Ultraman Crew Finalized

My luck and good fortune continues with the addition of my Ultraman Crew!

This photo was taken in November 2008 at about 5:30 am, just before I entered the chilly water of Tempe Town Center Lake for the Ironman Arizona race. That's my son Connor and my great friend, Kelvin Shields.

I am so glad to have my 16-year old son Connor to be on my crew. Connor will be assisting our Crew Captain, Kelvin Shields. Those of you who read my book, Iron Ambition, know all about Kelvin and how he has been a big part of my professional life and an ardent supporter of my ultra endurance ambitions. Kelvin has completed the Ironman 70.3 and multiple marathons. So Kelvin can relate to what I will be going through and that's really important.

Kelvin is not just a dear friend, but he is also an exceptionally well organized person, a great athlete, he loves to plan and most of all, he is trained in emergency medicine, which is reassuring. Kelvin is scrambling to get everything in order for our trip to Penticton, British Columbia, Canada and is talking with Darwin Holt about what it takes to be a great crew chief.

We have secured all the plane tickets, the hotel rooms, the Crew Vehicle. We need passports to enter Canada and are getting those updated as well. At this point, with only seven weeks remaining we are focused on learning as much as possible about how the crew can assist me through each leg of the three-day event. We will arrive in Penticton on Wednesday July 29th and return on August 5th.

My biggest concern is to just finish each day within the 12-hour cutoffs. Connor will make sure I am well hydrated and eating and Kelvin will navigate from our Crew Car / Support vehicle and make cetain that I am staying within a safe band of time that will insure I finish prior to the cutoffs, but not so quickly as to risk burning out later that afternoon or the next day.

Having Kelvin worry about the cutoffs is likely the most important thing of all for me because my mind will not be constantly racing making calculations about what it will take to finish under the wire every day.

My biggest concern used to be the bike, and still is. But my confidence is gaining rapidly that I can complete the 170 miles under the 12-hour cutoff.

The Ultraman Team of Advisors

I'm a lucky guy. Period.

I'm blessed with a terrific wife, a remarkable son, the world's best business partner and a team of people who have recently come out of the woodwork to help me with Ultraman.

My only regret about finishing Iron Ambition (now up live on Amazon.com) is that I cannot talk about these great people who are helping me with this new adventure.

First and foremost is Darwin Holt. Who is this guy and why would he help me with Ultraman?

After accomplishing my goal and dream of completing the full Ironman, I was a bit down for a couple of months. I had some terrible injuries that were really holding me back. I doubted my ability and my head wasn't straight.

Darwin picked me up from the ashes and got me thinking clearly again. I was so focused on the incredible distance of the Ultraman event (swim 6.2 miles, bike 260 miles and run 52 miles) that I just doubted my ability to finish. Darwin patiently explained how to train for this event and assured me that I have ample time to prepare for the event (August 2009).

Darwin should know. He's completed both Ultraman Canada (2007) and the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii (2008). Further, Darwin has completed 6 Ironmans (IMC '99,'04)(IMFLA '02)(IMLP '03)(IMCDA '06) and the Ironman World Championships (lottery '04). Darwin and his wife have also run 10 marathons together including New York, San Diego and Chicago. He really knows his stuff and has been very generous with his time to help me and my coach develop a sane training approach to this unique distance.

Darwin is a math teacher from Canada and about the nicest guy I've ever met. I've taken detailed notes of his advice and turned them into a plan which I plan to follow to the tee.

I also am grateful to Scott Gower, who again, has helped me be more confident about my ability to complete Ultraman. In fact, it was Scott who got me into Triathlon in the first place, Scott that introduced me to Ironman and it was Scott who first told me about Ultraman when I ran into him at the vendor Expo at the Santa Barbara Tri.

I recently spoke to Scott on the phone and told him that I thought I could accomplish the swim and perhaps the run-walk, but that the 260 miles on the bike really had me worried. He just came straight out and told me to get my head screwed on right. He said my confidence was shot and that I needed to get out there and get that bike distance accomplished so that I would just know that I could do it.

He's right.

Once I went out and did a 106 mile bike ride in a single day, I had the ultimate confidence that I could complete the 112 miles in the full Ironman. So I'm certain that once I get out there and complete 10 - 12 hours on the bike, I will have the confidence to complete the bike leg of Ultraman.

Next Posts will talk about the training for Ultraman, which is much different than anything I've done to prepare for Ironman.