you can’t find real dried chipotle peppers, look for chipotle bouillon cubes. Those seem to be a good substitute)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 lb of beef brisket (or any other meat of your choice)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar or maple syrup
• 1 medium onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 can of beans
• 1 bottle of your favorite beer
• 1 jalapeno pepper (or habanero if you like it really hot) *optional*
• Colby Jack cheese
• Sour cream
• Chives

Directions:

1. Heat up the tomatos and chili powder in a sauce pan over medium heat
2. Slice the dried chipotles in half, scrape out the inside and seeds and drop it all into the sauce pan. Continue cooking at a rolling boil for 5-10 minutes.
3. Drink half of the beer as it cooks.
4. Add the saucepan ingredients along with the brisket, brown sugar, beans, diced jalapeno, diced onion and diced green pepper into a slow cooker.
5. Add the second half of your beer into the slow cooker.
6. Cook for 8-10 hours on low heat. (You can get by with 6-8 hours if you are using something other than brisket, like ground beef or steak.)
7. Serve in bowl. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and chives.

My favorite part of this recipe is that I change it up a little every time I make it. Sometimes I add more hot peppers. Other times I add more brown sugar. Other times, I end up drinking the whole beer and not adding any into the pot.

It is a great recipe to set up in the morning on a cold winter day before I leave for work. Coming home to a house filled with the smell of chili peppers and beef is pretty awesome. It also keeps really well and can be used for the rest of the week as a dip or on hot dogs or sandwiches. Having plenty of leftovers is a great way to manage your time and make more room in the week for workouts and family time.

Enjoy and feel free to experiment and make your own versions.

1. If you could eat anything without any health repercussions or guilt, what would your meal be?

Cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. I have an insatiable appetite for a good chocolate chip cookie.

2. If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be and why?

Steve Prefontaine. Because he was bad-ass. And because I know that the movie “Without Limits” is WAY better than “Prefontaine.”

3. Why did you start blogging and what did you expect when you started?

I started blogging after I did my first my first sprint triathlon and had major anxiety about doing my first olympic distance triathlon. I got the feeling that unless I did something about it, triathlon training can get pretty lonely. Blogging solved that really quick and some of the most amazing people I’ve met (both digitally and in person) throughout my whole live have come through this blog. If you are reading this right now, there is a good chance I’m talking about you, so thanks.

4. What is the one book you could read over and over again?

To be honest, I’m not a big book guy. I only read a book every 2 years, at most. I read and write pretty much constantly at work, so coming home and curling up on the couch with a book is just not a relaxing image for me.

5. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

I really want to go camping and hiking in the rockies. The white and green mountain ranges in New Hampshire and Vermont are great, but I want to get out into the wilderness in some big stuff out West.

6. If you could have a TV show on the Food Network, what would it be?

I would definitely want to be Alton Brown’s co-host. I love Good Eats. He is the perfect blend of chef and nerd. I love it.

7. What was the best meal you ever had?

The best meal I ever had was garlic mashed potatoes, filet mignon with herb butter and friend onion strings on top. It was amazing.

The best singular thing I ever ate was a cup of grapes at mile 26 of the marathon at Rev3 Cedar Point. It was crack in grape form. Like a taste bud orgasm. I loved it and wish I could find grapes like that again.

8. Who has been the greatest influence on your love for food and learning to cook?

That is an easy one. My mom. She taught me everything that I know about cooking. Living in a house with four kids and doing sports all through high school, satisfying my insatiable teenage athlete hunger was a constant battle. She taught me to fend for myself, understand what flavors go well together and have the confidence to walk into a kitchen, grab whatever is available and mix it up into something delicious.

So I’m tagging:

Chloe because she is tapering for IMFL next week.

Ryan and Meg because they are two of my awesome Trakkers teammates.

Sonja and Erika because they sent my ThermaJock blog post to their moms, which alone made laugh so hard that I peed my pants, just a little.

• When I have a potential conflict between a planned workout and hanging out with friends, always go with my friends.
• Spend more time with my nephew, because he is awesome. He loves drooling and smacking me with wooden spoons.

• Don’t set my alarm to go off before 6 am. Ever.
• Play more video games.
• Drink more beer.
• Eat more cookies.
• Gain some weight and upper body muscle back so I don’t look so lean/sickly from all the ironman training.
• Swim when I want to swim, bike when I want to bike and run when I want to run.

Sounds like a good plan, right? What am I missing?

Click here to view the embedded video.

I decided that the whole day was going to be focused on two main ideas:

1. Take the whole day one mile at a time
2. Enjoy every mile of my only first Ironman

Those two mantras would end up driving me for the next 140.6 miles.

Other than a minor pre-dawn freakout in transition area. I was able to keep a pretty level head as I set up my bike, organized my transition area and filled up my nutrition bottles. I was pretty happy and surprised with my attitude. I’ve been a LOT more nervous for a LOT shorter races.

I’m not sure what it was, but I was just ready to race, get out there and start tearing up the course.

Heading over to the swim start and patiently waiting for the gun to go off. Sam was an amazing sherpa and helped me stay cool calm and collected up until the second I had to leave her and dive head first into the water. Just as I was starting to head through the start gate, she handed me her cell phone. It was my mom calling from Connecticut to give me some last minute last minute well wishes. Hearing how proud she was of me to just have made it to the start line brought such a big smile to my face that I couldn’t even muster up any response beyond “Thanks Mom!” before I handed the phone back to Sam and pointed myself towards shore and the start of the race.

Swim:

The plan was to keep it nice and relaxed and not to threaten the race before I even headed out on the bike. All of the FullRev athletes (about 450 of us) went off in one big mass start. No matter how far back you hung in the pack, you were bound to run into some people. I landed some unintentional kicks an punches and took my share as well, but it eventually spread out and allowed me to focus on keeping an even pace and smooth form instead of dodging kicks to the scull.

The first loop went pretty smoothly. I even had to pee and just let it rip instead of waiting until I was out on the bike. I’d peed in my wetsuit plenty of times before, but never while actually swimming. It was always while standing in the water waiting for the gun to go off.

I figured it was a good sign that I started the race well hydrated. It is good to know the digestive system is working and doing its thing, even if nature calls when I’m only 1 mile into the race.

First loop: 41:17 (2:08/100 m)

The second loop was a little more of the same. My arms felt strong all the way through and I was having a blast. Nature even called AGAIN! I didn’t even feel like I was drinking a ton on race morning, but just like the first time, I just went with it. My pace did slow a little bit, but I exited the water feeling awesome. My time was right in the middle of my prediction and I was psyched to start the bike.

See? I’m even turning around to smile and wave to Sam as I exit the water. I told you I was having a blast out there.

Second loop: 43:19 (2:15/100 m)

Total swim time: 1:24:36

Bike:

I didn’t have any major expectations for the bike. I knew that it was probably going to be my strongest sport of the day. I just wanted to get out there, hold a nice even pace and start the run feeling good.

The course was WAY flatter than anywhere I’d ever raced, but it was also WAY windier than anywhere I’d ever raced so it was tough for me to make any sort of average speed expectations. I just went out there and did my thang.

The bike started with plenty of drinking straight water to make sure that my stomach stayed as happy as it was during the swim and was processing whatever I threw down my gullet. The first bike pee came around mile 25 and I was as happy as a clam.

As we made a turn and headed West, I started FLYING. I had a nice tailwind and a nice clean stretch of flat road ahead of me. It was beautiful. I was cruising at between 22 and 23 mph and barely working for it.

That was until I took the next turn at around mile 35. From then on it was a constant battle with the wind. No matter where the course turned, it felt like the wind was following me. No matter how aero I tried to get, I was constantly battling the wind. Doing 13 mph (and working hard for it) on a nice flat even road definitely puts things into perspective after ticking off all of those miles at 22 mph with a tail wind.

I figured there was nothing I could do about the wind and just kept an even effort level. Eat, breathe, drink, pee and repeat. The course was beautiful and I tried to just soak it in as much as I could.

I got off the bike happy with how things went and psyched to slip on my Saucony Paramounts and start running.

Time: 6:14:43 (17.93 pmh)

Snuck a little good luck chat with Sam before heading into the changing tent and off on the marathon.

Run:

I threw on my run gear, filled up my water bottle and headed out on my way.

My run plan was to sip on just water for the first 20-30 minutes until my HR settled and I could start taking in calories without letting my stomach seize up. Those first three miles felt great and I was slowly ticking off the miles at a nice even pace.

At around the mile 3 mark, I tore open my EFS Liquid Shot flask and took tiny sips each  20 minutes. Unfortunately, that didn’t last too long. By mile 6 I realized that all the water that I was sipping on was just sloshing around in my gut. Crap. I wasn’t really pushing the pace, so the only real decision to make was to start walking. It was MUCH sooner in the marathon than I had expected to have to walk, but I knew that I didn’t have the strength to grit and bear it through another 20 miles of running without being able to absorb a single carb, electrolyte or ounce of water.

Miles 6-10 were slow and painful and included a lot of walking but eventually I could feel my stomach emptying and the next trip to the port-o-potty was by far my favorite of the day. It was an awesome sign that my stomach was functioning again and taking in the goodies I was tossing  down.

My run performance was quickly turning out to be way less spectacular than I had hoped, but it was cool. I run walked and made some friends along the way. Meredith’s husband Dave caught up to me and we ran together for a while for a while before he left me in the dust. Then I ran by some girls at an aid station and over heard them say “What, you aren’t going to complement him on his butt?” They definitely didn’t think that I heard them so I caught them off guard when I stopped, struck a pose and called out “What, nothing?!”

After getting their approval, I proceeded to knock off the rest of the marathon, mile by mile. My pace got slower and slower and my quads were increasing amounts of pain, but I kept on ticking off the miles. Let me tell you, I’ve never big a big fan of all that random stuff that they have at aid stations. I’m usually just a gel and sports drink kind of guy, but a cup of grapes at mile 20 of an ironman marathon may be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted.

For the last few miles, I made a new friend from Louisville, KY and we chatted it up, took run/walk breaks together and kept on moving forward. I can’t remember his name, but having him next to me for those last miles was perfect. It helped distract myself from my legs as they slowly disintegrated beneath me.

As I approached the finish line, I really had no idea how I’d react. To be perfectly honest, I was an emotional roller coaster and thought that it was entirely possible that I’d cross the line sobbing like a baby with tears streaming from my face. Or maybe I’d have some triumphant primal scream as I tore past the finish line.

In reality, I was too busy being being just plain excited to think about anything else. I wasn’t thinking about all the hard training sessions that it took to get me there. I wasn’t thinking about all of the people that helped me get there. I wasn’t thinking about all the things that I did right and all the things that I did wrong during the race. I wasn’t thinking about how my legs were screaming in pain and could barely take another step without having me trip and fall over myself.

I wasn’t even thinking about anything as I crossed the line. It was just elated. Huge smile. My mind was just blank, enjoying the physical experience of finishing my first ironman. I think there were just so many possible thoughts rushing thought my head that my mind just shut them down and forced out one gigantic smile.

All is good.

I broke the tape and was immediate surrounded by a hand full of my Trakkers teammates and found Sam waiting just outside the finisher’s area. I shuffled my way over to her and gave her a gigantic hug. Two seconds later we got a call from my mom who was watching me finish on the live video feed. While it sucked not having her there, it was awesome knowing that she was able to track me all day with my Trakkers GPS device (until the battery ran out just before the end of the bike) and watch me live as I crossed the line.

My chip didn’t register over the finish line, so I’m still not 100% sure on my time. I’m guessing that it is somewhere around 13:24, but I’m not all that concerned about it.
I did miss going sub-13:00 like I was secretly hoping for, but I’m not letting it get to me. I handled the obstacles that were thrown my way really well and that is all that I could ask for.

So in the end did I enjoy every mile of my first ironman? Heck yes!

Will I do another one?! Yell yeah! (but just not next year)

This year was filled with tons of epic training adventures, but far more time away from my friends, family and girlfriend than I would have liked. I’ll be definitely returning to the iron distance sometime in the future, but I’m looking forward to some shorter races where it’ll be much easier to balance racing and the rest of life.

10 years of dreaming, four years of racing, nine months of training and 12 hours of driving later, I arrived at Cedar Point amusement park, the site of my first iron distance triathlon.

HELLO SANDUSKY, OHIO!

I rolled in to town on Friday afternoon so that I’d have plenty of time to get all my gear set up and organized so I’d have as little as possible to do the day before the race. As I checked into my hotel room, a nice big FedEx was waiting for me, a brand new set of Zipp 606′s for race day thanks to Race Day Wheels. Doesn’t Victoria look pretty with her new hoops?   I love how they look and love how they ride even more. Now if they weren’t so damn expensive and I could afford to own them instead of just rent them…

Next up on the schedule was some last minute nutrition advice from the man behind the kick-ass nutrition that I’ve been fueling up with all year, Robert Kunz. It is great having him sponsor the team and being able to pick his brain with last minute race advice. He is a wicked smaht dude. It was a big confidence boost getting a little bit of extra validation that my nutrition plan for race day was solid.

And of course, a road trip to the roller coaster capital of the world just wouldn’t be right without some good ‘ol fashioned adrenaline pumping speed. I figured it wasn’t a good idea to attempt riding any coasters on the day before the race, so I got in as many as I could back-to-back on Friday night.

With some of my Trakkers teammates heading into the park.

This one was by far my favorite. Simple, but awesome.

Top Thrill Dragster: 0-125 mph then STRAIGHT up

Sunday morning brought some more team duties volunteering at the practice swim and handing out SBR Sports products. The ladies were armed with Tri-Slide and offering to lube up anyone who would take ‘em. Seriously, who would turn down this classy bunch of athletes?

The swim itself was pretty insane. It was really windy and the chop on the water was some of the worst I’d every swam in. It felt like I was back on the roller coasters. Dolphin diving through the surf was fun, but once you got out into the water, it was a big challenge just to time my breathing at the top of each wave and sight the next buoy let alone keep any sort of reasonable pace.

The weather report said that the wind was going to shift and calm down, but nothing is guaranteed. Thankfully the Rev3 folks had a backup swim plan so it wouldn’t turn into a duathlon, because if race day conditions were like Saturday, there would be a lot of DNFs before people even made it to T1.

The thing is that I was pretty excited for the possibilities of a really rough swim. Instead of scary, I figured that it would be epic. Actually nothing at all that day got my nerves giong. I was pretty cool, calm and collected the whole time. For less than 24 hours away from the biggest race I had ever attempted, I was pretty surprised .

That was at least until I started organizing my special needs bags. I don’t know if it was that it was a big enough signal to make it all feel real or that I’d never done a race long enough to need special needs bags, but I was freaking out BIG TIME. Pacing around the room, moving stuff aimlessly from one pile to another, talking out loud to myself, the whole 9. Thankfully Sam was there to help calm me down and that was my first and only pre-race freak out.

After kicking my feet up, a chicken dinner and plenty of hydration with EFS, it was bed time.

Up next, the full race report.

• Have a blast
• Soak in every second of the whole race

Based on my training and fitness levels, I have expectations of what I know I’m capable of, but that isn’t what is motivating me to get to the finish line.

Although I’m not COMPLETELY without time goals. I do have a time goal I want to finish under, but that is top secret. Even if I’m over it by a minute or an hour, I don’t think I’ll be all that upset unless I missed it because I didn’t give it my all.

If I nail the primary race goals, I’ll be posting a ton of race pictures of me with gigantic goofy smiles sometime next week.

In the words of the all wise HolisticGuru:  “Enjoy every second on race day. The ups and downs. Because you’ll never do your first IM again.”

My gear is all organized and my nutrition plan is solid. I have a little notebook with mini plans for the day before, pre-race morning, swim, bike and run on their own pages. Between now and Sunday I’ll carry that notebook with me wherever I go and re-read each page whenever I feel the nerves spike or need a reminder that I’ve got this all locked down.

Until 7 am on Sunday morning, it is just short workouts with a little intensity to keep my body loose and mind straight. Then the last part of my ironman journey can begin. The 140.6 mile long part.

It has even started to influence how I physically organize my apartment so I can spend less time getting ready for training and more time actually out there getting ready to race.

I’ve quarantined a bottle of special bottle of EFS and Liquid Shot to make sure I have enough nutrition goodies for race day and don’t go through it all before I roll into Sandusky.

I’ve made separate swim, bike and run boxes for the cabinet in my triathlon cave for all the random goodies and nick nacks. I also keep all the nutrition bars, GUs and other random stuff in a shoe box so I have everything all in one place.

Can’t find that pair of shoes I need? Nah. They are all hanging on the back of my closet door.

My road bike is neatly hanging on the wall out of the way.

The TT bike is always propped up on the bike trainer, ready for a century ride or 2 hour trainer session at the drop of a hat.

My random assortment of recovery stuff and supplements is all stacked together.

I have a whole shelf dedicated to water bottles.

I’ve been good (usually) about diligently recording every single one of my workouts in Training Peaks.

But no matter how organized everything else is, my drawer dedicated to workout clothes WILL NOT SHUT.

I don’t think that thing has closed in over 6 months. It just won’t happen… Nothing is folded or organized. Thankfully it is at least all clean, but I’m thinking I need to head over to Goodwill to donate gear to some needy triathletes.