2015 Year in Review

As I'm sitting in my living room on a rainy Saturday morning watching a Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family (instead of my usual Saturday morning bike ride) I'm reflecting on this past year and how remarkable it has been for my family and I. 

Easter pic with the pups! 

The year started out with me still unable to run from an injury sustained in August of 2014, and it got better every month from there. I started running again in February and took a whirlwind trip to Eastern Europe with my wife and good friends Allie and Felipe in early March!

Dancing at a ruin pun in Budapest

Not long after returning from that trip, on St. Patrick's Day, to be exact, I got the best news of my life to date...my wife told me she was pregnant with our first child! We were beyond excited, and had a very hard time keeping the secret to ourselves until after her first doctor appt in mid April.

Baby Emge announcement pic! 

In late April I raced in my first triathlon, post injury, and ended up taking the overall win at the Tri Tyler Half! With May came more training as the weather got nicer, and the revelation that our little baby would be a boy. In June we traveled to Lubbock with some good friends to race the Buffalo Springs 70.3, where I saw even more improvement, walking away with 6th overall and first amateur! 

Me, Seth, Rachel and Jeff after BSLT 70.3

July was all about my build up to IM Boulder in early August, and at the end of the month we embarked on the 15 hr drive to beautiful Colorado. My parents and my wife's parents were able to join us, along with several other friends! Jeff Mayball and Felipe Garcia raced as well, and all 3 of us Tylerites had great races at Boulder! With there being no pro field at this race, I even ended up taking the overall win - an experience I'll never forget!

The month of September was spent building up for Kona, and involved many tough brick workouts. At the beginning of October, Kimberly and I set out for Kona, and as tough as that race ended up being for me and the 2000 other participants, I believe Kimbo endured the most adversity on the big island that week. Flying there and back at 7.5 months pregnant and sticking it out all week through unseasonably warm Hawaiian weather was a quite impressive feat!

Sunset pic the day before the race

Looking back on my race at Kona, I'm happy with the way I pushed through tremendous pain and salvaged a decent race and finishing time, but a little disappointed too. After a swim time that was slightly disappointing (although it shouldn't have been bc swim times were slow across the board), I pushed pretty hard in the early part of the bike. I worked my way through the amateur field quickly in the first half of the bike, and got where I thought I needed to be. But I suffered as the winds picked up heading back to Kona. A motorcycle ref got in my head when he pulled up next to me after I made a pass, acted like he was going to give me a yellow card, slightly pulling it out, then setting it back down and zooming off without saying anything. So I ended up stopping at all 3 penalty tents on the way back, none of them having my number or knowing if I should serve the penalty. Even though I did nothing wrong, I essentially served the 2 minute penalty (and probably more with all that stopping). So I started the run upset about all that, and at a decent clip. I was able to hold onto a slightly sub 7 minute pace (my goal pace) for the first 10 miles of the run, but after climbing the hill at Palani and starting down the Queen K, I began to hurt pretty bad. My legs were shot from pushing the bike too hard and the bottoms of my feet were burned. I also think my run pace early on was a little ambitious for me returning from injury. At any rate, I was in a dark place from miles 10-18. I watched the race get away from me as several amateur males and pro females were passing me. However, after leaving the energy lab, I somehow rallied a little and even picked up the pace some the last 5 miles. In the end, I finished in 9:14, 27 minutes slower than 2 yrs ago (but with much tougher conditions). I placed 7th in my age group and 51st overall, and initial disappointment gave way to joy and happiness. I'm blessed to even be able to race, to even qualify for Kona, and I still finished well within what ended up being the toughest age group! 

Feeling good running Ali'i

About 3 weeks after returning from Kona, my twin sister, Katie, had her baby, Audrey (named after my grandma) on November 2nd! Kimberly and I were excited, knowing our bundle of joy would arrive soon, but Kimberly's excitement turned into contractions, and a few hours after Katie left the hospital we checked in (to the very same room, incidentally) and ended up welcoming Jordan Howard Emge (named after my grandpa and Kimberly's grandpa) into the world on November 4th at 9:41 AM! 

Well hello there, Jordan!

These past 7.5 weeks have been full of ups, downs and learning experiences, and we have loved [almost] every second! Jordan has been growing at a great rate, and is beginning to smile and coo and melt our hearts even more every day. 

What up

Blue steel

A smiling boy! 

We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday, and were blessed to spend it with both of our families. My grandma and aunt even travelled from Illinois and Florida, respectively, to visit! 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I plan to become more regular at blogging, and hope to have one out covering 2016 plans/goals in the next couple weeks.

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect give is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows' 

Triathlon Plans for 2015

The Dilemma

With 2014 coming to a close, I've been faced with a big decision for 2015.  Since I'm still not 100% healthy, and am unsure when I'll be able to run without pain, I have been reluctant to commit to racing as a pro again in 2015.  I fully expect to be healthy for the start of tri season in March, but this injury has been dragging way more than I ever thought it would!  USAT rules are such that I cannot go back and forth between pro and amateur during the year, and basically have to decide before the season starts which way I will go. With the uncertainty of when I will get better, and knowing that if I go the pro route I may put undue pressure on myself to race at a high level as soon as I come back, has helped me decide to race as an amateur next year.  Also, I really want to get back to Kona, and that's a lot more feasible as an amateur than as a pro!

Merry Christmas from the Emge family! We have our own church now!

A New Team for 2015

Going back to racing as an amateur means that I won't be racing for Maverick Multisport next year.  I had a great time racing for them in 2014, and am thankful to my team director at Maverick and all the wonderful sponsors that we had.  I am, however, very excited, to be racing for a nationwide triathlon team that just so happens to be right here in my back yard, the Cobb Mobb!  Cobb Cycling started this team last year, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.  I've known John and Ginger Cobb for many years now, and they have helped shaped me into the triathlete I am today...not only with their world class bike saddles and tri apparel, but with their personal support too.  The spin classes every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the winter may have helped a little bit as well!

 



Glad to be a part of this team!

 

Racing Plans

My tentative plans for 2015 are to swim and bike as much as possible the next few months, and hope to ease back into running....with a goal of doing the Tri Tyler Half on May 3rd.  The next race on my calendar would potentially be the Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon (70.3) in Lubbock on June 28th.  My big race for 2015 will be Ironman Boulder on August 2nd....which will hopefully qualify me for the even bigger Ironman World Championships in Kona in October!  Of course, my whole 2015 season is still up in the air until I'm fully healed, so the only race I've signed up for to this point is Ironman Boulder, as it is likely to sell out soon. 

IM Boulder in 2015! 

Training Plans

Having raced Ironman Texas in the middle of May the last several years, I'm excited about pushing my first Ironman race a little further back into August.  It seems that my biking is usually pretty strong that time of year, having had several months of Daylight Saving Time training on the bike.  And with my good friend/training buddy Seth Cooke making IMTX his A race and potential Kona qualifier for 2015, I figure I'll get some good long rides in the spring, and will continue those throughout the summer to prepare for Boulder.  I was able to convince my good friend/training buddy/next-door neighbor, Felipe Garcia, to sign up for Boulder as well, so I'm already looking forward to some hammer-fest/donut eating/time-trial bike long rides with fellow Ironmen once the aforementioned DST switch occurs (the 2nd most wonderful time of the year).

When not on long bike rides, Seth and I like to sneak onto goat ramps

Races and Other Activities I've Done Lately

Just because I've been hurt doesn't mean I haven't been able to compete in a few races and other activities the last few months...  I may not be able to run at race pace, but that didn't keep me from running the St. Jude Memphis Marathon with Kimberly and Allie Garcia!  (side note: this was an incredibly underrated marathon for an amazing cause, that I would recommend to anyone looking to do a marathon...way better than any marathon I've ever done in Texas).  I've also done some cyclocross racing lately, as well as the Grit & Glide (mt bike/road bike duathlon of sorts), and of course, the beer mile!  It may have gotten the best of me on my first try, but there will be more attempts at the beer mile in the coming months.  Here are some pictures from these recent events:

 Running the Memphis Marathon w/ Kimbo and Allie (they both did awesome!)

The Grit & Glide race at Faulkner Park (photo credit: Lesley Lerma)

 

 

Christmas!

I hope you readers that have stuck it out this far into my blog had a very merry Christmas!  Kimberly did a great job of bringing the Christmas spirit to the Emge household, with her baking and decorating skillz.  We also made a trip to Illinois for my grandma's 85th birthday, and had a great time celebrating with relatives up there!  Upon returning, we hosted Christmas lunch with Kimberly's family at our house, then went to an annual Christmas party put on by family friends!  After this and numerous other Christmas parties and baked goods, the struggle to get back in shape may indeed be real. 

Happy and healthy New Year's wishes to all! 

Christmas festivities on the best street in Tyler!

John 1: 1-5
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it."

Swimming: A Wintertime Sport!

Over the last month or two, I've noticed a considerable drop off in the number of people swimming at the YMCA in the morning.  The older gentleman that likes to swim in lane 1 with the stairs is still coming, and so are 2 of my friends that have been going there for years to get some exercise in before work....but the triathletes are almost all gone!  It seems that from March through August, triathletes take over the Y, which is actually kind of a pain because you rarely get a lane to yourself and sometimes have to swim 3 to a lane.  But while part of me wants a lane all to myself, I'd rather have the company of some fellow triathletes!

#truth

Through my recent injury, I've come to really appreciate swimming.  When I couldn't run for almost 2 months, and couldn't really bike for a few weeks, swimming was the only way to keep my cardio...and my sanity.  And now with the offseason upon us, I will once again rely on swimming to stay in shape.  After a long season of racing, the triathlete's body needs a break, especially the legs.  I wasn't always a believer in the necessity of taking time off to recover in the offseason, but after not really doing that the last couple of years, I think it's catching up to me.  So I fully intend to take it easy on the biking and running for a little while...and at least go through some semblance of an offseason.  But I don't intend to taking it easy on the swimming! 

Before the swim at IMTX...check out that random guy's back hair!

It seems to me that a lot of triathletes (including me at one time) look at swimming as the least important of the 3 disciplines in triathlon because you typically spend the least amount of time doing it in a race.  As an engineer, I can appreciate this reasoning...after all, if 10% of a triathlon is spent swimming, 55% is spent biking, and 35% is spent running, then to get the most bang for your buck in training, you should do considerably more biking and running than swimming, right??  At first glance this sounds like good logic, I don't think it holds up.   While running can be considered "high-impact" and cycling "low-impact", swimming truly is a "no-impact" workout.  And the legs that have been so abused throughout the tri season don't have to be really used at all.  But you can still get a great cardio workout in, that's also a very good core workout!  In fact, I truly think that I get some of my best VO2 max training done in the pool.  And I've noticed that when I'm swimming well, it carries over nicely to both my biking and running.

Swimming at Lakeside Swim Team's awesome converted quarry!

So that's my 2 cents on swimming.  I hope everyone is having a good fall.  Good luck to those doing a half or full marathon (or any sort of race) this fall/winter!

Isaiah 43:1-2 (NIV)

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.

ENVE Composites: Product Review

When I joined Maverick Multisport at the end of last year and found out that our wheel sponsor was ENVE Composites, my immediate reaction was: "yessssssss".  Kind of like how my 12 year old self, or Napoleon Dynamite would say it (or Kevin McAllister).  At that time, I didn't know a whole lot about ENVE, but I did know that they made some sweet wheels, and that they were well respected throughout both the triathlon and road racing communities.  And now, after racing on these wheels for a year, I can honestly say that my initial reaction was well-warranted, and should have probably also included a fist pump.

 

What's the most aero thing in this picture? (I honestly don't know)

This year, I've been riding the SES 6.7 clincher and the SES 8.9 clincher, both of which
are incredibly fast aero wheels.  The 6.7 has a 60 mm deep front wheel and a 70 mm deep rear wheel, an ideal depth for strong cross-winds.  The 8.9 is more aggressive, at 85 mm depth in the front and 95 mm depth in the rear.  You'll be hard pressed to find a faster wheel-set than the SES 8.9, as I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist.  How am I pretty sure of this, you may ask?  Well I happen to know a certain aero guru that has taken it to the wind tunnel at Texas A&M University (Whoop!) and compared it to the other top triathlon wheels....and let me just say that it compares pretty favorably.

Other than being incredibly fast, ENVE wheels make for a comfortable and responsive ride.  When I first got into triathlons back in 2009, I was riding a road bike with stock wheels and aero bars clipped on.  After getting more into triathlon, like any budding triathlete, I wanted to upgrade my equipment.  Of course, I was blown away by how much  everything cost...frames, components, wheels, aero helmets, shoes, etc, etc.  But over the years I've come to realize that you get the most bang for your buck in helmets and wheels.  If you think about it, your helmet and your front wheels are your leading edge, and it's mostly up to them to cut through the air in front of you in as slippery and aerodynamic a fashion as possible.  After that is your body, your bike frame and your rear wheels.  Your body, nobody can help except maybe you and getting a ridiculously aero fit from John Cobb.  As for the frame and wheels, if you look at your beautiful tri bike from the side, it's immediately apparent that the wheels take up way more space (surface area) than the frame.  The wheels make up a huge part of the overall machine!  Thus, having good, fast, dependable aero wheels is a big deal indeed.  You'll be the ENVE of all of your training friends!

Clinchers v. Tubulars. 
It seems that there has been a movement in the triathlon community to go to with clinchers over tubulars the last few years.  Especially in long distance triathlons, like the 70.3 and 140.6 distances.  My good friend, Seth Cooke, who is also my advisor for all things bike-related, was the one that told me about latex tubes.  Apparently, testing has shown that clinchers with latex tubes are basically just as fast as tubulars on most aero wheels.  And in long distance tris where your race isn't over if you get a flat, it's a lot nicer to be able to just have to carry a tube that's easy to replace than carrying a much larger tubular tire that may or may not glue on right.

With the tri season winding down, I wish good luck to any folks doing a late season tri!  I was hoping to do Austin 70.3 this weekend, but I'm not quite where I'd like to be on the run, so I shall wait til 2015 before tri-ing any more!  The good news is that I'm healing quite nicely, and hope to get some good running in with these cooler temps.  On that note, good luck to those doing halves and full marathons this winter! 

Psalm 23 (NIV)

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Ironman Louisville Race Report: Fighting Through an Injury

Ironman Louisville Training

After returning from France, I was able to get back to training pretty quickly, focused on Ironman Louisville which was a reasonable 8 weeks after Ironman France...and it seemed like just the right amount after going only 6 weeks (not quite enough time) between Ironman Texas and Ironman France.  My build-up for Ironman Louisville went very well, as I got in all the long rides and runs that I needed, and was feeling better/stronger on the bike than I have....well, ever.  And running was going well too - knowing it would be hot in Louisville, I got several long runs in during the afternoon in 95+ degree weather, and was handling the heat pretty well. 

Thus, I came into my last tough weekend before the taper feeling pretty good about Louisville...but 3 miles before finishing up my last long run, disaster struck!  Moreover, my butt started to hurt.  So I walked/ran those last 3 miles, thinking it was maybe just a tweak and would get better quickly after I got home and off my feet.  But it didn't get better later that day....or the next...or the next...it actually got worse.  I continued to swim throughout that week, but the pain was so great (it even hurt when I walked) that I couldn't run or bike.  The following weekend (1 week out from IMLOU) I threw caution to the wind, and went on a 60 mile bike ride.  I got through the ride without too much trouble, but I went pretty easy, and I when I did push the pace, it would hurt worse.  Still, it wasn't too bad, and I was slightly hopeful about my chances of competing in IMLOU.  So, having planned our trip and made all the arrangements, Kimberly and I set off for Louisville, Kentucky!

The good folks at Occupational Kinetics did everything humanly possible to heal my butt!

Arriving in Louisville

The first thing we did upon arriving in Louisville was head straight to Occupational Kinetics.  They were going to attempt to heal my butt!  Thus, for the three days leading up to the race, they did ART treatment and ultrasound treatment utilizing Primal Sport Mud instead of gel.  There is quite the synergistic relationship between ultrasound and Primal Sport Mud, as I came to them with considerable muscle spasms, and they were able to completely eliminate them!  As I would later find out, the underlying cause of my butt pain was a skeletal and not muscular issue, so no amount of treatment would truly cure me... While in Louisville, we were able to spend much time with our wonderful sponsors, did a meet and greet, pro-triathlete forum, radio interview, and were able to swim at the most incredible quarry-turned-Olympic-sized-swimming-pool (courtesy of Lakeside Swim Team) you have ever seen!

Radio Interview put on by Primal Sport Mud

The Swim

The swim went quite swimmingly, I would have to say!  We swam in the Ohio River, going into the current the first 1/4 of the swim and with the current the last 3/4.  So I knew how important it would be for me to catch a good draft on the upstream part, and I did just that.  In fact, I caught a good draft the whole swim, and emerged from the water with a fast pack of 5 other male swimmers in a time of 48 minutes (PR by 5 minutes)!  Thanks in no small part to my TYR Torque Pro swimskin - with this mild summer, every race so far had been wetstuit legal, so I hadn't had a chance to wear this awesome suit yet.

Pre-swim: Cobb Mobb athlete/ Cobb Cycling employee Jeremy Brown is surrounded by Mavericks!  Jeremy and two other fellow Tylerites (Cori and Ryan Moore) made IMLOU their first Ironman!

The Bike

Running through T1 was slightly discouraging...my butt hurt!  And I was even more discouraged when it continued to hurt on the bike.  Even though I had felt pretty good in some spin workouts leading up to the race, there's an added level of intensity and strain that comes with racing that I cautiously wouldn't let myself get to in training.  So I backed off a little (then Pat Evoe passed me like I was standing still) and decided I would keep riding and if it got really bad Kimbo and Chris (Maverick Multisport Team Director/all around awesome guy) were out on the course and could give me a ride in.  While the Engine may not have been working right, the frame and wheels certainly were, as my Argon 18 bike and ENVE Composites wheels still got me through that bike course in less than 5 hours!  And a beautiful bike course it was, winding through the Kentucky horse country, with just enough rolling hills to keep you honest. 

 Cruising through Kentucky

Kimbo, I'm need a little more cowbell...

The Run

Instead of running 26.2 miles, I ended up running about 26.2 feet.  That was more than enough for me to know that I shouldn't be running...or walking...or putting any weight on my left leg whatsoever.

The DNF

So I walked into T2 and told the wonderful volunteers that I was throwing in the towel.  Then I went and found Kimbo - rather, Kimbo found me - and I took a dip in a fountain to clean off.  There was no time for a shower, as I had to get on the run course to cheer on my teammates, Mike Hermanson and Molly Roohi!  Both ended up getting 4th (overall male/female)!  I often hear people talk about how mentally tough Ironman is, and how mentally strong you have to be to complete an Ironman...well, I would argue that it's even harder to not finish an Ironman.  Watching the run and knowing that I should be out there was tough.  To make matters even worse, it was a humid day (I'm weird and like the humidity), and the fastest run time was a 3:10.  But I shan't get caught up in thinking of what could have been...I just need to focus on getting healthy and back to racing!

Bathing in a fountain before watching my fellow Mavericks and Tylerites on the run!

The Aftermath

A few days after getting back to Tyler, I had an appointment with ultra-marathoner/sports medicine doctor/Runner's World medical expert, Dr. Cathy Fieseler.  Pushing through the bike had set me back a little in the road to recovery, and I was once again having trouble walking.  Turns out, what I thought was piriformis syndrome was more likely a sacral stress fracture.  So I was instructed to ease back into biking, but lay off of running for the next several weeks.  It didn't take long for me to be completely pain free on the bike, and I've been able to participate in several bike races with my local cycling team, Fresh Racing!  Not my preferred method of racing, but I will take it. 

I've probably gone off the front in 5 of the 6 road races I've done...and it finally worked! #triathleteproblems

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

"If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing."

Long Overdue Ironman France Race Report

It's been a while since my last blog.....2 months to be exact.  And what a 2 months it has been!  I got married, went on a 2 week honeymoon to Europe, did an Ironman triathlon while in Europe, and then moved as soon as I got back!  Entirely too many life events in way too short of a time period...I'm ready to be an onlooker at other people's life events for a while, and not the center of attention!  But everything has been great, and I'm prepared to tell you all about it...with an emphasis on triathlon.

June 21, 2014:  The longest day of the year, but possibly the shortest day of my life
Time flies when you're having fun (and when you're busy), and our wedding day flew by!  Kimberly was stunning, Doug (officiant) gave a great talk/ceremony, the band was awesome, the cake was delicious, and it's probably safe to say that "a good time was had by all"...except maybe my college roommate, Jonathan, who had food poisoning from the night before.

Wedding Collage

June 22, 2014 - July 6, 2014: Honeymoon/Eurotrip
I'll devote a whole section to Ironman France, but first I shall recap our trip in general.  We flew into Paris and spent 3 days there, exploring the city and visiting all the top spots...thanks to my Uncle Tom and Aunt Marie Claude for hosting us in their awesome apartment right in the middle of the city!  We then took the train to Nice, France to compete in Ironman France.  We had a great time there, and although not as historically significant as Paris, it was truly a beautiful place.  While in Nice, we took day trips discovering the surrounding countryside (aka driving the Ironman France bike course) and to Monaco.  From Nice we went to Avignon, which was an unexpected highlight of the trip.  We added it to our itinerary last minute, and liked it so much that we stayed an extra day!  We even made 2 friends, Katy (5th place female at IM France) and Cayce, and drove around the beautiful Provence region of France with them.  From there we took the train to Barcelona, where we thoroughly enjoyed the tapas...and of course, the architecture, etc, etc... In general, we weren't as impressed with Spain as we were with France, but what it lacked in charm, it did make up for in food!  Finally, we took the train to Madrid, spent a day there, then flew back to the states.

 Monaco

  Provence

June 29, 2014: Ironman France
When I woke up at 4:30 AM, Kimberly informed me that she had been up since 2:30 AM with food poisoning...what a way to start an Ironman!  (did I mention that she was racing too??)  So we went to a little 24 hr pharmacy where she did her best impression of throwing up to convey to the Frenchman behind the counter that she needed something to settle her stomach....and whatever pills he gave her seemed to do the job. Then we walked 2 blocks to the transition area (the apartment we were staying at was just that close).  I had a hard time leaving Kimbo (to get to the pro start) because she'd had such a rough night and I was worried about her...and we were in a foreign country with no other family/friends around!  But we said our goodbyes and I fought the crowd to get to where the pros were lined up. 

My teammate, Molly Roohi, at the pro meeting

The Swim
The swim start was fairly hectic for a pro start, and a stray hand knocked my goggles partially off at the very beginning.  Since the pace is so fast starting out, I lost a little bit of time fixing my goggles and found myself away from the front pack and kind of at the front of another pack... After leading a few people for a while, it became apparent we wouldn't catch the group in front of us, so I let up a little to let someone else lead the way.  The someone else ended up being Cait Snow, and she basically pulled me and a few other guys the whole swim!  At some point, I realized it was her, and with a such a small amount of Americans at this race, I decided to help a fellow countryman out, and came around her with about a half mile to go.  So I led her and the rest of our small group into T1.  TYR Hurricane wetsuit and Nestpro goggles worked wonderfully!

The Bike
I set out on the bike course feeling strong, and quickly reeled in a few pro women (including Cait Snow who apparently had a better T1 than me).  Then, about 8 miles into the bike, things got real.  We made a left turn directly into a 1/2 mile long 12-14% grade hill... (fellow Tylerites could compare this hill to a slightly longer version of The Beast (aka Killer Hill).  Turns out, this was a minor hill for this course....  After climbing it, the course mostly consisted of rolling hills for the next 20 or so miles.  Then, at mile 30 we hit the big one... Col de L'ecre.  The fact that it's a "Col" alone makes it pretty awesome, and brings to mind thoughts of the Tour de France and watching the cyclists climb the [in]famous Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.  And although it was no Tourmalet, it was still quite the climb!  It was about a 3,000' gain over 12 miles (for perspective, IMTX gains ~3000' over the course of all 112 miles!)...  Going into the climb, I tried to pace myself and spin my legs pretty fast in an easy gear, but after dudes started passing me, standing up and hammering in a harder gear than me, I decided to do what they were doing.  So I made it to the top, where it was considerably cooler (mid 50s) and slightly drizzling.  After a while we got into some switchback descents, and although I had held my own on the climbing (my light/stiff Argon 18 frame was perfect for the hills, on a race where many athletes opted for a road bike), it became apparent that I just didn't have the same comfort level/technical skills that many of the other riders had on the descents.  The wet roads certainly didn't help either, but I got passed by a few more guys on descents.  We spent the majority of the bike course up in the mountains, climbing, descending, and going through the occasional picturesque French mountain town.  Coming down from the mountains, we encountered some very sketchy switchbacks, and I came into one a little hot, fishtailed, nearly wrecked, and managed to send a water bottle flying from the cage behind my saddle.  Since littering is grounds for disqualification on this course (and because I'm eco-friendly), I had to turn around and go back (uphill) to get the bottle...  Once out of the mountains, I guess I started enjoying some flat ground a little too much, and went into yet another turn a little hot.... This time I fishtailed as I slammed on my brakes, but wasn't able to pull out of it like I had before, and ended up doing something of a barrel-roll into a plastic barricade - that moved several feet when I hit it with my back.  As I lay on the ground, my first thought was that my knee was injured, because it hurt really bad....but after getting up and back on the bike, it became apparent that my hip took the brunt of the impact from my crash.  So, I figured I would just ride the last few miles into T2 and see how I felt running my bike in...

The Run
Getting going on the run, my hip definitely hurt but it didn't seem to be affecting my ability to run, so I just figured I would run for a while and if it got really bad I may have to take my first ever DNF.  My legs were definitely more fatigued than usual on the run, which I accredited to the ridiculous bike course, but the run course was not bad at all - a flat, 4 loop run course in cool, rainy weather.  Plus, at the beginning of lap 2 I had the great pleasure of running with my Maverick teammate, Molly Roohi, for the better part of a lap (her first lap)!  She was having a great race, and our paces were pretty much exactly the same, so we stuck together for a while.  Even though the crowd support was amazing (think "ALLEZ, ALLEZ, ALLEZ!" nonstop for 26.2 miles), I didn't get much direct attention, because my usual supporters couldn't make the trip.  But that was where Molly's friend/Sherpa, Jemilah, came in handy...she was yelling loud and proud twice every lap, and it really helped me get through the run!  So I ended up finishing with a 3:03 marathon (although it felt more like a 3:30), which was good enough for 10th place male pro, and a total time of 9:18!  Molly also had a great race, and finished as the 10th female pro....not bad for a couple relatively young Americans against some of the top pros in Europe! 

The trophy was hard to come by, but the baguettes were plentiful!

Post Race
Upon finishing the race, I put all of the little energy I had left into worrying about Kimberly.  Starting the swim with a queasy stomach and zero fuel in the tank isn't the best approach to an Ironman....and I was afraid that if she even made it through the swim, she might've wrecked on the extremely technical and wet bike course.  After checking my phone to see that she didn't have any updates past 70k (45 miles) on the bike, I was even more worried.  But I was finally able to get information from an Ironman official....turns out, Kimbo made it up the Col de L'ecre just fine, but the slight drizzle that I had experienced at the top of the mountain had turned into a downpour on people later on in the course, and she was experiencing hypothermic conditions!  So she did the smart thing, and took one of the many buses hauling athletes back down the mountain.  She hated to not be able to finish, but her safety was an answered prayer to me.

Upcoming training/races
I recently did the River Cities Sprint Triathlon, and will do a short race report for it (after all, it is a short race), as well as an Ironman Louisville training/preparation write-up in my next blog!  So stay tuned.... IMLOU is only 2 short weeks away!

 

Some teaser pics from the River Cities Tri!

Isaiah 41:10-13 (NIV)

¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

¹¹ “All who rage against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
    will be as nothing and perish.
¹² Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing at all.
¹³ For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.

Ironman Texas Race Report

There's something special about Ironman.  Something in the air.  Even after 4 Ironman races, the feelings and emotions I experience during the couple of days leading up to an Ironman, and especially during the day of an Ironman are quite extraordinary.  I hate to say it, because I know I have many readers that have tackled everything but the Iron-distance, but Ironman is simply on a whole different level than the half-Ironman and shorter races.  It's not just that the distance is double the 70.3 distance, it's that there are 2500+ people pushing their bodies to extreme levels of endurance that at one point in each participants' mind was thought to be insanely long and in many cases unachievable.  And now they're doing it!  And their friends and family have been through a lot in their own journeys of supporting these athletes, so they're adding to the "buzz" in the air.  The Ironman distance is so demanding that athletes know they will need every ounce of energy that they can get, and after the race their bodies will be so broken down that a prolonged recovery time is a must.  This applies to the first time ironmen all the way up to the seasoned pros...another great thing about ironman. 

Our dinner group the night before the race!

All this to say....this ironman was extra special for me because Kimberly was racing it (largely because of that "buzz" that surrounds ironman...and the proverbial kool-aid that she claims to have been drinking when she's watched my ironman races in the past).  After watching me race at IMTX the last 2 years, she couldn't help but sign up after the race last year.  Her good friend that is also named Kimberly (my friend, Seth's, girlfriend) signed up at the same time, and I later found out that several other Tyler friends were racing IMTX as their first ironman!  Suffice to say 2014 IMTX was going to be a special race.  I love watching anyone race ironman, cheering them on by their name that I read off their bib # as they pass by on the run course, and seeing the flood of emotions hit when they cross the finish line to Mike Reilly proclaiming them to be an Ironman.  If it's that much fun to watch any old person race an ironman, how much better to watch my fiancée and a handful of other close friends!  It was a blast, and I wouldn't trade that day for any other day in the world...except maybe my wedding coming up in a few short weeks!

Tyler represented at IMTX this year! (Jonathan Johnson, me, Kimberly B., Kimberly C. and Jason Browning....missing from the Tyler bunch was Felipe Garcia and Ted Harvey)

Now to talk about my race!  My taper for IMTX went really well, and I felt pretty ready going into this race.  We drove down on Thursday afternoon, checked in, and attended the pre-race banquet.  Friday was a fairly hectic day of putting together bike and run gear bags and prepping bikes to be turned in for the race.  Felipe Garcia, one of my good friends that was racing (and a groomsman in my upcoming wedding) had a family emergency, so we had to turn in this bike and gear bags.  If I thought the added stress of turning his stuff in was tough on me, I can only imagine what he was going through, spending the afternoon at a hospital, not being able to turn in his stuff and know where it is in the transition area (he overcame this to have an incredible race).  Once everything was turned in, we relaxed for all of 5 minutes and then were off to a carb-loading dinner with some friends and family that had come in for the race!  After getting to sleep at decent hour on Friday night, race day was upon us.

My teammate, Amber Ferreira, and I before the swim start

Race Day: The swim start went pretty well, and after considerably less hand-to-hand combat than in the age group wave, I settled in with a large group of pros.  Since pro men and women start together, 15 minutes before the age-groupers, it's a relatively calm start.  The pack that I was in was moving at a good pace for me...fast enough that if I lollygagged a little I'd start to fall behind, but not so fast that I was burning matches keeping the pace.  At about the 1/3 point in the swim, I found a girl that was kicking pretty hard, and therefore easy to draft off of because of her bubbles...and stayed with her through the duration of the swim.  My TYR Hurricane wetsuit worked wonderfully, and I came out of the water in just under 54 minutes...an Ironman swim PR by over 4 minutes! 

Great pic on the bike - photo credit: Corey Oliver

After getting going on the bike and finding a good groove a few miles in, I was discouraged to see about 5 pro men pass me within the first 8 or so miles of the bike.  I let them go, knowing that their effort was too great for me to maintain over the course of a 112 mile ride.  But it did get me wondering if I was lacking a little power on the bike and needed to push myself a little harder than I felt comfortable with.  Nevertheless, I decided to continue racing my own race, and in doing so I was still able to keep one of the guys that passed me in my sight through the first half of the bike.  Finally, I passed him at the halfway point, and after that I started picking off pro men every 10 miles or so, passing about 5 more before the end of the bike.  My Argon 18 bike rode extremely well...I like it's stiffness when climbing, and feel that will be a huge asset come Ironman France next month (an extremely hilly bike course). The ENVE Composites SES 8.9 clinchers were also great in both the aero (speed) and weight (climbing) departments, making me excited about them for Ironman France as well!  Thrown in the mechanical advantage that I have with my Rotor Q-Rings, and I am a very happy with the set-up on my bike.  Let us not forget my Cobb Gen 2 saddle that kept me comfortable the whole way, not bad for 112 miles!  All of this helped me get an Ironman bike split PR by 7 minutes, with a time of 4:36!

Running over the bridge

I started off the run feeling great.  After depending almost exclusively on my Infinit Nutrition custom drink formula throughout the bike, I threw down some Infinit Napalm in T2, and experienced very little stomach discomfort the whole race.  That was a first for me.  Usually the first 7 or 8 miles of the run is very rough on my stomach, but this time I felt great...and it showed in my run pace.  My first few miles were right around 6 flats, and up until about mile 10 I was still averaging around 6:15 min/mile pace.  If anything kept me back in the run, it was IT band tightness, which I started to experience at the end of lap 1 of the 3 lap run course.  Trying to maintain my speed with my legs getting tighter and tighter took a major toll on my form.  I was still breathing fine, and felt great nutrition-wise...and I wasn't experiencing any leg cramping.  But the IT band tightness took away the fluidity of my form, and I was landing rougher and throwing my weight into each stride progressively more.  Even with longer time spent going through aid stations, I was able to keep my miles around 6:40 to 6:45 for the 2nd half of the marathon.  And in spite of the fact that I was struggling mightily in the run, I still reeled in a couple other runners the last few miles.  In the end, I finished my marathon in a time of 2:52 for a total time of 8:28, good for 7th place overall!

Reunited with Kimbo!  She was the happiest runner on the course!

On a day that I was hoping would be a little hotter, I was still thrilled with my overall result!  My Maverick Multisport teammates, Amber Ferreira and Matt Hanson both had amazing races at IMTX as well.  Amber finished 3rd overall and Matt was 6th, destroying the run with an IMTX course record of 2:41!  And my other Maverick teammates, Molly Roohi and Mike Hermanson, had awesome races at the Memphis in May and Triple T triathlons, respectively! 

Maverick Multisport had a very strong showing at IMX (Amber, Matt, me, and Team Director, Chris Hutchens)

And let us not forget to mention my beautiful bride-to-be, Kimberly Blackwell, who finished her first ironman in less than 13 hours!  She defied ironman logic by taking selfies on the bike and smiling throughout the whole time during the run...she said her cheeks hurt from smiling so much after the race was over!  Felipe Garcia came dangerously close to breaking 11 hours on his first ironman...and if not for some stomach issues on the run, he could've done it easily!  And Kimberly Cooke had a great race, finishing in less than 14 hours as well!  Jonathan Johnson, Jason Browning and Ted Harvey also had great races in their first ironman events!  It was a blast watching/cheering for these folks, and it was also a ton of fun making new friends at Ironman this year, and cheering for them too...it is truly an amazing event, and I count myself blessed to be able to participate. 

We stayed til the last runners came through at midnight...and a little after

Now let's see if I can do another Ironman race 6 weeks after IMTX ended!  Let's also see if I can get about a million and a half things knocked off a huge list of stuff Kimbo needs me to do before we get married!  This should be an interesting next couple months.  Until next time.

Romans 8:38-39 "³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."