Ironman Lake Tahoe - Sept 22nd 2013

Sleeting, not raining, day before race

Swim 53:32
T1 11:10
Bike 7:07:35 (3:32/3:35)
T2 6:44
Run 5:34:32
Total  13:53:32

Top 3 things about Ironman Tahoe 2013

#3 No need for cold sponges on the run;
#2 Seeing Coach Hillary running out of breath as she ran next to me at the top of Brockway Summit--I made her run a long way with me; and,
#1 The Trophy Wife Johnna putting in at least 10 miles on crutches during the day

How did we get to IM Tahoe?

As Joey said, "Could I be wearing any more clothes?"

Well, this wasn't a race I would typically sign up for.  EN Coach Rich Strauss always warned me about first year races.  That was the reason I didn't do NYC.  When Trophy Wife signed up to race with her childhood friend Steph Parker Russell, it's not like I could sit there and spectate--I had to race too.  So, I signed up, thinking there would be mutual suffering.  Well, I  suffered for two on the course, and Johnna has had to suffer through two collar bone surgeries since March and a stress fracture in the lower leg which happened who knows when.  So, I got the last laugh on suffering.


Pre Race

My pre race week before an Ironman has never gone better.  Despite the sudden turn in weather conditions (I'll get to that later), my taper went awesome, as I felt stronger and more ready each day in the last 7 days leading up to Race Day.  In addition, I was sleeping great each night, our travel went easy up to Tahoe (drove to Sacramento on Thursday afternoon, spent the night and then got up to Tahoe friday morning to register and relax).  I was getting a bit nervous before the race, probably more so than any other IM, and it was definitely caused by my Nemesis -- The COLD (Do you know what Nemesis means?--Bricktop).   When I was an age group swimmer, I had the worst experiences racing 1500s at 10pm on friday nights of swim meet weekends.  COLD means SLOW for Barry.  But hey, I prepared for this and I felt I had the proper fueling plan and clothing plan as guided by Coach Hillary.    Had a nice dinner at the hotel the night before the race at 545p, was in bed by 9, and actually slept--something I had not done well in my past couple of races. I woke up at 3:15am, ate about 900 calories of stuff that sits really well for me, and then we headed to Kings Beach around 445am.  I got my bottles situated, put a couple of extra pieces of clothing in my bike transition bag, and thought I had made sure my bike wasn't totally frozen.  It snowed and rained in the night, and temperatures on the beach that morning were in the high 20s. 

The Weather

COLD means an average of 46 degrees (per my Garmin) during my bike ride with the first hour in the low 30s and the first 3 hours no warmer than 40.  The sand on the beach was crunching underfoot with ice, and there was a nice morning steam coming off the lake.  The lake water was about 63 degrees, give or take, and at least it wasn't windy.  During the run, while it was light, it might have been in the low 50s and actually felt a bit warmer as my long run went on and on.  If it had been windy and raining, I think the drop out rate would have gone from 20% to 30% or more.

The Race

My nerves were pretty calm prior to the start, and Trophy Wife and I sat in the event center where it was warm until the last minute. 

On the swim, I lined up in the front to start at 6:40 am.  The plan was to go hard and stay in or lead the lead group.  Plan worked, but after 400 meters, my legs were out of oxygen due to the elevation (or from being sick this summer), so I backed off a bit for the first lap and stayed at the back of the lead pack of 8 or so swimmers.  The water wasn't bad, way warmer than IMCDA where the lake there takes your breath away and gives you a hell of a shock.  I started feeling normal again at the end of the 1st lap, teamed up with one other guy and we picked up the pace for the 2nd lap.  The water is so clear you can see at least 10 feet around you so it's easy to avoid slower swimmers and very easy to stay on my newfound buddy's feet.  The second lap went by so much faster than the first and before I knew it, I was swimming in 12 inches of water and had to stand up to run the last 25 meters up and out of the water.  Swim time 53:32 (which I didn't know at the time cause I forgot to start my watch--Hillary would later tell me my swim split up on Brockway.

T1 was 11 minutes and I dried off, completely changed, and then put on new shorts, a singlet, a bike jersey, a vest, arm warmers, a windbreaker, a beanie, wool socks, leg warmers and gloves. Pulling up zippers on the vest and jacket proved challenging given it was dark in the tent and I couldn't feel my fingers.   That's a lot of clothes and I needed them all.  Luckily my legs were never cold but my feet didn't thaw out till almost mile 50.

On the bike, the plan was to hydrate and consume extra calories to ward off the cold.  On the bike, I took in at least 1600 calories of Infinit, 1200 calories of EFS gel, and a couple water bottles and an Ironman Perform, over 7 bottles of liquid total and close to 3000 calories.  Most ever I drank or consumed in an ironman.  I never felt hungry or craved anything more which was a nice feeling for once.  I peed 4 times which probably added 10-12 minutes to my bike; sorry but there was no way in that cold I was going to pee on myself and get frostbite on my bits.  I used the porta johns at the aid stations, and there was always a volunteer to hold your bike--totally worth stopping for! Yes, I know, it's a friggin race.

Bike split was 7:07 including stops, which was within 15 minutes of where I thought I'd be in nicer conditions.  I was glad to get off the bike, but I felt good.  My legs felt like they worked hard but weren't destroyed.  Over 7200 ft of climbing with 4 major climbs and 3 minor climbs.  Two loop course from the swim plus another 15 miles to T2 in Squaw Valley.

In T2, I had a lot to strip off to get ready for the run.  My chest was feeling tight, and I thought it might be my singlet so I took that off and put on a running tshirt to keep my shoulders warm plus arm warmers and a hat.  In t2 there were two guys sitting there just staring into the void--they looked like they had been there for an hour and they weren't going anywhere--now I know what a zombie looks like. 

The run didn't go as planned.  The altitude and lingering effects of pneumonia from July just kept me too oxygen deprived.  My legs felt f'g great and strong, I could run but not fast or very far without having to walk, cough and catch my breath.  I was bumming out a bit, but I was honestly really enjoying the race and the experience, because fitness-wise, I had never felt better.  I had no GI issues the entire race for the first time, I wasn't ever feeling bonky or hungry, I peed once on the run, I drank a at every aid station and was religious about taking a gel every 30 minutes or sooner.  At mile 18, I saw the Trophy Wife and she gave me a hit off the inhaler I had gotten just in case--I actually felt a bit better those last 8 miles and it was a bit strange as the air felt warmer--I probably should have done that earlier, but I've never used one before, and thus didn't want to try new things on race day.  I finished in 13:53 which was 90 minutes off where I thought I could come in.  I was happy I beat my virgin triathlon/ironman/marathon first race in 2006 in CDA when I went a whopping 14:00 on a far easier course with far better weather. 

The next day it was 70 degrees and warm.  It figures.

Johnna and Steph Parker Russell at post race party

Post race had a lot of fun spending another day and getting together with old friends.

Oceanside 70.3 Race Report

Not posing.  Seriously.  And those aren't my abs.

      Getting older equals getting faster?  I'd always rather be younger, but I'll take faster.  First triathlon of the 2013 season was on saturday down at Oceanside.  This would be my 4th time doing this race, and my best time on the course was 5:18 back in 2010.  Some people hate this race because you train in winter and the water is on the cold side.  Racers don't realize that Ironmans held in lakes are rarely above 60 degrees.    I like this race, as it forces winter training compliance (check out my time from 2011, when I didn't comply!), and it's the only IM race that is actually local to So Cal. 

    Coach Hillary put together a December marathon plan to recover and then prepare for Oceanside, Eagleman, Vineman, and then IM Tahoe in September.   Woke up at 4:15am and noticed it was pretty nice out.  Not cold, and little to no breeze.  Ate about 500 calories, and we headed to the start around 5:30.
 
     Swim--Went off in the 12th wave, which was the 2nd group of my age group.  Water was 62 and totally flat.  When the gun went off, I just took off and didn't look back.  Coach had me doing some very specific swim training which totally paid off when I put that wetsuit on.  Ballz out all the way and tried push hard through the whole swim course.    The swim course was fast this year.  No waves even out of the harbor.   23:09 (1:13s)  PR HIM swim by 2 minutes. 

Smiling after a good swim

     Bike--Bike started out great and went great the whole way.  Legs felt fantastic.  Power was right in line as I focused on a strong controlled ride through the first 28 miles (1:18 at the half way point). The hills start at mile 29 and end at 42.   I cruised through the hills, staying in the aerobars most of the time, trying not to spike the watts.  First time on the bike that I felt I was controlling and racing the course instead of the course riding me into the ground.  Such a great feeling, which had me psyched for the last 14 miles.  I hammered (my level of hammer anyway) the last 14 miles but in a good way.  I rolled into T2 feeling great.  2:45 ride.  Power was right on my pre-race target, although I was not a slave to power, and only looked a few times.   Came off the bike in 10th in my AG--first time I've been up that high in an HIM or IM race.  It was cool to see so few bikes in rack area.  Thanks to Wheelbuilder Richie for installing and procuring my new aerobars.  They are awesome and soooo comfortable.

   Run -- Came out of T2 downing a gel.  Overall time was 3:15 as I exited T2, so I knew that I had to run a 1:44 to break 5 hours.  Felt it was totally doable.  First mile was 8:04.  Legs felt great right away, and I felt good right off the bike.  The course is kind of strange, and had I realized it, I would have started a little faster, as there are some slow sections, the first 2 miles and then miles 7-8. Narrow, weird turns up and down hills, which I found distracting.   In some sections it was challenging to pass and go around people.  Not sure why they have that out and back so narrow.  Was running easy through 6.  Felt a little slower and then tried to pick it up at mile 9 with 4 miles to go.  Took in a gel 40min in, 1:10 in and 1:30.  Splits were 8:04, 7:58, 7:48, 7:59, 7:56, 8:00, 8:16, 8:27, 8:15, 8:11, 8:43, 8:46, 7:42).  1:46:02

   

    5:02:09 -- Finished 11th, less than a minute out of the top 10 in what is usually a pretty fast race.  Course PR of 16 minutes and an 8 minute HIM PR time.  We hung around for the awards --Andy Potts gave a good winner's speech.  Then drove home in the ridiculous pre Easter traffic.  Almost 3 hours.

     Thanks to Coach Hillary for the PR, and thanks to Johnna for sherpa-ing the race in her sling, and thanks to Johnna's brother Tom and her mom Kathy for getting up so early to watch me race.   Happy Easter!

Uh oh...PASSING ON YOUR LEFT....Oh Crap

     The wife and I were out for a cruisey 80 miles on the TT bikes on the bike path, and 15 miles in, there was a crash.  I know you're going to ask, "is the bike okay?"  Yes it is.  Not a scratch.  But the wife's collarbone?  SNAP.  Not good.
      Some runner, whom she warned at least 3 times, just turned direction right into her, and over the bars she went.  I was about 2 minutes ahead, and I was stopping at the damn to regroup.  As I soft pedaled, I heard this guy yelling, and I knew for some reason, he was yelling at me.  He was totally out of breath when he caught up to me, "Your wife broke her collarbone back there."  I TT'd like a madman back to her, where I found her walking, holding her shoulder and a good Samaritan was walking her bike trying to convince her to get off the bike trail and go up to the gas station a couple hundred yards away.  As I pulled up, she told me to go on and ride. Definitely not thinking straight at that point.  We walked up to the gas station which was a pretty good intersection where someone could find us easily.
     I was definitely a bit flustered and it took me 30 seconds (seemed like minutes) to call 911.  I got someone right away, and the paramedics were there in under 3 minutes.  Amazing.  Interesting set of questions from the 911 operator.  Probably about 30 and it wasn't till question 29 till she asked me if  Johnna had any severed body parts!  I would think that question would be higher on the list, like 3 or 4 after "is she breathing" and "is she conscious'!  I'm not complaining at all, I just thought it was funny.   I was incredibly impressed with how fast the paramedics showed up, got her stabilized and when the ambulance appeared,  helped her onto the gurney. 

     The ambulance took her to Beverly, and trusted Haroon quit his ride 30 miles away, and got in his car and picked me and the bikes up.  We headed over to the hospital where they were taking great care of her.  We were home by 12:30 and the crash happened around 8:30am.  So, we hit the emergency room at a not so busy time!

      We got her to our trusted Orthopaedic Dr. Adamson at Congress Medical on monday after a pretty miserable saturday and sunday of unrelenting discomfort.  He opened a spot for her to have her surgery on tuesday.  He told us at the consult, that 50% of the time, people just let it heal with no surgery.  I thought it was pretty bad, and when he opened her up, he agreed--she definitely needed the surgery.  It was ready to bust through the skin.  Ouch.

    This picture was taken on April 2nd.  Exactly 4 weeks after the surgery.  A plate and 8 screws.  Your can count 7, and one is hidden as it is going horizontal into the bone.

     Johnna was riding the trainer after about a week for 30-60 minutes.  And after another week started adding some stairmaster sessions.  She now has the clear to swim--breaststroke only--and is allowed to ride the trainer or do the gauntlet.  No treadmill and no running.  Falling down BAD.  In another month, she should be ready for some treadmill running and maybe some actual biking on the safe streets.

Huge bummer.  Johnna was superfit and honing in on Oceanside 70.3.  Still plenty of time for Vineman 70.3 in July and Ironman Tahoe in September. 

     The silver lining on this one is two fold--she didn't hit her head, and she didn't hurt her face or teeth, and in addition, had little if no road rash.  That computrainer is gonna get some good use in the next 2 months.

Pasadena Rock n Roll Half Marathon

     Was sitting around on saturday afternoon on the couch watching alpine skiing thinking of my route for my 90 minute tempo build run on sunday morning to be followed up by a 5400 yd swim set, when it dawned on me that I should run the RnR Half Marathon in my backyard.  It was 4:15 in the afternoon.  I pinged Jesse for his opinion--he said DBAP.  I went online, and the website said the expo closed at 5pm.  I was there and parked by 4:45--good thing I live close.  Got signed up.  I figured why not run a little harder, get a little free catering during my run, etc, etc. 
     On saturday morning Johnna and I did a nice 5 hr ride with 7,000 ft of climbing including a trek through the slush on Mt Wilson.  I knew my legs would not be fresh for a fast time, but my run training has been going great, so why not put in a fast effort.  Worst case, I'd slow in the final miles.
    Got up at 6:15, had a yogurt and a banana and a gatorade.  Johnna dropped me off at 7:00am -- as I was getting out of the car, we noticed this woman get out of a car in front of us.  She jumped to the curb--more like a hop--pulled out a cigarette and lit up.  I guess that's called lung strength training.  Run 13 miles on half lung capacity.  You can't fix stupid.
      I headed to the start, got my warm up in.  I saw Chaney and Ku, but no PTC Peeps.  They were all camped in corral 1 I guess.  I got relegated to Corral 4--what a mistake.  I ran an extra .2 miles zig zagging my way through the first 2 miles. 
     In the first mile, I had a demon pop up on my shoulder and say, "Hey dude, your legs don't feel too fresh do they?"  I basically told him to f off, and told myself to ignore that crap and just run.  Didn't see that demon for the rest of the day. 
    Started strong despite  the meandering crowd in front of me. It's amazing how many people can't run straight.  Where was Marvin when I needed him?  Course was cool.  Lots of little hills.  Ran strong.  Came in at 1:41:19, about 50 seconds off my PR at RnR LA Half in October.    Got to the finish--didn't see any of the PCT Peeps or the wonderwoman trailer.  Bummer. 
     Johnna picked me up after her swim--not running due to torn calf muscle--will be upgraded to eligible very soon.  We hit Panera, took a nap, and then headed back to the RBAC for that 5400 yd set.   Luckily it was mostly pull...
     Would definitely do this race again.   Sub 1:40 next time I run a half.

Year of Barry not going to end...

     Thanks to the lovely Trophy Wife Johnna for a great "Year of Barry."  I'm pushing for this year to have 1080 days...
    Turned 51 today, and they decided to have the Super Bowl on my special day.  We had dinner with Pam and Erich at Sushi Roku the night before.  This morning, got up ran a great tempo descending 11 mile run and swam 5400 yards in the hot pool.
    We joked all year it was the Year of Barry--I can't complain, here are the highlights:

   December 2011 (appetizer for Year of Barry) - USC Trojans win 4th National Championship (Jack's third) and he played unbelievable defense.
    January 2012 - Got married to Trophy Wife Johnna
    February 2012 - Turned 50.  Rode 100 miles that day and came home to a smashing surprise birthday.  Even Connor made it back from Jacksonville for the celebration.  Awesome.
    March 2012 - Ironman New Zealand.  Johnna and I headed to New Zealand to race an Ironman and see my relatives.  Fantastic 2 week trip.
     June 2012 - LA Kings win the Stanley Cup.
     July 2012 - New dedication to triathlon training.  New regimen, new focus, new goals, new Coach.
     August 2012 - Took Brandon and Christian (and John and Larisa) fly fishing in Montana.
     October 2012 - Vacationed in Kona Hawaii and spectated at the Ironman World Championship.  Awesome trip.  
     December 2012 -  USC Trojans win 5th National Championship in a row in a nail biter against UCLA 11-10.  Took lead with :40 to go in game.  Unbelievable.
     December 2012 - A week later, PR'd at Tucson Marathon.
     January 2013 - Jordan Corke's trip to the US and visit to YNP.

Awesome year so far, and here's to keeping it going...
   

Going Postal - in the pool

     Every January, US Masters does a virtual race for distance - swim as far as you can in 60 minutes.  Well, we decided to put that in the program for this week, only because it's birthday week.   Yesterday, 51x100s was on the list.  This provided a nice warm up for today's Postal Swim.  For so cal dwellers, we are having so low temps at night.  It was 39 degrees on the pool deck this morning, and our Master's Coach wondered what I was doing there--to go postal, that's what.  Anyway, he recruited an age grouper to take my splits, and off we went at 6:30. 
     Felt very good the whole way.  Split the lane with fellow master's swimmer Cheryl who also was looking strong.  My goal was 4800 yards.  My PR from 2004 (pre triathlon days) was 5,115 yds.  I figure 8 years older means I get to be a little slower.  Pretty much even split the entire swim, and managed to rake in 4900 yards in 60 minutes and 5 seconds.   The 5 seconds basically takes it to a 4875 official distance. 
    By the 1,000s -- 12:12, 12:11, 12:14, 12:23
    By the 500s -- 6:07, 6:07, 6:04, 6:07, 6:06, 6:08, 6:11, 6:12, 6:12 and a 4:52 500.
    By the 1650s -- 20:07 20:13 and a 19:45 for 1,600

     One notable split was the IM distance of 4200 yards (4,155 yds officially) of 51:29.  Swim training for Oceanside and the rest of 2013 on track!

Winter Tour in Yellowstone National Park

     During Jordan's trip to the US from New Zealand, we headed to Big Sky, Montana for a week of skiing and snowboarding.  We took a one day break from that action, and took a winter tour of Yellowstone National Park.  We got down to West Yellowstone around 9:00am.  At our house, 45 miles north, the temperature was +5 degrees Farenheit.  As we drove to West, it got steadily colder and colder.  Minus 22 when we arrived.  Yes, Minus 22.  That snow coach better be heated.

 Here is our snow coach from the 1950s.  The plan was to head into the park along the Madison River, tour some of the hot springs, have lunch at Old Faithful and then head back to West.  Our Tour Guide - Joe Moore owner of Big Sky Anglers http://bigskyanglers.com/fishing_report/
By winter he is the a top rated professional fishing guide, and in the winter, he does the YNP snow coach tour thing.  His lovely wife Molly, when not running Marathons, is a Park Ranger.

Good old Johnna hamming it up at the Artist's Paint Pots.

 At three thousand pounds, try to imagine millions of Bison or Buffalo roaming the plains.  When they cranked it up, it must have sounded like an earthquake.

 Shot of Jordan at Old Faithful. 

 One of three bald eagles we saw in the park that day.  To keep warm they fluff out their feathers and thus appear larger than they actually are.  Their eyesight is amazing, they can focus on a fish in the water from hundreds of yards away.  Their evolution has resulted in the ability to see many more shades of blue than the human eye.

We stopped in the late afternoon in the Firehole Canyon.  The trees get seriously frosted from the steam coming off the river, the Firehole, which is sourced from springs where the water being dumped into the river is over 200 degrees.  It answered the question, how can those geese float along in the Madison when its -22 outside?  Well, the Madison at the point in the river is probably in the 50s and probably feels fine for them.  Anything under 88 is too cold for me.

This tree has been naturally flocked from the never ending steam from the hot spring.

The highlight of this amazing trip was this Red Fox that Johnna spotted as we were driving along the Madison River.  It was on the hunt.  Check out that tail.