The End is Near

The cannon for Ironman Cozumel fires in less than 48hrs.

As anyone who has read my blog through the year knows, 2011 has been a up and down year for me from a racing perspective. There have been some highs, but some definite lows as well. Ironman Cozumel will close the books on 2011 and I am looking to do so on a high note.

I have been here since Tuesday and seen much of the course as the ride consists of 3 laps of only 60K and the run is right outside our hotel door. It is flat, but the heat, humidity and wind will CERTAINLY make it a challenge. Maybe an equally grand challenge will be to keep my focus on racing while passing scenery like this:

I mean... come on. Look at that!

But I will do my best to put on the blinders, batten down the hatches and go for it on Sunday.

I want to take a moment to say a big Thank YOU! to all of you who have followed along with my racing and offered such great support all year. It has been a humbling year in many ways, and having been the recipient of so much support from so many has been overwhelming at times.

So Sunday it is. Lets Roll.

Poor Practice

The title of this post is in reference to the lack of new information on this blog. It is indeed, a poor practice.

To recap real quick, upon leaving the Big Island, I flew home to LA for a few quick days, then hit the friendly skies again, landing in Denver and making my way back to Boulder.  I retrieved my car and after a quick 36hrs or so, got out before the snow and spent the next two days driving to Tucson (by way of a night sleeping in my car in a New Mexico parking lot), to begin my training for Ironman Arizona and enjoy the generous hospitality of my friends Chris & Marilyn Mcdonald. That was somewhere around a month ago.

Since that time, some plans have changed. In fact, on my first long ride since Kona, I began to feel the weight of another Ironman looming just four weeks down the road. Chris was due to race on November 5th in South Africa, but the race had been abruptly cancelled, leaving him with a great deal of built up fitness and nowhere to express it. Fortunately, he still had time to register for Ironman Cozumel and his sights were once again set. The thought of an extra week to get ready, the opportunity to travel with a friend, and lets face it, cold blended adult beverages on a tropical beach to end my season all combined to sound pretty good at that point in time. I mean... come on...

Insert frosty beverage above

Since that decision was made I have been absorbed in getting ready for the day with the goal of my best Ironman performance to date in my crosshairs. Save a few minor hiccups in the bounce back from Kona, training has gone well. Having a friend immersed in the same pursuit has made the preparation for a late season Ironman a little easier, and much more fun, so I owe a big THANK YOU to Chris and Marilyn for their hospitality and support.

I must say however, that while I am happy to be heading to Cozumel (never been before), with IM AZ just days away, I find myself just a tad bummed not to be racing. I had a great time racing Arizona last year and was really looking forward to racing it again with so many friends and family racing and spectating.

That said, I will be heading up to Tempe to cheer on some great friends including Zoot and TriSports.com teammate Charisa "CBB" Wernick who will be capping off her great 2011 season with what I am sure will be an awesome day out in Tempe. I am also excited to see fellow Specialized rider and Zooter Jordan Rapp take on the course he dominated in 2009 and hopefully take his title back. Finally, there is a battle brewing between TriSports.com teammate Leanda Cave and the owner of our great sponsor, Seton Claggett. A bet has been made, the terms of which are yet to be revealed, and it should be great fun to watch this battle unfold.

So if you are out in Tempe this Sunday, cheer hard, have fun and say "hi" if you see me bumbling around.

SPY+

I am pleased to announce that I recently gained the support of SPY+ Optics.

SPY+ has been producing high quality, fashionable eyewear for some time now and has recently begun producing performance focused sunglasses that are great for running and cycling. The knowledge and experience the designers at SPY have from their ski/snowboard and motocross goggle production is evident and has resulted in some great shades like the Alpha.

I am excited to have the support of an experienced eyewear company behind me and to have the opportunity to work firsthand with a company that is dedicated to developing a top of the line performance eyewear range.

And lets be honest, their casual shades are awesome.

Check out the SPY+ website and see for yourself.

Kona

The 2011 Ironman World Championships is in the books and I am happy to say my name appears in that book.

After every race this season I have come to post on this blog and express my discontent with my performance at each race. It is a rare day indeed in our sport when all three disciplines come off without a hitch, and everything just "falls into place." That kind of day is not something you can go looking for. It may happen a few times in a career, or never at all. I haven't been looking for one of those days, just a day where I am content with each aspect of my race. For every race this season, that is all I wanted. To have a race where I could sit back at the end of the day and say, "I can live with that." Kona finally provided that satisfaction. The following is my race report.

Race Morning came and I found myself feeling rather relaxed. All was going smooth until I started to set up my bike. I put my fuel for the bike in one bottle and as I was putting that bottle on my bike, I dropped it. The top popped off and out spilled my fuel. I told myself to just stay calm, find a volunteer, see if I could get a towel to clean it up as it was all under my bike and Matt Reed's and find some gels. I got a towel and got it cleaned up and Matt was very mellow about the mess I created. The replacement gels however, were a bit harder to come by. Thankfully, one of the awesome volunteers came up HUGE for me. He took my bottle and said "you've got a race to prepare for. Go swim, don't worry about this shit. It will be on your bike when you go out." I cannot thank this guy enough. He is a HUGE part of my day. Luis is the man!

Swim:
I got in the water 15mins before the start, got in a nice solid warm up, and felt good. I lined up a little to the left, next to Rasmus knowing he would go out strong. At the gun I jumped right on his feet and was amazed at how calm and nice the start was. About 100m in that changed. We merged with another group and it got pretty rough. I was able to hang in the first group however and was pretty comfortable with the pace. Coming to the first turn buoy, I knew the pace would pick up, and I was ready for it. I felt the surge starting, put my head down and went for it. Unfortunately, while doing so, I swam off the feet in front of me and off to the left. I have seen first hand on previous occasions just how fast a gap can open if you let it, but this was a new level. I got just a few feet off to the left of the group and was popped off. The gap opened with astonishing speed despite my all out effort to close it back up. I was off the back and there was nothing I could do. Some others met a similar fate and we formed what became the second pack. From there on in I swam very comfortably, and saw 53:45 on the clock. I was actually surprised as it felt longer and was content.

Photo Courtesy: Shawn Henry

Bike:
I managed to stay with the guys I exited the water with through transition and was out on the bike with Michael Lovato, Jan Raphel and Cam Brown. Immediately we all began to push hard to try and bridge up.

Courtesy Kerry Yndestad

I had no idea how far back I was, but knew I wanted to go with the group. Onto the Queen K for the little stint before Palani, and I got a split, 2:20 up to the main group. I knew the guys I was with were gunning to try and catch that group. The power was way too high though, and I knew closing a gap of 2:20, even if I could, would come at way too high a price, so I had to stick to my plan. Doing so meant that I rode probably 85% of the ride, totally on my own. 

One of the main goals for me in this race was to "learn about the pro race" and that meant riding with the group. I was bummed to realize ten minutes into the ride that I would miss that lesson. Back onto the Queen K I just tried to get into a zone and ride it. I hoped maybe the front group would split and I could catch the back half of it, but that was not to be. Then I narrowly avoided yet another nutrition disaster. I went to take a pull off my fuel bottle and the top popped off. Gel went all over me and my bike but I stayed upright and ust had to slow down and screw the cap back on. I was a sticky mess however, and at nearly every aid station from then on I was taking a literal shower.

For some portion of the climb to Hawi I had company, but after Special Needs I was back on my own. The final 15mi of the ride proved to be the toughest for me, with energy and power tumbling. I was again content to stop the clock at 4:45.

Run:
The last time I raced here in 2009 I went out way too fast. So my goal was to be conservative and just try and hold 6:50s for the run. Once I got rolling I checked my Garmin and it told me I was running 8:50s. I knew this was off and this is why I find it so hard to run according to the "current pace" function on the Garmin. So I held the same tempo until the first mile split came up a 6:25. I knew I needed to slow down.

All the way out to the turn my mile splits kept climbing but stayed under the 6:55 mark. I was on track. Shortly after the turn around on Alli'i I began to feel very bloated and got some "slosh-belly."  I decided to take in pretty much only water from mile 6 back to the base of Palani in the hopes of clearing it out. This was a very rough section of the course for me.

Once I hit the top of Palani and got the breeze in my face my stomach was feeling better, but the 5-6 miles of running without any calories began to take its toll. My energy was waning and I knew I had to start taking on fuel again. I chose not to make use of the pro fluids tables this year as it was totally foreign to me. I did run with a Fuel Belt however and was happy I did as it allowed me to slowly take in calories rather than trying to down as much as I could at each aid station. Right around Kona Mountain Coffee I caught my second wind and I began to feel better but the splits weren't falling all that much. Into the Energy Lab I saw that there were several guys within my reach and I knew if I held it together I could pick up a few spots. The heat on the course was getting to me, and staying as cool as possible became a big objective. Once out of the lab I tried to simply let my legs go and concentrated on keeping the cadence high. I slowed to a walk at several aid stations in order to get ice and fluids. I knew this would cost me the sub 3 hour run split I was shooting for, but thought not doing so might leave me in dire straights.

 I had been chasing Matt Reed since coming out of the Energy Lab but it was at the bottom of "Mark & Dave Hill" that I really began to push to catch him. I ran the hill hard, flirting with blowing up and rounded the corner onto Palani with Matt only a few meters up. Letting my legs roll down the hill hurt, but I didn't know if Matt would come with me or not and I didn't want to find myself in a duel. Once I made the turn I saw the gap had formed and was slightly relieved but that was short lived. Jan Rafel was in sight and a friend yelled to me that the gap to him was 8 seconds.

I didn't know what place I was in, I knew there was no money in it, but I just didn't want to get beat by 8 seconds. So again I pushed hard, with "pins n needles" I passed Jan at the turn just before Alli'i Drive and kept running hard, again fearing he would come with me. It wasn't until I hit the carpet that I allowed myself to look back and see where Jan was. To my great relief, there was a gap, and I allowed myself to relax a bit. I hadn't worn a watch with total time for the race and really had no idea what it was. I looked up as I approached the line and saw 8:48 n change on the clock. I was happy. Not so much with the time, but just to be done and to be crossing the most hallowed finish line in our sport. Not much compares to crossing the line here in Kona. The feeling is electric to say the least.

I stayed away from putting a time goal on this race. I wanted to simply put together 3 solid efforts, and learn from the day. I wanted to swim with the 1st group, I wanted to ride in the mix, and I wanted to run sub 3. I fell short of each of these goals, however, I wasn't far off and for the first time this season, I feel I finally put together 3 "decent" performances and thus, I am again content with the day on the whole. There is work to be done, and much progress to be made, but at least I am seeing the signs.

I need to send out a big "Mahalo" to all those who supported me leading up to, and on race day. The crowd support at this race is like no other, but to have so many people shouting my name was simply incredible. And to all those who offered words of encouragement or congratulations through text, e-mail, twitter and facebook, Thank You all very much. If I didn't get back to you individually, please know that I did get your message and it was appreciated greatly. Time and again I am humbled by the support that people have offered, and this race was no exception. It means a great deal to me and I thank you for it.

I also need to thank my incredible sponsors and supporters, some of whom went above and beyond for this race.

Zoot : Being a part of the Zoot family is truly incredible. The gear is incredible, but the family and support is second to none. Having you guys out on the course going nuts was awesome and I can't thank you enough.

Specialized: My Shiv TT was great. Darth Vader ran without flaw all day.  An incredible bike aside, I had a few issues when my poor tubular gluing skills came to light and I am confident my day would have gone much differently if it wasn't for the amazing help I got pre race from the Specialized mechanics. Thanks Jeff, I still owe you big time. This kind of support is priceless.

Reynolds: The 81s performed flawlessly and were a stellar choice. Having the freedom to pick a wheel and run with it is a great confidence builder going into the race and I thank you for making a great product and standing behind the performance capabilities of every wheel you produce.

PowerBar: Of the nearly roughly 3,500 calories that I consumed on race day, I would say 2500 of those came from PowerBar products. Gels, gel blasts, Perform, and bars, they all went down easy and fueled the fire allowing me to keep at it into the late stages of the day.

TriSports.com: Getting to Kona prepared and healthy is half the battle. The service and expediency thereof that you provide is a valuable asset in training for the day. I don't think it could get any easier, and that is a HUGE bonus.

Palos Verdes Bicycle Center: Knowing you guys have my equipment dialed in and ready to roll takes a heap of a headache off my plate and is a great help that I appreciate to no end. Its great to work with such great people.

I also need to thank Brian from PBN Nutrition for spending a good deal of time helping me dial in my nutrition plan. Knowing that I wasn't just "winging it" and that my calories and electrolyte plan had been expertly designed gave me confidence and let me not worry about it on race day.

Exciting Stuff

I am sure all of you are aware, but it has been a big week full of exciting news. The new iPhone 4S was debuted!!

On a side note, the triathlon world is "Full Throttle" right now with the Ironman World Championships taking place this Saturday on the Big Island of Hawaii. I was fortunate enough to secure a spot and will be sporting bib # 47 on Saturday, taking it for a 140.6 mile tour around the waters, roads and lava fields of Kona.

I arrived Saturday after a quick stint back home and have been blessed with some great friends who have allowed me to set up camp at their Hawaiian home.

The island has its usual spectacular sights, sounds, smells and tastes, but somehow, Ironman just seems to add a surge of electricity to the place that makes it that much more invigorating. I have been pleased with my training and preparation and minus a few small hiccups, my stay here so far has been perfect.

I really cannot put into words how excited I am to line up and race this course again on Saturday. The usual press and media explosion surrounding Kona has been elevated to a new level this year with the new points system and reduction in pro slots. Adding only further fuel to the fire was the unveiling of the "Shiv Tri" by my sponsor Specialized. The bike is INSANE and it was announced on Tuesday that it will be under one of the greatest in the game, heavy favorite, Craig Alexander, on race day. I will not be aboard the new Specialized triathlon flagship, but could not be happier with the way my ShivTT has come together and how the bike has performed in training. Darth Vader will be breaking in his racing wings on Saturday and I am confident they will fly strong.

On that note I would like to take a moment to thank all my sponsors who, quite simply, have made my being here possible. I have been getting a few questions re my race set up, equipment, nutrition, etc... and I thought it would be good to detail it out here, so that you all can see and if interested, ask any questions.

Swim: I will be swimming in the Zoot SpeedZoot and the Blue70 Hydra Vision goggles.

Bike: I will be riding a Specialized ShivTT (small), equipped with SRAM Red components, A Quarq powermeter running through a Garmin 500 Edge computer, ISM Breakaway saddle, Shimano Dura Ace pedals and Reynolds 81 wheels with Specialized S-Works tubular tires. I will run 2 bottle cages, one up front between the bars, one on the down tube.

Run: I will be running in Zoot Active compression socks and the TT 4.0 shoes.

Nutrition: My day will be fueled almost exclusively by PowerBar products. On the bike I will take in Strawberry/Banana gels, a peanut butter PowerBar and Red Bull at special needs, and PowerBar Perform at aid stations.  On the run I will carry PowerBar Berry Blast gels mixed with water and Red Bull in the new Fuel Belt Revenge 2 bottle belt.

Again, a HUGE "THANK YOU" to all my sponsors and supporters for all the help and support. I'll give it my all on Saturday, knowing I have no excuses.

Cheers & Aloha,

Ian

Branson 70.3 Race Report

Sorry folks but my fan club President, VP, Treasurer, and Historian (aka "Mom") was not able to make it to Branson last weekend so I have no photos from the race. I know, slacking on the job right? But it was only the second race she has missed in my career so I will cut her some slack.

I hope the tedium of this un-illustrated version is bearable. Without further ado:

Swim: 25:33
It was a small field of male pros and with Guy Crawford present, he was the marked man. I tried to get on his feet after the beach start (I hate those btw) and was successful in doing so. Soon Ben appeared at my side and I thought we both had made it. Unfortunately, something went awry and I simply had to slow down. I couldn't get my breath and I had to let go. Matt Lieto passed me as did another guy but my lungs were still in panic mode and I couldn't respond. A few back strokes, and Matt had gapped me by about 15 meters. I decided at that point not to be concerned with catching anyone and to just get into a rhythm. I did, I was able to bridge back up to Matt, pass him, and ended up closing back up to Ben and Guy and only losing 30 seconds or so.

Bike: 2:36
The bane of my season has been the bike. This race was no different. No excuses, no whining, no BS. I rode terribly. There is really nothing to say. It was so lame that it lacked any eventful content to retell here. 12mins lost to Matt and Ben. Pathetic.

Run: 1:19:07
I came off the bike not knowing what the gap was, but knowing it was BIG.  So I put it in my mind to just run hard and see what happened. At least get in a good hard run as Kona training. Good news is, my legs showed up for the party and I was able to make up some ground. On the 3rd and final lap I saw I had brought the gap down to Karl. In fact I was told he was 2 minutes up on me with about 3 miles to go. I figured I might have a chance, and had no reason not to risk blowing a gasket trying. In the end I just ran out of Branson river front walkway. I brought it down to 20secs but Karl hit the finish chute about 75m ahead of me. Another 4th. Another missed podium. Nobody said it would be easy.

Thanks to all of you who have supported me, offered encouragement and words of congrats.

Huge Thank Yous to:

Zoot for making awesome products like the Prophet wetsuit that allowed me to make up ground after a brief fiasco, and the TT 4.0s, which I can't say enough about. An incredible shoe.

Specialized for making a great bike even if I haven't done it justice. And PVBC for keeping it running in top shape.

Reynolds for providing me with some of the best training and race wheels I could ever hope to ride.

PowerBar for providing training fuel to get through the long days, and race fuel to give me the power to push myself to a half marathon PR even after swimming and riding.

TriSports.com for being the reliable, speedy people you are and providing all the gear I need at the click of a mouse.

A "Thank You" and big props also go to the Branson 70.3 race crew. Ryan Robinson, Tom Ziebart and the whole crew worked their asses off in some of the toughest conditions I have ever witnessed and the race came off without a hitch. The rain, lightening, wind and thunder was relentless, but so was your drive and commitment to an A+ event. A top notch event it was. From a top notch crew. Well done. Well. Done. 

I am back in Boulder now. Putting in the last little bit of work before I head off to Kona. I am excited, especially since I will hit the Queen K on this Bad Boy.

His name is Darth Vader

Ohh, and a big thanks to all of you who participated in the contest. Sadly one of the slowest time guesses won. Maybe I will have to do another one for Kona and fix that ;-)

High Country Update & a Contest

With time, came a little adaptation, and I am happy to say some improved performance in training. Physiological familiarity with the environment proved to be a big kick in the pants. I wouldn't say I am "crushing it" up here, not by any means, but I have found myself able to access that next gear that had been missing the first couple weeks.

The beauty of this land continues to amaze me and I find myself in awe of the Rockies' grandeur on nearly every ride.

The off-mountain routes do not lack aesthetic appeal either.

Aside from all the "sightseeing" the mountains do offer their challenges and I have found myself gasping for sweet, sweet oxygen on many a day when the altimeter begins to roll.

Taking TriSports.com up high. 

Being a California kid, Los Angeles at that, the closest thing I got to small mountain towns was Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Mammoth. Up here, the seclusion offered by the expansiveness of the Rockies, and the apparent allure thereof, has given birth to some funky little mountain towns. I have not seen many, but those I have, are quite unique.

Outside the "general store" in Ward, CO

I have been here now for four weeks, and six have passed since Ironman Lake Placid. A little break after Placid was good for the mind and the body. Getting back into some good, consistent and focused training was equally so. And I find myself excited to race again. Watching all the recent racing has only added further fuel to the fire. So this weekend I head off to Branson, Missouri, to race a challenging 70.3 and see where my fitness lies after this Boulder campaign.

With this race approaching, and as I have never raced this course before, I figured now would be a great opportunity to put out a little reward to those of you who have poured through some of the senseless drivel I put forth herein. So I have a little contest in mind: Respond via comment on this post with your guess (H:MM:SS) as to my finishing time at Branson 70.3 this Sunday. Closest, without going over, wins!  (Ex: if Carl Jr. guesses 4:08:27 and Jimmy John, 4:21:42 and my finish time is 4:18: 09, then although closer, Jimmy John would be left to his sandwiches as he went over, and Carl Jr. would have his burgers and his winnings.)

"Carl wins what?" you ask... Well, thanks to the generous support of my sponsor Zoot, there are a few prizes available.
Carl would have his choice of the following:
1. one of my race kits from this season (unworn of course) Med jersey, Med shorts
2. This awesome Zoot race/training backpack
3. A Zoot visor, number belt, and water bottle combo.

So guess away. And make em good.

Cheers,

Ian