The Canadian – A World Record Falls

Done and in the books!

Being on a tight budget, I booked the cheapest flight.  This doesn’t always mean the most direct flight.  I bounced around the US before landing in Montreal for my record breaking race #21.  The race this weekend boasts of a fast and flat course. Unfortunately, the race in the Louisville had heat that beat me up just 6 days earlier.  I arrived early in evening.  Everything this weekend was fairly close to the race site, so I didn’t rent a car.  I grabbed the shuttle to the hotel.  Huge thanks to InsideOut Development for booking my hotel and setting up all the amazing media attention I received on this weekend, where a record falls.

I settled into my hotel and was starving!!  Without a car, I walked over to a local pub hopefully for some good eats.  I picked a very delicious rice curry dish.  Once back at the hotel, I received my media schedule prepared for me by Jacques from InsideOut… this guy is on the ball and was instrumental in the planning of this weekend.  I built my bike and hit the pillow.

I woke up early and met Rick, who is a local coach and retired fast guy.  He took me and dropped me off at the CTV studios for a live spot on the morning show.  I went inside, checked in and waited for my turn on live TV.  My piece lasted only about 5 minutes, but I think I did a good job.  I remained calm and I don’t think I stuttered that much – ha ha.  There was nothing I was going to do about looking so tired, so I just smiled the whole time.  Rick returned to the studio and took me back to the hotel.  He drove up to the hotel and I jumped out and went into the lobby…. two steps inside the door, I realized that this was not my hotel.  I ran back outside in hopes of catching Rick before he drove away.  I ran down the drive waiving my hands, but he didn’t see me.  I went back inside and started to think how I could get to my hotel… realizing I didn’t know the name of my hotel, or where I currently was… hmmmm.  This is a sure sign I have done too much travel in too short of a time.  I called Rick and of course he didn’t answer.  I pulled out of my pocket a room key… a room key with an address on it – YES!  I took it to the front desk and asked how far away my hotel was; luckily the answer was a 15 min walk straight down the road.    I headed out for a walk, which would most likely be good for my legs.  The only bad part was it started to rain ;(

I made it back to the RIGHT hotel and had just enough time to get on my bike and ride it  (yep it’s still raining) down to the race site for my next interview with the news.  I thought we were just going to interview, but they wanted shots of me biking and running.  The rain had let up for the interview portion and run footage, but as soon as I got on the bike the skies opened again.  We still got the shots they needed and I ended up soaking wet!

Media Day!

After the interview, I hung out for a bit at the race site, got all checked in and met Olivier. He happened to be my next ride to Rogers, where I would be doing my next live TV spot.  We had time for a quick bite to eat and grabbed some sandwiches before heading to the interview.  Rogers went just like the morning show.  There was a host, a couch, me and some cameras in our faces.  Lots of fun and I think I did a good job again.  Most places ask the same questions, so this is getting easier and easier.  Olivier took me back to the race site, where I waited for the race meeting to take place.  Usually I do not go to the race meetings, but this event had so many different events and distances going on at the same time that I thought things could get confusing.  It was the strangest pre-race meeting I have ever been to… the race director walked us around all over the place taking us down to the water, back to transition, to the exit and so on.  There was no question what to do after this meeting.  I met a really cool guy at the meeting named Anthony.  We ended up joking around and having as good of a time you can have at a very long race meeting.  I ended up asking him for a ride to my hotel and turns out he likes food…so we went out for dinner.  Anthony is a police officer and loves triathlon.  Turns out he is doing the Mont Tremblant race next year and is looking for a coach.  The dude treats me to dinner, gives me a ride to my hotel and hires me as his coach.  Now that was a great night!

Dinner with Anthony!

Race morning was super casual.  Rick came back and picked me up race morning.  I have to tell ya, these guys in Montreal are awesome and know how to treat a guest athlete.  The Canadian is a fun event with almost every imaginable distance happening on the same day.  Aquabikes, Duathlons, Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman, Full Ironman, Half marathon, Full marathon and every variation of each.  The full Iron athletes would go off first with the other distances going off all day long at different times.  It was very unique.  The race course was multiple loops of the same course.  Great for spectators and only a little boring for us athletes.

I felt good and was excited to cross the finish line of this race.  I didn’t think I had it in me to win this race and would be happy with a top 10 finish in the small field.  My main objective is to just cross the line!  Once I crossed this finish line, the pressure would be off… no other race would matter as far as the record was concerned… no one would be able to take that away from me.  Now accomplishing my goal of 30 events is a different story.  The tough part will be staying focused on the bigger goal and keeping my mentally sharp through the last 10 races.

The swim gun went off and I swam really comfortable.  The water wasn’t cold and not too murky.  With the smaller swim field, it is easy to find clear space in the water and I didn’t have to fight many other athletes.  We started the race with the Iron triathlon distance athletes and the Iron duathlon athletes (these guys would only be doing the swim and the bike).  The swim was a two loop course. I am never with the lead group of swimmers, so I just settled into my own pace.  By the second lap, a few swimmers seemed to like my pace and settled in on my feet.  I didn’t mind and hoped they had a good draft.  I ended up swimming a 1:17, which wasn’t that great of a time for me, but I did just swim easy and comfortable knowing that Ironman racing is a long day and my goal was to just cross the finish line.

Easy Swim! Sunny gives me a hard time about the cycle bibs.

I jumped on my bike and just tried to settle into a pace.  This course was FLAT and had the potential to be very fast.  I had to be careful to not push the pace.  The road surface was great, which makes it a little harder to hold back on the speed. I held back really monitoring my HR and power.  This course was unique, in the fact that it was 12 loops on the bike of a 15 kilometer stretch.  This gave you lots of opportunity to see where the other athletes were and allowed spectators (if you had any there) to see their athletes a lot.  Which is really great cause Ironman racing is not super spectator friendly… this turned it more into a race track scenario.  I thought I was going to dread the ride and be bored out of my mind, but I actually really liked it.  The other interesting part of this race was the influx of athletes and energy change when they would dump the sprint, Olympic and other distances onto the course throughout the day.  We all had different colored bib numbers on, so you could tell who you were racing against.  The Sprint and Olympic guys would blow by you on the bike and I tried to feed off of their energy… it was hard not to want to go with them.  It also felt really good when I would pass the shorter distance guys knowing I had been riding for a few hours and had a long day still ahead of me.  The 15 k stretch of road will fill up and empty out all throughout our 112 mile ride.  There was an announcer at the far end that would announce your distance and lap every time you turned around.  When they announced us Iron guys, the crowd would cheer a little louder.

Tongue out.

I went back and forth with this one rider for most of the last 20 miles of the race.  We would swap back and forth for the lead of the race.  A camera crew came into the picture with about 10 miles to go and when there is a camera present I seem to get an extra boost of energy.  I settle in and busted out a really fast last lap gapping the second place rider by a little more than 5 minutes.  I ended covering the 112 mile in 5:17:15, which was one of my fastest splits on the year.  I had the Iron Distance lead in my 21st Ironman of the year, the world record race.  “Could this be happening?” I thought.  I sure hope he wasn’t a runner, cause once I hit the run at this stage of the year, I only have one speed.  It is one speed, not because I am limited by my cardio, but rather my muscular fatigue.  The muscle will only fire so much and I don’t want to risk injury so close to my big picture goal of 30 completed races.

I headed out on the run and felt ok, not great but ok.  The run course was also many loops on a short out and backs section.  The course was set up to do 8 loops.  The finish line was set up in a stadium on a track.  After each loop, we would run the 100 meter straight away and then loop back out.  Again the announcer would call out your name and what lap you were on.  During our race the same thing started to happen on the run course.  There would be surges of people from a 10k race, a half marathon and a full marathon.  This was a fun element to our race and added much needed energy out there.  I ran back and forth, back and forth and more back and forth maintaining a steady pace and THE LEAD.  I could see my 5 min lead slowly getting smaller at each turn around and on the 7th lap just before the far turn around, we were side by side.  My lead was gone and I just let him go.  I kept my same pace and finish the race in second place, missing out on the title by 3:45 seconds.  Looking back, I regret not going with him on the run.  I am not sure what I was thinking….  A win on my 21st race of the year and I didn’t even try, come on man!!  I was happy with my finish and posted a total time of 10:49:48 which is GREAT at this stage of the year… I know I could have made a good push for the win and didn’t.  Opportunity lost.  I am not saying I would have won, but now we will never know.

The race directors and InsideOut Development handed me a special award.  It stated the new world record and presented it to me upon finishing the race.  They had a bouquet of winners roses to go along with it.  The media was there to capture the finish and do a quick interview of the accomplishment.

Thanks Guys! You made today special.

I was pumped.  I did it.  I crossed that line of my 21st race of the year, setting the new Guinness mark for the most Official Iron Distance races completed in a year!

Louisville Kentucky – Tying the World Record.

I have arrived!

I was coming off a great race in Mont Tremblant.  Earlier this year I had the opportunity to meet Eric Oscarson at Ironman St George.  He had lost a ridiculous amount of weight and won the “biggest looser contest” at the event for the male who lost the most amount of weight training for an Ironman.  Due to the insane weather issues in St George, Eric fell victim to his second DNF in two years.  There is no quit in this man and he found his way to Ironman Louisville, third time is a charm.  Eric e-mailed me and invited me to join him and his girlfriend Mandy for the weekend.  I gladly accepted and arrived in Louisville past 11pm.  Eric and Mandy were there to greet me and take me to our hotel – thank guys!

In the morning, we headed down to check in and expo.  Nothing special here, but I do like it when Recovery Pump is at the expo so that I can take a seat and get some much needed recovery.  One thing I did notice was how hot and really humid it was.  In 2010, one of my athletes Kyle, did this race for his first Ironman and had a horrible experience, which was no fault of his or mine.  The race ran out of water… So needless to say, I was concerned to come here, given their track record.  But on the other hand, I figured a race couldn’t make this mistake twice…. or could they…  I took advantage of these recovery boots at the expo.  Every little bit helps when your trying to breaking a world record.

Every little bit helps!

After check-in, we headed to transition to pick up our bikes from Tri Bike Transport (TBT).  Like a charm, mine and Eric’s bikes were there.  Mandy went for a run and Eric rode his bike to make sure everything was good with his set up.  I have gotten lazy and just did a quick spin on the path to make sure the Venge shifted through all the gears, then walked to get a Subway.  I continue to note the heat and make special note to continue to drink and stay hydrated.

I was invited to a mid-afternoon meet and greet down on the famous Fourth Street for the “I am Tri” club.  They had a huge spread of donated products and items up for winning in their raffle.  To get in, everyone paid $10 dollars for for an entry into the drawings.  A person could enter as many times as they wanted.  I was given the opportunity to speak for a few minutes, introduce myself and talk a little about my cause.  They had told me that they would donate a portion of the proceeds to my cause, by no luck thus far.  I t was still nice to get a chance to expose the charity to some new people.

Hanging out at the I AM TRI lunch and raffle.

We made our way to the athlete dinner, where they had a local artist playing the guitar and signing as we all took our seats and got our food.  The food was fine and the program was pretty boring.  I believe it was the mayor of the city who offered a ‘toast’ to the athletes… I’m pretty sure he was drunk.  The highlight of the dinner was the ‘biggest looser’ contest.  I have only seen this one in St George and now at Louisville.  They start with a low number and keep going up and when they pass the amount of weight you have lost, then you sit down.  The last man standing wins!  Once again, Eric was the last man standing and was called up on stage to accept a small gift from the WTC – a bag, YES!  Eric’s accomplishment is massive and hopefully on this his third try at an Ironman he will be successful and conquer.  He has worn his athlete bracelet from IM St George and committed to not cut it off ‘till he crossed that finish line.  Pure determination and perseverance!

Eric on Stage – Way To Go Buddy!

We packed our transition bags and headed to bed for the night.  We slept in, just enough, before snagging breakfast and heading to the scheduled pre-race swim down at the race site.  The swim was in the Ohio river, so we could only swim during this practice 2 hour session.  The swim was scheduled to be a non-wetsuit swim. I just wanted 15 minutes in the water to see how the good ‘ole BlueSeventy speed suit felt.  After the swim, we had time to kill before we could check our bikes in and leave our transition bags.

Millions of $$$$ in bikes.

I try to get an item from each race that is unique to the area.  From Louisville I wanted a mini replica of a Louisville Slugger bat.  So, it was off to the Slugger museum to see what we could find.  I have little-to-no interest in major league baseball and was happy to be able to just tour the gift shop and get what I wanted.  We had killed enough time, enjoyed a sub and was now were able to grab our bikes from TBT to put into transition.  It was still hot and humid outside…check!  Eric wanted to make pasta dinner for himself.  Mandy gathered all the items at the grocery store to do so.  I just grabbed a small bag of small potatoes and would simply cook them in the microwave.  When we got back to the hotel, Eric discovered that there were no pots, no pan, no cooking anything…. he he.  Plan foiled.  Early to bed… it’s time to tie a World Record tomorrow.

Race day Louisville Kentucky – #20!

I slept well and Eric and Mandy did not ;(  An Ironman is a long day, whether you are crossing the finish line first, middle of the pack or dead last… it’s a long day and a good night sleep is always a bonus.  We headed out the door and found some great parking nice and close to the race site.  I really prefer the races where we can drive to the site and NOT have to shuttle in.  Ironman Kentucky is a unique swim start (like NYC which will NOT take place in 2013).  It is a time trial start where athletes jump in the water one at a time and your start time is when you actually jump in.  There are pros and cons to this.  PRO – it is not a mass start and the fight at the sound of the gun is almost eliminated for the athletes.  CON- it is not a mass start.  Although time trial is safer, the mass start is very exciting for both the spectators and athletes.  PRO – you can start when you are comfortable and ready to go.  CON – you have to line up super early to get an early spot in the line to assure yourself you don’t spend half your morning WAITING to start.

Pre Swim with The Man Eric!

Survived the non wetsuit swim!

I went to find the shortest potty line and lost track of Eric.  I quickly made friends with people near the front of the line, as I didn’t want to wait even loner than I already had to for the start of my day.  Unfortunately, the time cut of for the day is still midnight for all athletes.  Your swim cut off is 2:20 from when you start, but for the day it is still midnight giving the swimmers who had to wait in line for more than 45 minutes less time to get to the finish.  This may be an issue for Eric, this being his third attempt to conquer the day.  I jumped in the water and swam around the island before trying to catch any current back to the swim exit.  I felt good throughout and just settled in.  I know boring right…. I am sorry these have become routine and some people out there are looking for more conflict and more struggle…(I stage some for you later this race). I got out of the water feeling good and headed out on the bike.  The bike was a 12 mile or so finger out before starting 2 loops.  The course boasted of rolling hills and a fast downhill finish.  The temperature was cooler than I anticipated and I was happy with the current heat.  It didn’t feel like we were melting out there.  They say that if you want to best prepare yourself for temperatures in Kona, Louisville Kentucky is a good option.  It simulates Hawaii conditions well with the heat and humidity.  I rounded the first loop and headed out for my second loop.  I was getting my nutrition perfect, taking in more fluids and the right amounts of electrolytes.  A few miles into my second lap, things got really congested.  Being one of the earlier athletes in the water and a decent biker, the first lap was nice and wide open. The second loop became very congested with late swim started and bikers who were on their first laps.  It actually was dangerous navigating through all the athletes.  A few minutes after I started on my second and last loop, I came up on Eric.  He had successfully navigated the swim and was out on the bike course doing well.  I asked him how he was doing and he didn’t respond with much enthusiasm.  The course for the day seemed to already be getting in his head.  I told him he could do it and that I would see him on the run or at the finish line.  I continued on my way weaving in and out of all the first lap riders.

I finished my second loop and I wasn’t feeling super hot.  Legs were heavy… no one was home (in my body) when I wanted to push on the gas.  The fast downhill finish previously boasted about by race staff, seemed to be exaggerated.  The winds were up a bit and the way in seemed more up hill than down.  I was hoping for an easy 12 mile spin into transition to get ready for the marathon.  I hated my bike at this moment.  I wanted off and I certainly didn’t want to run a marathon.  But I wasn’t here to quit or DNF.  I finished the ride and took in every last drop of nutrition I had on my bike and in my pockets.  I needed to figure out how to feel better and get a bit or energy to my legs.

I left transition felling a little better, VERY happy to not be riding anymore.  I took my fuel belt with me, which was armed with 2 run flasks filled with 2 EFS liquid shots each (total of 1600 calories for the marathon plus any race provided nutrition I would need).  The run started with a quick out and back over a big bridge, before a 2 loop out and back.  I started running with a guy and he said he was looking to run a 4 hour marathon.  I said, “Stick with me and I’ll take you right to it.”  About 2 miles down the road, I apologized and told him I would be slowing down and if he wanted to make his mark he should think about forging down the road on his own.

I couldn’t seem to get my legs back under me and my only goals on the day were now to keep my stomach happy, keep up on my electrolytes (its now really hot) and try to cross the finish line under 12 hours.  I stumbled around the run course taking big swigs of my liquid shot and every aid station and chasing it with water.  My head started to get a little foggy and I worked hard to keep the calories (all liquid) coming.  By mile 18, I had gone through both run flasks and all 1600 calories I was carrying.  Typically I use one flask (2 – 400 calories EFS flasks) during the first 13 miles and use the second one, depending on feel.  I was out with 8 miles to go and wanting and needing more.  I stopped and walked through every aid station taking on liquids and trying to cool my core down.  They had big garbage bins full of ice at every mile, where they had sponges waiting for the athletes to keep them cool.  I don’t like emptying out a sponge on my head as the water runs down my body, which is great for cooling me down, but consequently gets my feet wet and has the potential to create unwanted or needed blisters.  My solution to this personal annoyance, was to walk up to the giant pails of ice and dunk my head completely under water.  Then I would quickly put my hat on to keep my head wet and cool.  This seemed to be my best option to try and stay cool and keep my feet dry.  I also use my trick of carrying ice in my hands, until it melts, in an attempt to cool down the blood flowing throw my hands.  Then it goes to the rest of my body and keeps me cool.

I was hot, tired and energy-less.  I remember with about 4 miles to go, I really wanted to be done… I didn’t even want to start this marathon, but somehow made it to mile 22.  I stumbled up to a tree and just leaned up against it and hung my head.  I heard someone yell, “Come on Cowboy, let’s go!”  When someone cheers directly at, or for me,I can’t help but to do my best and respond.  I pushed myself up off the tree and headed out running again.  I did a great job with my nutrition, stayed on top of it all day and didn’t have any tummy troubles.  Despite these efforts, my body just couldn’t get enough.  I started to cramp heading into the finish.  I had about 2 miles to go, when I saw Eric heading out for another loop.  We both looked at each other and didn’t say a word to each other, we didn’t need to.  He knew I was hurting and I knew he was feeling the same.  We both looked up, nodded and kept right on going.  I had my watch on, and knew I was going to be close to my goal of keeping it under 12 hours.  I pushed the last mile to get there.  Coming down the finish shoot, I made a very conscious decision to appear worse off than I really was, this would ensure that I would be a candidate for an IV.  They typically don’t hand IV’s out, un-like their cookie cutter finisher medals for 2012, at the finish line.  With my next Ironman race in 6 days, not seven, I needed to ensure my recovery got a kick start.  After all, I would be breaking the world record next week and I thought a good reward for tying the record would be an IV!

I slowed right before the finish line, tilted my head and stumbled just a bit.  As I crossed, I could see them rushing towards me so I started to go down (I had to make it look and feel very real).  Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t in perfect conditions and I certainly wasn’t feeling great, but I didn’t NEED to have my legs give way at the finish. It was a nice touch and my first steps to ensure an IV.  They asked if I wanted a wheel chair, as the medical area was a block or so away.  “Perfect!” I thought, “a chair!”  They ‘helped’ me into the chair and whisked me off to medical.  Even after all that, they wanted to see if I would start to feel better by drinking water and chicken broth…. I needed to take this to another level.  I was deserving of this IV and my $650 dollar entry fee gave me full rights to it!  I think IM entry should include a complimentary IV without questions, the $15 dollar backpack, a $3 Finisher shirt, and the $2 dollar finisher medal   The experience, however, is priceless, which is what keeps us coming back despite all our complaints and gripes.  These gals were tough and obviously instructed to keep the IV’s under lock and key.  After a few cups of broth, I told them I thought I was feeling better and they tried to help me up…. Time to implement phase two of project, “Give me my damn IV’.  As I stood up, I pretended to feel very light-headed, woozy and even expressed a need for a garbage to throw up into…….  BAM!  “Can we get a bag of IV over here please.”  Yes!  Success!  And it’s a about time too.  They hooked me up all perfect and the juice started to flow.  30 minutes later, I felt great and left medical to eat some post race food.  Chocolate milk and pizza sounded great and I took my fill.  After gathering my stuff, I settled in for a post race massage.  Then I tried to find Mandy and get an update on my man Eric.

She said she had just sent him off on his final lap and that his spirits were up a little from the previous lap.  If he was able to maintain his current pace, he would make it, he would become an Ironman…but it would still be close.  Had he started up with me for the swim, he would have had lots of time to spare.  But remember that the midnight cut off doesn’t care if you were the first or the last athlete to enter the water.  Mandy took me back to the hotel room so I could Skype with Sunny and the kids.  I tracked Eric’s every step on-line and sure enough he DID IT.  What a perfect example of perseverance!  Most people wouldn’t even try lose the weight and take on the challenge of an Ironman.  And, if they did, most people would have quit after failing on their first attempt.  Surely the ones who tried a second time would have quit after failing at their second attempt at Ironman glory… But NOT my boy blue who keeps getting up after getting knocked down again and again!  And NOT THIS TIME, BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA! YOU ERIC, ARE AN IRONMAN!  I gained a ton of respect for Eric as he persevered and overcame the struggles and obstacles along the way.  He kept his eye squarely on the prize and NEVER gave up!  He wouldn’t settled for mediocrity.  Eric didn’t care that he was almost last in the race.  Eric didn’t care who beat him or by how much.  Eric has his life back! Eric ha his health.  Eric didn’t quit!  Eric did what he said he was going to do!  See you at IM Arizona my good friend!

When Eric got back to the hotel, I greeted him with a hug and a high-five.  I asked if he was hungry, ‘cause I was   I ran out at 1 am and got us both some taco bell to celebrate.  What a great day!

We all slept just ok and once awake, we headed to the athlete breakfast and finisher merchandise expo.  The food was not as good as I wanted it to be, but Eric got some great finisher gear from his major accomplishment.  With a later flight, and not much motivation to do anything, we decided to go check out Churchill Downs racing track.  We wanted to see what all the fuss is about.  I’ve never been into horse racing, but while in Kentucky, I wanted to see the Louisville slugger factory and the race track for the Kentucky derby.  We went, we saw, big deal

Small transportation requires creativity and maybe some discomfort!

Hold on baby!

Now that’s a big bat!

Babe Ruth’s Bat!