The thrill of victory

From right to left: Rob, Mike, Heather and Tom

The "recovery" period

Rob finishes lap one of the run

Donation update

Just did the math and Make a Wish will receive a sum total of $608 for my "sweat" equity. That works out to about $75 for each week of training. Not too shabby.

Official Official results

So apparently some adjustments were made overnight because my time (which was listed on an "offical"-looking document posted at the event yesterday) suddenly increased when results were made available on the race website today.

My new final time of 1:28:31 beat two other competitors in my age group. Thanks to VJ Anma who finished at 1:46:56, I was “not last” by 18:25.

We’ll round that down to 18 minutes which means all you fine donors need to get out your checkbooks and start sending me money. If you’ve forgotten your commitment, let me know and I’ll look it up.

I’ll also be making the rounds with a Make-a-Wish t-shirt for folks to sign to commemorate this historic achievement.

Official finish times

Times just got posted and I came in a very respectable 1:26:49 which put me in 112th place overall. Age divisions weren't broken out but there was one person near my age at 1:29 so it looks like 3 minutes will be the minimum for donation purposes.

My neighbor Tom Butler (whose wife started this whole mess) finished a very strong 1:20:42, good enough for 81st.

Mike got a DQ for wearing his timing chip on his wrist instead of his ankle but based on our best guess, he was somewhere near 1:20 in the shorter Tri-it<.BR>
I was very happy with my split times. I felt slow in the water but managed a 19:42, at least 4 minutes faster than I expected.

The bike took 39:32, right where I thought it would be. The run was 24:48, a little slower than I would have liked considering that was my strongest discipline going in.

Not last (unofficially)!

Well, it looks like all the training paid off. I passed two competitors that appear to have been in my age group which would mean I was not last.

Everyone was marked with their number and age on their legs and I saw at least two ages in my group on the run.

We'll have to wait and see the official results for confirmation.

Race conditions

It's super cold out here this morning. I can see my breath. The low last night was in the mid-40s and it doesn't feel like it has warmed up much. The reported water temperature is 61 degrees. Fortunately, there isn't much wind which means the water will be calm for the swim.

We came into the park on the road we'll use for the bike portion of the race and it seems fairly flat. The hilly sections are short and shouldn't pose a challenge.

I haven't seen the running trail.

I got bib number 751 in my race packet. I've got all my stuff arranged in the transition area. Transitions aren't something I practiced so it will be interesting to see how I handle that.

Got to go to the start to get my race briefing.

Race day!

Race day is finally here! I'm riding down to the race with Mike, the fireman.

I'm changing out the pedal's on Lincoln's bike this morning because he uses clip-in style shoes. Since I'm just wearing my tennis shoes, I prefer flat pedals.

Hope to have a report on race conditions later:

The blue band is magical

Got my package from Make a Wish today. Two t-shirts (XL) and 7 blue wristbands a la the popular yellow Livestrong bands (one of my all-time favorite marketing programs).

I wore a wristband on my run today and it must be magic because I went 6 miles at a pretty decent pace and felt like I could go another 2 or 3. It's either that or my "eat anything you want, workout occassionally" training program is going to make me millions.

Make a Wish responds!

I got a call from Dayna Russell, development coordinator at Northwest Make a Wish Foundation in response to my earlier post.

They are sending me a t-shirt to wear in the race and "a couple extras" (can't wait to see what those are!). Dayna was also nice enough to provide me with all the details I needed to ensure my donors can deduct their donations from their taxes.

I'm very impressed that Make a Wish responded. I'm thinking of having all my donors sign the shirt as a memento (since I'm never going to do this again).

I swam and biked today. A little concerned with my bike times. I'm revising my finish time up to 1:30.

Choppy waters

Had a pretty good training day. Did an open water swim in some chop (boat wakes created by folks heading to the UW game) and finished in under 27 minutes. Didn't try to push it in those conditions as I was merely trying to get comfortable in turbulent water.

Ran 50 minutes this evening (about 5.5 miles). Nothing spectacular, just trying to get a long run in.

Tomorrow I'm going to test out the new road bike that I picked up from Lincoln today (Thanks, coach!). I'm pretty excited to see how quick I can go. I'm also going to do a hard run. Hope to have a pretty good idea of what time I need to achieve in the water to make my goal.

Donation update

We're up to $15 a minute and $300 in straight pledges from 15 donors.

So, if I finish last, Make a Wish gets $150.

If I beat the last place competitor by 10 minutes, Make a Wish gets $450.

I'm going to make another push to friends and family who haven't donated to see if those number can go even higher but that already exceeds my expectations. Definitely a lot of motivation to continue improving my times.

Bike/run combo

Did a bike/run combo for the first time in that order. In the past, I've run and then hopped on the bike but thought I should get used to the transition between the two.

It definitely is interesting to do them in that order. Your first quarter to half mile, you feel like your legs are bouncing off the surface. My first thought was to slow things down a bit because you definitely feel like you are running fast. I didn't want to go too quickly and not have any energy at the end.

Next time, though, I'm going to let myself go as quick as possible. I feel like I'm leaving a litte bit of energy on the table at the end of my run and I want to see if I can use it to jumpstart the run.

My father-in-law and his wife join the donor list. Thanks Paul and Lee!

Delinquent but not delayed

I've been delinquent in my posts lately but not because of a lack of training.

I finally got my hands on a wetsuit (my brother-in-law Will lent one to me) and I have to say it's almost like cheating. It makes you so bouyant that you spend most of you time moving forward instead of worrying about staying afloat.

As a result, I've completed two open water 800 meter swims and felt great. I'm now starting to work on improving my times.

Still projecting a 1:25 finish.

Back to the routine

With family in town and the new baby, I've not been on schedule with my training. To restart the schedule I ran for 5 miles yesterday morning and went on an 11 mile bike ride last night. Running times were ok but I definitely lost some time on the bike. I haven't been on the bike in two weeks so that's not suprising.

A new baby!

Well, we have a new baby. Finley Kathryn was born yesterday and she's doing great. My training routine, however, is probably going to suffer. I can't see myself getting out on a regular basis and leaving both kids with Amy. I might need to invest in a jogging stroller to take Aidan or Finley with me. Of course, that won't work for swimming or biking.

I did get out for short 3 mile runs yesterday and today, which felt good.

New music

Added a couple songs to the list today. "Bad" by U2 seems to be another good opening song as it builds throughout. "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues" by Lyle Lovett has a good tempo for running.

Did 4.2 miles again today but didn't seem to have the same energy. Brought my 2.8 mile time down by 5 seconds. Overall, ran for 35 minutes. Need to bring that up to 45 by the end of the week.

The Mariner's diet

Had a great training day powered by a newly discovered nutritional secret.

Went 600 meters in the pool in the afternoon (which was about where I was before I got sick) and then attended the Mariners/White Sox game with my wife, son and dad. Dad's in town from Michigan helping out and waiting for the arrival of child #2.

At the game, I enjoyed a jumbo dog, kettle corn and a large Mountain Dew. When we got home I decided to go for a run to "catch up" on my missed training sessions. I went 4.2 miles and felt incredible the whole way.

I've got to remember this for race day!

Back on the horse

I've been out of commission for a couple days as I've been responding to questions from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) about accusations of steroid use (Thanks, Tad).

Actually, I've been sick so I took a couple days to recover. I ran 3.5 miles last night and rode 11 miles tonight.

I got a nice $100 donation from The Gilt Edge Society. Thanks to Steven Barrett for stepping up!

Good people

Ed Irwin joined the donor list today. Ed and Darby Boyles (aka Darby Hansen from an earlier post - sorry Darby! I knew you when...) are real estate and mortgage brokers at Integra Real Estate and helped Amy and I buy and finance our first (and only). They've been there for a couple refinances too! Needless to say, they are great individuals and I highly recommend them to Seattle friends and family looking for a home. Thanks Integra team!

Swam about 650 yards today. I'm over two-thirds of the way to the total swim distances which is encouraging with over 6 weeks to go. Hoping to get to 900 yards in the next two weeks so I can start working on improving my times.

Low energy day

Went for a light run today. Just didn't have any energy or motivation to do more.

My sister Liz joined the donor list today. Thanks sis!

A steroid scandal

On the night Barry Bonds breaks the home run record, a steroid scandal erupts in Camp McMurtrie. An anonymous reader, who may or may not be Tad Keppler, has asked what steroids I am on.

My official response is that I've never tested positive for steroids and, even if I did, it was only because I wanted kids to understand the dangers by providing a real life example.

New donors today include my Mom and Dad and my Mother-in-Law. Nice to have the support of my family in these trying times. Just hope my Mom doesn't cry when the results come back positive.

Donations up to $13 a minute and $140 in straight up gifts.

In unrelated news, I swam for 500 meters and biked for 5 miles.

Tech nerd

Did some strength training last night and discovered I'm a complete weakling.

Also, I'm posting this entry from my phone to see if I can update the blog when I'm mobile. That way I (or more likely my wife) can provide live updates from the course on the day of the event.

Why?

Because I'm a tech dork (which also explains why I'm a weakling!)

Another dual sport session

Did 400 yds in the pool and 11 miles on the bike. Lowered my bike time by a minute to 45:11. Improved every interval except the return. My left thigh tightened up on the ride in which cost me about a minute.

Projected Finish:
Swim: 30 minutes
Bike: 40 minutes (with a road bike)
Run: 23 minutes
Total: 1:33

Contacting Make a Wish

I contacted the Northwest chapter of Make a Wish today to see if they had a t-shirt with their logo to wear during training and the event to show my commitment. We'll see how they respond.

Cut 54 seconds off my 2.8 mile run time today to finish at 22:43 with all the gain coming in the first two-thirds of the run. Could have pushed it in the last third but I was saving some for the rest of the training run.

New goggles

Bought new speedo goggles today. Took them for a training session and they made a big difference. I felt much more comfortable in the water when I could see. My technique continues to improve. Breathing was better and I felt like I was more efficient with my stroke.

Still need to build some stamina and muscle strength but I'm confident I can get there with more training sessions.

Went for a run after swimming and my legs felt pretty heavy. Transitioning from each discipline will be interesting.

Darby Hansen joins the Donor list. Thanks, Darby.

Pushing it uphill

Really rode hard on the bike tonight and made some good gains. Lowered my time to 46:16. Key learning was to push it uphill by getting out of the saddle and pedaling hard for at least half the uphill distance. Made gains in every split time. Can't wait to see what time savings I can gain with a shift to a road bike.

Scotty Held from my Detroit crew joined the Donor List today with a nice pledge.

Small steps in the water

I made a bit of progress in the pool tonight. Amy gave me some pointers on my stroke and breathing technique. Basically, she told me to put my thumb down as I put my hand in the water and then rotate the palm downward and back toward my stomach in a scooping motion. With some practice, I think that will greatly improve my efficiency and endurance.

She also reminded me to breath on one side which was an improvement on my "breath every stroke" routine last session, which I'm certain made me look like I was drowning. Check out Lane 1 in this video for an reasonable facsimile.

I borrowed Amy's old Speedo goggles but couldn't seem to get them to work correctly. I couldn't get a good seal and water kept getting in. It was very disorientating and I would panic, killing whatever rhythm I had going.

So, I'm now on the lookout for new goggles.

On the donation side, I'm up to $11 per minute thanks to some nice donations by J.P. and Colleen. Thanks guys!

Feeling groovy...

Great run tonight. Ran the same distance (3.8 miles) I did a few days ago when I got cramps but did it in 31:29, a 3 1/2 minute improvement. Feels like the conditioning I'm doing is starting to kick in as I don't feel nearly as spent.

Split time for the 5K was 23:37 which would have beaten three or four folks in last years run (Of course, that excludes the effects of swimming and biking). I've got 8 weeks to improve on that. The run will definitely be my strongest discipline so I feel like I need to get that closer to 21 minutes.

First donations are rolling in. Tad Keppler was first and, true to his nature, made a very nice contribution. I'm up to $6 in per minute pledges and $100 in straight donations. Check out the donor roll on the right. Any companies wandering by should know I am looking for sponsors.

Also had some interesting feedback from some friends who have run this race before. JC shared his swim experience during the 2003 event when the air temp was 55 degrees and the water temp was 65 degrees. He went sans wetsuit and ended up losing all feeling in his extremities. He had to doggy paddle back to shore (He still finished with a respectable 1:21). Guess I'll be adding wetsuit to the list of equipment needs.

Lincoln (who ran a 2:42 in the Olympic distance in 2003) assured me that the "rolling hills" described on the website are quite tame. I was worried that the marketing collateral had been written by some Lance Armstrong-type who considers the Pyrenees to be "mildly uphill."

Need a new bike

After taking Saturday off to recuperate, I went riding last night. Did the bike portion (12 or so miles) in 50 minutes and was feeling pretty good about it until I realized that most riders finish in 30 minutes or so.

Of course, I'm using my mountain bike with mountain bike tires. So, I'm now hunting for a road bike solution. I'm either going to borrow or rent as I don't see a need to buy a bike at this point.

Anyone got a lead on a good 10-speed?

PROJECTED FINISH TIME: 1:45 (with my mountain bike)

Ugh! Cramps...

Ran for 35 minutes tonight. Cramped up a few times. I'm blaming it on the big pasta dinner and the lack of adequate fluids. Guess I'll have to substitute my normal breakfast of Crispix and Coke for ham, bacon and sausage with a water chaser on race day!

Starting to build my race day playlist (that will hopefully create some "on course" motivation) on the right. Suggestions welcome.

First Swim Training session

I went to Ballard pool yesterday for my first training session in the water. I nearly drowned.

Well, that's not exactly true. I went about 70 yards before I needed a rest. After that, I managed to make it about 200 more yards with stops every 25.

Considering the 1/2 mile swim is about 880 yards, I think I'm in trouble.

The duathlete

I went running with Heather tonight (5K) and then road about 5 miles. I felt pretty good at the end of it except for the scratch I picked up when I tried to duck under a thorn bush during the run.

Maybe this won't be so hard after all.

"Volunteering"

So, how did I get myself into this mess?

On Friday, July 13, (bad things always happen on Friday the 13th) Aidan and I went to the Tigers-Mariners game. My wife Amy, now a carefree bachlorette for the evening, went over to a BBQ at the home of our friends Mike and Leslie (our former neighbors) along with current neighbors Tom and Heather.

At some point during the BBQ, Heather revealed that she was planning on running a triathlon. Tom (a surfer, avid bike rider and supportive husband) apparently was going to participate as well. Mike (a fireman who works out daily) thought that was a great idea and volunteered to join in.

Well, Amy, who is 8 months pregnant and unable to participate herself, felt it would be appropriate to volunteer her husband (a golfer, soccer and softball player) to lend his support.

Now, while this may seem entirely reasonable, let's detail out my athletic history.
1. I played quite a bit of soccer - until I was 15.
2. I quit the soccer team after my freshman year of high school to play golf.
3. I currently play rec league soccer - as a goalie - which means my running is limited to getting on and off the field at the beginning and end of each half.
4. I currently play softball - as a pitcher - which limits me to beer runs.
5. Did I mention that I'm a golfer?

Of course, when I pointed this out to my beautiful wife whom I adore (notice the blantant attempt to minimize the damage this post is doing to my marriage), she suggested I back out, completely ignoring the fact that this would be a blantant admission of weakness and completely at odds with the nature of man.

So, I'm basically stuck. I have to compete because I'm a man despite the fact that I'm totally out of shape and will likely die (further validating the Darwinist nature of the world).

Of course, I could substitute some other manly activity (like scaling the Space Needle nude without ropes) and use this as an excuse for not participating but the likely result of any of those endeavors is also death. So I guess I'll go with the triathlon.

"Don't Be Last" Fundraiser for Kids

I was recently "volunteered" (more on that in a future post) to run the 2007 Black Diamond Triathlon on September 23rd. Since I hate running, swimming and biking, I needed to come up with some motivation to actually follow through on this "commitment." Realizing how out of shape I am and that I won't win anything (which is pretty much my sole motivation in life), I needed to find some rationale for doing this.

Well, what better motivation than "the kids." We've all heard it before from our favorite athletes, celebrities, politicians, etc. who need some image enhancement because they beat their wife, got drunk and ran their $100,000 automobile into a lamp post, or took money they shouldn't have. They find the nearest charity, commit to a 15-minute photo op at the next fundraiser and profess how committed they are "to the kids." This is sort of the same thing.

I don't really care about triathlons, fitness, working out or getting in shape and would rather be playing video games, sitting on my butt or doing anything else but running, swimming or biking (let alone all three). But, like an athlete who supports a charity just for the image makeover, I'm going to participate in this triathlon for the kids.

My chosen charity is the Make a Wish Foundation (as in, "I make a wish that kids never have to run triathlons").

BUT I NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

So, here's the deal. The last place finisher in my age group over the past few years has averaged 1 hour 40 minutes. I WILL NOT BE LAST! My ego will not allow it. I'm asking friends and family to pledge a specific dollar amount for every minute better I am than the last place finisher. If you pledge $1 and last place is 1:45 minutes and my time is 1:35, you owe $10.

To protect all of you against a last place finisher who is completely inept, we'll set a ceiling for the last place finisher of 1:50. If last place is 2:10 minutes, we'll adjust that person's time to 1:50.

IF I am the last place finisher OR I finish in more than 1:50, you are all off the hook and I will contribute $10 for everyone who makes a pledge (up to $300 - after all, I've got kids of my own to feed).

I'll be providing regular updates on my training progress and more about how I got involved on this blog.

So, if you want to participate, contact me at notlast(at)comcast.net