Second Race...same as the 1st..A little bit hotter and a whole lot worse!

USAP - Folsom Long Course Triathlon

70.3 Miles of soul searching; June 8th, 2014

This race was in honor of a good friend of mine, David Stanton, who just one year ago sustained a severe spinal cord injury while racing Superbikes in Northern California.  This was at the very same track that finally ended my spotty and far less successful motorcycling roadracing 'career.'  Dave, my brother Tim, and I started racing motorcycles together on the very same day, decades ago, and we've been close ever since. Dave's day to day fight for wellness and happiness is a constant source of inspiration to me, whether he knows it or not. 

Training up to this point had been...so so at best.  To be honest, fining balance in my life has been incredibly challenging.  I had a couple of good weeks followed by a couple of soft weeks: Rinse, lather, repeat.  I know I wasn't at my best and I was anxious as hell just days before the race. But two strong sessions (one in the pool and one on the trainer) left me in good spirits prior to the race.  This was my 4th triathlon; and 2nd at the 70.3 distance.

I had a bit of an odd start to the day.  My age group, 45 and older, had a start time of 6:36AM, with instructions not to arrive later than 5AM.  That put me leaving my house at 3:15AM with the alarm set for 2:45AM. That's a pretty odd way to start a race day; at least for me.  That said, other than my morning Vitamix blends (with recipes complements of Rich Roll) I was loaded up and ready to go the night before. Then off to bed, where I always struggle to sleep.

Grateful to have one of my biggest supporters, my brother Tim, by my side on the drive up.  It's always an amusing and often insightful time when we're together.  The company really took my anxieties away.  As we sat at the gate, in a massive line of cars waiting to get into the Nimbus Flat State Park (this was a much larger event than I ever imagined) I noticed that it was already 75 degrees (24C).  This was of great concern to me as I simply can't function in the heat.  Two trips to the ER with hyperthermia has left me almost helpless under warm condition.  Fulsom in June was going to be a test, even if everything went perfectly well.

The Swim - Grateful to Ben Greenfield for continued support and good will, the wetsuit I used fit well and worked even better.  Thanks Ben!  The only other true open water swim I had completed at this point was an horrible experience at Ironman California 70.3 last year. I barely swam at all, to a 38:30 1.2 miles.  I was confident that, without incident, I could easily get under 35 minutes on this day.  I was wrong...I think.  I followed "The Boss's" (Macca's) instruction and started in front.  I swam well.  Nothing to write home about.  I took three or four short moments, each 10 seconds or so, to swim breast stroke, catch my breath, and make sure I was on target, as my sighting is not my strong suit.  I even found a rope on the ground that anchored the "Crew" lanes for the local university Crew team and followed that rope for quite a while.  I felt like I'd been gliding well, I had reasonable turnover, I was pacing myself...I even 'found feet' for the first time in my life.  I went into T2 pretty happy.  As I ran out of T2, I passed a very fast age-grouper as he just got to his bike.  He was an overall winner in a race I'd done previously.  If I was ahead of him, I must have done well.  Time 40:07

T1 Swim to Bike - MUCH better than in Oceanside, with the exception that a) I hadn't put my extra tube in my seat-pack, and b) I neglected to put my Ignite INRefresh Electrolytes into my jersey.  I DID remember not to swim with them!  One step at a time, right? Time 3:45

The Bike - I was stoked that a local racer allowed me to borrow his Zipp 404s for the race.  It was my first time using a proper wheelset and man was it nice!  Amazing feeling.  My goal was a modest-for-most 3:30:00.  This would be comparable to my prior efforts under hotter and hillier conditions.  Also, this was going to be completely done on natural foods; nothing packaged.  I would use no gels, no cytomax, etc. I used water, coconut water, dates, and almonds. I knew that if I wanted to run later, I couldn't be leaning on carbs and sugars throughout the bike leg.  I felt well and rode well for the first two hours, then hit a bit of a wall.  I felt sleepy and I couldn't shake it.  The electrolytes worked well, but I was short on accessible calories. I think I've got some nutrition work to do...for sure, and some longer saddle time too!  Time 3:31:23

T2 Bike to Run - This is where I got off the wheels...as the wheels fell off.  I got off the bike and felt OK.  Honestly, I've done a half dozen centuries and the like, but I've never been so happy to just get off my bike.  I walked what seemed like forever through the transition area with hundreds of Aqua-Bikers, Sprint, and Olympic Distance finishers packing up.  Finally, all the way to the end of T2, I saw my brother and another friend.  I got off the bike, racked it, then grabbed my shoes.  I sat down to put them on and the world came crashing down.  It was 96 degrees (36C) now and all I could do was pour ice water on my head.  I was just shutting down from the heat.  I got up and hit the trails.  It was a constantly rolling 6.55 mile out and back that I'd do twice...with God's mercy. Time - 4:29

Panache Cyclewear, Co. can't be beat!

The Run - The trudge.  The MaccaX crew often boast shirts that read, "Embrace The Suck!"  That was going to be the mantra for the entire 13.1 miles.  I might have been a half mile into the run when I saw on my Garmin that my heart-rate was already above 150.  I was barely moving.  Immediately the signs of a meltdown were evident.  I was 8 minutes into a 'run' that should take me 2:10-2:20 and systems were shutting down.  I got the chills. My skin started to hurt.  I started to get nauseated, and it got worse from there.  "How the hell are these people running?" kept going through my head?  1 mile in was the first aid station.  I grabbed two cups of ice and one cup of ice water.  One cup of ice...directly down my shorts.  NOT comfortable, but at this point nothing was.  One cup I collapsed and put inside my tri top, just above my HR monitor.  That's where my heart is...right?  Let's cool it down!  The cup of water was slowly sipped all the way to the next  feed station.  All the way...1 more mile.

HUGE props to USAP for such excellent support: Ice and water everywhere!  So after shuffling and slogging through the first 6.55 miles I hit the turn around.  It was now 1PM, 106 degrees (41C) and getting warmer. There was nothing I wanted more than to just stop.  The turn around was in the shade, my brother and friend were there, nutrition, etc.  What wasn't there though...was a finishers medal.  What wasn't there was me trying to find an excuse good enough to explain to my young sons that "Daddy quit." What was there, was purpose. Time - 3:20:10

My Brooks Ghost 7s were fantastic!

I started this day in an effort to honor a good friend.  Yea, I was in hell.  Yes, this was deeper than I'd ever
had to physically dig.  But what kept going through my mind was that this day and this suffering would end...
...for me.  I would eventually get home and settle into an ice bath, then go get some dinner with the family.  For me, the struggle to simply keep moving forward would end.  For Dave, a loving father, husband, son, and friend, his easiest days are harder than this: All of 'em. To wrap up, I finished.  It was an ugly, painful, but character building day.  Total Race Time - 7:40:41

In support of Dave, I flew the "53" as I crossed the finish line. It was over 106 degrees at the finish. But it was over.  I didn't let the volunteer at the finish line put the medal on my neck.  I grabbed it out of his hands and went to cool off.  Today's finisher's medal was earned by Dave, and that was the only neck it going to go on.

Thanks Dave, for fighting the good fight.  #Inspired.

For the few of you who follow my progress as I work toward Ironman Lake Tahoe in September of this year, I'd love to hear...from a little birdy or otherwise...that you found it within yourselves to make a donation to the Stanton Family.  Normally I try to leave you with a bit of  wit or wisdom at the end of each post I make, but this time it didn't seem fitting.  I'll just ask that you follow the link below and show your support in any way you can...even if it's simply a comment or sharing his blog address or a link to this blog post.   

Dave's blog is an inspiring, well written, and candid look into his day to day life and progress. It can be found here:  /http://www.stanton53support.com/blog/