Finish line photo

It must be an Ironman Canada anniversary thing…

…because the last time I felt this good about an Ironman was five years ago when I finished my first Ironman at the 20th anniversary for IM Canada. I would have never predicted the great IM experience I had, given the number of challenges I faced, one as close as two days to the actual start of the IM. However with that said, from the time I got up race morning to the time I laid my head on the pillow that night, I couldn’t have asked for better Ironman...well, aside from a faster time; but, that’s another story.

Sunday morning 4:30am, David and I left for the starting area. No sign of daylight at this point; but, we started off with an excellent omen…the best parking space. Much to our surprise we got to park right next to the finishing area. I joked with David, “If I had a camera, I’d take a picture of our parking spot.” …George Castanza would have been proud.

Every step of the way, to the start of the swim, was a continual sign of good things to come. For example, David and I were the first to get body marked, no worries of lines. And best of all, I was able to visit the “Honeybucket” with no hassles whatsoever…who could ask for anything more. I was in heaven.

Around 6:00ish, David and I mozied our way down to the swim start and I had to face my first sign of apprehension. Will my new goggles work? While the brand and make were the same, I was doing big time IM-no-no by changing my equipment right before the start. But, once again, the planets, moons and stars must have been in alignment because my goggles worked flawlessly. I can’t even begin to tell how excited I felt.

Much to my surprise I was lucky enough see both Eric and Matt at the shoreline. I’m sure they could sense the difficulty I was having just trying to contain my excitement over my goggle test. But, with that aside, all we needed to do next was to relax and wait for the swim to start.

With minutes to go before the start, I inserted my earplugs, adjusted my swim cap and positioned my goggles in place. It was almost eerie to be somewhat deaf,because of the earplugs, and yet still have the ability to hear the bagpiper playing an uplifting melody to inspire us. Before I knew it, the cannon sounded and the swam began.



Since I typically start way in the back, the affects from being bumped, hit or run over were pretty much a non-issue. I just kept to my turtle-like freestyle stroke and I was happy has a clam (pardon my sea-creature analogy.) Well, up until I latched onto a person that I would draft off for the remaining 1.2 miles. What a godsend! She was a perfect draft for me. Not only did she set a good pace for me, she swam straight. I completely trusted her direction. I hardly had to sight, she was swimming so straight. I even got aggressive with a few swimmers, that we were passing, after they accidentally swam into our path. I did not want to lose my draft. As David, Eric and Matt will attest, when it comes to drafting, Alfonso is king. Albeit drafting on the bike during an IM is illegal, this was the swim. So, I had no problem holding on for what I saw was rightfully mine. Besides, I think I deserved that draft given all the injuries and challenges I seemed to face in preparation for the IM. ;-)

Anyways, after the effortless swim, I came out the water fresh as ever. I half expected to have a PR; but, I must have been lulled into complacency because I was about 5-10 minutes slower that I anticipated. But if there’s one thing that the Hoppers have taught me, don’t panic. Take everything in stride and move on from there.

Transition to bike was a little longer than most; but, again, no biggy. I knew that the bike is the strongest of the three legs, so I wasn’t worried…guess I should have been a little worried; because, unbeknownst to me, the wind was going to shift…unfortunately not in my favor. So that sums up the bike for me really. Felt great on the bike when the wind was to my back. I watched my heart rate monitor to stay within my BPM range and I rode strong up until the head wind reared it’s ugly head. I went from an average of 22mph to a snails pace of 8-9mph at times. ;-(

Oh well, I just sucked it up and put my head down into the wind. The only thing that bothered me was when two women decided to blatantly draft off of me and when this elderly British fellow almost crashed into me up a hill…funny how his British accent still sounded proper even while he blurting out expletives to himself, during his attempt to avoid a crash.

I must stay Richter Pass and Yellow Lake didn’t prove to be as challenging as I remembered. And while I typically ride up hills like molasses, I didn’t experience any cramps like I did in 2002.

So, the real fun began when I started the descent into town. I was on such a high I decided to have some fun with a truck that was in the next lane, just outside of town. I pulled up right next to it and shared a welcoming smile with the elderly female passenger. I could almost make out her words as she spoke to the driver. Is as if she said, “Hey Wilbur, look at the Ironman cyclist. Shouldn’t he be slowing down before he makes the transition to the marathon?” …so I slowed down…just in time to see my daughter Katie on Main street close to house that we rented. What a great sight, followed by the smiling faces of my sons Charlie and Benny, not to mention my photo-taking wife Nancy. I was able to slap Charlie’s hand but, I missed Benny. I made a mental note to be sure and hug Benny on my way out for the run.

Transition from bike to run, uneventful…changed into my running gear and lathered up with bodyglide around my toes and heels…smart, smart, and smart. Luckily I made a conscious effort not to smear the sunscreen, like last year. Getting that stuff in your eyes is not a pleasant experience.

So, the true test began…a 26.2 mile run. During training, did I use my heart-rate monitor correctly? Did I set a realistic BPM range? Did I put in enough miles…well the last question I can answer honestly…definitely not. But you would never have guessed by the way I felt throughout the run and at the finish.

On my way out, I saw my family again. This time, I gave a very smelly, sweaty and yet loving hug to my entire family…and I also gave them an overly conservative finish time of 11:30pm…boy was I wrong.



From the get go, I felt remarkable relaxed. Every mile was relatively manageable. I felt a twinge of cramps from time to time; but, overall I felt okay. Granted I walked the hills and the aid stations; but, I ran more that I typically would have during the marathon.

I saw my first glimpse Eric during his return trip home. He still looked strong and it showed with his PR at the end. Unfortunately, he shared some bad news regarding David. As it turned out, David had just begun to suffer with what appeared to be the beginnings of a stress fracture. However, he was able to take some Advil and it apparently masked the pain. So, he was still able to finish with a respectable time.

As no surprise to my training mates, I spent some time enjoying the company of fellow runners and the Penticton’s alike. So much so that close to the 13 mile turn around, I slowed down to have a party-like conversation with one of the spectators. At this point, this overly friendly fellow had a little bit to drink; but, not to the point of being obnoxious. He loudly and repeatedly offered that all athletes eat and drink for free at his tail-gate party. So, I took him up on it. I actually stopped and waited while he surprisingly started to pour me a mixed drink, to which I replied, “no, no, I was just joking. If I’m still walking at the end, I’ll come back and take you up on the offer.” To which he replied, “I’ll leave the light on.” We both shared a laugh and I was on my way.

Just before that I was able to share a little smile with Matt. Of all places, I was waiting for my turn to use the port-a-potty when I saw Matt. He’s a funny guy. I stuck my hand out to give him a warm hand shake and Matt remarked, “I want a hug.” I probably would have obliged; but, nature was calling so we parted ways.

Well the rest is pretty much the same, I jogged, fast-walked, shared a laugh and photo-op with Matt’s parents on Main street and saw Heidi(Matt’s wife) and Amy(Eric’s wife) towards the finish as well. But, the best sight of all was seeing my entire family with about 1K to go. As much as I hate the teaser of having to go a little bit further on Lakeshore drive before finishing, the additional distance gave me a little more time to pull myself together. I’m confident enough with my masculinity to admit that I did shed a tear or two when I saw wife and kids. Thankfully I regrouped just in time to cross the finish line with the all the family in tow.

And yes, with the way I felt afterwards, I will be doing another Ironman…probably not next year; but, another one before I turn 50. ;-)

Pictures

Here's some pictures taken by my parents.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dyhopper/Ironman2007

Eric's Race Report

That was a surprising race for me. As I mentioned before, I hadn’t trained as much as I should have, so I expected a tough day. It was tough, of course, but far more good than bad this time.

Matt and I didn’t go quite as early as David and Alfonso, but still early enough to get everything done without stressing. We even had a few minutes to relax on the beach before the swim. With 2,600+ people all dressed the same (wetsuit and swim cap) it’s hard to find anyone, but I ended up sitting with Matt and Alfonso and seeing David right before the start. We both lined up right in the middle, but a little ways back to let the fast swimmers go. For some reason it seemed there were much larger crowds at both ends of the start line (the photos support this). Anyway, I expected to get beat up during the crowded swim. It wasn’t any worse than any other race though, and I don’t remember being uncomfortable at any point. I made a concentrated effort to stay in drafts the whole race. As we were swimming the last mile I started to think it could be a good swim for me because there were more people around than during my last two IMs. I was elated to see 1:19 on my watch when I stood up on the beach. It was 1:20:15 by the time I hit the timing mat. That’s a slow swim for most, but fast for me and significantly better than I expected. I really expected 1:30 and wouldn’t have been surprised with 1:35 or worse, so that was a great way to start the day. I was surprised to see David in the changing tent. I couldn’t find an open chair, so I just got my shoes on standing up and therefore had a fast transition.

I wasn’t confident at all in my bike training miles, so I kept telling myself to take it easy. Still, while I might not have the endurance I should, I have the speed from years of cycling. So, even trying to take it easy I starting passing people quickly. Soon David caught up and we near one another for the next 40 miles. We were going much faster than most at this point so drafting issues (no drafting allowed) weren’t a big problem yet. Just before the big climb at Richter Pass I lost sight of David. This was fine as I knew I should probably slow down anyway. The climb wasn’t bad at all for once, but I was glad to get to the summit. The headwinds on the backside were bad and the next 20 miles were a pretty slow average speed. I quit passing people as much, so avoiding drafting became much more difficult. I didn’t feel like going fast enough to pass the packs that were forming, but staying behind them felt too slow. That was OK though, because I needed to conserve energy. In the past I hated the out-and-back section, but this year wasn’t too bad because the change in direction gave a break from the tailwind. I was getting pretty tired though and knew things were going downhill. At about mile 80 I had the first leg cramping that required stopping. It was only for a couple of minutes, and some e-caps quickly helped, but I was still feeling very tired. For the next 10 miles I got passed by a couple dozen people and passed nobody. I fought off cramps a few more times, but didn’t have to get off the bike again until halfway up the final climb. I didn’t cramp, but was completely exhausted. At that point I figured it was going to be a very long day. After a couple of minutes rest I started going again, but very slowly. Finally the downhill came and I was able to rest for several minutes. This helped and I felt better, not great, going back into town. My 5:45 bike time was pretty slow for me, but was about as good as I should have expected given the lack of miles.

For the first time in my last 3 IMs I was able to get my running shoes on without cramping – woohoo! I jogged out of transition and felt surprisingly ok. I stopped to walk just long enough to have some more e-caps and gel, then started running again much more quickly than in the past. I felt as good as I ever have at this point and told myself to run as long as possible, but walk at every aid station to get whatever I wanted and to walk up every hill. I didn’t look at my watch at all for the next 13 miles. I was surprised to run all the way up main street, past my family, and out past Skaha Lake. I walked the short hills and the longer hills towards the turnaround. Nearing the halfway point I was thinking this was going well and a PR was possible. I still hadn’t looked at my watch, but figured if I made it to the turnabout 9:30 into the race that would give me 2:30 to finish under twelve hours. 2:30 seemed pretty doable at that point. At the turnaround I looked at my watch 9:30:13! I knew a PR was entirely possible given no meltdown, but it would have been really easy to loose that much time with any kind of problem. So, I just kept to my plan, walk the hills and aid stations and run everything else. I was simply shocked that I was able to do this. I even forgot to walk an aid station or two and just laughed about it as I spilled water and Pepsi over myself. I felt good enough to run the smallest of hills, but did take a break on the gradual hill back into town. After that last break I ran the whole rest of the thing. My family was surprised to see me as they weren’t yet in position to watch the finish. As I ran past I told them to hurry if they wanted to see it. Luckily we had to run a final out and back, as that gave them enough time to hustle (run and scooter) the finish line just in time. I saw 11:45 as I came down the stretch and could barely believe I evenly split the marathon.

It turned out to be a great day with a PR by 22 minutes on very little training. My longest bike was 107 miles, but it didn’t go well at all. My longest run was 15 miles. My longest swim was 2 miles, but mostly I swam just 1 mile once a week. I think the key was getting the nutrition right on the run and having a good swim. I didn’t get the nutrition right on the bike, so there is still room for improvement. On Thursday most of my muscle soreness is fading, but I am nursing a sore and puffy ankle. I must have twisted it somewhere along the line. I am also loosing a toenail, a sure sign of a good run!

HR

Here is my HR from the beginning of the bike to the end of the race (Click the image below). My deterioration is pretty clear. At least I got it back together for the last 5 miles.

Race Report - David

Hopefully the others will post their reports soon. I'll just say that we all made it to the finish, and Eric and Alfonso set personal best times!

Alfonso and I opted to get to the start super early. In fact we were there so early that we got to listen in on the volunteer meeting. I think we were the first to be bodymarked. So, we had a lot of time to get ready and actually get out in the water for a bit.
The swim was crowded. I swam as hard as I could and had good drafts most of the way. I was thinking that it was certainly going to be my fastest IM swim and I expected it to be 1:10 or under. I was surprised to exit the water in 1:18. I still don't know what happened. I routinely swim 1:50 per 100m in the pool, but averaged only 2:08 per 100m in the race. I guess it was a case of the congestion actually trumping the draft.
I saw Eric in transition. As usual he got in and out of transition very quickly so I started the bike right behind him. I caught him a few miles in to the ride and we rode together for the first 40 miles. We passed hundreds of people during this section. I learned from my past mistakes and took it easy up the first climb that comes about 10 miles into the ride. We had a strong tailwind the whole first 40 miles, so we were really flying. We passed the 40K mark in 1:02, and had an average of 24.2 mph at the start of the first big climb (Richter Pass). I climbed Richter fairly easily, but the wind was becoming brutal. After Richter, the combination of the headwinds and the never-ending short climbs started to take it's toll. I didn't pass too many people after about the 50 mile mark. My shoulders were aching from the swim, and I had a hard time riding in my aerobars. I was trying to drink a full bottle of water every 2 aid stations (20 miles). I thought that should have been enough. I also was taking about 270 calories worth of Perpetuem every hour. I thought my stomach was OK, but after taking a sip of Perpetuem I suddenly threw up at about the 80 mile point. That was wierd. The yellow lake climb was hard, but not as bad as the last time I did it. Thankfully the last 20 miles are mostly downhill. I ended up with a 5:32 bike split. That was 19 minutes slower than last time, but I think it was harder this year due to the winds.
After changing in to running clothes, I headed out to start the run. An official yelled at me to put my number on. Yikes! I had left it in transition. I had to run back to the changing tent. Four or five volunteers helped me go through the big pile of bags looking for mine but we couldn't find it. I finally found a different volunteer still carrying it around. So, I had a slow transition again.
Surprisingly my legs felt good. My goal was to run the first hour without taking any breaks. I made it about 15 minutes but finally succumbed to the urge to take a short walking break. The first 6-7 miles went pretty well. I was keeping up a 9 minute/mile pace. My stomach really started hurting at this point, though. I had to quit taking any gels, and even quit drinking for awhile in the hopes that my stomach would get better. I was still averaging better than 10 minute miles when I got to the hills on the far end of the course. Those hills, combined with my stomach, just destroyed me. I took some Tums at mile 13 and that did help my stomach a little. But, I was officially in "survival mode" at about mile 14. I finally found a pattern that worked for me. I would run about 20 seconds and walk about 10. I did this for a few miles and convinced myself I could do this the rest of the way. Unfortunately, with all of the starting and stopping I developed an intense pain in my right shin. It came on suddenly and I couldn't run even 1 step without severe pain. Luckily, I had some Advil with me and took a couple of those. I kept waiting for the pain to subside but it wasn't happening. I walked for miles and miles. Eric passed me somewhere in there and was looking good. I wanted to run so badly, not because of my time, but because I couldn't imagine the torture of walking for hours on end. Then at mile 21, as suddenly as it came on, the pain went away! I guess the Advil worked. I was able to actually run the last 5 miles. I was so incredibly happy to actually be running that I was pretty happy with how things turned out. I actually tried to take it easy over the last couple of miles so that I wouldn't have to visit the medical tent again this year. I felt really good at the end ran in with Maya for a final time of 11:52.
Five seconds after finishing I felt really, really terrible. I thought I was going to pass out. After pushing my way through the crowds I found a place to sit down but I wasn't getting any better and couldn't even stand on my own any more. So, off to the medical tent I went. I felt a little better after laying down there for awhile. The doctor wanted to know how much I drank, ate, and went to the bathroom. He was surprised when I told him that I hadn't gone to the bathroom since the swim. In fact, in my last 4 ironmans, I have never gone to the bathroom after the swim. It seems like a simple case of dehydration, but I really feel like I drink a lot. They tried to take some blood to test my electrolyte levels, but my veins had collapsed and they couldn't get any. So, they had to try again on the other arm. Thankfully it worked that time. My sodium, potassium, and glucose numbers all came back above the normal range. So, he said I either was taking way too much electrolytes or I wasn't getting enough water. I didn't take much electrolytes at all, and I thought I drank a lot of water. It seemed strange so they got a couple of other doctors over to discuss things. The final conclusion was that I must be a really heavy sweater and I need more water than most. I've never thought of myself as a heavy sweater, but who knows? One doctor gave me his card and wants me to e-mail him with other stats. Anyway, after all of this, I felt fine again and was able to leave. Poor Maya was sitting there alone that whole time. My parents and brother were looking for me, and they had even paged my family but no connection was made.
Of course I wanted a better time, especially considering that I felt well prepared this time. But I can't complain. I still finished faster than my last 2 IM's. Ironman is very tricky to get right. I'm convinced that I need a coach before I attempt another one of these.
So, except for my aching shin, I'm left with almost no soreness once again. I just don't actually run enough of the marathon to cause any lasting muscle soreness. I'm hoping this shin gets better quickly so I can do some of the late season running races.

We're Ready

We've all been here since Thursday. The rental house is full, but nice.

We have gone through all of the pre-race requirements including registration, welcome dinner, practice swims, etc... and finally dropped off our bikes and transition bags this morning. Now there is nothing to do but rest and eat.

The weather looks great at 71 degrees with a slight chance of showers. Those who are well prepared should have fast times. That's it for now.

Posting for Matt

Here's Matt's contribution to the blog for the day. For those who know Matt, you won't be surprised...

Went looking for my wetsuit last night. Couldn't find it. I quickly realized it was in PHX. Called my brother (who lives with us in PHX) to inquire. Of course he didn't answer and I was left thinking that I was going to have to go down just to pick it up. He ended up calling later and it was in PHX. Good news was that he had a girly friend who was flying back this morning. I had a conflict w/ her arrival time so we decided that she would check a bag but not pick it up and I would simply pick it up later. Plan worked great until I met the most uncoporative Alaska agent in baggage claims. She really did not like my plan. After haggeling w/ her and playing phone tag w/ Mike for 15 minutes we figured out that Mike's girly flew on SW. Walked over to SW claims and picked up my bag no problems...

md

Penticton

For those of you asking where the race is located:


View Larger Map

More video

Hopefully this won't happent any of us...

The famous Julie Moss video:



And, and even better one even though it was only for 4th place:

Last weekend of training

We finished up our last weekend of training. Eric, Matt, and I did 43 miles on the bike at almost 22mph average. We rode the full TT bikes, including disk wheels just to make sure everything was working OK. We had no problems, so I already packed up the bike.
I also got in an 8 mile run early Sunday morning. I ran really slow and as usual, the slower runs are somehow harder for me.
The weather forecast looks absolutely ideal: A high of 79 deg and partly cloudy.

We're going to drive halfway up tomorrow and should arrive in Penticton Thursday in the early afternoon. Hopefully we'll have time to get signed in and get in a short swim in the evening.

Unlucky or Lucky?

I've finally found a few minutes where I can contribute to this blog. I really should be helping wrap Sam's presents for his 5th birthday tomorrow, but I'll do that next. Training has been very tough again this year. I don't have the excuse of an early season Ironman like last year, but I do have family I want to spend time with, a job that's been much more demanding lately, and I still race sailboats too. There's just not enough time in the day to train like I really should. I suspect my training hours are just under half of what most people claim to train. I bet a lot of people wouldn't even think an Ironman was possible on my average training hours, but I know it is because I've done it before! It won't be a fast time, but hopefully it will be a good time. I seem to have conquered my stress fracture issues, but did struggle with what appears to be plantar faciitis over the last couple of months. Whatever it was, was pretty painful after runs, so I just didn't run much.

My latest excuses center around my left lower leg. First, about 2 weeks ago I fell on a sailboat winch hitting my knee very hard. It's been swollen and very sore to the touch. I was afraid to run on it for over a week, but swimming and cycling didn't aggravate it. Finally on Monday I did a 10 mile run and that went fine, so I figured it wouldn't impact my race much other than a little missed training time. On Thursday I rode to work and then to the boat for that night's race. On the way to the boat I hit a sinkhole perfectly suited to swallowing a bike wheel. Over I went, of course on the same leg! I'm pretty much ok, except for a little (but deep) hole and a bit of roadrash. My bike also got a little roadrash on the carbon aerobars, but it doesn't seem to have impacted their strength. I tried to break them and couldn't.

I don't know if I'm unlucky for crashing 1-1/2 weeks before Ironman, or lucky that I didn't really get hurt. I guess I'll chalk it up as lucky. I was also "lucky" 1-1/2 weeks before my last Ironman where a little dog ran out from behind a parked car and right through my front wheel. He took out a few spokes, ran off yelping, and somehow I didn't crash.

Anyway, I'm glad the race is almost here!

swim/ride

I got in another good swim with Alfonso yesterday. I swam 1.2 miles, with my 1 mile split being 32:20. That would be slow for a swimmer, but it's about as fast as I've ever gone. I followed up the swim with a 54 mile bike ride. It seemed short, which I guess is good. I'm still feeling pretty fatigued. I hope that clears up over the next week. I just checked my training log and I haven't had a day off since July 17, so I'm considering taking tomorrow off. This weekend should be very easy compared to the last few weekends. I'm planning a 40-45 mile ride and an 8 mile run. We're also trying to figure out how to get in an open water swim, since none of us have done that yet this year! (I hope I can find my wetsuit :) )

long range weather

I wish you could trust the long range weather forecast, because this looks very nice:

(27C = 80F)

Numbers

The bib numbers are now up:

Alfonso: 1503
Matt: 497
Eric: 886
David: 762

Too bad sprinting doesn't help during an IM...

...because if it did, I'd be so much better during the bike leg. Yesterday's ride proved to be another positive indication that my injury is healing well. Rob Geale and I had a relatively easy out and back to Rock Museum. And just for good measure, I decided to try a few fun accelerated efforts. Of course I waited until I was thoroughly warmed up before I attempted the sprint, it sure was an ego boost. I really need to give up this long distance stuff and stick to what I'm good at, short sprints. Unfortunately, I don't lose any weight doing that. So, I guess I'll have to keep up with this endurance stuff. That's it for the next four days. I'm off to vacation; but, I'll be running, cycling and attempting my first open water swim. Just in time for IM. ;-)

Runnning - Injury free....

Well, after my second dose of electro-acupuncture, I'm happy to say that my running has been free of injury. Although it's not quite 100%, it's good to know that I can run again without pain. Completed a very easy 12 miler, yesterday. And by all accounts, I'm relatively confident that I'll finish 26.2 miles, especially at my pace. Of course, that's not factoring in the swim and bike beforehand; but, I'm happy with my injury recovery so far, nonetheless Only time will tell if the herbal liquids I've been embibing will clear up my internal systems. According to my acupuncturists, that's the root of my injuries. So, we'll see.

Bridge Pedal

Maya and I rode the 10 bridge version of the Bridge Pedal today.


The trip out to the Sellwood bridge and the St. Johns bridge was nice. The rest was just too crowded. We were stuck in the bottleneck getting on to the Ross Island bridge for probably 30 minutes:


If we do this next year, I'm going to start at Alfonso time (ie. be there before the sun comes up). Maybe some of the congestion could be avoided that way.

Providence Bridge Pedal...not you're average IM training ride

Well, the 8 bridge pedal fest that Katie and I rode this morning, definitely took tapering to a new level. Let's just say the start time was 7:30ish and we finished around 10:30ish...for a whopping 14 miles:


Since this was Katie's first Bridge Pedal, I felt a sense of responsiblity to teach her the finer things of organized rides, like what honeybuckets are:







Aside from the numerous weekend wanna-be racers, I think we may have another Nomad racer in the wings and dare I wish, another Ironman(girl) in the making? Only time will tell.

swimming

Alfonso and I went swimming in the beautiful Nike pool today.
Even though I haven't been swimming much this year, I had a great swim today. In fact, I think my 1 mile split may have been my best ever. Hopefully I'll feel equally fast on race day.

Bridge Pedal is Sunday. It's not very good training, but should be fun. Maya and I are doing it on the tandem.

Is a catching a fly ball in baseball good luck?

After catching a fly ball during a Portland's Beaver game this week, I was told that, in Japan, it's said to bring good fortune for those that are lucky enough to do just that. Well, I don't know if all that's true, but, I'm going with it. I'll take all the luck I can get at this point to finish IM Canada.



Despite suffering yet another injury, on July 31st, I was getting a bit frustrated and anxious due to IM being just around the corner, plus my inability to train during a crucial final week of long mileage. I wasn't able to run or ride without causing further injury. So, I threw caution to the wind and decided to see an acupuncurist, on the recommendation of David/Yoshie. Well...while I still have my doubts, after a 20 minute electro-acupuncuture (yes, I said electric needles) session, the injury was significantly healed. I couldn't believe it...I still have to pinch myself. Of course, I have to temporarily wear this herbal patch and drink this nasty-tasting herbal drink (thank god for honey). Nancy calls it my witches brew...you know... the Lip of Toad, Eye of Knute type of connoctions. Nevertheless, I'm game, so long as it keeps me injury free until IM.



So, with 15 days to go before the pain-fest, I guess I'm ready, relatively speaking. I'm convinced it won't be a PR; but, I thinking very positive. I'm going to finish...injury free.



PS: Send me all the positive mojo you can. ;-)

The taper begins

With 2 1/2 weeks to go before the race, we are all beginning our taper. It's nice to have all of the long rides and runs behind us.
I think we've all had some injuries along the way, and I may be the only one not currently dealing with an injury. But, all four of us will be there at the start. Half the battle with these things is just getting to the starting line. Hopefully we can all get to the finish line this time as well.