Ironman Hawaii 70.3 Chronology

Tuesday, May 29:  Flew into Kona late evening. 

Fuel:  Hydrated well on the plane.  Ate mostly sandwiches and pretzels all day.

Wednesday, May 30: 

Fuel:  Standard oatmeal, fruit, yogurt concoction.  Bars, Gatorade, water, during day and Pasta dinner. 

Technical:  After breakfast, I built the bike.  Noticed a cut in the rear tire and decided to replace it.  Drove to Kona to buy a new tire, gel bottle, gel flask, CO2 and some additional tubes – they didn’t carry any 80 mm valve stems so I’m stuck with the dumb valve extenders that leak air like crazy and make it impossible to know how much air is in the tires. 

The fueling plan is to have 1000 calories of Vanilla Hammer Gel with 6 Enduralites mixed in on the bike.  Also to drink 6 bottles of water on the bike.

The new tire was so tight I wound up pinch flatting a couple times on what turned out to be a 30 minute ride, before I got it right.  The valve extenders were indeed a pain the butt.  Note to self -- order a bunch of 80 mm tubes and learn to stretch the Vittorias before installing them.

Training:  Short swim, bike and run with a couple intervals during the bike and run.  Legs felt pretty good.  Still struggling with my swim technique.  There’s a high cost to good form, so I’ll probably be focusing on form more after this race.

Thursday, May 31: 

Fuel:  Ate a banana and a couple power bars for breakfast.  Bars and Gatorade during the day and ate Pasta with Shrimp and a salad for dinner.  Hydrated well. 

Technical:  Went to the Mauna Lani for extra bike tubes and for the Endurance swim. 

Training:  Ran into Danny, who, like me failed to realize that the swim start is at Hapuna.  We raced up to Hapuna a little late to join the Endurance group, but swam for 30 minutes on our own.  Really enjoyed the open water session – clear, warm, high floatation – what more could you ask for? 

Other:  Registered early.  Floated in pool, snorkeled some.  Put together transition gear. 

Swim Bag:  Two pairs of goggles stuck in race swim cap.  Heart rate monitor strap (which I wore during the swim). 

T1 bag:  Cycling shoes – no socks.  Singlet with race number wrapped around it, helmet with race number and sunglasses stuck in the holes.  Powertap head unit in shoe.  Gloves.   

Put 10 emergency Enduralites, 2 Aleve, 1 Aleve sinus and 1 Imitrex in a small ziplock in my singlet.  Also put a tube of sun block in there.

Put 4 ounces of Hamnmer gel and 4 Enduralites in a squeeze bottle in my Bike to Run bag, along with a white running cap and some socks.  I decided to leave open the option of running without socks (I hate wet socks and that I knew that in the heat I’d be dumping water all over myself).

Friday, June 1: 

Fuel:  Ate oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, bagel with cream cheese and a little coffee for breakfast.  Gatorade and water during the day with a couple power bars thrown in.  Ate teriyaki chicken, white rice and Japanese noodles for dinner. 

Technical:  Did some last minute monkeying around with my bike tires – they seem to be holding air. 

Training:  Met the gang for a quick swim, bike and run before bike check-in.  Everything seems to be working smoothly.  Checked in the bike and took the run-bag to the T2 check-in.  Need to buy one of those neoprene timing chip bands.

Other:  Slept really well.  Felt a little heavy in the legs in the a.m., but started feeling pretty light in the afternoon. 

Saturday, June 2 (Race):

Drank a bottle of water right before bed.  Hardly slept thinking about all the transition gear, race strategies, logistics etc.  Woke up at 4:30 and ate two granola bars, a bottle of Gatorade and a half-cup of coffee.

Caught 5 a.m. shuttle.  What a nightmare.  The Fairmont shuttle took us to the Event Parking where a Mauna Lani shuttle picked us up and took us to the Mauna Lani.  From there we caught a bus to the swim start – 55 minutes in all. 

Arranged T1 pretty quickly – Helmet hanging on bars with singlet wrapped in race number in the helmet.  Shoes were in a bag, hanging on the aero bar.  Gloves were looped around the aero bars.  Got numbered, used the restroom, took a quick 10 minute warmup swim. 

At the swim start, I lined up in the water, near the far buoy, a couple rows back.  It seemed less crowded there, but things got crowded fast once the gun went off.  I found myself caught in a thick pack of swimmers, going about as fast or maybe a little slower than the pace I would have like to go.  But once I was in that pack, it was impossible to go any faster without crawling up someone’s back.

I got out of the water feeling pretty good and ran to the bike without difficulty.  My transition was slow because I had a hard time pulling on my singlet.  I’ll have to work on that.

Once on the bike, I settled into a pretty easy pace.  I held between 170 – 230 watts for about 90 percent of the ride, going below only when I spun out going fast downhill or when I stood up to crest the last piece of a steep hill.  I passed more people going downhill and on the flats than on the uphills where I held back in order to avoid over-expending my reserves.  The power meter made it much easier to gauge my effort on the bike and I finished at 173 average watts (probably higher without the nulls) and at 168 Ave. HR.

Off the bike, I felt good through transition and hit the run at about a 7:30 pace (170 HR) for the first mile.  This pace felt good, but I realized that it was going to be really hot, so I slowed the pace to 8:00s and took my time through the water stops, drinking about 12 ounces per stop, alternating my intake at each aid station between two cups of water with a shot of my Hammer Gel/electrolyte mixture and a cup of water and a cup of Gatorade.  I put ice in my shirt and hat and stuck a sponge or two in my shirt at every aid station.

Bad idea to run without socks.  It works fine when it’s dry, but the shoes got wet and made my feet wet, which made them susceptible to every little abrasive move inside the shoes.  I’m guessing that even wet socks would have protected my feet more than no socks.  I started to get a small scrape on my left small toe because the crown of the road was forcing my foot sideways for the first few miles.  No big deal, though.  It was more annoying than painful and didn’t slow me down in the least.  

As the heat grew (and my legs started to get a little tighter in the hip flexors (not to self – keep doing yoga during the taper week), my stride shortened and my pace slowed to 8:30s at about mile 6 (not including the time spend on the lengthy aid station stops).  On the bright side, I never felt a twinge of cramping, never had a hard time holding down food or water and never felt like I needed to walk.  By mile 11, when I knew I would make it to the finish with something in the tank, I started to pick up the pace again and came into the finish running what felt like 7:30 for the last half mile (although that feeling, I know, can be deceiving).  

Average HR for the run was about 163, including the aid stations.  But when I was running it seemed closer to 168.

I felt good after the race and only a little sore the next day.  I weighed myself when I got back to the room after drinking about one bottle of water.  I was down to 140 from 142 lbs before the race.

I really feel like I have a few more minutes in me – at least one in T1, a couple on the swim (better self-seeding?) and a bunch on the run, if I can just run through the aid stations.

Ironman Hawaii 70.3 Chronology

Tuesday, May 29:  Flew into Kona late evening. 

Fuel:  Hydrated well on the plane.  Ate mostly sandwiches and pretzels all day.

Wednesday, May 30: 

Fuel:  Standard oatmeal, fruit, yogurt concoction.  Bars, Gatorade, water, during day and Pasta dinner. 

Technical:  After breakfast, I built the bike.  Noticed a cut in the rear tire and decided to replace it.  Drove to Kona to buy a new tire, gel bottle, gel flask, CO2 and some additional tubes – they didn’t carry any 80 mm valve stems so I’m stuck with the dumb valve extenders that leak air like crazy and make it impossible to know how much air is in the tires. 

The fueling plan is to have 1000 calories of Vanilla Hammer Gel with 6 Enduralites mixed in on the bike.  Also to drink 6 bottles of water on the bike.

The new tire was so tight I wound up pinch flatting a couple times on what turned out to be a 30 minute ride, before I got it right.  The valve extenders were indeed a pain the butt.  Note to self -- order a bunch of 80 mm tubes and learn to stretch the Vittorias before installing them.

Training:  Short swim, bike and run with a couple intervals during the bike and run.  Legs felt pretty good.  Still struggling with my swim technique.  There’s a high cost to good form, so I’ll probably be focusing on form more after this race.

Thursday, May 31: 

Fuel:  Ate a banana and a couple power bars for breakfast.  Bars and Gatorade during the day and ate Pasta with Shrimp and a salad for dinner.  Hydrated well. 

Technical:  Went to the Mauna Lani for extra bike tubes and for the Endurance swim. 

Training:  Ran into Danny, who, like me failed to realize that the swim start is at Hapuna.  We raced up to Hapuna a little late to join the Endurance group, but swam for 30 minutes on our own.  Really enjoyed the open water session – clear, warm, high floatation – what more could you ask for? 

Other:  Registered early.  Floated in pool, snorkeled some.  Put together transition gear. 

Swim Bag:  Two pairs of goggles stuck in race swim cap.  Heart rate monitor strap (which I wore during the swim). 

T1 bag:  Cycling shoes – no socks.  Singlet with race number wrapped around it, helmet with race number and sunglasses stuck in the holes.  Powertap head unit in shoe.  Gloves.   

Put 10 emergency Enduralites, 2 Aleve, 1 Aleve sinus and 1 Imitrex in a small ziplock in my singlet.  Also put a tube of sun block in there.

Put 4 ounces of Hamnmer gel and 4 Enduralites in a squeeze bottle in my Bike to Run bag, along with a white running cap and some socks.  I decided to leave open the option of running without socks (I hate wet socks and that I knew that in the heat I’d be dumping water all over myself).

Friday, June 1: 

Fuel:  Ate oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, bagel with cream cheese and a little coffee for breakfast.  Gatorade and water during the day with a couple power bars thrown in.  Ate teriyaki chicken, white rice and Japanese noodles for dinner. 

Technical:  Did some last minute monkeying around with my bike tires – they seem to be holding air. 

Training:  Met the gang for a quick swim, bike and run before bike check-in.  Everything seems to be working smoothly.  Checked in the bike and took the run-bag to the T2 check-in.  Need to buy one of those neoprene timing chip bands.

Other:  Slept really well.  Felt a little heavy in the legs in the a.m., but started feeling pretty light in the afternoon. 

Saturday, June 2 (Race):

Drank a bottle of water right before bed.  Hardly slept thinking about all the transition gear, race strategies, logistics etc.  Woke up at 4:30 and ate two granola bars, a bottle of Gatorade and a half-cup of coffee.

Caught 5 a.m. shuttle.  What a nightmare.  The Fairmont shuttle took us to the Event Parking where a Mauna Lani shuttle picked us up and took us to the Mauna Lani.  From there we caught a bus to the swim start – 55 minutes in all. 

Arranged T1 pretty quickly – Helmet hanging on bars with singlet wrapped in race number in the helmet.  Shoes were in a bag, hanging on the aero bar.  Gloves were looped around the aero bars.  Got numbered, used the restroom, took a quick 10 minute warmup swim. 

At the swim start, I lined up in the water, near the far buoy, a couple rows back.  It seemed less crowded there, but things got crowded fast once the gun went off.  I found myself caught in a thick pack of swimmers, going about as fast or maybe a little slower than the pace I would have like to go.  But once I was in that pack, it was impossible to go any faster without crawling up someone’s back.

I got out of the water feeling pretty good and ran to the bike without difficulty.  My transition was slow because I had a hard time pulling on my singlet.  I’ll have to work on that.

Once on the bike, I settled into a pretty easy pace.  I held between 170 – 230 watts for about 90 percent of the ride, going below only when I spun out going fast downhill or when I stood up to crest the last piece of a steep hill.  I passed more people going downhill and on the flats than on the uphills where I held back in order to avoid over-expending my reserves.  The power meter made it much easier to gauge my effort on the bike and I finished at 173 average watts (probably higher without the nulls) and at 168 Ave. HR.

Off the bike, I felt good through transition and hit the run at about a 7:30 pace (170 HR) for the first mile.  This pace felt good, but I realized that it was going to be really hot, so I slowed the pace to 8:00s and took my time through the water stops, drinking about 12 ounces per stop, alternating my intake at each aid station between two cups of water with a shot of my Hammer Gel/electrolyte mixture and a cup of water and a cup of Gatorade.  I put ice in my shirt and hat and stuck a sponge or two in my shirt at every aid station.

Bad idea to run without socks.  It works fine when it’s dry, but the shoes got wet and made my feet wet, which made them susceptible to every little abrasive move inside the shoes.  I’m guessing that even wet socks would have protected my feet more than no socks.  I started to get a small scrape on my left small toe because the crown of the road was forcing my foot sideways for the first few miles.  No big deal, though.  It was more annoying than painful and didn’t slow me down in the least.  

As the heat grew (and my legs started to get a little tighter in the hip flexors (not to self – keep doing yoga during the taper week), my stride shortened and my pace slowed to 8:30s at about mile 6 (not including the time spend on the lengthy aid station stops).  On the bright side, I never felt a twinge of cramping, never had a hard time holding down food or water and never felt like I needed to walk.  By mile 11, when I knew I would make it to the finish with something in the tank, I started to pick up the pace again and came into the finish running what felt like 7:30 for the last half mile (although that feeling, I know, can be deceiving).  

Average HR for the run was about 163, including the aid stations.  But when I was running it seemed closer to 168.

I felt good after the race and only a little sore the next day.  I weighed myself when I got back to the room after drinking about one bottle of water.  I was down to 140 from 142 lbs before the race.

I really feel like I have a few more minutes in me – at least one in T1, a couple on the swim (better self-seeding?) and a bunch on the run, if I can just run through the aid stations.

Thursday, May 3

7:00 a.m.:  Left Vallejo in the RV, heading for race – site.  I drove. 

1:30:  Arrived, set up camp.  Ate a banana and a couple red licorice ropes, maybe a few more torilla chips.  More Gatorade.  I'm really getting the hang of this nutrition thing. ; ) 

2 p.m. Walked down to registration (20 minutes down, 30 back up).  Continued to hydrate with water and Gatorade.  Legs feel great, I wish the race was right now.

5 p.m – 7:30:  Grilled Chicken skewers, Corn, Bell Peppers and Onions for Dinner.  Had S’more’s for dessert – not a huge S’mores fan, but Laura feels self conscious if I don’t join in, so I mostly snacked on the low fat Graham crackers.

7:30 – 10:30:  Hydrated, read some triathlon magazines and got an early start on placing race numbers on equipment.  I have no idea where to stick the bike number.  Depending on where I put it, it either hits my knees or flaps in the wind.  I'm thinking of sticking it in the spokes to make that motorboat sound like when we were kids.   

Overnight:  Man was it cold in the RV!  Woke up a couple times to put on more P.J.s

Friday, May 4

6:30:  Wake up.  Made coffee.  Drank a quarter cup, ate a banana, some Cinnamon bread (300 calories), and started sucking on a Gatorade.  Rode my bike to the Endurance (Endurance PTC is the name of the coaching outfit and triathlon team that I belong to) swim clinic thinking it started at 8:30 a.m.  Got there too early (it started at 9:30), but met Harriet Anderson, an awesome 72 year-old who has done IMHI 16 consecutive times.  Picked her brain for a while and then rode back up the hill to get Laura who by now, I figured was ready to face the world. 

9:30  Endurance swim clinic.  Matt (the director of coaching and former pro triathlete) gave a great little talk, from which I took away a couple things:  Don’t breathe late and accelerate the pull.  Not sure I know how to do these things yet, but I’m planning to learn.  I also found some landmarks to help me sight during the swim.

10:30:  Laura and I took an easy 45 minute, 10 mile ride. 

11:30:  Changed into new running shoes (bought them this week and I’ve only walked in them a few miles – taking a risk switching this late because my other Asics are dead and hurting my feet).  Laura and I did an easy 10 minute mile 2 mile jog, during which I did two brief (200 meter) efforts at 7 minute miles.  My shoes feel great, but my legs feel a little heavy.

Noon to 3 p.m.:  Ate lunch (banana, power bar, multi-grain chips and a Gatorade).  Started picking out race gear and organizing where to put Hammer Gels, Immodium, Imitrex, Aleve and Aleve Sinus, just in case of emergency.  I'm a racing pharmacy.  Decided on a baggy in the back pocket of the tri-shirt.

3 p.m. to 6:30:  Attended Endurance pre-race seminar.  Grabbed a bottle of water, which I sipped as Matt talked about the race course.  He stressed not to go out too strong in the swim and the bike.  He said a lot of people will kill themselves by going too hard early.  He urged us to be conscious of hydration and nutrition on the bike – try to front-load the nutrition on the bike, he said.  That doesn’t mean to stop nutrition and hydration late on the bike, just that you should eat and drink more during the first half.  Mike McCarthy (another Endurance coach and former Olympian) added that we should be careful to not give away free speed at the top of hills – pedal over the top and take nutrition and hydration on the way down.

Ate the Pasta Dinner at the race village – pasta w/marinara, banana, bread.  Drank another Gatorade.  Laura scored my cookies.

6:30 to 9:30:  Switched out my training wheels for Laura’s Mavic Cosmic Carbon Race wheels as a last second decision.  Had a little trouble tuning the rear derailleur, but figured things out when I realized that I had forgotten to install a cassette spacer necessary for the Mavics.  Whew. 

Finished preparing my Perpetuem (1000 cals), water bottles (24 ounce Aero Bottle and 24 ounce seat tube mounted bottle), Hammer Gels (I put 5 in my running shoe for insertion into my tri shirt during T-2.  I also put a white running hat and run socks into my shoes.  Decided to ride without socks and put socks on for the run. 

Decided to attach gloves, race belt and helmet (with sun-glasses attached already) on bike so that I could just put on my shoes and helmet and wait until an appropriate time after T-1 to put on gloves and race belt. 

Pre-packed everything including my wetsuit, goggles, ear plugs and swim cap into my tri-bag.  Wore my timing chip to bed as per usual fool-proofed process.  Put chamois crème all over the Endurance tri-short chamois.    

9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.:  Sleep badly.  Tossed and turned.  Remembered that I needed two towels for the transition area – too tired to get out of bed and take care of it.   Fell asleep for good at about 3:00 a.m. 

Woke up, ate a piece of Cinnamon bread, a banana and drank a Gatorade.  Drank half a cup of coffee, ate an Aleve Sinus, stuck a Breathe Right on the nose.  Lubed from head to toe topped it off with sunscreen level 30.  Grabbed another Gatorade and headed for the transition area pushing my bike.

7:00 – 8:30  Set up transition area. Got race numbered.  Tied blue balloon to bike rack.  Put on Wetsuit bottoms at around 8 a.m.  Monkeyed around with goggle fit and fog protection for a while and then pulled on the wetsuit top before heading to the water. 

Got in a two minute warmup swim, walked back over the starting line and waited for the gun to sound to put on my goggles.

Race Report:

Swim:  40 minutes.  I started out in about the third row of swimmers in my age group (about 270 people) and swam fairly relaxed.  No real trouble swimming with the pack, but it was tough sighting with the waves so high.  Nevertheless, I swam a pretty good line, I thought.  Got out of the water in 40 minutes feeling good, but in a really poor time relative to last year’s 36 minutes, my 1:16 Ironman swim and my 36 minute Caliman half swim.  I’m guessing that my effort level was just low or that my body position was bad.  I had decided not to kick until the very end.

T1:  I got through in 2:50’ish:  I felt like I got out of the wetsuit, put on the shoes and helmet and ran out with the bike quickly relative to last year, but in reality, I was only about 15 seconds quicker.  I still struggle with getting the wetsuit off my feet and I wish I could learn to start the bike ride with the shoes already clipped in.

Bike:  3:11.  I went out on the bike at a heart rate in the 170’s for the better part of the first 20 miles.  Hills and headwind had me working hard, in part because I was struggling to keep up with last year’s bike speed – very distressing.  At the turn downwind at mile 20 I noticed my brakes appeared to be rubbing.  I pulled the multi-tool out of the seat bag and loosened the levers.  I dropped the multitool when I tried to put it back in my tri-shirt and it went bouncing into the ditch, where it remains to this day. 

I settled into a more reasonable heart rate (150 – 160) for the next 20 miles or so as the tail wind helped out my average speed.  At mile 41, I pushed my heart rate back into the 170’s and climbed past a large numbers of riders on the way up Nasty Grade and continued to reel people in all the way into T-2.  I was passed by only a couple people during this time, all, I believe, among the top age-group women.

Hydration and Fueling on the Bike:  I drank water regularly at a rate of about 30 ounces per hour.  I also consumed about 20 ounces of Perpetuem, for about 800 calories.  I ate two Enduralites during the last 12 miles before T2.  They seemed to provide a bit of a boost and I was conscious that I would need to monitor my electrolytes on the run.

T2:  I went 2:30 or so.  Put on my hat, socks, shoes, put the Gels in my tri-pocket (not that great a solution – they seemed heavy).  Ran out feeling pretty good, but normally tight.  Chest also felt tight for a little while.

Run:  1:59:23.  First four miles went by in about 8:30’s.  Then we hit the big dirt hill, which had to be walked.  Mile 4-5 went by in about 13 minutes or so.  Got back on pace, more or less at mile 5 or 6 – back up under 9 minute miles.  Really started passing a lot of runners at about mile 6 to the end of the run.  Was passed by the top two women in the 40 – 44 age group at mile 7.  Caught a number of people from mile 8 to mile 10 and a few more on the uphill at mile 10 – 12.  Ran past about a dozen people down the steep hill at mile 12 to the finish.  I seem to be oddly fast running downhills and biking uphills – weird.  I’m not that fast running uphills or biking downhills.

Hydration and fueling on the run.  I drank 8 ounces of water at every aid station until mile 8.  I ate five enduralites (with water) during the first 8 aid stations and I had three Hammer Gels with water during those first 8 miles.  I tried to alternate the enduralites and gels at each aid station, but always took them with two cups (about 4 ounces each) of water. 

I lost my enduralite baggy somewhere around mile 8, so decided to try the Gatorade (water plus calories, plus electrolytes all in one, I figured) at every aid station.  I tried to take 8 ounces per aid station and stopped eating the Hammer Gels.  This worked well and I felt reasonably strong during the run.

After the race I drank a water and a Gatorade and stood in the lake.  I felt pretty good and didn’t feel the need to lie down.  In fact, I carried my tri-bag up the hill, showered, and walked back down to the awards ceremony. 

The next day, I felt a little stiff in the legs and in the right side of my neck, but otherwise pretty good for the day following a race.  I walked 40 minutes and mostly relaxed after the drive back.  I’m eating good breakfasts and trying to front-load calories this week.

All in all, a very good race result.

I didn't kick until the last two hundred yards.  I think this cost me body position by allowing my feet to sink.  This swim time is 4 minutes slower than any other half-ironman distance I've ever done.  It's hard to say whether I conserved any energy with this slow swim.

We had to deal with about a 20-30 mph wind for half of the bike and then, of course, when the wind was helping, we were climbing Nasty Grade.  We probably only had 20 miles of neutral to helping wind.

I felt like I went out at too high a heart rate for the first 20 miles, but then settled into a comfortable pace.  I hydradated well, consuming aproximately 100 ounces of water and 20 ounces (800 calories) of Perpetuem on the bike.  I also ate two Enduralites in the last 15 miles of the bike.  For the first 40 miles, I basically held my place among the group of riders who were at or near my speed, passing some, getting passed by other.  At mile 42, I passed about 60 - 80 riders over the four mile climb up Nasty Grade and then the next 12 miles into the Park.

I felt a little tight the first mile of the run.  I drank a cup of water at the first aid station and from that aid station on I alternated between two cups of water and an Enduralite (starting at mile two) and two cups of water  and a Hammer Gel (starting at mile 3).  I ate 5 total Enduralites and 3 gels during the run.  I kept this pattern up (more or less - I ate an Enduralite or two at a mid-mile aid station) until I lost my bag of Enduralites at about mile 8, at which point I switched to a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water at each aid station.  My legs loosened up at about mile 2 and I averaged about 8:30's for the first 4 miles.  My speed dropped to about 13:00 for mile 5-6 on the steep dirt hill (that had to be walked).  My pace picked up to about 8:50's for the rest of the race (including the mile-long hill at mile 10 - 11).  I finished strong the last 5 miles and was passed only by a few top age group women while I passed perhaps 50 runners.  Overall, taking two cups of liquid (about 4 ounces per cup, 8 ounces per rest stop, maybe 100 ounces for the run segment) at each aid station worked well.  I felt like I could have peed at mile 8, which made me feel oddly euphoric.  I did feel twinges thigh cramps on and off throughout the run, which is why I took the Enduralites at a high rate early in the run and also why I didn't try to push the pace more.

A couple days after receiving my invitation to participate in the Hawaii Ironman, I hired a coach with a sports training facility called Endurance Mill Valley. I made this decision in part because their training plan involves extensive physiological testing as part of the coaching regime -- think person riding a bike trainer to exhaustion with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. I had been tested by Endurance about 8 months ago, after completing Ironman Coeur D'Alene.

During my initial consultation, I met Jay Courant, a former U.S. Bobsled Team member and a physical therapist. He was assigned the task of doing my physiological testing. Jay asked a couple initial questions about my experience as a triathlete and within a few minutes came to the conclusion that my previous results were impacted by a lack of proper hydration (I do well at short distances, but fade pretty dramatically after a couple hours.) He calculated that my sweat rate was almost triple my fluid intake. Which, is not good, apparently.

Jay and I got along great, so we decided that he would be my coach, though Endurance makes it clear that it views coaching as a team effort involving input from multiple members of the Endurance staff.

The initial testing revealed that, all on my own, over the last 8 months, I had managed to increase my VO2 max (which, I think measures how much oxygen you can process in a minute) from about 52 liters per minute to almost 60 liters per minute. All the interval running I had been doing over the winter paid off. Unfortunately, my test results showed that I had gotten worse with regard to the efficiency with which I used this oxygen.

I also learned that my maximum power was 363 watts, an increase of almost 10% over last year. On a side note, I slipped out of the pedal trying to squeeze out of the last little bit of power, so I'm convinced I had a least another 10 watts in me. Jay wasn't giving credit for "equipment failure", however.

So, loaded down with all this information, Jay developed a one-week coaching plan for me. Because I'm doing the Wildflower half-ironman race in central California on May 5, the plan is basically designed to let me recover enough to do the race. I'm hoping to finish in under 6 hours (last year, I finished in 6:06).

I'm picking up the RV in Oakland today and Laura and I will pack for the trip tonight. More from Wildflower!

So, there I sit on April 15, 2007 reading the press release on the Ironman website, staring at my name on the list of lottery winners. Wow.  I've been randomly selected to compete at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on October 13, 2007. Laura, verifies that the article says what I think it says. I save it to the desktop and print it to ensure that my name isn't just a digital hoax. Holy crap. I'd better go for a training ride. No, I'd better hire a coach. I wonder whether my coach would advise me to go for a training ride.  I'm going for a training ride -- just as soon as I stop freaking out and call everyone I know to tell them to make plans for a Hawaiian vacation in October.