The Angeles Crest 100 - A late blog post, but had to call out Sue and Nicole.

     If you've been around the Pasadena Tri Club or Pasadena running scene the past 10 years, you probably know Nicole Luque and Sue Owen-McCollum.  Both were doing some Tris a few years back.  I raced with Nicole at IM Couer d'alene in 2007 or 2008 and Sue at Vineman in those same years.  Both were great runners.  I remember Nicole passing me around Mile 18 or so of the marathon looking fresh as a daisy.  I could let it bother me, but what's the point--my only solace is that they're younger than me, and as I found out this weekend, way friggin tougher than me. 

     But first, let's go back to August 2015.  The Trophy Wife was invited to help out a crew for the Angeles Crest 100.  The AC 100 is a brutal course set in the dry desert mountains starting in Wrightwood and finishing at Loma Alta Park in Altadena.  21,000 ft of gain.  Twenty One Thousand feet of Gain.  The race has been around a long time as there is no shortage of crazy people who like to do that sh!t.   I tagged along with TW to help out Sue's husband Greg at some of the aid stations stops.  I was really intrigued about seeing what people look like when they have to run through the night.   

     I know it's a long time since August, but I got lazy with my blogging.   Work has been all consuming these past 12 months, but I thought I would wait until after I did my first 50M ultra attempt.  Well, I did that this past weekend at the Sean O'Brien 50/50.  sob5050.com  Totally right website Son of a Beeyatch of a course.  50 miles, 11,000 feet of gain.  I fell apart at mile 27 and got yanked at mile 30.4 after 7,500 ft of gain.  I could barely walk down hill, let alone run.  Great learning experience, and now I know I never would want to get to mile 50 and keep going through the night for another 50.  I'm a strange person, but I'm not crazy.  

    So, you don't want me to hog the conversation, so I jotted down some questions for Nicole and Sue, and here's what they said.

     Nicole 43rd overall, 8th female, 29hrs 09min 09seconds
     Sue 98th overall, 21st female  32hrs 43min 12 sec

Note:  Nicole and Sue both did Sean O'Brien 50 miler in prep.  Nicole was first female and 12th overall in 9:43:59, and Sue was 10th female and 47th overall at 11:50:08.

I am super impressed with these two, and good luck to Nicole in the Western States this year.  An iconic race with a lot of history.  I'm going to watch tv that day, all day and maybe try to stay up all night.
1) Thinking back, how long have you wanted to do the AC100?
Nicole:  I first started thinking about it 5 years ago when I paced a friend at the race, thought about it seriously last year when I paced someone else, and then signed up the next day.
Sue: Probably since hearing about it back in 2005/6, having moved to Pasadena and started running with people in the area who told me about the race.

2) This was your first 100 miler, right?
Nicole and Sue:  Yes and Yes

3) So, you signed up a year ago.  When did training really kick into gear?
Nicole: For me it was November, partly because my work was so busy up until then that I did not have time.  At that time I started training for the Sean O'Brien 50-miler in February, took it easy the rest of that month, and then kicked it into gear again in March.
Sue:  Training sort of started in October 2014, though was focused on training for Sean O'Brien 50 mile race in February 2015 (needed to qualify to start AC, and also good distance race to build up endurance. I hadn't done anything longer than a marathon for a few years.)   After Sean O'Brien, I trained on trails on the weekend (with eye towards AC), tried to work on some speed on roads for Boston Marathon during the week. Training for AC 100 really kicked in as was recovering from Boston Marathon -- late April, early May. That was when tried to run as much as possible in San Gabriels, and tried to cover all the sections of the course at least once. 


4) What races did you do in prep for the AC100 over the past year?
Nicole:  Sean O'Brien 50-miler was the only other race that I trained for
Sue: Sean O'Brien 50 mile (Feb) , (Boston Marathon - but that was sort of in spite of rather than in prep for AC), Whoo's in El Moro 50 km (May), Mt. Disappointment 50 km (July)

5) Tell me about your coach?  Normal?  Or Nuts like the people who’ve done 10 in a row?
Nicole:  I don't have a coach, but used the book Sue lent me by Byron Powell for a training plan.
Sue:  No official coach…  bought Hal Koerner's book and used his advice, training plan for AC 100.  Did train with the Coyotes, had Jimmy Dean Freeman, Kate Martini Freeman, Nicole Sedmak as coach for Sean O'Brien 50 -- learned a lot from Jimmy and Kate during that training that carried over to Angeles Crest 100 (Jimmy is nuts, Kate & Nicole are more normal but still a little nuts). Jimmy ran the 6 'original' 100 mile races last year, has run AC 4 times, so has a lot of experience and has a way of communicating that is funny, relatable, motivating.


6) As you look back on the race, what was your coach’s most valuable piece of advice?
Nicole:  Other people told me to not go out too fast (especially at the beginning going up Acorn and on the highest elevation part of the course at Baden Powell), and to stay on top of hydration and nutrition which can't be caught up on.  I followed that advice, and although I may have gone out a bit conservatively, it fits my racing style (normally negative split with shorter distances), and I felt good throughout (except for my feet!).
Sue:  From Jimmy - mental training - during an ultra-run, don't think too far ahead or beat yourself up over mistakes made. Focus on what can you do right now, in this moment, to make your race better. (Usually that means remembering to eat or drink…or just not focusing on negative thoughts)   That, and Kate's ice bandana. That saved me Saturday and Sunday during the heat.

7) Who was in your support crew?
Nicole: My parents crewed me, and although I trained them ahead of time, I realized that I should have elaborated on a few things (ex. they only took out of the car what I had planned to eat at that point and nothing more - the reality is that I ended up wanting to eat slightly different things than I planned, and they would then have to go back to the car for food, first aid, clothes, etc. Crew normally have a variety of things at the ready).
Sue:  Greg, Johnna, You. :-) For pacers, Reg Willson and Margaret Srinivasan.


8) Would you do the race solo, i.e no support, no pacers, so you can sign up an hour earlier than everyone else?
Nicole:  No! I cannot imagine doing a race this difficult without some of the comforts that a crew provides, plus the boost of having friends pace me during the second half of the race when I was more tired.  I would also want pacers for safety reasons during the night - my pacer and I saw a bear when we were coming down from Newcombs, another person saw a mountain lion, and I read reports of people falling and injuring themselves.  The race is very spread out, and even before I picked up my first pacer at mile 52 I was running alone a lot.
Sue:  NO!

9) What was your biggest surprise during the race? 
Nicole: My biggest surprise was that despite feeling good (except for my feet) and always moving at a steady pace on uphills (and running flats or downhills), I still went slower than I expected.  The perceived effort during a 100-miler is very different than what I have had for shorter races.
Sue:  That I never felt an overwhelming need to sleep like I thought I would. This was even before using the caffeinated gum, which I was holding out on using since was afraid would re-upset my stomach. Finally used a piece I think around 3:30 or 4 am when was starting to feel a little fuzzy-headed and stomach had been fine for a while.  Was fine the rest of the race. Do not know how I did that.   That and craving for watermelon, fruit for entire second half of the race. I've never wanted to eat fruit during a race before…it was the only thing that really tasted good.

10) What did you enjoy most about the race?
Nicole:
a. The beauty of the course, especially the first half (which fortunately we see in daylight).
b. The supportive ultrarunner community and the many volunteers.
Sue:  The finish. :-)

11) What was the funniest thing you saw or did during the race?
Nicole: I have run in these areas many times (especially over the past year), and this is the first time that I have seen a bear.  I also saw a tarantula when coming down from Shortcut.
Sue:  Funniest thing I saw - crew shirt that spelled crew 'Cranky Runner Endless Waiting'  Funniest thing I did - I don't know but I did think it was funny when was talking to Sam Merrill aid station volunteers (second to last aid station), while trying to eat and realizing it was hot, and I was one of the last runners that would come through, I asked them how long they'd been there. Volunteer said "24 hours". I said something along the lines of "Geez. That's a long time. Thanks for being out here so long." Volunteers says "That's less time than you've been running." And I didn't say anything, probably had 'deer in the headlights' look because it hadn't occurred to me until he said that that I had been running for more than 24 hours… was so focused on getting to the next aid station before the cut-off, there was no time for that kind of math… that still strikes me as funny…

12)  What was your biggest surprise?
Nicole:  I had no problem going up and over Baden Powell, but then the next climb over Mt. Williamson (at a lower elevation) really got me.  Maybe I should have done more elevation training....who knows.

13) Did you get cranky with your crew?  Sue was the sweetest I’d ever seen her, didn’t have a care in the world when I saw her :-)
Nicole:  I admit that I snapped at my parents at Three Points, although I promptly apologized =). This was when they barely brought anything out from the car, including my chair!
Sue:  Yes - you missed it. First aid station - Greg didn't see me right away when I came in so I was looking for him (strike 1), then he wasn't seeing me waving frantically to get his attention while I stood in line for the bathroom (I wanted him to bring me a drink) (strike 2), then gave me 3 V-fuel gels and no PowerGel blasts when I'd told him I wanted to save the gels for later, have more PowerGel Blasts, real food in the early miles (strike 3). I was super cranky. And I was cranky at him in absentia for 3-4 miles on the trail after that… then I came around…realized I was being stupid and petty, and told myself to be MUCH nicer and patient with him at the next aid station…. I'm not a pro athlete for whom minutes matter. And getting worked up over the little stuff was just burning energy stupidly. Greg was spending his entire weekend tending to me during my race, had filled my hydration pack, had remembered to put my number on my pack, and if I'd had my head out of my ass, I would have remembered to blow my nose to clear my sinuses while waiting in line for the bathroom rather than getting mad at Greg. WTF. I needed to calm down…


14) One and done?  this race or something else?
Nicole: Right now I say one and done, but might change my mind later.  I have never run as much as I did in the past year (50-70 miles per week), and don't think that my body is cut out for that much running in the long-term.  I am looking forward to mixing it up with cycling and swimming again.  (Note:  Nicole punched her ticket for the Western States 100 this year--back to running 80 mile weeks for her!)
Sue:  One and done.

15) It’s tuesday post race—have you run or jogged yet?
Nicole:  No! I only started walking somewhat normal today, and doubt that I will do any sort of jogging until late next week (after swimming and biking first next week). I don't anticipate doing any sort of physical activity this week until my feet heal more.
Sue:  It's Wednesday a week and a half after the race and I haven't run or jogged yet… my feet were really beat up. Still a little achey and prone to swelling at end of the day.

16) What food did you fantasize about during the later parts of the race?
Nicole: Not many actually, because I did not have an appetite for solid food during most of the race - I did mostly liquids and gels, and a treat was Bundaberg ginger beer (I drank three of them during the race).
Sue:  Endless supply of watermelon.

17) When the race demon appeared on your shoulder and whispered in your ear, what was your counter move or what did you say?
Nicole:  I surprisingly didn't really have this issue, partly because my pacer Amelia was constantly telling me to eat/drink/run/move forward.
Sue:  That I wasn't trained/prepared for the course. The stomach problems were my own fault for not training enough at altitude, dialing in my nutrition. That it was okay to DNF… that was really 'what I deserved' since I wasn't fast enough or trained enough and I've always at trouble with altitude. What was I thinking signing up for Angeles Crest? My trail running peers during training runs, training races had included good people who had DNF'ed a couple of times trying to finish. It was okay.   Sometime between Mt. Hillyer and Chilao, that voice got shut down by the voice that said, screw this, I've spent so much time and effort getting ready for this race, I'm not throwing in the towel w/out a fight. I don't want to spend the next year or more explaining my DNF. And I don't want to f*cking have to train for this race again just to get a finish. I may not make one of the cut-offs, but I'm not dropping and I'm going to do my best to make each cut-off. From then on, I felt much better attitude-wise.   I think I just got tired of feeling sorry for myself. Plus, my stomach felt better, I saw others being positive despite their problems, and the sun was going down - was a beautiful sunset and was having fun again on the trails.

18) What was your finisher treat that evening?
Nicole:  Panda Express with my parents - we were too tired to cook, and it was on the way back to my house.
Sue:  Blaze pizza and a beer. (that sounds better than Panda, way better)

19) Did you surprise yourself?
Nicole:  I was surprised that I wasn't really tired when staying up all night, and I know that caffeine helped with that.  I was also fairly happy and smiling in pictures, which was contrary to how my feet were feeling.
Sue:  Yes (short answer, still tired probably :-))

20) Did anything unexpected happen during the race?
Nicole:  That I went slower than I wanted, although I know that during a 100-miler anything can happen...and often does.
Sue:  Probably the biggest 'unexpected' was not having a GPS watch from Chilao to Chantry. When Reg turned his watch on, it said 'Installing update', stalled there, and never worked for tracking mileage. If we hadn't seen the sign that said '2.1 miles to Chantry', we wouldn't have picked up the pace enough to make the Chantry cut-off. We thought we were much closer.

So, Nicole and Sue mentioned some other races they did in prep,

UltraMan Canada 2014 Day 3 Race Report

Okay, Day 3 is here.  52.4 mile run.  I guess you can look at Day 3 in a multitude of ways.  Just a plain 52.4 miles or 2 marathons or 4 half marathons, or what it’s not, say 100k or some crazy distance past that.  Back in May, coach had me enter a 50k, or 30 miler for you metric challenged folks, down in Laguna Niguel called the Whoos in El Morro 50k.  I loved the race, the distance, the ultra vibe, the terrain, everything.  It was a huge confidence builder for me, as well as the long run days and run camps we did over the course of training. 

The start of the run is about 4 miles from Princeton, and we will basically take back roads with approximately 20+ miles of the run on a dirt road to take us back to Summerland, which is right across the lake from the historic Ironman Canada swim start.  We went point to point yesterday on the bike to Princeton, and now point to point on our feet back to Penticton/Summerland.

Chilling out at the run start

I woke up at 5:30 and I felt tired and not very hungry.  Not super tired, just that kind of wake up where you say to yourself, “can I just have 2 hours more sleep?”.  I did sleep well after Day 2 whereas the prior night was pretty restless.  I ate a bagel with some honey, some applesauce, sports drink, a little coffee, and I think a yogurt.  I could have used a sausage mcmuffin.  We got to the start around 6:30am, and I weighed in.  I think I gained back 5 or 6 of the 8 I lost the prior day, so things were okay there.  It was cool out at the start, probably upper 60s, so I opted to wear my arm coolers from the start.    We took a few pics, they announced someone had forgotten their shoes, and they needed a 7.5 men’s.  Total bummer as he forgot his run kit too.  Someone loaned him some shoes, so disaster avoided.

We got lined up at the start and since everyone was there, they said let’s start this thing—it was 6:52; shoot, I wanted those 8 minutes to get more nervous, and now we are offfffff.  WTF, man.

So, what were my expectations for this nice long run?  Our plan was to run at all day run pace—just how that would feel after Day 1 and Day 2 was a little unknown to me.  I was going to target 11-11:30 for the first marathon, and then 11:30-12:30 and hold onto dear life pace in the second marathon.  So, around 5hr first marathon and 530 second marathon.  I figured a runner like me could be in the 10h30m to 11hr hour zone.  The quicker the better.  I got through the first 20 miles right on target, taking in Gatorade and water every mile and a gel every 30 minutes or so.  I was running with Chad, and we were going back and forth at a consistent pace. 

TW Ready and Waiting

One cool thing about this race is that you can have a run pacer – thus the reason for future Ultraman racer Mary Knott from AZ and Team HPB to be on my crew.  During mile 20, I asked as I passed her at the car whether she wanted the 32 mile option, the 30 mile option or the 20 mile option.  Without question, I knew she would take door number one, the 32 mile option, and she jumped in with me at the next feeding zone.  Mary was running perfect pace and we right on 11:30 pace.  It was heating up, though.  I would never realize just how hot it got during the race because my crew kept me cooled down like a rogue nuclear power plant.  Not that I was putting off any stunning radiation or speed, but yes, I was generating some heat out there.    Hey, don’t act surprised. 

I don’t remember when, but the crew gave me my endura cool towel (you’ve seen the tv ads—all the cool people and rockstars use these during working out to keep cool)—it was an impulse buy the week before at OSH.  That thing worked great.  I had it wrapped around my neck which not only kept the sun off my wetsuit neck abrasion (it was very deep), it greatly reduced my temp and the perception of how hot it was – 105 degrees by the way, during that long afternoon. 

Mary and I are just cruising along, and I could hear Steve King’s voice as he had set up at the marathon point to announce where everyone was in the race.   We were probably about 300m away from the marathon point, when Rich handed me a gel, I took a portion in, ran to the side of the road and tossed everything in my stomach onto the ground.  I heaved up a few times, and Mary said, “that’s good, your stomach is all reset now, let’s go.”  I turned and just started running again.  We ran past Steve and he said my marathon split was 5:09, just 2 minutes behind Chad.  Please note, Chad made his move when he saw me puking on the side of the road.  Cheeky bastard.  My mile 26 split was a 15:06, which isn’t that bad considering I was “resetting my internal systems.”   I’d lost about 3 minutes there on the side of the road, which meant I was very close to my 5hr first marathon split.

From here on out the crew bunny hopped us every six-tenths of a mile.  And each time we came upon the car, I took a little walk break to drink and let them pour freezing cold water on my arm coolers, head and endura towel.

Steve King at the Marathon One

From there, when I look at my splits I was right on 11:30 to 12:00 miles except when I stopped to “reset” again at mile 30, 35 and 39.  I was trying everything, first there was the coke zone, then a reset.  Then there was the Red Bull zone, reset again.  Then at mile 39 I think I switched to the Mountain Dew Zone, a favorite of the darling Hailey Chura.  It tasted so good, and I was sooooo thirsty.  We had some good miles from 39 to 47 with some run walk miles in the 14 minute to 15 minute zone.  Mile 46 was my fastest mile at 10:43—Mary made me work that downhill.  I kept hearing her say “don’t fight gravity, float down this hill”.  Then, we hit the dreaded Mile 48—Johnna and Rich had just left us to go up another six-tenths of a mile, and I really started the “reset” process, but this time there was little to nothing that came up. 

That mile was about 18:02, and I felt so bad for Mary who gently held me up each time while I was losing it.  I am really bummed that no one took pics of me puking—that’s something to show the grandkids one day.  Next time, maybe.  After mile 30 I was in completely new territory.  I’d never run farther and in all the races I’ve done, I’ve never thrown up.  Another first in this race was a flat tire on the bike—so this race was full of all new awesome milestones. 

Only 4 miles to go, and we could still hit 11hrs, but I thought to myself, it’s now about survival.  If I get really sick or fall down, I could miss the 12 hour mark.  At that point, I decreed that I would walk it in.  Mary reluctantly acquiesced.  Very reluctantly.

"Towelie", Rich and Mary "Pour some water on me"

Somewhere in the 40 – 50 mile zone, Richie ran with me, and he had to tip a cow for fun in the process.  He didn’t have run shoes, and we gave Mary a little break to get those images of me out of her mind J

That last 4 miles took forever.  I got passed by a few people, and I didn’t care or was too out of it to care, and I feel bad about that, but they were shuffling faster than I could.  In the last mile, you make a few turns, so you can’t see where the finish line is, and then it’s there and I managed to run the last 200m into the finish across the grass.  11:29.  Never been so close to a cut off in a race. 

"We'll cross this bridge when we get to it"

I remember taking a lot of pictures with people and race director Steve Brown.  Then I got weighed in and vitals were checked.  Blood pressure good, heart rate good, blood sugar good (surprisingly), weight loss bad – 12 pounds.  Well, it was friggin’ hot out there and I couldn’t drink a thing.  I was now dying of thirst, but even a few drops made me nauseous.  I was forced onto the massage table, and while getting my post race massage, Darwin came by—I told him I was totally nauseated.  He said hold on, and came back with a bottle of gingerale and said I needed to get some ginger pills in me.  What a guy.  That’s what I love about this race.  Everyone helps everyone.  Richie was everyone’s favorite, helping Andre with his tires, helping Rick cross the line after the run and getting the medical team on him, offering sandwiches to runners and saying “ummmmm this is good”, and helping other newbie crews with what they should do and when. 

Cow Tipping in Canada is bigger than Curling

I laid down on the grass after my massage, and I still couldn’t drink anything.  I asked Trophy Wife Johnna to see if they could get me an IV with some fluids.  Richie got them to come over and check me out after they stabilized Rick, and I got two bags.  They told me to get some graval, a ginger pill that would settle my stomach.  I felt a ton better, and after Johnna got me some graval, I slowly sipped seven up that night, but didn’t dare eat anything.  When morning rolled around we hit my favorite breakfast spot in Penticton, and I ate pretty well.

Day 3

52.4 miles

11hr29m41s

2,700 ft of elevation gain

6,300kj

Day 3 weight loss 12 lbs

10^th Place Overall (2^nd AG)

Recap:

Swim 2:31:23

Bike 1 5:10:41

Bike 2 9:35:32

Run 11:29:41

Total 28:47:17

320 miles of fun.

Day 4 was the awards banquet.  All the athletes gave little speeches, and some crew and family members also got up and told some good stories.  Things like losing their athletes for 1 or 2 hours, filling the water cooler with a garden hose, forgetting to put the car in park before jumping out, and on and on.

Awesome race.  Perfect location.  Too early to say if I’d tackle that one again.  Huge sacrifice in terms of training time, family time, tired time, and the toll it takes on your body. 

My crew was awesome, and I couldn’t have made it through as well as I did without you.  Thanks Mary, Thanks Rich, and Thanks Johnna.

Scroll down for more pics.

"Why does this guy insist on walking, it's a RACE!"

I kept my cool the whole way.

Less than 10 meters to go.  I can do it.

Not the Underpants Run.

Dude, that is good stuff.  Nice Ribs.

Barney, one of Paul Nelson's crew, and a crowd favorite.

No one said anything about public speaking.

Steve King Bobblehead and Ultraman Trophy

UltraMan Canada Day 2 Race Report

Rich Sawiris, me and Haroon Said before Stage 2--I want my mommy

The cool thing about a 171 mile bike ride is that after 80 or 90 miles, you still have 90 or 80 miles to go.  Coach prepped me on strategy the night before.  I ate pretty well the night before—gluten free domino’s cheese pizza and two heaping plates of steamed rice and avocado (yes, I packed a rice cooker too, how else do you get 200lbs of gear to add up to 200lbs?).  I woke up, and I definitely felt tired.  I didn’t get the most restful sleep, but I managed to get breakfast down, join up with the crew and drove over to the Day 2 start at Skaha Lake right by the swim start from the day before.  After arriving, I weighed in (gained most of the weight lost the day before) and got ready to go.  Everyone else looked like they felt fine; I didn’t feel so great, but the second I put my leg over my bike to mount, all of that went away.  All of a sudden, I felt pretty good and ready to race.  Our crews left about 10 minutes before the start.  We then lined up in bike time order from the day before and filed out at the start.

The day 2 bike course can be broken down into 4 sections:  1) the out and back to Osoyoos (about 60 miles), 2) the WALL to highway 97 (about 15 miles), 3) Highway 97 to Princeton (about 60 miles), and 4) the out and back from Princeton and back (about 38 miles).  The out and back to Osoyoos is relatively flat and fast.  I was about 15 miles in, sitting in 5^th position, when I got my first flat.  Jan Svendsen’s crew was on me in a Thor like flash and changed my rear wheel tire.  I was off.  The chick group passed me during the flat plus another 3 or 4 riders. 

I started picking up the stragglers, and about 8 miles later, I rear flatted again.  I pulled off getting ready to change my tire, and my crew appeared out of nowhere.  Richie jumped out of the assault vehicle and swapped my wheel Tour de France style and sent me off—I was probably stopped less than 2 minutes.  I managed to get my garmin to read my new powertap wheel (pretty easy).  Now I was pumped and ready to go.  One by one, I picked off those who had passed me, and pushed myself back into 5^th place prior to the turn to the Wall.  My 56 mile split was a 2:49, and a few miles later we started the climbs.  The Wall is about 1.5 miles (might be shorter) and about 950 of elevation gain.  Awesome 13% and 14% sections on that climb.  Once you are over the Wall, you arrive at a winery and Steve King announcing the riders as they crest the climb.  I was 5^th over the climb, but I had two strong riders from the chick group right behind me plus my nemesis Chad (totally kidding, we rode a lot together on day 2 and ran a lot together on day 3). 

The next 15 miles are rolling and desert hot.  I left that section in 7^th, after the two chicks went past me.  They were on a mission.  Yvonne would ride to the second or third fastest time of the day.    She looked good, as did Amy.  When I hit 97 and made the left for the 65 mile trek to Princeton, my crew put bags of ice in the top of my jersey and poured ice water on my head as I went by.  As I passed 112 miles in just a little over 6 hours, I felt I was on track for a good ride, but I was hungry and totally sick of my infinit and gels.  I switched to coke and honey stinger chews.  The chews worked well and got me to Princeton, but about 20 miles to go before Princeton, my left foot started hurting badly.  I rode about 10-15 miles and it just kept hurting more and more to the point that I couldn’t get up out of the saddle to even stretch my hammies. 

In that hot, hot section after the Wall

As I rolled past my crew I yelled out that I wanted to switch my left shoe.  They looked at me with a WTF expression, but Johnna yelled I got it—now she knew why I brought an extra pair of shoes.  They bunny hopped me; I stopped and while Mary changed my left bike shoe, Johnna jammed a PBJ into my mouth.  I was off in 15 seconds and my foot was reborn.  My power turned back on, and I was able to get back into the zone.  During this 60-65 mile section you face a constant headwind.  Staying aero is key during this section.

Then we got to Princeton.  In the distance to my left I could hear Steve King’s voice announcing things about the race—I thought that’s cruel, I still have 38-40 miles to go.  The out of the out and back is extremely deceptive.  It’s definitely a false flat with rolling hills that take you steadily upward.  It is the cruelest section of the 171 mile ride.  Luckily, there wasn’t a headwind on this section, and the little downhills were in no way rewarding as the next hill upward was way longer.  I would learn this was even worse on day 3.    I made it the turnaround and the crew started yelling at me “don’t get chicked, you’ve got a rider 3 minutes behind you!”  Time to take advantage of the rolling downhill.  Tom Regal of Volt was at the turnaround and he gave me words of encouragement as Johnna handed me two Tylenols to fight the pain building in my foot again.  The painkillers seemed to kick in right away, and I started riding hard.  About halfway, it started raining but I just rode harder. 

As an avid fly fisherman, I considered stopping to wet some line.

I didn’t get chicked on the way back to Princeton, and I rolled into the stage 2 finish with a 10^th place for the day, but 4^th place overall after the day 2 cumulative time.  I couldn’t believe it.  I finished in 9:35 with my goal being a 9:15 to 9:30.  I probably blew a few too many matches on my mission to catch back on after the two flats.  I was happy, and I felt I raced hard and felt it was my best bike ride ever.  I finished, my crew gave me hugs, and Steve Brown also came over and gave me a finish hug.  I got weighed and lost 8 lbs during that stage.  I think I was 163—I had to eat big tonight to catch up.

Johnna handed me a yummy vega protein shake (I would later find out there was an avocado in it), and I soaked my sore foot in an ice bath, and then got a shower and a massage.  After that we grabbed a burger and fries at the local pub, and once again my crew drank beer in front of me.  Jan and his crew with Darwin were there, and I thanked them profusely for that flat change.  Darwin would save me again the next day after the run.

 

Day 2

171.4 miles

6,900 ft of elevation gain

4,800kj

Day 2 weight loss 8 lbs

4^th Place Overall (2^nd AG)

I so wanted to shoot or kick my bike, but I didn’t; I was relieved that all that was left was a run.    I ate more and drank more through the evening, called Coach Hillary for the plan, and hit the pillow at 10pm for a 5:30 wake up.

Yay, Day 2 in the Books.  Wearing my Paddy's shirt, my favorite pre/post race T.

Ultraman Canada Day 1 Race Report

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"You Cannot Be Serious?"

Before I dive into Day 1 of Ultraman, I want to express my sincere thanks to those who made it happen for me--my coach Hillary Biscay who got me to the start line in one healthy piece and ready to race after some really hard training—my crew, Mary Knott who ran 32 miles with me in the end on Day 3, Rich Sawiris of Wheelbuilder who knew not only how to race a stage race but he knew every nook and cranny on the course, and Trophy Wife Johnna who tried to stay calm even when she thought I would surely die—my SmileTrain supporters who are helping me raise money for a great cause—and of course my supportive wife Johnna, our families, friends, Team HPBers, the awesome Dr Henry and his staff for making time for me and keeping me healthy, and training partners who I am sure thought I was crazy.  I also need to thank the race organizers of Ultraman Canada, especially Steve Brown and his crew, who know how to put on a great race. 

Thanks again to Johnna for inspiring me with her awesome recovery from open heart surgery in May—you kept me on track with my training even when you were in recovery mode.  Also thanks again to Hillary who inspired me with her performance in Kona Ultraman World Championships last year—I knew I didn’t have the muscles or the brains to get me through an Ultraman, but I sure as hell knew Hillary did.  Lastly, big thanks to Wayne Ross, who paddled me to the 2^nd fastest swim of all time and an age group record.

The Assault Vehicle

            The race is 3 days, so I will post 3 blogs on the race so you don’t have to drag yourself through 28+ hours of racing in one sitting.  We left on Monday, flying into Spokane from Burbank and then driving the 220 miles up into the Canadian desert known as the Okanagan Wine Country and Penticton.  The race will be the next Saturday, Sunday and Monday.    After I packed my 200lbs of gear (plus my bike—I’ll recap the packlist on my Day 3 blog) on Sunday night, I started getting that “I don’t want to go” feeling.  Johnna said you’re supposed to feel like that, and once we get there, that feeling will disappear.  During the week we drove the Day 2 bike course, as I was already familiar with the Day 1 bike course, which in large part, is the Ironman Canada (now Challenge) bike course.  On Friday morning, we met up with Wayne and did a little practice session in the water. Tuesday through Friday went so fast, and on Friday night, the eve of the race, that feeling returned.  Yes, I was a little scared.

Day 1:

Swim 10km (6.2 miles)

Bike 90 miles

Pre Race Dinner - They drank beer in front of me.

6:30am start on Day 1.  We arrived around 5:30, checked in, weighed in, had vitals taken, and then jumped in for a warm up swim.  It was about 68 degrees and the water had to be mid 60s.  For once I could warm up for a race without freezing my a$$ off before the start.  Prior to the start, they played Oh Canada! (I was the only non canandian who knew the words) and then there was ceremony where all the athletes gathered in a circle holding hands.  In the ceremony we visited the spirit of Ultraman -- Aloha, Ohana, and Kokua.  I’ll admit I was getting emotional, especially with one of the athletes weeping in the group.  At 6:25, we waded out to the buoys that mark the water drop off.  I spotted Wayne, and I knew exactly where to swim to meet up with him.  The water was like glass and there was a very light breeze.

We counted down to the start, and we were off.  I took off, and for the first 400m I could see other Kayaks in the distance.  I pulled up to Wayne at 40 minutes, 1hr 07 min, 1 hr 40 minutes and around 2:10 into the race.  I took in a cliff gel and washed it down with Vitalyte.  I was wearing a new sleeveless Roka maverick pro wetsuit.  Other than my neck rash which has nothing to do with the suit, the Roka is awesome. 

At the 1:07 feeding, I looked at garmin, and it said I was 3.1 miles in and holding 1:17s per 100m.  At that point I was ahead of schedule.  The next checkpoint was the 8,000 meter buoy—it seemed like forever to get there.  I expected to pass that buoy at the 1:50 or 1:53 mark, but my watch said 2:05 or something close to that.  Ugh.  I either slowed down or that buoy was farther.  About 1500m later the last buoy appears, you make a sharp left and swim into shore to the swim finish about 500m.  I could sense the seconds tick away, I knew I had missed the course record of 2:24, and I really wanted to squeak in under 2:30.  I sprinted and popped up at the finish at 2:31:23, the second fastest swim split all time and an age group record for the old guys.

            I ran up under the banner, and Rich leading me to the change tent.  I laid down, and Mary and Johnna stripped my wetsuit, and left the tent while Rich dressed me.  Bibs, Fast and Loud cycling jersey, head do-rag, helmet, socks and shoes.  I was out of T1 in 3:40—I was so wobbly coming out of the water, it felt a lot slower.  I ran out of the tent, Johnna was holding my bike and Mary and Rich were helping me finish a drink before taking off. And then I was off on the bike. 

            The Day 1 bike course leaves the south end of Skaha Lake (swim was point to point), and heads to Osoyoos where you make a right to the Richter Pass, head to Keremeos where you do an out and back, and then to Yellow Lake and down the other side back to Okanagan Falls.  The course is beautiful.  I first hooked up with my crew right before Richter about 75 minutes into the bike, they gave me new bottles and reminded me to drink (the crew did this at every stop).

            I’ll pause to mention that fueling on Day 1 is critical for Day 2 performance, and fueling right on Day 1 and Day 2 ensure a better Day 3 performance. 

            I didn’t see another crew car until about mile 35-40, someone was catching me.  I had a 27 minute lead after the swim, and someone behind me must be an uber biker.  Kevin Willis passed me around mile 45, and right after we headed into a mountain thunder lightning storm.  It was hailing and raining, but not to cold.  Nice little headwind too until we made the right onto the out and back.  The storm stopped sometime during that out and back, and it so dry, you warm up really quick.  I headed to Yellow Lake, which is a nice little steady climb.  My crew told me I had a big enough lead to stay in 2^nd if I motored over the Yellow Lake summit and didn’t ride like a pussy on the downhill (guess who said that).  As I approached the summit, I could hear Bob Roll’s voice in my head saying “if Barry can get over the summit first, they won’t be able to catch him”.  23 days of the TdF and it’s impossible to get his voice out of your head anyway.  He and Rich were right.  I broke my own personal downhill max speed record (48.6mph) and rolled into the Stage 1 finish and into 2^nd place after day 1.  Bike time was 5:10:41 (includes T2 time).  Total of 90 miles and 4800 feet of gain with an average temp of 80 degrees and 2900kj.  My goal time was 5:00, so I was on track.  I had the 8^th fastest bike of the day, but 3^rd to 7^th were all within 5-10 minutes or so of me on the Day 1 bike.  I knew the standings would change after day 2, but I did have a 21 minute lead on 3^rd after day 1 which was cool.

Oh great Poseiden, please let me swim straight

         At the finish, Johnna cranked up the Vega fruit shake in the NutriBullet (thanks Greg K) and luckily Johnna didn’t short out the race’s generator; that would not have been good.  I drank that, ate a little, and got an awesome massage.  We got back to the hotel around 5pm.  I ate gluten free cheese pizza from Dominos and two plates of steamed rice with 2 avocados.  My stomach was a little iffy all day, and I have to say, I had to force down that food.  It all tasted good, but the stomach was saying don’t put anything in meeeeee.  I drank a ton of vitalyte and some iced tea.  Day 1 was tougher than I thought it would be.  It was supposed to be the easy day, but there is no easy day in Ultraman.   I went to bed around 9:30 and dreamed of the Day 2 bike course.

Swim 2:31:23

Bike 1 5:10:41

Total Day 1 time 7:42:04 (2^nd overall, 2^nd in AG)

Day 1 weight loss 7 lbs (put 5-6 back on overnight)

Smiled the whole day, even in the rain, and even with a wonky stomach.  I kind of felt like the pressure of the week and the 6 months leading up to this race were gone, and I could just ride and run and have fun.  Support SmileTrain

5 Months Down, 9 Weeks to Go

5 months almost in the books.

I wanted to update everyone on the 2014 season, as many milestones have been reached, and we are only 4 weeks out from Ironman coeur d'Alene and 9 short weeks from Ultraman Canada. Coach Hillary and team HPB have kept me motivated and on top of things so far. In fact, Hillary has made May my toughest month ever, and we even threw in a big challenge for May which I will get to later. 

2014 started off with a very hilly nighttime half marathon that took us through and into and around the field at Dodger stadium. Time was solid even with all the hills.  Super Bowl Sunday was surf city full marathon day, and at mile 21 was still on PR track but faded at the end to a 3:51. All I remember is not being able to speak for an hour after the race. I was worked. A tough February continued two weeks later with a 200 mile bike ride that started in Irvine down to Oceanside and back through fallbrook and Santiago canyon in the dark--first time I rode I the dark with a light. Longest ride ever.  That was a long day in the saddle. 

Early March was an awesome Team HPB training camp in Tucson, where I got my butt handed to me by a bunch of girls--OMG the ladies of Team HPB are fast, strong, and aren't afraid of great food or drinks!  At the end of March, the trophy wife and I did the Oceanside half ironman.  good swim, solid bike but suffered on the run a bit and was a little slower than last year.  From there, we dove head first into an empty pool with the mulholland challenge for 125 miles and 13,000 ft of climbing on the bike.  Another long day. 

With April ending we did many triple run days and a lot of swimming.  However, big curveball at the end of April--Trophy Wife finds out she has a big heart issue after having some troubling run sessions despite her all time top fitness.  On May 2nd, our son's birthday, TW had open heart surgery--replaced her aortic valve and part of her aorta.   She got through the surgery with ironman toughness, and was released a few days later. Now, it's recovery time for her and her double ironman year plan for iMCDA and AZ is pushing to next year. She will be fitter, tougher and better than new by the end of the year--that is my prediction.   Steve Austin agrees. 

I said May was going to be a big month, in more ways than one.  I truly contemplated putting Ultraman on hold for a year. I didn't want to take on such a challenge and not have TW by my side.  Despite my worries, I kept my head down, killed a lot of sessions, struggled through others, and by the look of things now, TW will be in the support car come August.  

April and early May were run camp--what is run camp?  It's a lot of running, duh.  On may 10th I did my longest run ever, a 50k ultra trail run, and although I was not fast, I felt I killed it, finishing strong.  Btw, coachie had me do 10 miles on the treadmill the day before.  Good prep for double marathon on day 3 of UMC. Although we eased up the running for a little recovery in mid may, we stepped up the cycling and the swimming.   BarryMan weekend, the competitive event to PTC Man, was a 4 day doozie--10k swim/9 mile run combo on Friday, 142 mile bike and 3 mile run on Saturday, triple run and single swim day on sunday, and an easy 5k swim on Monday. I tell you, this is starting to add up.  Ugh. Was tired and cranky last weekend for sure, and this weekend is another big one.

So, I feel like I am at the halfway point for this fun year,  Oh, I forgot to mention that the year of TW started this week with her 50th, and it's amazing what a new birthday dress, shoes and purse can do for a lady's spirit. Huge rebound in the recovery department this week for her. 

Lucky for me, TW was so sedated the past 30 days, she didn't notice I was gone for all those workouts. I am so thankful to her for letting me mush on, and for the great support from Hillary and good friend and Wheelbuilder CEO Rich Sawiris--he made me ride honestly on my 142 mile bike last Saturday, and he is assembling the new TT bike.  

And as the most interesting man in the world said to me, "stay healthy my friend."  That is one of the keys to my survival. 

El Camino Real Double

     Ultraman training is now in full swing.  Just wrapped up a tough 4 day weekend that started at 5:37 am on friday morning when I hit the water at the RBAC.  10,000 yard swim workout.   Then, in the evening a little trainer session to get me ready for a big saturday--the El Camino Real Double Century ride.  http://planetultra.com/portfolio/camino-real-double-century-poker-run/

Saturday morning rolled around too early.  Left the house at 5am and got to Irvine by 5:45, checked in, strapped on as much food as I could carry and started off with the main group at 6:15am.  A little cold the first 20 miles through Irvine and down Newport Coast and up Laguna Canyon.  Then it was down to Oceanside, up to Fallbrook, back down to Oceanside and then up to Foothill Ranch, Coto de Caza and Santiago Canyon.  9000 feet of climbing and riding in dark.  I finished around 8pm, for a total ride time of 13:44 and moving time of around 12:30.  A ton of traffic lights made it even tougher, but got to ride on roads I'd never been on.  The weather was friggin' awesome.  It had to be close to 70 degrees when I finished.  Best weather I've had in ages for an event.

Probably the best part of the ride was getting to the 171.4 mile mark (Day 2 of Ultraman) in one piece and well under 12 hours.  The last rest stop was about a mile later, and the group I was in had been riding with our lights on for the past 90 minutes.  After pounding two cokes and inhaling a sandwich, and filling my bottles with coke, I took off for the last 29 miles in total darkness, save the light on my bars.  We were up at the top of Santiago Canyon near some steakhouse (could I get someone to pick me up there and drive me to my car?).  I think I was just too tired to think about riding in the dark. My good friend Brent loaned me his lights, which worked awesome.  Fortunately, the last 29 miles only had another 1000 ft climbing, hardly any cars, and a very wide bike lane almost the entire way.  You gotta love the OC.  

And the worst part of the ride (besides my aching butt) was at Mile 150 when I was 200 yards away from my in-laws' house.  Hmmmm, if I could make it up Beach road hill (at dana point), I could have them drive me to my car.  What made it tougher was we had to stop at the traffic light, so I had plenty of time for devil Barryman to pop up on one shoulder and angel Hillary to pop up on the other--you know the conversation.  Hillary won, and I motored on--oh, I could so have used a motor.

Great ride and would be fun to do with a group.  Riding solo was tough, but that's how it is in a race, but everyone out there was so helpful and when you found yourself in a small group, everyone was very friendly, pointing out the directions and hazards.    Wheelbuilder Rich asked me the next day "you aren't going to become one of those endurance old guys who does a double century every two weeks, because if you are..."  I may do one again, but that distance is checked off my list!  I did a double metric at Cool Breeze years ago--130 is not 200.

Sunday had some fun stuff, as did monday.  Today is a rest day.  Afraid to look at what the rest of this week has in store for me...

Ultraman and Smile Train - I am all in - Please Support Me.

A few years ago, while looking at Ironman online porn (triathletes know what this is, and it's not what you think), I came across an interesting race which had some unique distances and which covered three days of racing.  I then remembered seeing the Ultraman course markings while doing Ironman Canada in 2010.    The UltraMan is an invitation only race, i.e. you have to apply, and it consists of:

     Day 1 - 10km swim (6.2 miles) plus 90 mile bike
     Day 2 - 171 mile bike
     Day 3 - Double marathon 52.4 miles

Each day must be completed in under 12 hours.  There is Ultraman Canada, Ultraman UK, Ultraman Florida (new this year) and the Ultraman World Championships in Kona Hawaii.

     In early November I applied for Ultraman Canada up in Penticton Canada, the home of the original Ironman Canada which I had raced in 2010.  I decided I would wait until after Coach Hillary aka UltraMan World Champion finished Ultraman World Championships on thanksgiving weekend before I would let her in on my latest aspirations.   I didn't want to distract her with my drama.  When I finally broke the news that I applied, Hillary was totally pumped about this endeavor (I knew she would support me).    Having to wait 60 days to see if I would get in was a little strange.  Some days I wished I would get in, and some days, I rationalized that maybe it's for the best if I don't get in.  Well, last Saturday, the day before the Surf City Marathon I got the news.  I'M IN.  Holy crap.  I better get training.  I ran through the house looking for Trophy Wife Johnna like a kid who just qualified for American Idol. 

     So, why do I want to do this race?  For a variety of reasons, really.

     First, because it's there.  No way I'm ever going to Everest.  This is my Everest.  Second, my biggest challenge in ironman has been the run.  Doubling the distance, but getting a night's sleep before will be an interesting twist for me.  Will I be able to rebound?   Third, I've been wanting to do some fundraising, but I wanted something epic (for me anyway) to wrap it around.

    To make this even more interesting, I've added some complexity.  I call it my UltraMan Sandwich - Ironman Couer d'alene in June, then Ultraman Canada in August and then Ironman Arizona in November.  I am not sure how good this sandwich will taste, as I am sure that the many gallons of Infinit I will consume between now and November will not taste good after awhile.

    Way more important than the races I will be doing this year, is the charity I will be racing for--Smile Train.  Smile Train is an international children’s charity that provides free surgery to poor children suffering from cleft lip and cleft palate. Children born with cleft cannot eat or speak properly, aren't allowed to attend school, and as they get older, it's difficult if not impossible to get a job.  These children face very difficult lives of shame and isolation, pain and heartache. Some children are even abandoned or killed—all because of the way they look. Their clefts usually go untreated because they are too poor to afford the simple repair surgery that takes as little as 45 minutes and costs as little as $250. Yet with your help, we can save these children and give them the life changing surgery they both need and deserve.

   Personally, charities for children pull my heartstrings the most.  St Jude's Hospital for Children is one of my favorite charities as is Smile Train.  One of the things that caught my eye about Smile Train is how a contribution has an almost a direct impact on a child's life.   My goal is to help as many children as possible--I am hoping that family, friends and fellow athletes will support me in this cause.  Here is the link to my fundraising page -- http://support.smiletrain.org/site/TR/AthleticsEvent/General?px=3506353&pg=personal&fr_id=1350

    Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all on the roads or in the pools at the races this year.

Barry

Train Hard, Get to the Start Line in One Piece, and Smile, Smile, Smile the Entire Way.