ULTRAMAN SUCCESS

My incredible crew and I as we cross the finish line at the third day and conclusion of ULTRAMAN Canada. (click on photo)


Crossing the line are: My great friend and Crew Chief Kelvin Shields, my terrific son Connor, me, Darwin Holt - the patient and selfless hero that guided and coached me from the dream to an ULTRAMAN finish, and finally, my indefatigable nephew Ryan Weber. Not shown, but hugely instrumental in my finish, was my kayaker and outstanding swim pacer Marcel Allaire. Without this group of men, there would have been no possibility that I would have ever finished this 3-Day test of endurance. This should really be billed as a team-sport because it really takes a team to get the athletes through so much during the three days.

Day 1: 6.2 mile swim followed by a 90 mile bike
Day 2: 170 miles on the bike
Day 3: 52.4 mile double marathon run

It is claimed that over 50,000 people complete an Ironman Triathlon each year, and it was my dream to be one of those finishers; I'm still proud of that milestone. However, fewer than 60 people in the world will finish an ULTRAMAN under the cutoff times in any given year. That makes this event very special.

More than a "race" ULTRAMAN is an event that highlights the Hawaiian values of Aloha, Ohana and Kokua. Aloha means hello and goodbye. But it is so much more than that. Anyone who has stayed in the Islands understands instantly the friendly spirit, the easy way and the "feeling" of Aloha. Ohana means family, extended family or any group with a common bond, something that is very clearly evident at ULTRAMAN; it is a brotherhood for life. Kokua relates to generosity and to selfless giving, something that is critical from the crews in order for the athletes to complete the event. It also means that athletes are supportive of one another and generous in their encouragement, even to last place finishers like me!

There will be much more to say about ULTRAMAN, as I am still trying to process what I have just done. But one thing is clear: There is no possible way I could have completed this event without the Ohana, Kokua and Aloha of my ULTRAMAN family and especially from my incredible crew and Darwin Holt's patient, calming influence over these past six months while I was very worried about ever finishing.

On paper, there was no possible way for me to finish the 170 mile bike event under the 12-hour cutoff. I had never ridden that far or that fast for that long; never. In fact, it wasn't even close. But somehow, with the help of my crew and Darwin's belief and encouragement, we pulled off a miracle on Day 2 which kept this event, and my ultimate finish, alive.

Thanks to all of my new ULTRAMAN Ohana and to my incredible crew. Thanks a million times over!

Aloha.

Significant Progress and Updates

I have made significant progress over the last sixty days. My book, Iron Ambition is now complete and will be live on Amazon.com in just about two weeks or so. Also, my fitness has improved dramatically since January.

My recent long workouts have been a 5 mile non-stop swim in my Endless Pool (stopping only for refueling/hydration). This took 3 hours and was a nice pace. At no time did I ever feel like I could not make the 5 mile distance. The Ultra man event will require a 6.2 mile swim and I feel confident that I can do that now, expecially with a wetsuit on.

My long run is now about 2.5 hours and at a slower pace than normal. What's very interesting is that I am now focused on staying just in Zone 2 for my HR. To stop the temptation of running fast, I no longer use distance or pace on my Garmin Satellite watch: I only use Zone and Total Time.

Just using those two datapoints has enabled me to be free from the constant worry of average pace per mile or meeting some arbitrary distance goal. All I do now is focus on the total time on the road and I try to keep my HR in Zone 2 for 50 - 75% of the time, usually longer. This has helped improve my pacing dramatically, but my pace per mile is slower.

The good news about this new method is that is helps me learn to be much more consistent and to avoid the peaks and valleys in my HR data throughout the run. This consistency means that I can run longer distances yet feel less fatigued. At my age of approaching 50, my focus has shifted from speed and ego,to endurnace and enjoyment of the running experience and environment.

Biking continues to be my trouble spot. I am still quite concerned about my ability to ride 170 miles and then get up the next morning to run a double marathon in the Ultra man. But I trust my coach and advisors, so I just keep plugging away at the workouts.

Last weekend, I did the CA 70.3 Ironman course on my Computrainer and really had a very tough time with it. The hills in the race really killed me. The next day, I was just beat and really sore. So I went out to the Computrainer to try and figure out why I was so sore.

It turns out that I was running a 42-23 gear for the lowest gear on my Time Trial bike. This is a really high gear for me. On my road bike I run a 39-27 and had I used that bike for the workout, I would have been in much better shape today. That road bike gearing would have made it significantly easier to make those tough climbs. In fact, my hill climbing bike is geared with a 34 - 28 which is almost like a mountain bike and makes things much easier still. So the Time Trial bike gearing is why I am so sore. The good news is that I realized this in advance of the race this Saturday, so I can make the adjustments and have a much better day.

My race this Saturday is just a hlaf-Ironman, but last year this time, I would have been totally worried about it. Not this year. I am treating the race as just a fun day out on the road, an easy workout and I am just going out there to have fun. To experience the race without the pressure of doing my best. I just want to do one for fun and to really be a participating spectator. I will be in the event, but just crusing along having fun, not worrying about a thing. Just there to make friends and take in the venue and the course.

The vendor expo is always a lot of fun too.