IRONMAN WEEK - TEAM HAWAII

It's Ironman week and I'm excited, nervous and confident. Well, not too confident. Just enough to calm the nerves. I'll start to post photos of the Ironman activities going on this week such as the Parade of Athletes on Tuesday and the Underpants Race on Thursday.

So keep checking back and I'll be posting photos each day of what's happening here in Kona for the week.

Saturday night Karen, Rebecca and I helped put together 1,963 race packets for the athletes. I even got to put together my own packet. I made sure I got well-wishes from all the volunteers while the packet was being filled.

On Sunday, all the athletes from the Big Island got together for a team photo for the newspaper. Let the fun begin ...

Hope everyone out there has a great week and keep all of us Ironman hopefuls in your thoughts come Saturday. It'll be long 140.6 miles. Good luck to all the athletes on Saturday.

Take care.

TWO WEEKS NOTICE

Ironman is only 10 days away. Maybe 9. I can never figure out if you should count today or not. Anyhow, it's less than two weeks away.

I'm getting excited. Then I get scared, then excited again. Some days I think I'm ready and other days I think I need more time. But there is no more time and the time that is left is taper time. Time to let the body recover but not shut down. It's a thin line between the two. Too much relaxing and the body will think it has done its job and go into hibernation. Too little rest and I'll go into feeling exhausted.

Last year I tapered too much I think and I felt that on the bike. This year I think I'm a little wiser and trying to taper just enough to get the rest I need but still keep the body and mind in a state of readiness. To do that I'm still doing some intense training this week but trying to combine it with some fun as well. Like yesterday. I'm did three separate training sessions but trying to have fun with them.

Yesterday morning I swam to the King's Buoy with a friend. A bunch of Ironman athletes were already in the water swimming. Big swells, big waves and lots of dolphins greeted us at the Kings buoy. We even saw a manta ray swim under the dolphins and it made me wish I had a camera with me. How often do you see that? A manta and dolphins in the same shot.

We swam with the dolphins (who were in the middle of mating so they stayed around for a long while), played tag with them and envied them for their swimming ability. It was a great swim and very relaxing. That afternoon I had a quick little hourlong run along Alii Drive. I probably ran it a little too hard but I had fun seeing all the triathletes out and about. There were plenty also lots of tourists to run around.

About the time I got home it started pouring rain and then I waited for Masters swim practice last night for my final session of the day. Each day the workouts are getting a little easier and a little shorter. This weekend I'll do my final distance training. Nothing real long just a couple of hours on the bike and an hour and a half run. After that it's just rest and hydrate for the last week. short little rides and runs and a lot of swimming but nothing hard, just playing in the water. After all, Ironman for me isn't a race, it's an event. Something to finish. To attain to.

Well, gotta go. Time to swim to the Ironman buoy. Hopefully lots of dolphins and rays and athletes and friends will be out. And speaking of friends.

I met an Ironman athlete yesterday from Orlando, Florida. His name is Rajesh and this will be his first Ironman. If you get a chance stop by his website at: http://www.live-free.net/. I borrowed this photo from Leann.

GONE WITH THE WIND

I'll come right out and say it: I don't like crosswind while I'm on the bike. In fact, it plain just scares when I'm going downhill.

This past weekend was my peak weekend. My longest ride and run leading up to Ironman. I'm not sure I'm doing my training correctly but that's what I did last year and it seemed to work. Saturday was a 120-mile bike ride. From my house to Kawaihae, about 35 miles, then start climbing for about 40 miles. 18 miles from Kawaihae to Hawi, take a right and keep climbing another 20 or so to the summit of Kohala Mountain Road just above Waimea. Then you have a steep and very windy descent for about 7 miles into Waimea and another long descent to Kona some 40 miles away, depending which way you decide to ride.

(The elevation profile for my 120-mile ride. The big hump in the middle is Kohala Mountain Road)

Did I mention the wind? Out of the 120 miles I rode Saturday, about 100 miles of it was either into a strong headwind or a crosswind. On the climb past Hawi to the summit it was mostly a strong, and very loud headwind. The wind blowing through the trees would howl so loudly I couldn't even hear my iPod on full blast.

(The first elevation sign appears. The summit is at about 3,600 feet. I had planned on taking photos of all of the elevations signs as I came to them but it became so windy I couldn't ride with one hand and I didn't want to stop.)

And when I reached the treeline at the summit the wind had turned into a shrieking, howling, incredible crosswind making it extremely difficult to stay on my bike. Stopping to take photos I could barely stand up. I was so tempted to get off my bike and hitchhike down to Waimea, but the wind was blowing too hard to take a hand off the bars to stick out my thumb.

Besides, I figured, what doesn't kill you, only makes you think you're going to die, so I made my way -- very slowly -- along. Scary. I've never been on a bike in that much wind before, let alone trying to ride down a narrow mountain road dodging traffic and wind gusts. I kept wondering if they ever have to ride in this kind of wind in the Alps or Pyrenees mountains during the Tour de France.

(View from the top. I nearly lost my cell phone taking this photo, the wind almost blew it out of my hands.)

By the time I rolled off the mountains my hands were so cramped from holding the brakes and my arms were so tired from trying to hold onto my bike I had to stop for a few minutes to rest up. The funny thing is my legs felt pretty fresh and that was after about 80 miles of riding.

I don't think I'll ever ride over Kohala Mountains Road again. It's not that it is that hard of a ride -- 30 or 40 miles up hill -- but the wind is just too much for me. The ride was spectacular though. Horses, cows, lot's of pine trees. It looked a lot like Eastern Oregon to me.

On second thought, I may make my way back up that mountain. Only next time I'm leaving the bike at home and running the thing. That'd be great! I bet I'd reach the summit faster than I biked it.

(Heading to the summit above the tree line.)

IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES

Yes, it's true. We are thinking about getting a divorce.

Not Karen and I. It's my gold-digging, money-hungry, ungrateful bike and I. All that she-devil wants me to do is spend money on her. New racing wheels, new chain, new tires, new tape, new, new, new, buy, buy, buy ... And today was the breaking point. I was out on my ride when my bike -- that beeotch! -- screamed at me "BUY ME NEW PEDALS!" Without giving me a chance to argue she forced me to turn around and slowly make my way back home on broken pedals.

(diamonds, gold, silver! Is there no end to her vanity?)

I decided then enough is enough. As soon as Ironman is over, she's packing her bike bag and moving out. She's taken enough blood, sweat and tears, and money from me. If anyone is interested in a money-hungry, greedy bike ...

STATS
But seriously, today I hit a milestone that only a numbers geek probably appreciates. I surpassed all the miles I biked the entire year last year in only 9 and a half months. I also surpassed my total run miles from all of 2009 last week as well. Here’s the numbers:

BIKE 2009
239 hours 4,119 miles

BIKE 2010 (Through Sept. 15)
243 hours 4,137 miles

RUN 2009
156 hours 900 miles

RUN 2010 (Through Sept. 15)
161 hours 958 miles

Swimming is a different story, however. I’ve actually swam a lot less this year than last:

SWIM 2009
178 hours 415,788 yards (236 miles)

SWIM 2010 (Through Sept. 14)
113 hours 300,925 yards (171 miles)

Take care and be safe out there.

XXXII

32.

Thirty-two. A number.

32 the year: Jesus was crucified. Peter (traditionally) becomes the first pope.

32 is the fifth power of 2 and the atomic number for germanium. It's the freezing point for water.

"32" is the name of a song by Mr. Mister.

32 was the winning car number of Ray Harroun in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911 and the jersey numbers of Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Bill Walton, Sandy Koufax and David Beckham among numerous others. Did you know a soccer ball is made with 32 panels of leather?

There are 32 Kabbalistic Paths of Wisdom. It's a full set of teeth and the code for international direct dial phone calls to Belgium. Chew on those waffles for a while.

A comic book's average number of pages? 32

The New York Times streak of Page One stories on Abu Ghraib ended at 32 days in a row.

The number 32 is used 11 times in the Bible.

The number 60 is used 32 times in the Bible.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the expression "kingdom of Heaven" is used 32 times.

In Numerology: 32. A lucky number. Usually associated with combinations of people and nations. The person should hold to his own judgment and opinions, if not, his 'plans are likely to become wrecked by the stubbornness and stupidity of others. It is a favourable number if it appears in connection with future events.

Future events?

My future event is the Ironman World Championship.

My 32? That's how many days until Ironman.

A LONG ALOHA FRIDAY

Friday is a long day for me. It starts at 5 a.m. with a little 3,000 yard swim at Masters. Then a little 6 1/2 hour bike ride, about 110 miles depending on the wind. After all of that I get to go to work until 11 p.m. and then finally bed, but just for a few hours. Then I get up around 5 a.m. again and go for a quick 18-mile run. Ah, the joys of training for Ironman. Just a few more weeks then it's taper time and vacation and lots of sleep and rest and hydration. Then the big day! (butterflies are stirring ...)

Oh, you may not believe this, but today (Thursday) on my run a butterfly flew up beside me and joined me for about a quarter mile just floating along beside me. What do you think that means? One escaped from my stomach? Good luck? Bad luck? Float like butterfly, bees like to sting? Who knows? Any how, it was pretty cool having this beautiful butterfly cruising beside me for a bit.

A thought for today:
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'

'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

37 days until Ironman and today my stomach is full of butterflies, minus the one that got away. Where's the confidence of yesterday?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I wonder who the first person was to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

38 DAYS UNTIL IRONMAN! Holy cow!

SHAKESPEARE FOR THE SOUL

Less than six weeks until Ironman and I’m really fighting the panic that’s trying to overtake me. With only about four weeks of productive training left, my training distances are getting long, really long. Saturday was a 6 1/2 hour ride, Sunday was a 3 hour run and they just get more intense over the next few weeks.

I’ve been training without music this year. Not so much by choice, all my music devices seemed to have broken all at the same time, but I see this as a training opportunity so no worries. It just makes those long rides and runs extremely boring. I have been reciting a lot of Shakespeare though. (Did I ever mention that when I was in high school I did a comic book on “The Taming Of The Shrew”? I also took Shakespeare in college.)

The verses that have been running through my mind lately have been from “Henry V.” Riding along the Ironman World Championship course I can’t help but think how lucky I am to be able to live here and how there are so many people out there who would love to be able to ride the bike course just once in their life. And that thought always leads to Shakespeare and Henry and the Saint Crispin’s Day speech.

I just know parts of it. It’s a long speech and I’d love to be able to memorize the whole thing, but that ain’t gonna happen. But the parts I do remember are the good parts and on those days when I’m riding the hills to Hawi and the sun is shining and there’s not much traffic or wind and someone rides by me that I know, I think of a few lines and it always makes me smile:
“This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall never go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered,
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”

***

NBC re-aired the 2009 Ironman World Championship broadcast a couple of weeks ago and I think I got more comments about being on the show this time than when they aired it originally in December 2009.

My segment, which comes near the end of the show, begins by showing me walking into the water getting ready for the swim.

Someone asked me after last week’s broadcast what I was thinking while walking out into the water. They said it looked like I was either scared to death or deep in thought.

I told them I was just really focused but honestly I was scared to death. I was also in awe of just being there and, believe it or not, a few verses of Shakespeare were running through my head.

I remember as I descended those steps and looking out over the thousands of people lining the sea wall and thinking “this is so freaking cool.” Then I saw the nearly 2,000 swimmers in the water and I thought, “I’m going to die!”

That’s when Shakespeare popped into my head. “Henry V” to be exact. And although I don’t know Shakespeare well enough to quote it verbatim, I know enough to twist a few lines into a calming mantra.

The lines that began running through my mind as I walked out into the water were:
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more ... But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger -- stiffen the sinew, summon up the blood, disguise fear with rage”

That may not be exactly how Shakespeare wrote it but those words summoned up enough courage for me to walk out into 2,000 other maniacs just waiting for “the blast of war” to blow in our ears.

My favorite part of the “Breach speech,” however, is what I concentrated on while waiting for the cannon to fire:
“I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ Oh, and don’t for get me, God ...” BOOM!

BECOMING LANCE

Training for Ironman is a time-consuming chore. And as the race draws closer, it’s practically becoming a full-time job. Some days I spend more than eight hours training then rush home, shower and head off to work. That leaves little time for sleep, except for this week. This week is a recovery week. shorter training, a little less effort and a little more sleep.

(“I started fast and hard, it was difficult with a hard climb and long downhill with headwind. It was a 100 percent effort all the way but that's OK.” - Lance Armstrong)

I love and hate recovery weeks. I love the rest and easier efforts but I hate the draw of the couch and fighting that urge to take it too easy. I’m just a lazy couch potato and it’s easy for me to back off training and way too hard to start it back up.

So this week I’m dealing with the love/hate thing with recovery while fighting off the butterflies that are beginning to show up every time I think about how close race day is getting.

(“You have to live with the crashes, and hope you don't get into one.” - Lance Armstrong)

Last week was a run-focused week. Running every day while working on much-needed form. My long runs are up to 16 or so miles with an end goal of 20 to 23 miles.

The week before that was a bike-focused week. Yep, that’s right. Every day on the bike. That’s on top of the usual swimming and running distances.

I’m up to over 100 miles on the bike for my long rides and spending lots of time trying to become as efficient as possible on the bike. Trying to get as aero as I can and trying all kinds of nutrition that will work the best on race day.

(“If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on." - Lance Armstrong)

One recipe that’s showing promise comes straight from Lance Armstrong and Team Radio Shack. I figure since I’m starting to put in all the miles like Lance ( yeah right) I might as well try what he eats on the bike.

(“If you consider my situation: a guy who comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That's crazy. I would never do that. No. No way.” - Lance Armstrong)

I have a couple of more long rides to test out the recipe they call sweet rice cake (sticky rice, eggs, ham or bacon, brown sugar, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar) but things are looking good. Easy to make, easy to carry, easy to eat and digest.

(“Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90-percent chance or a 50-percent chance or a 1-percent chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight.” - Lance Armstrong)

The last week of the Tour de France last month I began an art project drawing posters of the top riders from this year.

(Oh, about the title of this post. I wasn't talking about myself becoming Lance, but the drawing slowly turning into Lance Armstrong)

The drawing scattered through out this post are my best attempts at drawing Lance. It's a slow process using the computer to draw someone. Below are a few more drawings.





I thought it was appropriate to have his yellow jersey dissolve into the white jersey (which he won as best young rider) and fade into the number 39. If you watched the Tour this year you'll know the significants of the number 39 for Andy Schleck.

BUTTERFLIES AND SUFFERING

The butterflies have landed with 54 days until October 9th.

Fifty-four days.

54.

ONLY 54 days until October 9th.

October 9th.

That's the day.

The day of my second Ironman.

My second Ironman World Championship in Kona.

In Kona, Hawaii.

Where I live.

Where I train.

Where I learned to swim.

Where I learned to run long.

Bike long.

And train long.

My home course.

My home.

With only 54 days left the butterflies are arriving by the boat load and taking up residence right where they did last year at this time - in my stomach. Not sure why I'm beginning to get nervous though. Other than the fact that there is only 54 days until race day and only about 40 days of effective training days left.

My training is on track - sort of. Injuries are under control - sort of. I even ran my fastest 5k since I was in school with sub-7 minute miles. That's amazing for these old legs. And this year I feel like a well-seasoned Ironman athlete. I know what to expect this time and, on the good side, I won't have TV cameras following me around at this ironman, but on the bad side, I won't have TV cameras following me around.

Although having TV cameras stuck a few inches from your face makes it hard to concentrate on the race they did help me get through the 140.6 miles last year. Especially the last half of the marathon when I really needed a boost. The camera guys showed up at the energy lab to pace me along, film me and asking me questions. It helped me make it out of the energy lab and on to the home stretch. I will miss that this year. But this year I'm going to embrace the experience. It'll probably be my last Ironman and I want to enjoy the suffering as much as possible.

Enjoy the suffering? I like that. That may be my motto this year. My mantra. Of course, I first have to wrangle up all those butterflies and get them under control, but after that, I'll work on enjoying the suffering.

A LITTLE ARMY TRAINING, SORT OF ...

I got to do a little training on Oahu a few days ago. It was a nice change of pace from always training around Kona. I also did miles of walking at the Honolulu Zoo and I even managed to slip in a short run up the side of a mountain on Sunday while dodging a few stray bullets.

(My running destination is near the peak of that jungly mountain in the distance)

Last weekend Karen, Rebecca and I flew to Oahu to visit Rachael and Madison. We did a little sightseeing, went to the zoo and Pearl Harbor and I did a little exploring on the run. Here's a few photos from my run on Schofield Barracks.

(An old Army bunker or what?)

(The road runs right next to the rifle range and I couldn't help but duck a little and run a little faster through here.)

(Getting closer. You can't tell from the photos but this is quite an uphill climb.)