Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Asia Pacific 70.3 Video Race Report with Bonus Post-Race Awards Party Video

More race pics below video!

Note: in video below, I commit a Freudian slip and mention that I'm racing on Specialized bike. I'm not. I'm still riding the Gray Storm TT into action!



Bonus Video: Post-Race Awards Party


More Photos:










Coming Soon: 2011 Race Season Schedule (And yes, I'm taking suggestions...)

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Laguna Phuket Triathlon

As you may know, I am here in Thailand racing in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, and also the Asia-Pacific 70.3 World Championships. Yes, a slightly non-traditional way for an American to spend Thanksgiving, but if you close your eyes, Pineapple Fried Rice tastes pretty close to Turkey.

The Laguna Phuket Triathlon took place on Sunday, and is a 1.8K swim, 55K bike and 12K run, with about 850 participants from around the world.

Having done this race twice before, I definitely wanted to go Top 10 overall, and was gunning for a top age group position as well. Donning my new, floaty Blue Seventy PZ3TX, on race morning I was feeling pretty good about the swim, despite the fact that after about 1150 meters in the Andaman Sea, I would have to run across the beach and dive into a stagnant lagoon (one of the athletes here with me commented that they probably fish the bodies out the day before the race).

OK, it's not *that* bad, but there is certainly incentive not to swallow the water.

Per my usual strategy of late, I drafted for most of the swim, but made a decision to put on the afterburners coming across the lagoon, and I swam into 8th place - coming out of the water with a couple male pros and Samantha McGlone, a previous world champion.

I hopped on my Gray and took off for one of the scariest bike rides of my life. Not only was there light rain on oily roads, but multiple blind corners and moderate Sunday morning traffic. I managed to navigate through most of the technical spots just fine, but coming off the last hill at about 25K, was forced to take the corner wide, swerving into the right lane.

Just my luck. A big white van was bearing down on me and I had no time to wrestle my bike to the left. I opted to slide to the outside of the van and crashed into a ditch on the side of the road, still upright and moving. As I struggled to stay upright bumping through the ditch, I hopped my bike back on the road, but another black car was coming right at me. I pushed my hand out, scraped it along the outside of the car and managed to keep myself upright.

A couple moments later, with the adrenaline pumping hard, I counted my blessings and took off again.

As usual, my bike felt great, despite me nearly dying twice. Over the next 30K, I rode myself into 3rd place overall, and came off the bike as first place age grouper, which meant I was the rabbit everyone else would be chasing. My strategy in a case like this is to put forward my best effort, and also to try to run as fast as anyone that passes me.

The run was wet, soggy and hot - all at the same time. I felt fast, but the double loop 6K was a bit of a struggle for me on the second loop, and I was passed by couple age groupers and a couple pro athletes. I tried to match pace with each of them, but knew I would "blow up" in each case. Although I was moving at a good pace, they were all better runners, and I didn't want to be spewing chunks of Pad Thai.

So...final results (which I'm pretty happy with): 7th overall, 1st place age group.

Since this is a tune-up race for this Sunday's Asia-Pacific 70.3, it gives me a great deal of confidence going in that I can be one of the top performances of the day. I'm ready to Rock n' Roll, or as they say here in Thailand, Lock n' Woll.

More sponsor shout-outs and pictures to come with the next race report!

Friday, October 15, 2010

What The Heck Was I Wearing at Ironman Hawaii?


Many of you may be curious about the race uniform (pictured above) that I was sporting in Kona this year. It's a fairly unique design, with my Hawaii Ironman sponsors emblazoned across the front, back, side and legs - but also a background image of the Ironman tattoo from my back spread across the front and back of the kit.

In addition, you may have noticed from the family finish shot that my family (and several other support team members scattered through the crowd) were wearing custom designed t-shirts and hats that matched my race kit - and during race week, I was personally sporting a coat, polo, short sleeve shirt and singlet that matched my race kit as well...


The race kit and the gear I wore all week stayed incredibly cool in the hot Hawaii environment, and this is the first Ironman I have ever finished with zero chafing, in the armpits, crotch or anywhere else. The uniform I wore during the race was the most breathable fabric I've yet sported in hot conditions, and I'm looking forward to racing with it in Jamaica and Thailand over the next couple months. I've included even more pictures at the end of this blog post.

...so what crazy company actually committed to designing this entire kit and clothing series for Ironman Hawaii? The clothing company is called "Champ-Sys" and you can visit their website by clicking here. They create custom clothing orders like mine in very small batches, but also do kits for enormous teams.








Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ironman Hawaii 2010 Race Report - Sponsored by...Coke.

me and the Greenfield support crew...more pictures will come soon.

The race is over! After popping 2 Phenocane, 8 Recoverease, and liberally smearing topical Magnesium all over my body, I actually don't feel the same searing pain I felt after crossing the finish line. So since I'm awake at 3am after consuming nearly 20 caffeinated sugar gels and a crapload of Coke, here's the ultimate scoop on Ironman Hawaii, with my notes interjected into my pre-race plan...

The Swim:


My final workout leading up to this race was 10x400 at a 1:20 pace, and that was in a pool. In the choppy water, there will likely be an extra 5-10 seconds per 100, putting me out of the water in around 55 minutes. So this was my goal.

However, at the swim start, I managed to find myself caught up inside a group of several dozen swimmers who seemed determined to take the entire alloted time of over 2 hours to do the swim (I'm always curious why these folks line up at the FRONT of the swim).

It took me several precious minutes to fight my way out of this group and settle into my desired pace. As a result, I reached the halfway "boat" in 32 minutes, just a bit off pace - but really pushed the envelope coming back into the pier (by pushing the envelope, I mean that I mercilessly drafted off a big-boned guy with large feet who was wearing a PZ3+ skinsuit just like me) and made it back in 29 minutes for a swim time of 1:01.

Pre-swim: Slammed my 2 delta-E's and Enerprime, mixed into NutraRev. Although I was planning to take 1 double-caffeine GU Roctane, I kinda forgot it. So before I got in the water, I grabbed a half bottle of Powerbar Perform out of a trash can and drank that instead, keeping my fingers crossed that it wasn't someone's pre-race piss bottle.

The Bike:

T1 was fairly seamless and I felt fresh. I wore TheRecoverySock (my Raggedy-Andy style calf high-compression socks that take an extra minute to put on), drank a couple glasses of water and headed out. Mentally I split the bike into several key portions:

1. Makala Blvd loop - replace swim energy with a bag of GU chomps and 2 Athlytes salt capsules. I did this, and as expected, with as much sea water as I swallowed, had a bit of stomach cramping, but that always happens here. You just push through it and it goes away after 15 minutes or so.

2. Out and back on the Kuakini highway - bike fueling "clock" starts at Hot Corner - take 1 gel and 2 more Athlytes (fueling early and often is key for Ironman). Done. I was flying by people at this point.

3. Queen K to airport - hold ego back. Watch folks fly by me and trust my plan and 22-22.5mph pacing (that's AVERAGE - there will of course be portions where I'll probably be going 5mph into a headwind). I should be hitting the aid stations (spaced every 10 miles) every 50-55 minutes. At the second aid station, refill water bottle, and continue this for every other station. On the aid stations in between, grab a bottle for rinsing and cooling.

YIPES! Just before the airport, there was a big boom and I knew I'd flatted. In my haste to change the flat, I twisted the tube and had to re-insert it, making my total flat time 6 minutes and change. The flat wasn't that big of a deal, but it really affected my mental focus and my tracking of the race clock. As a result, I underfueled by nearly 90 calories per hour on the bike. This came back to bite me pretty hard later on.

4. Airport to Waikaloa - Stay cool and continue to fuel with 1 GU Roctane every 20 minutes, 2 Athlytes every 30 minutes, and half a bag of Chomps at the end of each hour (total 390 calories/hr).

Due to the flat, I was now back with primarily female age groupers, and had to work my way back up through the crowd while trying to avoid any drafting penalties.

5. Waikoloa to turn at Hawi - Don't burn out legs, prepare for toughest portion of course.

It started to get a little windy here, but primarily, I noticed that it seemed hotter than usual. Turns out that race day climbed into the low 100's, with pavement temperatures of 120 degrees! Water dosing became crucial at every aid station.

6. Climb to Hawi - Maintain cadence, no gear mashing, stay aero.

Annoyingly windy as usual, but nothing out of the ordinary. By this time, I was back into a crowd of competitive male age groupers.

7. Hawi turnaround - Get special needs bag, which will have 8 gels and 2 bags of Chomps, and a canister of Athlytes. (when I head out of T1, I will have 9 gels, 3 bags of Chomps and a canister of Athlytes).

Got off my bike for 30 seconds and stretched the hip flexors. Magical.

8. Hawi to turn back onto Queen K - focus and be prepared for crosswinds. Fuel when crosswinds are down, be ready to adapt.

Legs feeling good. Continuing to pass people.

9. Queen K to Waikoloa - get through this portion, and then a mental high-five - done with toughest portion of course.

Damn. It's hot.

10. Waikoloa to airport - stay mentally focused and positive.

Still picking up speed. Wondering how fast I could have ridden without flat. Between the 6 minutes gained from the flat and the faster crowds I would have been in, 5 hours was reasonable.

11. Airport to town - prepare to run. Stand and stretch several times. No gear mashing, cadence slows. Take final gel at Makala Blvd.

At this point, a referee motorcycle pulled up alongside me (Uh-Oh!), slowed down, and the official on the back gave me a big smile and a thumbs up. Guess I was doing something right.

Goal bike time: 5:00. Actual time: 5:12. Not bad with the flat. I can go sub-5 on this course in an ideal race (but do those exist?).

Run Strategy:

I planned on using a run-walk pacing plan for the marathon. For 21 minutes, I was going to run 7:15 minute miles, which would have put me at the 3rd aid station in 21:45-ish, where I would then walk for 60 seconds at a 15:00/mile pace, and then begin to run again. This strategy would allow me to run the marathon in about 3 hours and 10 minutes without overheating (core cools down during each walk).

But something didn't feel right coming off the bike. T2 was pleasant enough, but as soon as I started running, I didn't have the oomph I wanted. I slogged through 4 miles, then my world started to go a bit fuzzy. I stumbled onto a lawn and stood there for a few minutes mentally adding up the calories I consumed on the bike. Turns out I was closer to 300 than to 400 calories per hour. Not good, but I knew what I needed to do, since I felt like I was about to fall asleep.


I then walked to the nearest aid station and grabbed Coke, the only thing that seemed palatable at the time. 20 ounces of Coke later, I could feel my mood getting better. For the next 5 aid stations, I drank 8 ounces of Coke on ice. That's about 100 calories a pop. Interestingly, once you begin drinking Coke, no other nutrition really works well on your stomach, so I was forced into drinking Coke the entire race, although I reduced my intake to 3-4 ounces at every aid station after that point.

I only drank water twice, at about 4 ounces. I calculated the fluid in Coke to be enough, and didn't want too much fluid in my stomach. Aside from Coke, I also dumped ice down the jersey at every chance.

I also continued to take my Athlytes every 30 minutes. No cramping at all in 100+ degrees, thanks to these little babies...

Several intermediate landmark goals on the run I planned to include were:

1) Aid Station #3, where I will be able to check pacing.

I knew pacing was off here.

2) turn-around at Alii Drive (approx 5 miles)

I was walking by this point, and really thinking about withdrawing from the race. Pre-Coke.

3) Aid Station #6, another walk break.

Still off pace, but starting to feel good.

4) Aid Station #9, another walk break.

This was on Palani hill. I was really feeling the energy come back at this point.

5) Top of Palani drive, just past 10 miles.

I began passing a lot of folks on the Queen K.

6) Aid Station #12, another walk break.

Toughest part of the marathon really, slogging out to the Energy Lab on a long, lonely strip of highway with no end in sight.

7) turn into Energy lab. run to Special Needs, where I get one more canister of Athlytes, cross the timing mat, and turn around to head home.

Mile 18. Started thinking about pulling the trigger, speeding up and going to the pain-cave.

8) Aid Station #18, another walk break, and a decision of whether or not to speed up by 5 seconds per mile.

Sped up. Feeling good. Thanks Coke. Glanced at my watch and knew I could beat 10 hours. Funny how 90 minutes earlier I was ready to quit, and now I was making time goals. Goes to show that Ironman is a long day.

9) Aid Station #21, another walk break, and another decision of whether to speed up again by 5 seconds per mile.

Didn't want to stop and walk, eat or anything. But I forced myself too. Last thing I wanted was a bonk before coming back down Palani.

10) Aid Station #23: final walk break, and time to speed up and go to a world of pain.

Once again, tempted to not stop, but I did, for one more hit of Coke. Glad I did because once I got into town, just after the 3:30 marathon mark, I was beginning to bonk again.

The Finish:

The finish line, was of course, magical, and at 9:53, a Hawaii Ironman PR. As soon as I made it, I broke down crying (after flashing the peace sign of course).


My breath was coming in heaving sobs, and my legs were on fire with sharp pins and needles - I could barely walk. For nearly an hour, I simply sat on the beach in tons of pain, surrounded by friends and family, before I hobbled off for a massage.

Put another Kona in the books. Will I ever race this again? Maybe. I can get to the podium here with a good race, and that's tempting. Without a flat and a bonk, I would have been able to shave nearly 25 minutes, giving me the 9:30 I wanted. That's always what keeps you coming back...

But in the meanwhile, time for some R&R. Next stop: Rosehall International Distance Triathlon in Jamaica in 2 weeks - http://www.rosehalltriathlon.com!

Key Nutrition Used In Ironman Hawaii (leave comments below if you have "usage" questions):

Pre-Race: Ancient Minerals Topical Magnesium Oil, Scape Sunblock, Enerprime, delta-E, Millennium Sports Carnage, Millennium Sports Cordygen VO2, Sweet Potatoes, nuun hydration, Peter Gillham's NutraRev

During Race: GU Roctane and Millennium Sports Athlytes,
delta-E at all special needs

Post-Race: Wicked Fast Recoverease, Ancient Minerals Topical Magnesium Oil, Mt. Capra Solar Synergy, Mt. Capra Double Bonded Protein, Bioletics Amino Acids, nuun hydration

Key Gear Used In This Race (leave comment below if you have questions)

Skinsuit: Blue Seventy PZ3+
Goggles: Blue Seventy Hydravision
Sunglasses: Zeal Optics "Slingshots"
Bike: Gray Storm TT
Saddle: ISM Road Saddle
Wheels: Gray 9.0 Clinchers
Helmet: Gray Aerodome Helmet
Pedals: LOOK Ti
Cycling Shoes: Specialized TriVent
Running Shoes: Avia Avi-Bolts
Compression Socks: "TheRecoverySock".

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Art of War: Kona 2010


Well, folks, here we are again - after taking a 2 year break, my sixth Ironman triathlon is just a day away: the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. As is my pre-Ironman custom, I'd like to give you an idea of my detailed plan of attack for this race. It's not only useful for me to organize my nutrition and pacing plan, but I hope it's useful for you too, especially if you're a triathlon geek or you do Ironman yourself.

Also, I have plenty of time to waste typing, since I'm supposed to stay off my feet (nobody said I couldn't pre-exhaust my bike shifting fingers).

If you really want to familiarize yourself with this race course, head over my race course to http://www.lavamagazine.com/

Swim Strategy:

My final workout leading up to this race was 10x400 at a 1:20 pace, and that was in a pool. In the choppy water, there will likely be an extra 5-10 seconds per 100, putting me out of the water in around 55 minutes.

This year, I have yet to do a triathlon where I did not draft, and that will be the plan in this race. I want to come out of the swim fresh, and not kick too much.

Pre-swim: 1 double-caffeine GU Roctane

Bike Strategy:

The bike will be split into several key portions:

1. Makala Blvd loop - replace swim energy with a bag of GU chomps and 2 Athlytes salt capsules

2. Out and back on the Kuakini highway - bike fueling "clock" starts at Hot Corner - take 1 gel and 2 more Athlytes (fueling early and often is key for Ironman)

3. Queen K to airport - hold ego back. Watch folks fly by me and trust my plan and 22-22.5mph pacing (that's AVERAGE - there will of course be portions where I'll probably be going 5mph into a headwind). I should be hitting the aid stations (spaced every 10 miles) every 50-55 minutes. At the second aid station, refill water bottle, and continue this for every other station. On the aid stations in between, grab a bottle for rinsing and cooling.

4. Airport to Waikaloa - Stay cool and continue to fuel with 1 GU Roctane every 20 minutes, 2 Athlytes every 30 minutes, and half a bag of Chomps at the end of each hour (total 390 calories/hr).

5. Waikoloa to turn at Hawi - Don't burn out legs, prepare for toughest portion of course.

6. Climb to Hawi - Maintain cadence, no gear mashing, stay aero.

7. Hawi turnaround - Get special needs bag, which will have 8 gels and 2 bags of Chomps, and a canister of Athlytes. (when I head out of T1, I will have 9 gels, 3 bags of Chomps and a canister of Athlytes).

8. Hawi to turn back onto Queen K - focus and be prepared for crosswinds. Fuel when crosswinds are down, be ready to adapt.

9. Queen K to Waikoloa - get through this portion, and then a mental high-five - done with toughest portion of course.

10. Waikoloa to airport - stay mentally focused and positive.

11. Airport to town - prepare to run. Stand and stretch several times. No gear mashing, cadence slows. Take final gel at Makala Blvd.

Run Strategy:

I'll be using a run-walk pacing plan for the marathon. For 21 minutes, I'll run 7:15 minute miles, which will put at the 3rd aid station in 21:45-ish, where I will then walk for 60 seconds at a 15:00/mile pace, and then begin to run again.

On the run, I'll continue with 2 Athlytes every 30 minutes, and I'll be grabbing a gel on each of my walk breaks, which will put at near to 3 gels per hour. Mentally, this splits the run into 8 run/walk portions. At *every* aid station, I'll grab 2-3ounces of water and as much ice/ice sponges as possible.

Several intermediate landmark goals on the run will include:

1) Aid Station #3, where I will be able to check pacing.

2) turn-around at Alii Drive (approx 5 miles)

3) Aid Station #6, another walk break.

4) Aid Station #9, another walk break.

5) Top of Palani drive, just past 10 miles.

6) Aid Station #12, another walk break.

7) turn into Energy lab. run to Special Needs, where I get one more canister of Athlytes, cross the timing mat, and turn around to head home.

8) Aid Station #15, another walk break.

9) Aid Station #18, another walk break, and a decision of whether or not to speed up by 5 seconds per mile.

10) Aid Station #21, another walk break, and another decision of whether to speed up again by 5 seconds per mile.

11) Aid Station #23: final walk break, and time to speed up and go to a world of pain.

12) Finish line. Try to get my hands on a camera and an American flag.
Finally, here's a pre-race video interview with me, courtesy of Dave Erickson.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The "Tri-Fecta" Attempt.

photo by Dave Erickson

This week, I decided to finish the local 2010 race season by attempting a "Tri-Fecta".


Yes, I completely made up this term, and it means "to win 3 triathlons in a row". I think that it is traditionally a phrase used in horse racing or something, but I'm no grammatical expert. I just wear spandex and do triathlons.


For the Tri-Fecta attempt, I chose the Palouse Sprint Triathlon, the Spokane Olympic Triathlon and the Grand Columbian Half-Ironman Triathlon - a true test of my speed in all distances, and a good alternative to doing boring long workouts to prepare for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.


There were three significant changes to my prep, gear and nutrition protocol before these races, specifically:


-I really stepped up the massage therapy with Tim Gilreath from http://www.therapproach.com. I've been seeing him once a week as regularly as possible, and he's magically figured out how to keep me pieced together for this attempt.


-I am riding on a completely brand new Gray Storm Time Trial Bike with Gray Wheels and a Gray Helmet (http://www.synergysport.com). This is a new company to the triathlon scene from Lake Tahoe, and they make slick, fast and impressive gear. I built up their frame with SRAM Red Components and Return To Position shifters, a Zipp Vuma Aero crank, and Gray Aero Bars. Here's a picture:




Yeah, it's fast, and it's been all by lonesome in transition a lot lately.


-I also tripled the amount of fatty acids in my diet. No, I did not start eating butter sticks. I did it by using the Pharmax DHA/EPA blend and Udo's 3-6-9 Oil from Bioletics. This was based on recommendations from Podcast #111 at BenGreenfieldFitness.com, which you can listen to by clicking here.


***In addition, I'm using all the normal nutrition and gear protocols I've relied on for a very successful 2010 race season thus far, and you can read about everything else I use at the end of this post. Heck, I'm shamelessly begging you to click on my sponsors' links. They make pretty dang good stuff.***


OK, here we go.


The first race, on Saturday, 09/11 was the Palouse Sprint Triathlon. I hold the course record here and I was out to beat it. In a sprint triathlon, you basically just go to a world of red-hot pain for under an hour. It's over fast, but it hurts.


The race started with a 500m pool swim, then a 10 mile bike, and finished with a 5K run.


Here's me leading in the swim (this was the last of 8 waves):




I came out of the water in first place and took of on the Gray Storm TT.




This was my first race on this beast, and it is F-A-S-T bike. It is basically the stiffest frame you can get anywhere, which basically means that just about every tiny chunk of wattage gets directed straight into the cranks on the bike.


I just held on for dear life, at about 26 miles per hour, and then ran the 5K. I don't know how far ahead I was coming off the bike, but I won the triathlon by almost 3 minutes and re-set the course record.


Here's me finishing the Palouse Sprint Triathlon:



And hacking up my lungs afterwards:



Sprint Nutrition: 45 minutes prior: 2 delta-E's and 6 Enerprime, Millennium SportsCordygen VO2 and Carnage. During race: no water, no gels. No need.


-------------------------------------------------------------


On my drive back up to Spokane, I must admit that I seriously re-considered my Tri-Fecta attempt, since I was still reeling from the sprint triathlon. But at 4:30am the next morning, I peeled myself out of bed and headed out to make the next attempt for a win at the Spokane Olympic Triathlon.


For those of you who get queasy at the mention of genital shrinkage, you may want to skip this next part.


The Spokane Triathlon is cold.


As in, steam-coming-off-the-water, folks-shivering-in-3-layers-of-clothing-in transition, where-are-my-fingers, why-do-my-testicles-look-like-those-of-my-2-year-old-boys cold.


I choked down a couple yams on the drive to the race, set up transition and then waited until the last possible minute to strip down and put on my wetsuit. As I made my first venture into the icy Spokane River, I felt "the boys" literally go screaming up into my crotch, screaming for dear life and their virility. This was like the cold bath Seinfield episode multiplied ten-fold.


Here I am, hunched over, shivering, and heading out on the bike:



I came out of the water in 2nd, and rode into first by mile two of the bike. This race was basically a repeat of the day before, but twice as long, and the Antarctic version.


While hammering the bike course, I slowly watched my fingers turn a concerning purple shade. Halfway through, I could not feel my fingers or toes, and the feeling in my crotch was suggesting that I may have successfully engaged in castration by freezing. It never did warm up, and by the time I got back to transition, I had to enlist the assistance of a volunteer in taking off my helmet, snapping on my race belt, and putting on my shoes.


For the first two miles of the run, I couldn't feel my legs or feet, and I once again gave serious through to dropping the pursuit of a Tri-Fecta in exchange for a cup of hot chocolate and warm bath.


But I powered through, it slowly became warmer, and I won again - once again by several minutes. Here I am running to the finish. The vital organs have apparently warmed up by now.




Two down, one to go.


Olympic nutrition: 45 minutes prior: 2 delta-E's and 6 Enerprime, Millennium Sports Cordygen VO2 and Carnage. During race: 300 calories of GU brew on the bike, nothing on the run. I've also started adding Peter Gillham's NutraRev pre-race, taking with the delta-E.


-------------------------------------------------------------


The Grand Columbian Half-Ironman, on 09/18 (Tri-Fecta day seven of seven) is known to be a difficult course. With 3800 feet of climbing and notoriously fierce winds, followed by a run on a punishing, undulating mix of trails, gravel and highway, this is not a race to take lightly. For example, last year I raced a 4:34 at Grand Columbian and took second - and that would be considered a relatively "slow" Half IM course time.


So you gotta have a good tune on your pre-race .mp3 player to get pumped up for this one. I went for "Dynamite" by Taio.


Saturday morning, I drove the 90 miles to the race at 6am with my wife and kids. We arrived, I set up transition, and time went by quickly.


The boys helping me get ready:




Found a craw-dad in the water before the swim:



The nice part about Grand Columbian is that there is a buoy line underneath the water that you can use to swim a straight path without sighting much. The first 200 meters of the race are a free-for-all as every competitor tries to get on top of that buoy line. It's like the new Nintendo Playstation is sitting on top of that first buoy, and you're surrounded by desperate pre-Christmas mothers in wetsuits.


I ended up leading in a pack of 4 swimmers, with two very fast swimmers way off the front ahead of us. For the first 1200 meters, I hung with the other 4 swimmers, then made an attempt to break away with 700 meters left - primarily because I didn't want any other cyclists getting a free ride on my tail in the first and most difficult section of the bike course.


My break away was successful, and I was able to come out of the water with just those two fast swimmer ahead of me. I got out of transition ahead of one of them, and got ready to hurt.


Out of the swim:



This race begins with a 1000+ foot climb, but my Gray ascended like a dream. This bike climbs very well, and as a relatively weak climber, I'm pretty grateful for that. The ride, as expected, was windy and hard, but I felt fantastic - I shoved down a GU Roctane every 20 minutes and a couple Athlytes every 30 minutes. Usually, I eat a lot during the Half-IM bike so I don't have to eat much on the run.


Still, it took me nearly 40 miles to catch the final swimmer who had made it out of the water ahead of me, and in the meantime, another cyclist rode by me so fast that I thought he was on a team or relay division. So I rode into transition 90 seconds behind this guy, who it turns out was NOT on a team but was an individual competitor. Third place rode in just about a minute behind me.


Here I am coming off the bike:



Mentally, I've had a hard time this season both "catching" other runners ahead of me and running a strong half-marathon, so I knew I was at a bit of a disadvantage chasing and being chased. I put my head down and starting charging, knowing that 90+ seconds is a good chunk of time to make up, but is do-able.


Unfortunately, halfway through the run, at the 10K mark, I split 1st place and he was 2:15 ahead of me. To make matters worse, 3rd place was just 15 seconds behind me. So I was stuck in a very unsettling sandwich.


At that point, I really though I'd let my Tri-Fecta slip away. A third place finish seemed inevitable.


This is the point during a race where I go drill sergeant on myself...


"How BAD do you want this?"


"C'mon how much are you willing to hurt?"


"Go big or go home, Ben."


"Yo momma is an ugly cow."


HAHA. Sorry about that last one, Mom. I know you read these race reports.


Well, my "positive" self-talk worked. I grit my teeth, set my chin, and went to my pain-cave. DEEP into my pain cave. At 15K, I had opened up the gap on 3rd place to sixty seconds and was 10 seconds behind the leader.


I flew by him, and started counting. I've been passed my fair share of times, and I know that when you get passed, your instinct is to go with the guy that passed you. So I dug in and counted to 200, hoping to demoralize him.


It worked, and when I looked back, he was a non-issue.


About 5 minutes later, my body started shutting down. By this time, I was just past the 11 mile mark, and the engine was over-heating. I knew I had to cool down my core, so I walked for 30 seconds, took a few deep breaths, and then made the final attack.


The final 4K were a bit of a blur, not because I was running that fast, but because my vision was blurry and the blood was pounding in my ears. It was really hurting, but I wanted the finish line worse than it hurt. At this point, I knew nobody was going to catch me, but now I just wanted to see how fast I could finish.


The final sprint to the finish line (the other finishers were in the simultaneous Olympic distance race).





(notice the hot photographer in the background, my wife...)



(fist pump)



(and victory.)


Turns out I was 8 minutes faster than last year (that's HUGE for a Half-Ironman), as I crossed the finish line in 4:26 and got my Tri-Fecta.


Three wins in seven days - a huge confidence booster going into Kona, and a veritable crapload of USA Triathlon points, which help towards the national ranking.


Half-Ironman nutrition: 45 minutes prior: 45 minutes prior: 2 delta-E's and 6 Enerprime, Millennium Sports Cordygen VO2 and Carnage. During race: 9 GU Roctanes and 8 Millennium Sports Athlytes on the bike, half a banana and 6 Athlytes on the run. I've also started adding Peter Gillham's NutraRev pre-race, taking with the delta-E.


-------------------------------------------------------------


So what's next? I'm flying down to ***Las Vegas*** on Wednesday to bring you Interbike reporting straight from http://www.everymantri.com (Interbike is the world's biggest cycling/triathlon expo).


Saturday and Sunday, I'll be in ***Sacramento*** teaching a fat loss and human performance seminar for http://physical.eventbrite.com/.


On Monday, I'll be at a top secret meeting in ***San Francisco*** to plan the release of an AWESOME new business that I can't tell you anything about yet.


Then I'll come back for a few days, and it will be off to ***Kona, Hawaii*** with Mom, Dad, my wife Jessa, my sister Rosie and my twin boys for Ironman World Championships - where I'll be doing Ford and Timex sponsored media coverage for http://www.everymantri.com and of course, racing in the Super Bowl of triathlon.


So stay posted for lots of fresh content and videos over the next few weeks.


-------------------------------------------------------------


OK, here's the sponsor digs I promised you:


Key Nutrition Used In These Races (leave comments below if you have "usage" questions):

Pre-Race: Ancient Minerals Topical Magnesium Oil, Scape Sunblock, Enerprime, delta-E, Millennium Sports Carnage, Millennium Sports Cordygen VO2, Sweet Potatoes, nuun hydration, Peter Gillham's NutraRev

During Race: GU Electrolyte Brew, GU Roctane and Millennium Sports Athlytes

Post-Race: Wicked Fast Recoverease, Ancient Minerals Topical Magnesium Oil, Mt. Capra Solar Synergy, Mt. Capra Double Bonded Protein, Bioletics Amino Acids, nuun hydration

Key Gear Used In This Race (leave comment below if you have questions)

Wetsuit: Blue Seventy Helix
Goggles: Blue Seventy Nero
Sunglasses: Zeal Optics "Slingshots"
Bike: Gray Storm TT
Wheels: Gray 9.0 Clinchers
Helmet: Gray Aerodome Helmet
Cycling Shoes: Specialized TriVent
Running Shoes: Avia Avi-Bolts
Recovery Compression Socks: "TheRecoverySock".

Thanks for reading!