I wanted to share this quote I got from the CD liner notes of "Facing Future"-Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

=======================
Facing backwards I see the past
Our nation gained, our nation lost
Our sovereignty gone
Our lands gone
All traded for the promise of progress
What would they say….
What can we say?
Facing future I see hope
Hope that we will survive
Hope that we will prosper
Hope that once again we will reap the blessings of this magical land
For without hope I cannot live
Remember the past but do not dwell there
Face the future where all our hopes stand
–Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole

My Grand Sugar Experiment

Every year I give up something for Lent. For me it has been more about seeing how many ways I can challenge myself and less to do with religion. For instance, one Lent I gave up alcohol for 40 days. I learned that I should never do that. :) Just kidding.

Actually what I learned from that is that it's easy to become fixated on what you can't have. My wife got fixated on beer when she was pregnant, and she doesn't even like beer.

Here's a short list of things that I gave up (not permanently, just for 40 days):

• Red meat (pork and beef)
• Meat (anything that isn't a plant)
• Sweets
• Dating (not really an option since I just didn't date that much)
• Alcohol (I found that I started eating a lot of fermented pears at this time)
• Refined sugar

Of all the things I gave up, the one that seemed to have a profound effect was the removal of refined sugar from my diet. It's an exercise that really opened my eyes as to what sugar was doing to me and what little choice I had in eating it.

In case you didn't know, refined sugar is EVERYWHERE! It's in bread, ketchup, chili, chicken soup, hot dogs, cereal, granola, cranberries, microwave popcorn, chips, Cheetos (so sad), etc. In my first few days of my attempt, I nearly starved because all my usual foods were unavailable to me. Seriously, just take five food items out of your pantry and read the label. I'm going to guess that at least one of them has sugar.

The first few days were tough. Soon I started to notice that I had fewer dips in my energy level. When I woke up in the morning, I was alert. In contrast when I had sugar close to bed time, I would wake up really groggy. I do remember the day after Lent I had a brownie. It was a weird feeling as I swear I could feel the sugar course through my veins and my pulse quicken. Maybe I was excited to have the brownie after 40 days, or maybe it was just more sugar than anybody should have at one time. Probably a little bit of both.

Well as New Years Day 2012 approached, I had this idea. Instead of 40 days, why don't I try giving up refined sugar for a year? Let's see what happens. Crazy? Yes, but why not? My wife decided that she wanted to try it too. It's great that I have a partner in this. So here are the rules.

• Avoid refined sugar (synonyms: sugar, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice)
• Natural sugar sources are okay (e.g. honey, maple syrup). Sparingly!
• Refined sugar is only allowed: once a week, hard workout days, and birthdays.

That's it.

I'm almost a month into it and I have only had refined sugar twice: two birthdays. I had a bunch of heavy workout days, but opted for fruit juice. I feel pretty good. I've even skipped my weekly allowance just because I didn't feel the need.

Do I miss it. Of course I do. I miss chocolate most of all. I miss getting up during lunch meetings to get my cookie or brownie. I miss eating all of those things with coffee. I miss talking to the admin who always gives me dark chocolate Kit Kats. When you eat dessert with people, you feel like you are part of a special club. I miss that.

I don't miss the dips in energy or the morning headaches. I'm rediscovering unprocessed foods. I find my sugar fix can come from one single Medjool Date, an apple, or some other fruit. I can taste the sweetness in an almond or a glass of milk. There are flavors that were once muted but are now becoming more pronounced. That is exciting.

On top of that I'm training for an Iron distance triathlon. I'm most interested to see how this change in diet will affect my fitness. I have high hopes.

Well, I still have just under 50 weeks to go. I'll keep you posted.

Oh yeah... I gave up coffee too.

Race Report : Full Vineman 31-JUL-10, Windsor, CA

Result: DNF

Admittedly I did not train as intensely for this event like I had for other races in the past. That is not to say that I wasn’t in shape. My level of fitness hasn’t changed much in the past 4 years, so I was optimistic that I would finish this race, albeit it was a cautious optimism. Why?

It was 7 years ago when I first attempted this triathlon distance at Vineman. I was 60-some pounds heavier then, slower, and inexperienced. I also had a DNF that time too. I suffered from nutrition problems on the bike which ultimately affected my run. I had put that DNF behind me by finishing IronMan Lake Placid 2006, faster and lighter than I was at Vineman 2003.

Why the DNF at Vineman 2010? I woke up with a sore throat. My throat and chest were burning during the swim, and I found breathing to be labored. I finished the swim in 2 hours; 40 minutes slower than normal. The bike wasn’t too bad, which I finished in 7 hours. My throat was raw and the roof of my mouth was swollen from spitting more than usual. My cold got worse throughout the day including a sinus infection (which would plague me for the next 4 days).

When I got to the run, I was feeling pretty bad. My body ached more than it should. I had close to zero energy. Yes, I smiled for the cameras, but I might have run about 5 miles of the distance and walked the rest. I tried everything I could to will myself forward into a run, but my legs did not want to move. I ate as much as I could at the aid stations, trying to get sugar to my brain, but it might have been too little too late.

At the end of the day, I missed the third loop cutoff of the marathon. Of the 140.6 miles, I had only covered about 131 miles. Like Vineman 2003, nutrition ultimately did me in. Unlike Vineman 2010, I was pretty devastated by the turn of events that lead me to this DNF. After about 10 minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I started thinking about how I would train for Vineman 2011.

Thanks to all the well-wishers and all the people that cheered for me on the course. You did provide a great boost to my spirits. Next time, you’ll see me crossing the finish line!

Stay tuned. I’m currently in a new training program. I will give you more details as I try it out!

Tri For Fun

I did my first triathlon in 3 years on Saturday August 15, 2009 in Pleasanton, CA. I finished the Tri For Fun in 1:16:59! I was hoping for a fast finish, but when I thought about it, this is pretty good considering that I haven't practiced that much. The only time that I predicted correctly was the swim. I can't complain considering that I just came off of a knee injury.

• 0:08:26 swim- 400 yd (~2 min/100 yd)
  

• 0:03:04 (T1)

• 0:32:27 bike- ll mi (just under 22 mph)
  

• 0:01:13 (T2)

• 0:31:49 run-5 km (~10 min./mi)
  

Now which IronMan will I do next year?

Swimming

I've been swimming lately. I have to admit that I thought with such a long hiatus from endurance sport that my swimming would be really bad. My first time out I swam for 30 minutes and ~1000 yards (about 3000 short of the distance at IronMan). The next time out I went for 2400 yards (over the distance for a Half-IronMan). Two days ago I did 3000 yards!!! And I felt like I had another 3000-4000 yards in the tank!

My foot hurts though, and I'm not sure why. This bothers me because I have to work on my running.

Oh yeah! Biking! I broke out my road bike in the past 4 weeks. I did the Three Bears (18.7 mile route that climbs 2400 feet) in 1.5 hours. I did it again a few days later at 1.25 hours! So I'm getting back into the swing of things faster than I hoped. So good!

Been trying really hard to cut out processed sugar out of my diet. I feel really good. Actually, when I do take in some processed sugar (not the same as fruit sugar), I can feel myself spiking and then feeling like crap.

I quit drinking coffee again. It wasn't enjoyable anymore.

I ran today! I ran today! It felt so good!

I've been out running again since my knee injury for the past 3-4 weeks. I haven't been able to find a groove. I would warm up for ever, but my legs just didn't want to move... until today.

Today I had no goals except to just run. I had some crap at work that I needed to clear out of my head, and I just had to run. I think I did it! I stopped focusing so much on my running that the running sorta took care of itself. I did 5 miles in 1 hour. Still slower than where I was before my knee injury, but I'll take it!

Tri 4 Fun

My goals right now are to do any tri that I can, and right now that is Tri 4 Fun in August. It's a sprint, so no extensive 10-month training is needed. My left knee is healing up just fine. I can now run 5 miles on it. I started swimming last week and just swam 2400 yards on Monday. So I'm in good shape.

My mind is wandering lately, so I'm here writing aimlessly. I'm not too enthused with my job as of late. I've been trying to study for my personal trainer certification too.

And I've been playing ukulele too. When I get a chance I'll post a video of me playing and *gasp* singing!

Ironman will have to wait

My training pretty much ended before it began.  I injured my knee playing hockey back in Sept/Oct.  It didn't prevent me from running.  I did notice that if I landed on it during a game I would be in an inordinantly excessive amount of pain.  It also felt "loose" after a run.

So I took some time off from hockey.  I also rested it from most strenuous exercise.  I visited a physical therapist who prescribed more strength training.  My knee is back up to 95%, but it's too late to start training for Vineman. 

For this year I'm focusing on spending time with my newborn son, Sam and my 4 year-old son, Jesse.  Jesse will be going to Kindergarten in September.  He likes to play with me now, but I'm sure that will change once school starts *sniff*.  I may do a half-marathon and/or a sprint tri some time this year.  The other item that takes precedence will be training my wife for a half-marathon; which is something she had been talking about since she was pregnant.  

That's it for now.  I'll still update some training here.  It might be about me or maybe my wife.  Hope all your training is going well. -R

How to reduce your water bill

How am I reducing my water bill? By taking a shower at work!

Actually, it's not what this post is about, but it is an added benefit of squeezing in an early morning run before work. I take the bus into work and get there around 7am. I was already in my running gear, so I just took off for a 30 minute jog (it was ~40F). Then I took a shower at work... I just wish they had hot water!

Sympathy weight gain

What is up with sympathy weight gain? When my wife was pregnant, I was working out quite a bit, ate reasonably well, and gained about 10 pounds. I got up to 173 lb.

In the past two weeks since Sam's birth, I've worked out once (a hockey game last Monday) have eaten reasonably well, and have dropped down to 168 lb. Come on, Body, make sense!

Check out my food and workout log. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFBVRDqo95n7VDo-FyZXrcw

Training Day #1

I'm trying to emulate Sylvester Stalone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV.  How?  By incorporating my every day activites as workouts.  If you have never seen the movie (and really, what's wrong with you), then just picture a guy chopping trees instead of doing a tricep press in the gym.  Another good comparison is Daniel-san in Karate Kid.

Today I started off the season with some strength training.  I warmed up with some light gardening which consisted of pruning.  I then followed that up with mowing the lawn; but not just any lawn mowing.  That's right, I used a non-gas, non-electric, good ol' fashioned push mower.  It was very Zen.   I can't remember the last time before today when I saw a push mower.  It's like a tricycle... it's fun to ride until your friends see you on one. 

Okay, I'm actually pretty jazzed about using it.

The big part of my strength training had to deal with concrete pavers and a gigantic tree root.  We have these 1 sq ft concrete pavers in the back yard that were coming up.  I decided to take a peek to see what was going on, and sure enough I found a root from my neighbor's tree.  To make a long story short, I lifted about 20 pavers and cut out about 15 feet of root.  There was sawing, and shoveling, and cutting, and sweating, and... you get the idea.

I'm very sore.  I used too much of my back and not enough of my legs.

Now I just have to figure out how to incorporate swimming, biking, and running into my everyday routines.  I can bike and run to my bus stop.  There is no way that I'm swimming to and from work.  Any ideas?

P.S.  I started a workout log that you can access here http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFBVRDqo95n7VDo-FyZXrcw

Time to train... AGAIN! Vineman 2009

Yes I'm back, training for another Iron-distance event.  Vineman 2004 kicked my butt, and there was a lot of my butt to kick back in the day.  I'm leaner and meaner and ready to take my revenge on the course.

I've been out of the endurance loop for a while.  There was the house remodel (still working on it).  And OH YEAH... I have a new son, Samuel Robert Fernandez Suratos!  Sam was born on Nov. 19, 2008.  Here are some pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/rqsuratos/MeetSam#

This year I won't be training with TNT.  I love TNT, but travelling to all of the training sites stretches me a bit thin.  I'm going to try and fit my training into my current schedule with the goal of not disturbing my family life.  I admit that it will be a challenge, especially having no coach (I actually have to hold myself accountable).  I just cancelled my gym membership which was also the place where I was swimming.  

I think this blog is going to be important in finding a training program that works with a busy type such as myself.  Hopefully you will find something good from it too.

Here are my beginning stats.  I'm currently 5'6" tall at 171 lb (I raced Lake Placid at ~155lb).  My waist is holding steady at 32".  My resting heart rate is 43 bpm.  My main exercise is my weekly league roller hockey game.  Obviously I'm going to have to get on a bike pretty soon.

My plan for this blog is to:

1. Chronical my training (I plan to have a link to a tracking spreadsheet).
2. Note things that work and don't work.
3. Talk nutrition and weight loss (for those of you who know, I went from 220lb to as low as 155lb). 
4. Random stuff

I haven't been good about including strength training in the past, and I believe that this will be key to doing well in this race.  

Thanks for reading.  Please leave me comments! 

Hello Random Thoughts

That's supposed to read, "Hello " as in "Gee it's been a while since I've been here," followed by a bunch of random thoughts.

True it has been a while. Where have I been? What is the progress of my pursuit of endurance excellence? So many questions and way too much time to answer them. I have put any major triathlons on hold for now since we are expecting another baby this year! Yay! I truly am excited by the prospect of having yet another baby... well my wife is having the baby, but I'm very supportive of her! I guess you can say that I am in the middle of another kind of endurance event.

I have been doing whatever it is I can to stay in shape. I still swim and run. On most Monday nights I play league roller hockey. When I can, I work on the house. Vickee has been very nauseous with the pregnancy. Taking care of a very energetic 3 year old is a lot for her to take on while trying not to throw up.

I've changed my daily routine a bit so that I can be there to take care of Jesse and Vickee. That means that I have limited my evening workouts. Most days I wake up at 4:30am so that I can be in the gym by 5:00am. I workout for about 1 hour, get cleaned up and dressed so that I can catch the bus to work at 7:15am. Traffic is pretty heavy at this time, which is fine with me... the 1 hour ride to work allows me to catch some Z's. Then I work (yawn). Then at 4:15pm I'm back on the bus... sleeping... I'm home by 6:00pm. Then I water the plants, cook dinner, let Vickee sleep, clean up after Jesse, clean Jesse, and then off to bed by midnight.

Somewhere in there I trade stock options...

The only upcoming race I have is San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon in October. I've been invited by some friends to do the 2.4 mi Catfish swim in Stevens Creek Reservoir. The biggest race on my mind is Silverman 2009 (it kicked my butt last time).

Here's where it gets random...

I'm working on getting my personal trainer certification. Why? I think people need help. I lost weight and got stronger... I've been there. I know there are people struggling with the exact same thing that I did. And I enjoy helping people. I really started to think about this week...

My god-brother died last week. He was 37 years old. I wouldn't say that he was overly obese. I have seen heavier people who were older than him. I understand that one of his arteries was 90% clogged. Clogged arteries is the current cause of death.

How often have we heard about clogged arteries? We have heard it so much that the thought has become ubiquitous. I don't think we even think about it that much... that is until it hits close to home. It's there. It's real. And way too many people are closer to being just another statistic amongst all the noise. This is where I would like to help.

I knew a guy who said, "You know what God does all day? He vomits! Every time he looks at his creations and realizes all the potential that they throw away." I don't mean any disrespect here, but it does create a nice visual. The thing is... are we living up to our potential? In everything that we do, who we are, and what we are? Does God vomit when he thinks of me? If he does, then I would like to change that.

I should end the randomness right here. Welcome back!
Rommel

Best training week in a long time

This week has been pretty active. I haven't had trained seriously since Nov. 2006. So what have I done.

Sunday I went to the beach. Okay, no training there. Topped off the night with Cheesecake Factory.

Monday, biked to the bus stop (5 hill climbs/ 4.5 miles), biked back home at the end of the day. Played hockey at 10pm (lost, but it was a heck of a workout).

Tuesday: same as Monday without the hockey. And I biked from BART (8 miles).

Wednesday: swim.

It doesn't sound like much, but I liked it.

Run, Run, Run, Bike

Vickee, my wife, has decided that she would like to get back into running. She didn't decide to ease into it with a 5K or a 10K, she decided to go for a marathon! That's right, Arizona Rock n Roll in Jan. 08, 2008.

Both of us are training. I'm training her, and I guess, myself. We are about 3 weeks into it. She is doing great right now.

The other thing going on... I'm biking everyday. Yay! Okay not so exciting, but it is! I took my Bridgestone CB-2 mountain bike and rebuilt it (changed the fork, headset, breaks, wheels). And it works! I bought the bike back in 9th grade (about 20 years ago... dang!).

Anyhow, I commute 4.5 miles each with 5 big hill climbs each way. It takes me ~20 minutes each way. The bike is really heavy. So here's the theory... heavy bike for training = frickin' fast on my road bike.

Jesse is doing well, He's almost 3 now. He runs like crazy... like his old man.

No Belt

Oh it is so easy to not do any workouts. My previously heralded weight loss is now in jeopardy. I'm still slimmer than I was a few years ago, but now my pants are being held up sans belt.

I started going back to the gym sporadically for about a month. I haven't been in the pool due to lack of motivation (the master's swim class was cancelled). I've been doing mostly running.

On the positive side, I ran 8 miles the other day at a 8:20 pace, which is where I was last year. Is this the part of training that is known as the, "Off-season?"

Now that the sun is shining more lately, I should be getting back on my bike. I run when I get a chance, but I really miss being part of the team.

SilverMan 2006 Race Report

SilverMan Full-Distance Triathlon-November 12, 2006

I do not know what my official statistics are for the SilverMan Full-Distance Triathlon. For those of us who did not finish (DNF), our stats were not recorded. I can tell you that the dreaded DNF that I received for this race carries with it no regret, but rather a greater appreciation for the SilverMan course.

This was the second year for the Nevada SilverMan Full-Distance Triathlon. “Full-Distance” denotes the same distance as an IronMan, without the trademark infringement. The slogan is, “You have experienced Iron, now experience Silver.” It has also been called, “North Americas most grueling race.” And rightfully so as I was soon to find out.

The race starts with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Mead. The swim is followed by a 112-mile bike ride from Lake Mead to Henderson, NV with a combined climbing elevation of 9700 feet. The last leg of the race is a 26.2-mile run around Henderson that climbs 3700 feet. To put this race into perspective, IMUSA Lake Placid has only 4000 feet of climbing on the bike and 1000 feet of climbing on the run.

The water temperature was 64°F and the air temperature was 72°F. Those temperatures were not anything out of the ordinary for an endurance race. Some would even argue that those temperatures were ideal for a race like this. A slight breeze would even be acceptable. The breeze that day was anything but “Slight.”

It was a very blustery day. The lake conditions were choppy with white caps. When in the lake, I estimate that the waves were as high as 2 feet. My swim speed up until today had been very consistent at 2 minutes per 100 yards. That gave me a swim time of 1h: 24m at Lake Placid and 0:40m at Big Kahuna (1.2 miles). I expected a similar swim time for this race.

I felt like I was in the spin cycle of a washing machine. The water made a sickening rocking motion. I understand from later reports that the motion caused many people to get motion sick and throw up during the swim. I did not experience nausea, but two kayaks hit me. The 2-foot waves made sighting of the buoys difficult as well (that and the fact that the buoy colors were the same as the swim cap colors). The waves were so strong that they would flip me over on to my back. Lastly, the anti-fog solution that I put in my goggles did not prevent fog, thus I was partially blind for most of the swim.

Every time I reached a buoy, it seemed like there were 10 more buoys to swim to. I was starting to feel like it was never going to end. The cutoff time for the swim is 2h: 20m. I had already passed 1h: 20m, and I estimate that I was little over half the distance to the finish. Could it be that I was going to be eliminated on the swim? It was hard for me to grasp, but it was starting to look like it.

“I am not going to be eliminated on the swim,” I thought. So I refocused, and headed for the shore. I kayak tried to escort me in. I was determined to finish the swim before the cutoff.

I crossed the timing mat at 2h: 11m.

I felt pretty good, despite being in the water for almost an hour longer than I had expected. Others weren’t so lucky. I know of at least one person that had hypothermia, and at least 20 people had to be pulled from the swim from nausea, being washed up on the island, or just general fatigue.

My transition was fast (about 5 minutes). I was not going for any clothing changes. Instead I opted to wear my TNT IronTeam trisuit for the entire race. My transition was just a matter of toweling off, applying sunscreen, putting on my shoes, and I was off. Now for the bike ride.

Prior to Lake Placid, I had removed my triple crank for a lighter double crank. The advantage of the triple crank is that it has a smaller climbing gear (a.k.a. “Granny Gear.”). The disadvantage is that it has more rotational weight. The double crank provides slower climbs than the triple, but it has less rotational weight.

I was told to expect to be passed when climbing uphill, but that I would likely pass people when going downhill. The strategy worked well at Lake Placid. What goes up, must come down, right? Wrong!

The SilverMan bike course is a point-to-point race, which means that there are no loops. Thus, what goes up does not have to go down. From the very beginning I would climb 500 ft, then it would level off, then I would climb another 500 ft, then level off, etc. There were hardly any downhill portions. For the first 56 miles or so, it was uphill with a mighty head wind.

I estimated that I needed to average 14 mph over 8 hours to make the 5pm bike cutoff. I was at 11.5 mph at 3:45pm. Having only covered 83 miles, I would have to average about 30 mph for 1 hour. In short, I would not make the cutoff.

At the end of the day, 44% of the people that started did not finish. Most IronMan races will have 10-15% of the people not finish. I know that my DNF is a result of equipment and not a lack of physical ability. I will see this race again, but next time I will be better prepared.


.

Jesse's Halloween Pix 2006

Jesse Halloween 2006

Various Pictures

My Pictures

Jun 13, 2003 - 37 Photos

Race Report: Big Kahuna Half-Ironman: Sept. 10, 2006

Race Report: Big Kahuna Half-Ironman: Sept. 10, 2006

The only consistency in my training since IronMan USA is the lack of training consistency. In the 5-6 weeks since IronMan, I have trained a total of 5 times. The first 3 weeks was recovery. The 5 training runs consisted of 2 runs of 10 miles each, 2 bike rides of 40 miles each, and a 1 mile swim. I was a bit nervous about my preparation for this race. Nervous? Yes. Excited? OH YES!

The Big Kahuna is a shorter distance triathlon than the IronMan; only consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. This was my first ocean water triathlon.

Nutrition on the course was Hammer H.E.E.D. (High Energy Electrolyte Drink) and Hammer Gel. I have used these before, so there was no need for me to bring a whole lot on my bike to weigh me down.

The strategy, as always, was:
1. to start with a good high calorie breakfast (4 waffles with Nutella for ~700 calories)
2. Hydrate well.
3. Drink HEED or water every 15 minutes on the bike or as needed (~25-50 calories per swig).
4. Eat a gel with water every 45 minutes on the bike or as needed (90 calories per serving)
5. Eat endurolytes at the first sign of cramps.

When the weather is cold, more calories are needed. During a cold-weather event I aim to take in 200-400 calories per hour. During a warm weather event I aim to take in 100-200 calories per hour. The Big Kahuna was a cold-weather event.

The start of the event took place down by the pier on the beach. Some words were said, a Hawaiian blessing was given (complete with a conch shell blowing), and we started to swim. The swim occurred in waves with the elite athletes starting at 7:00 am and my wave starting 6 minutes after them.

The water was a balmy 59°F. I crossed the timing mat and I was in the water. All that time training in open water for the IronMan had come back to me in a flash. Pretty soon I had a rhythm. The water was choppy, and I found that if I brought my head too far out of the water to sight, a wave would slap me in the head. It taught me to keep my head down (which ultimately helped me).

Once I rounded the pier, I started to head back for land. The water was salty (duh), and it reminded me about an e-mail joke regarding the GALLONS of semen a whale can release. The punch line was “And that’s why the ocean is so salty.” Damn, I just swallowed some ocean water.

All kidding aside, my tongue was starting to swell up.

The current was working against me (it seemed to be pushing me away from the pier). So I would zig-zag my all the way back to the swim exit. After about 44 minutes, I finally made it back to the beach. There were throngs of TNT people out there cheering on their teams. I was a team of one today. I ripped off my wetsuit and rash guard and I heard somebody say as they saw the flames, “Go Team... I mean Go IRONTEAM!”

From the beach, it was a little over a quarter-mile run (barefoot on asphalt) back to the first transition (T1). I had planned on wearing my tri-suit under my wetsuit, so my transition was fast. All I had to do was put on my shoes, grab my endurolytes and helmet, and I was off. It took me a total of 12 minutes for T1; which included the run from the beach.

I felt really good on the bike. Instead of holding back like I did in IronMan, I started to charge early. I was averaging 20 mph for the first part. If my nutrition plan had worked out, charging early would not have been a problem… but it didn’t work out, and this became a problem.

Around mile 7 or 8, I heard something while I was biking. It sounded as if something dropped on the ground. A quick check of my bike showed nothing had fallen off (water bottles, brakes, wheels were all intact). I didn’t think much about it more after that. It turned out to be my canister or Endurolytes.

Endurolytes are salt tablets that I take when I start to cramp. As if on cue, Murphy’s Laws went into full effect, as was evident by leg cramps around mile 10. No worries… I just had to back down on my effort and wait until I could get some HEED at the next aid station.

The first aid station was about mile 15. It was staffed by the South Bay IronTeam! Cool! They had some nicer water bottles than what was on my bike, so I ditched my old worn out water bottles and replenished with HEED and water bottles. Bummer…they had no gels.

When I finally took my first drink from my HEED bottle, I was filled with a sense of dread. It was too dilute. I have had HEED before, and I know what it’s supposed to taste like. This was more than half diluted. This meant that the entire bottle couldn’t be more than 100 calories. With only this bottle and no gels, I was carrying only 100 calories. On top of that, the weaker dilution meant that I was also going to be electrolyte deficient (the osmolality of the HEED would not be optimal for absorption). The next water stop was about 1 hour away.

It shouldn’t be that bad. I’ve raced on fumes before. So I continued to crank hard. I noticed that my speed was dropping.

The second aid station had some gels, but I was only able to grab one as I rolled through. I traded my bottle of HEED for another bottle of HEED. This next bottle was even more dilute than the first! With about 1.5 hours of the bike portion done, I had taken in about 150 calories… about 300 less than where I should be.

By mile 40, I was starting to feel sleepy. I mean REALLY sleepy…groggy. Have you ever been tired while driving, but you had to keep going? So you do everything you can think of to stay awake? That’s the kind of sleepy I’m talking about.

I hit the last aid station fairly out of it mentally. I traded in my HEED bottle for another dilute bottle of HEED. My speed had dropped to 10-15 mph. I stopped pedaling on the downhill portions to conserve my energy. T2 couldn’t have come any sooner.

By the end of the bike, I had consumed about ~200 calories… about 800 calories less than what I needed.

At T2, I consumed some gels that I had stashed at my transition area. I also took in some endurolytes. I tried to make my transition fast. One quick stop at the porta potty, a quick wave to my wife, Vickee and my son, Jesse, and I was out of T2 in 6 minutes.

On the run, my legs felt surprisingly fresh, but my mind was as dull as a baseball bat. I took my first walk break after 10 minutes. When I started to walk, my eyes would close, and I would start to stagger around like I was drunk. I wanted to go to sleep. I was afraid that a race official would see this and pull me off the course. It was really scary.

The good thing was that the aid stations were more frequent on the run course than on the bike course, and were well stocked. I took in an espresso gel (actually has real coffee in it) and water at the first aid station. I haven’t had coffee since November, and to be honest, this tasted nasty… it was all about the caffeine. I grabbed a chocolate gel for later.

After 6 miles, I still wasn’t feeling great, but I was doing better. What I needed was to wake up! So I did something in a fit of desperation… I ate a gel without water! Now for those of you that are familiar with gels, they should always be taken with water (not electrolyte drink). The water aids in the absorption. Lack of water will divert water from your blood stream and cause cramping. This is the effect I wanted. I figured if I was in enough discomfort that I would wake up.

The result, my stomach started to cramp.

I was uncomfortable, but I was awake now. The discomfort didn’t last too long because water was just another aid station away.

By mile 7, the sun came out and started to warm everything up. I felt like Superman (check your superhero references: Red Sun= bad for Superman, Yellow Sun = good for Superman). The warmth of the sun gave me a renewed sense of energy.

The last 6.1 miles were relatively fast. I walked the aid stations, but I ran the rest of the way. I estimate that my pace on the last half of the run was ~ 9 minutes per mile (a fairly conservative estimate).

The final stretch was run on the beach. I was feeling strong as I dodged the waves rolling onto the beach. I saw Jesse and Vickee waiting there at the finish. Vickee tried to give Jesse to me, but I was still wary of my mental state and had an image of me passing out at the finish with Jess in my arms. I told her to hold him.

Here are the final stats of the race.

Swim (1.2 miles) 00:44:51.8
Swim to Bike Transition (T1) 00:07:38.3
Bike (112 miles) 03:17:19.5
Bike to Run Transition (T2) 00:06:15.5
Run (26.2 miles) 02:44:33.9
Total Time 07:00:39.0

At the end of the race, I felt pretty good, but I needed calories badly. Jesse started to cry from the time that I passed him until the time I came back around to pick him up. He probably thought, “Dang, Dad, why’d you dis me?” Son, I just didn’t want you to fall. We did manage to get this really cool post-race picture on the beach together.

The biggest lesson that I learned is to always underestimate the race support. Be prepared for anything. If I had just brought 2-4 gel packets with me, I would have had a better day. It was a pretty good day despite the nutrition problems. I think I’m going to have to do this race again.

Next stop… SilverMan!