Ironman Chattanooga

Wow...what a year!  I need to break this down into a couple sections.  First let me start with the lead up to Choo.

The Lead Up

This year has been a tough one for my wife and I.  We have been trying to have children for over a year and a half.  The frustration and stress that is involved in something out of your control can be intense.  We all like control.  Living this has taught us both just how much we do.  Most people do not understand the stress of living this day in and day out.  The lows are low.  It is not something we talk about much at all.  I cannot count the times we are asked "When are you having kids?  Those moments you want to punch someone in the face.  I only preface the race report with this to explain how amazing my wife is. Triathlon is my escape.  It is my stress relief and reality escape.  While going through this, my wife managed to go above and beyond daily to support my "escape".  She is the most amazing, Grace centered, women in the world.  SHE IS RIDICULOUS!   Now that the weird, uncomfortable part is over, on to the triathlon talk.....

I came into this year with 7 years in the sport but no formal training.  I was to the point where I was no longer worried about finishing an Ironman or even having a descent time.  I wanted something more.  I had 5 under my belt but was stuck.  After a chat with my amazingly supportive wife, I began the process of finding a coach.  After many conversations and interviews, I found what I felt was the perfect match.  Matthew Rose at Dynamo Multisport was it.  His coaching philosophy and values seemed to mesh with me well.  I started with him January 1 and so it began.....

It was a whole new world.  I quickly realized that I knew absolutely nothing about the sport of Triathlon....NOTHING!  I followed the plan and trusted his knowledge.  It was amazing the growth I had in such a short period of time.  I am the least athletic person around the sport!  There are some amazing people in this crazy sport.  Many of these crazies are coached by Dynamo Multisport and/or are on the All3Sports team with me.  I am willing to work though and that is something I did this year.  I managed to complete 100% of the workouts given to me by Matthew from January 1 to Race-day.  It was good for me to have a formal plan daily!  My wife, friends, and family put up with a lot to make this happen!

Throughout the year, I did a good amount of races varying in distance.  I did 3 Sprints, 1 Olympic, and 2 70.3s.  I had some consistent races in the shorter distances during the Tri the Park Series.  I was surprised considering my focus on distance, but the knowledge I was gaining from Matthew was carrying over.  I managed to win the overall series for Tri the Parks.  I had a tough race at the Rev3 Knoxville Half. My bike was off and the run was horrible.  It was again a nutrition issue and I really began to work to dial that in.  I dialed in the nutrition and had a good test run at Lake Logan Half.  That was my best race execution in triathlon ever and I pulled out 2nd overall behind the one and only George Darden.  This gave me some confidence as the main event approached.

The last few weeks before taper included a training camp on course and some long long Saturdays.  I learned a lot from the coaches and other athletes in these sessions.  Taper came and went and before I knew it, I was headed up to Chattanooga to do the thing.

THE WEEKEND

I got up to Chattanooga on Thursday afternoon to avoid the congestion.  I got checked in nice and early and did a lot of laying around.  Friday was more of the same.  I had some great dinners with friends and  got to see some familiar faces that I had not seen in years!  Each day I had some light workouts to keep things moving.  Saturday I got everything checked in early and spent the entire day watching football.  I was surprisingly calm.  The race was different than any other full I had done.  I had a very specific plan and had done the work.  Now all I had to do was execute.  That should be the easy part....

RACE DAY

I was up early, 3am, and made my normal breakfast.  I made it down to transition at 4:30am with a ride from my Dynamo Crew!  After loading my bike and bags with nutrition, I was off to the swim start.  During the transition drop off we were told it was NON-Wetsuit!  Wahoo!  I was happy about this.  It was a time trial start and I was up near the front with a friend Katrina.  Almost go time!

Swim

Within 10 minutes of the gun, I was jumping off the dock into the Tennessee river!  Go time!  I usually did no swimming leading up to race day and took advantage of my swimming background.  This year I had swam 2 days a week and had a good feel for the water.  THE SWIM WAS CRAZY FAST!  Before I knew it, I was catching and passing some of the pro field.  The plan was to push my pace and catching people pushed me to push even harder.  Before I knew it, I was done!  43:25!  I did not waste much time in T1 and rushed onto the bike.                                                                                                                        

Katrina and I at the Swim Start

Headed into T1

Bike

The bike was interesting.  I knew the course well and knew it would be quick even though it was 116 miles.  The plan was steady.  It was full of rollers and there were plenty of chances to spike my power.  I wanted to avoid this!  It was a lonely ride for me.  Because of my swim, I was way ahead of the age groupers but behind the fast pros....no mans land.  I hardly saw another rider for the first 50 miles.  The second loop there were more people.  I was rounded up by a few large groups halfway through the second loop.  Penalties were being given to many of these guys drafting like crazy.  I settled in behind them and controlled my power.  I maintained proper distance and kept my power even.  Sometimes this meant I passed the group and then got passed right back.  My nutrition went pretty well.  The weather was about perfect and I was very hydrated.  I wanted to get another 200 calories in than I did but all was good.  The bike portion went by very quick.  Looking back, I should have started in the back of the swim and taken advantage of working my way to the front.  The lonely first 50 miles was the difference in my bike split in comparison to others, I think.  Still, the bike was steady and I came off feeling fresh and ready to run!  Time in the bike - 5:23:12

Bike Start

Biking through Chickamauga

Saying Hi to the Wife :)

                                 

Run

Getting in the run zone

Starting Lap 2

Steady is the name of the game!  This was the portion that I usually had issues with.  Especially GI issues!  I had worked on this a lot over the year and was ready to go!  The miles clicked off and I was holding myself back.  Seeing Matthew on course around mile 3 and having him say, "BE PATIENT", "STEADY", was good for me.  I settled!  After making the first turn around mile 4.5 or so, I made my one and only bathroom stop.  It wasn't GI.  I just had to go.  I still managed a 8:30 that mile including the stop.  I settled back in and was passing people.  Through mile 12, all was to plan!  I was sipping 1/3 a Huma gel every mile and drinking water steadily.  As I started the second loop, the gels were not going well.  Dangit I thought!  I tried to get them down and it was not happening.  It was frustrating!  During training, I had handled them great!  Without calories, my HR dropped significantly and the pace followed.  I switch to coke to get something but could only ride that sugar wave so long.  Mile 21 was about as long as I could ride it!  The last 5.2 miles were rough.  I pushed though it and refused to walk. As I turned to head to the finishers shoot, Chris Nasser, a ridiculously good athlete in my age group, ran by.  He had started behind me and made up about 5 minutes.  I crossed the line in a daze.  3:40:47 Marathon and a total time of 9:53:07.  This was good enough for a 4th place in my age group.  I was about 11.5 minutes and 2 slots away from getting a slot to KONA.  I ended up in medical for awhile after pushing out the last 5 miles with no nutrition.

Lindsey, Me, and Katrina on the Podium

TOP 4 Males 25-29

I knew so many people doing this race!  I cannot name them all but everyone completed it and everyone had tremendous performances!  I love the triathlon family!

Reflections

I am extremely happy and frustrated with the results.  I got a PR my 55 minutes!  I had a goal to be under 10 hours and met it.  I know I had the training and ability to be a lot quicker.  This was a great learning experience.  A couple of major things I learned:
1) Start in the back/middle of a time trial swim.  Being in the front hurt my bike a lot more than it helped my swim.
2) Work on my run nutrition more.  I have got to get this dialed in to get to the next level.
3) I have a lot to work on in terms of technique.  I need to work on my bike and run form.  There is so much to learn.  That is why I love this sport!  There is always so much to learn and I have an amazing coach to help make that happen.
4) The amount of support I have is ridiculous.  My wife blows my mind daily with her constant sacrifice.  Seeing her on course in all my races is what it is all about.  My parents are amazing.  The spent all day on course cheering and then had to drive all the way back to make it to work.  My friends are amazing!  I had many on site that day and hundreds following me.  Thinking of all of you guys and gals is what pushed me through those last 5 miles.

The woman of my dreams and biggest supporter 

I am doing Beach 2 Battleship Full October 25th and will use it as an opportunity to work on nutrition again!  Next big race is in July, at Ironman Lake Placid with the BIG BOYS in 30-34!

Blalock Olympic/Mistletoe Sprint & Lake Logan Half

Blalock Olympic/Mistletoe Sprint

I am going to keep these first two short and sweet.  Mostly because I do not remember much and training has kept me so busy I have not had the chance to do a write up!  Blalock Olympic I ended up 3rd Overall.  I was run down by George Darden(surprise surprise) and another guy.  Still my first overall placement in an Olympic.  The one thing I remember is feeling off on the bike the entire time out there.

Mistletoe Sprint was a quick course with a trail run.  Last year I ended 2nd in my age group here and I was back for revenge!  I got out of the water 5th overall and was thinking to myself what the heck is going on.  I passed a few guys in transition and had 3 to catch.  About a mile in, I was on their tail.  I hammered past knowing that I had to put time on the bike.  I ended up putting about 3 minutes on the rest of the field thanks to the rollers.  I hit the run in first place for the first time ever!  I felt fancy with the lead bike rolling in from of me.  When I made the turn around and saw the gap I knew I had the race.  I pushed on and finished up first overall!  My first EVER triathlon overall win!  It was a lot to do with the fact that the really fast people were not there because of injury or other plans but I was pumped :).  I used that adrenaline to follow my coaches plan of immediately knocking out a 2 hour run.  Unfortunately, I missed the award ceremony because I was out running.  Very blessed with the win!  I love the Tri the Park Series!  This was my last of the series as I focus in on Ironman Chattanooga! I managed to get 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st in my four races in the series.



LAKE LOGAN HALF

This was a big race for me.  Not because it was a focus this year, but because it was going to be a good test of my nutrition and where I was at in training.  Nutrition wise, for the first time, I had a plan.  I had cut out fiber for the last 36 hrs and had switched to UCAN, Skratch, and Bonk Breakers for the bike!. On the run, I was now using Huma Gels.  YOU CAN GET ALL THESE PRODUCTS AT ALL3SPORTS.COM AND YES THAT WAS ADVERTISING!

I met George Darden and Erin Humsi at 3pm Friday to do a little warm up at the race sit.  These two are stinking legends and are headed to Kona for the second time in October.  Yeah, they are freaking fast!  Enjoyed a nice 45 minute spin and 10 minute run.  We finished up and got in line to pick up our packets.  All 3 of us ended up switching to the Elite Open field in order to go in the first swim wave.  So glad I did this!  Saw lots of Dynamo, All3Sports, and ATC members around.  Fun group!  I then dipped out to Waynesville to get checked in and settled.  Joseph McLeod and I were splitting a room and he was checking in right behind me.  Met Joseph last weekend when we road 125 miles together.  He is a fast son of a gun too!  I packed up my gear and settled.  We had a nice dinner and were off to bed early.



I got up early, 3:30am, and made me a breakfast of 6 eggs and a cup of coffee.  Made it to race site at 5am and picked up my timing chip.  After setting up transition, Joseph and I went for a nice easy 20 min run to the the legs moving.  It was almost go time.  Got in the water 5 minutes before the start to get the initial cold shock over with.  It was a wetsuit swim and quite chilly!  The elite group of males and females was quite small which was nice.

Swim

The swim started out pretty normal for me.  I hammered to the lead in the first 50meters and then settled into a nice rhythm with virtually no kick.  As I made the first turn, I noticed a couple of swimmers to my right hanging with me.  After the second turn, it was a straight shot back in.  I pushed a little harder trying to make sure I had a good lead.  We were able to drop one of the swimmers by a bit but the other and I were side by side.  In the last 50 meters, I pushed to make sure I was first.  As we approached the exit, it was a river we entered and the water temp dropped 15 degrees!  Brrrr, but it was awesome!  I threw myself up on the dock skipping the ladder which saved me a few seconds.  Turns out the two just behind me were chicks!  Erin Humsi being one of course!!!  23:43 for the swim!  The swim had to be a little short because I expected closer to a 25.   I was in and out of T1 in 2:28 and onto the bike.



Bike

What an amazing course!!!  I had the privilege of the lead motorcycle the entire ride....well almost the entire ride...I will get to that!  I had hopes of leading into the run!  I felt like I was riding a century with nice descends and climbs.  It was fun being the lead and I was able to push pretty hard.  I need to learn to use more cadence to keep the HR up and not power.  I was able to stay somewhat steady though.  Most climbs were nice and short.  At mile 30, my motorcycle lead pulled beside me and told me he was pulling off and that another motorcycle should pick me up.  Well, no other motorcycle did and I had a couple lonely moments when I was wondering if I was on course.  Good thing I was!  There was one climb around mile 40 that was solid with switchbacks and everything.  I felt like I was at home :)  Soon after that climb was a descent with lots of gravel but nothing that I couldn't move around.  We then met up with those racing the international distance.  It was nice to get some leap frogging finally.  About .5 from the finish I hear a what's up behind me....dangit George "stinkin" Darden had caught me in the last second!  We had a nice laugh about it while we ran our bikes into transition.  Bike time 2:18:52.  Bike was also short at 52 miles.  I was in and out of T2 just ahead of George in a time of 1:17.

Run

That lead did not even last 1 second.  Bye bye George!  I had a specific plan for the run and I was sticking to it!  Steady up the hill, push it back.  Hard up the hill second lap and then bring it home.  The first out was just as I planned with half a gel at mile 1.5 and the rest of it at mile 3.  I was feeling strong and dodging international distance runners.  On the way down, I finally had a chance to see "the chase".  I had some great runners behind me who were looking strong and I knew I had to execute.  The turn around for lap 2 went right by the finish line and around a large field before heading back to the road.  The second lap was the key to this race.  I had to keep my HR up on the climb!  I pushed hard and kept the HR over 160 which was the goal, ignoring pace.  My turn over felt great in my new Clifton Hokas!  I finished off Gel 2 on the climb up around mile 7/8.  Once I made the turn around, I started doing the math on third place.  I knew I had to beat him by 12 minutes because I had started in the elite field.  Once I saw him through the crowds of runners, I started pushing hard and calculating.  I had around 15 minutes but he was running faster than me!  From that point on, I was in the zone and was not looking at anything.  I took half a gel and just went into go mode.  All the great All3Sports, Dynamo, and ATC athletes were very motivating yelling at me.  I crossed the line 2nd Overall.  Run split was 1:24:20.  Again, the run was short by a half mile.  The run is what made me the happiest about this race.  I was not passed once, which is a first for me.  Also, nutrition worked great!

Overall time was 4:10:40.  I will take it.  George and I decided that we would need to add about 16 minutes to our time to ballpark an actual 70.3.

This is an amazing race and it was very well run.  Then again, it is Setup Events and they are always amazing!  The venue could not be more gorgeous!  I hope they make 2 simple changes.  1) To extend the swim, bike, and run to make it at true 70.3!  Based on the venue, that should be very simple!  2) Get rid of the Open Category and just do overall.  That was confusing and I have not seen it before.   I highly recommend this race and hope to be back soon!

Blalock Sprint- 5/31/2014

This race was one of the Tri the Park series that I had not done.  I was pretty excited as word on the street said it was hilly.  I like hills!  I woke up bright and early, making my way down from Dahlonega to Newnan.  There were tons of ALL3 and Dynamo Multisport Teammates at this race.  I set up transition and chatted with a lot of familiar faces.  The triathlon family is what it is all about.  Based on past results, beside me in transition was my main competition.  Rob Richardson who has been dominating and Thomas Pilliod who is just plain fast.

On the swim, it was kind of nice to have a rabbit to chase.  This was the first Tri the Parks race I have done in which I was not in the first wave.  The first wave was the young kids on the elite team.  One of them had won the race last year and they looked quick.   Pilliod was quick in the water.  I jumped in behind him and we left the field.  I ended up out of the water 15 seconds behind him and he put another 5 seconds in transition.  He was in sight.  I hammered the bike out of the gate.  I was on Pilliod quick.  I let him do the pacing for a few minutes.  I caught myself going too easy and knew Rob was surging!  I pushed around Pilliod and it was not too long after that Rob passed me.  I tried to pace off him but could not hang.  I kept him close but he was still putting time on me every mile.  I was putting the same time on Pilliod though.  I knew the kids that started before us could run, so I wanted to make sure I had them all passed by the end of the bike.  I passed the second place guy in wave 1 at about mile 12.  I came into transition feeling good.  I was 1:27 behind Rob and had one guy to catch besides him from the first wave.  They had started 3 minutes before us so I was not too worried about him.  Pilliod was 1:28 behind me and I knew he was a heck of a runner.

The run was just as hilly as the bike.  This is typically a good thing for me.  I built into the run keeping my focus on form.  I did not see anyone until the turn around was in sight.  Rob was on his way back and uncatchable.  Soon after the turn around I passed the guy from wave 1.  I also saw Pilliod close behind me and surging!  Around mile 2, I was running side by side with Pilliod.  He stopped and threw up.  I pushed on thinking I had second overall in the bag.  I upped my pace.  I was wrong.  With a quarter mile left Pilliod had rebounded caught me and passed.  Dang!  Mental punch to my face!  I pushed the pace even more and I did not have it.  I ended up finishing 14 seconds after him in 3rd Overall.  Turns out his T2 was 15 seconds faster than mine and ended up being the difference in the race!  The fact that I have to wear socks kills my transitions in the sprints!  Heck of a race by Rob and Pilliod!  Thomas Pilliod had a great run putting a minute on both Rob and I on the 5k alone.

My Race:
3rd Overall

600 meter Swim: 9:09
T1: 0:31         

14.7 Mile Bike: 37:27
T2: 0:34

3.1 Mile Run: 19:10

Rev3 Knoxville 70.3

The season of learning continues......  I was particularly excited about this 70.3 because it was my first longer race since starting an actual training program.  I came in with a specific plan from coach Matthew Rose at Dynamo Multisport.  It was a race for sure but more of a long training day for my "A Race"!  I am learning to trust and follow a plan.  I was semi rested and ready to go.





The week of the race was a little hectic.  Work was busy and my grandfather's heath began to go downhill.  I headed to Thomasville, GA to spend some time with him Thursday morning and came back Friday afternoon.  It was so amazing to spend time with him and get to tell him bye.  Spending time there puts everything in perspective!  As I type this, I have learned of his passing this morning.  I am so blessed with the health, ability, and support to do this sport that I love!  He was a man who lived to the fullest and put others first in everything.  I intend to do the same thing!


Saturday morning I was up and at it bright and early with my amazing wife!  We drove up to Knoxville arriving around 10am.   My room was not ready so I went ahead and picked up the race packet and checked in.  I then did a super relaxed brick in the gym as we waited for the room.  Just following the plan.  After a quick lunch, I went to the athlete meeting and checked in my bike.  The rest of the afternoon was spent just laying around and going over the race plan in my head.  My mother in-law and aunt joined us late and we all went to dinner at a great local pub.  I was in bed a little later than I wanted(8:30pm) but was asleep quick!

Race morning started for me around 4:50am with breakfast and a walk to T1.  My set up was pretty simple and I went for a light 10min run to get the juices flowing.  It was good to see a lot of familiar faces around transition.  Lots of All3Sports.com team members, Dynamo Multisport team members, Peak Racing members, and lots of other locals to the Atlanta area.  Some crazy good athletes hanging around.  It was go time.

The plan for the swim was simple...just hammer it.  The start was a swim up river before we made the turn down river to finish up.  It did not feel like there was much movement at all.  From the start, I went pretty hard.  I kept the tempo really high until the turn and then kept the arms nice and long.  I was 3rd overall from start to finish on the swim.  I had good clean water to swim in most of the time minus the few sticks that were floating by.  I was out of the 1.2 mile swim in 29:20 and onto the bike.

On the bike, I would catch and pass the two faster swimmers relatively quick.  My buddy Rob Richardson with Peak Racing would pass me on the bike early was well.  The first 20 min I just let my HR settle in.  I was with Rob and we were going at a comfortable pace dodging some of the Championship Wave racers.  Then passed another quick rider into 1st.  The three of us road together a while.  Then came the first mechanical.  My chain dropped between the cassette and my frame and got jammed.  Dang!  I stopped, un-wedged it and pushed on.  I was riding in 3rd still.  I was eating and drinking to plan but just could not get my HR up at all.  I was hoping to ride almost 15 beats higher???  Strange....  I did not want to throw down extra watts to push it higher because I knew it would lead to a disaster on the run.  At the first out and back, I saw that they had not put too much time on me and I was still comfortably in 3rd.  Around mile 38, same thing happened with my chain.  I stopped again, fixing the chain.  I decided not use the 12(my fast gear) anymore to prevent a third issue.  This led to some serious spin outs but had to of been quicker than stopping again and again.  That last stop provided an opening for another pass.  I was riding in 4th overall.  I rolled into T2 felling fresh and ready for the run even though I was concerned with the lack of being able to push my HR.  I had biked 2:37.24 with the stops.

As I started the run, Rob Richardson ran beside me telling me I was in 3rd and that do to his ongoing IT Band issues he had to pull out.  I purposely held back for the first 3 miles as part of the plan.  Keeping the HR down and getting ready to build!  During those 3 miles, I was passed by 2 runners.  One was fellow All3Sports.com representative Sean Schnur who was flying!  He ended up running down everyone and WINNING OVERALL!  The other was a 40+ year old who had started the wave after me.  He was moving.  I stuck to the plan!  I was running in 5th and no one else was close.  Mile 3 came and I was eager to pick up the pace.  I went to push it......nothing happened.  I did not have another gear???  My heart rate was in the 140s and I wanted it in the high 160s.  What the heck?  It was the same thing that was happening on the bike.  I could not get the HR up so I went to plan B...I increased the cadence.  Around mile 5 my stomach let me know that I needed to stop and go to the bathroom.  I pushed through knowing that would allow someone to catch me.  It hit me bad at mile 9.5 and I jumped in the woods (I'll spare details).  After the stop, I ran on.  I was frustrated the entire run knowing that I could run quicker but did not have the gear today.  My HR was waaaaay too low!  I was passed again sometime around that bathroom break.  It was Chris Nasser an amazing athlete from the Atlanta Triathlon Club!  He ran like a beast!  I brought it home 6th across the line.  I had run a disappointing 1:39.34.  Three more of the 40+ age groupers put enough time on me to bump me to 9th Overall.

I finished up 3rd in my age group and 9th Overall.  We got a pretty awesome winners medal that the finisher medal fits inside of.  Well done Rev3!  Unique!  I learned a lot at this race.  Nutrition is still the key.  In the wrap up phone call with my coach, I learned even more.  The data speaks wonders.  I am now working specifically on dialing in the proper nutrition for me so that I can run and bike in the proper zones.

The Start of a New Season and The John Tanner Sprint--4/26/2014

This was the first race for me of the 2014 Tri Season!  I was excited to get another season rolling with ALL3SPORTS!  Such a great team this year and great products to help get us to the podium!  This is a unique year for me as I have hired a coach!  Matthew Rose at Dynamo Multisport has taught me so much in just the 4 months I have been on board!  I have been in the sport for 8 years now and for the first time am learning about it....crazy to think about.  They are such a great organization with great people.  SO MANY PEOPLE THERE TO LEARN FROM!  My focus this year is Ironman Chattanooga in September but I have lots of fun races planned including many of the Tri the Park Series this summer, Rev3 Knoxville Half this Month, Lake Logan Half in August, and Beach to Battleship Full in October.  Should be good times!  Anyway, lets recap this race....

John Tanner is a race I have been doing for years.  It generally has lots of athletes showing up to play on it's hilly course!  This year I think 340 or so showed up for the tri.  More people always makes it more fun!  I showed up and set up transition next to Rob Richardson who is always dominating these races.  Heck of an athlete.  Enjoyed the morning chatting with everyone about their upcoming year and seeing the ALL3SPORTS.COM team in full force!  Since I typically do the longer races, I do not train transitions very much and they are crucial in this distance.  Last year at this race, my wet suit got stuck on me and killed my time.  Thanks to some advice from Brian Wortham(fellow teammate) and Dan Arnett with Endurance Concepts I fixed this issue!  Then it was time to hit the water....

Coach has had me back in the pool and that has made a big difference.  In the past, I took advantage of being a swimmer and never trained it.  Now I am in the pool twice a week!  Time for the start...When the gun went off, I sprinted.  I wanted to be up front.  It was all out to the first buoy.  I was where I wanted to be and did not see anyone around me.  I kept it steady got out of the water first and into transition.  

Rob caught me in transition and we mounted our bikes side by side with no one else in site.  I stayed behind Rob for the first few miles just settling in.  I was feeling good and hammered around.  I pushed the pace hoping to get away... I didn't :)  He pushed around me fast and I tried to hang.  Legs did not have it and he was gone.  Finished up the bike and into transition.  I was in and out pretty quick and onto the hilly run course.  Rob was a minute and a half or so ahead at this point and I knew I was running for second.

No one was close to me but since the masters had started 3 minutes behind, I was racing the clock more than anything.  Legs were still pretty tired from the past week of training but still felt decent on the run. I always forget how hilly the course is.  The turn around point seems to hide.  When I made the turn and headed back to finish, I knew I was comfortable in 2nd.

Finished in 2nd Overall for the second time on this course.  Really enjoyed seeing everyone and racing again!  It is going to be a great year.

Beach2Battleship Full Iron- 10/26/2013

     I came into the race tired after a long season.  I had never done so many long events in one year!  Not only that, but the last 3 long races I had dealt with terrible stomach issues on the run.  It had been very frustrating.  I had tried everything; including going gluten and dairy free before Louisville...didn't work.  So instead, this race I went back to basics.  I trained with course nutrition for the weeks before and had a tip from an expert who had dealt with stomach issues.  Take a Zantac 30 min before the start!  I did!  

     My wife and I decided to stay down the road from the race hotel at The Wilmingtonian.  This was a local and historic place.  DOG friendly too!  Chaco was happy about that.  We loved it!  An apartment set up with a kitchen is definitely the way to go!  We got in late Thursday and grab from food and hit the bed.  Friday morning I knocked out everything as fast possible.  Dropped the bags off and bike and got away from the crowds!  We went down to the beach for a bit before heading back to the room.  The rest of Friday was spent laying around.  Decided to cook ourselves and stay in Friday which was great. I was in bed nice and early and ready to go!  This was my race!  I had done this race 2 times prior and knew it backward and forward!

     Alarm went off at 4am....had my morning coffee, 2 eggs, and grits.  From experience, I had a sweatsuit and old shoes to wear to the start and donate.  I walked the half a mile to the trolly that took us over to T1.   Dang it was cold....39/40 degrees.  Got the T1 and did the normal run through.  Put 2 bottles on my bike, 1200 calories of food, and double check that I was in the right gear, checked tire pressure, and walk away:)  Hopped the trolly to the start with wetsuit in hand.  Lots of nervous chatter at the start so I went off on my own and laid down....1 hr out.  30 minutes out I took my Zantac and half a gel.  I drank the rest of my water and put the wetsuit on.  15 minutes out I made my way to the beach and made my way to the front.  Perfect!  Music began to rock and the countdown started...10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-BOOM

THE SWIM

     This swim had NO CURRENT this year.  This would typically be a great advantage to me as a swimmer.  The harder the swim the better!  This year I have not been in the pool at all!  I really slacked on it.  I had been in the water 10 times since January probably...which included races....not smart.  I felt good though for majority!  I kept swimming wide though...I was not sighting well at all.  This killed my time.  Then with about a half mile to go CRAMP!  This was a first for me.  Left calf and quad locked up so bad I had to sit up and scream in pain.  I had to use my hand to force my leg to bend...ouch.  Made it to the end at 58:22.  Not bad but 10 minutes slower than last year...I had work to do.  I made the run over to T1 and it was COOOOOLD!  I threw on arm warmers after struggling to get them over my wet arms.  Wish I had put gloves in there.....oh well.  Time to roll baby!  Out of T1 in 5:03.

THE BIKE

     The start of the bike was freaking cold!  I was numb all over and could not get in a rhythm at all.  I made some good passes and settled in.  Because of the tough swim, I was in no mans land.  It was lonely on the course.  I did not see a soul for 50 miles!!!  I felt great though and was taking it easy and making good time.  Finally ran into someone at mile 50ish near the special needs.  Also, saw the wife, brother, and sister in law and that gave me some good energy.  The other guy seemed to be hurting so I made the pass and pushed on.  Around mile 70, he passed me back.  As I sat up to eat something real quick, one of the pads from the arrow bars stuck to my arm warmer and then dropped to the ground...great.  Now my arm was resting on carbon.  Oh well, at least there was only 35 miles left.  I hung with him and passed back again near 80 miles in.  Around mile 95, he went back by and pushed on hard.  I let him go.  I took it easy for the last 6 miles.  I was having to weave to back end of the Half Iron group.   I was feeling good and honestly had not pushed it at all.  The headwinds were rough all day but I was hydrated thanks to using course nutrition.  That was for sure a smart move!  I think some of my past issues came from too much calculation on the bike and becoming dehydrated.  I hit T2 knowing I was positioned for a PR and the run was all that mattered.  Bike time was 5:20:04.  I was in and out of T2 quick but managed to reset my watch in doing so.  T2 was 2:17 and I hit the run course.

THE RUN

     I was repeating to myself...slow down slow down slow down.  I did and started out nice and easy.  I finally got my watch working and got into the zone.  I ditched the arm warmers, which were still on, at the 2nd aid station as I was finally heating up.  Great to see so many familiar faces before heading out to the lonely out and back section.  They had changed the course slightly which I really liked.  It was absolutely gorgeous around the lake and though the woods.  My first 13 were steady and I felt good!  NO STOMACH ISSUES...THANK GOD!!!  I finished the 13.1 in about 2:07 and was not dying.  I made my way back and this part was brutal.  You had to run right past the finish line...I mean right past and keep going about another mile before making your way back past the finish line and onto the last lap!  I headed back out and onto the one hill before the crowd goes away.  I pushed on.  I was walking some of the aid stations depending on how I was feeling but overall feeling good.  Once I made the final turn with 6 miles to go I started doing the math in my head...was I finally going to break 11.  5 to go....the math was looking even better.  I got a light stomach cramp with about 5 to go and stopped drinking Heed just in case.  I took at sip of coke and that seemed to really help.  3 miles to go and I put everything I had left.  Ran through the aid stations and down to the final stretch on the cobblestones!  I had finally done it.  Almost an even split marathon with a 4:22:33!  Most importantly, NO GI ISSUES!  Wahoo.  Also, a 10:48:01!  PR by 19 minutes with a bad swim.  I was happy and am still happy:)  

I felt pretty nauseated from not drinking the last part of the run because I was so scared of a stomach issue popping up.  I knew it was not smart but I wanted to break that 11!  I got 3 bags in an IV and was good to go!  I love the race and am blessed to have been able to race it 3 times.  I will be back again and again.  SETUP EVENTS puts on an amazing race!  The town and people are great!  I have had so much support from family and friends!  All the equipment, tips, and advice from the experts at All3Sports has been crucial.  It has been a long season but it feels so great to end on a PR!  Thanks everyone for the support and a special thanks to my wife Mallory who does so so so so so much to make my goals become realities!  God has blessed me so much and may He alone be glorified!  

John Tanner Sprint 2- September 7, 2013 2nd OA and 1st AG

I went into this race with no expectations since Louisville was 2 weeks ago.  I had done Tanner 1 earlier this year and I absolutely love the course.  I drove down morning of and the great Mavic rep threw me on some demo wheels as I set up transition!  It was great seeing so many familiar faces here!  I walked down to the swim start talking smack with Brian Wortham, a fellow ALL3SPORTS teammate.  I worked over to my normal swim start area up front and the count down started....

I tried to actually kick on the swim this time.  In Ironmans, I never kick to save my legs.  But why not, it was a sprint and I was a swimmer.....I should be out close to the front.  Kicking helped a lot.  I turned the first buoy in second and on the first guys feet.  Working our way around a pack of four of us hung together as the front runner put about 10 yards on us.  I exited the water with the other four guys all about second place.

I was in and out of the transition pretty quick choosing to put my shoes on first and run out.  I past 3 guys in transition and jumped on the bike.  Peddling out of the park tightening my shoes down and spinning I passed another.  There were now only two ahead.  I saw another within reach and he did not seem to be gaining on me.  I down shifted and hammered.  I usually find my legs dead trying to go so fast in only 13.8 miles.  Today they felt great and I was moving steady.  I caught the second place guy at mile 4 or so as we hit a climb.  I caught a glimpse of Tillery, the first place guy, on a straight away and decided to hammer for 5 minutes to see if I could gain some ground......NOTHING.  HE WAS STRONG and gained 2 minutes on me and was out of site!  Solid.  I was feeling good though and holding Dan off who had moved into 3rd.  I loved the Mavic wheels!  After dodging a cop who was in the middle of the road on my turn into the park, I prepared for the 5k frolic!

I hit T2 knowing I would need to run quick to maintain 2nd Overall.  I got out as quick as I could considering I have to have my socks:)  I just ran hard and did not look back....I knew Dan was close.  The hills burned and as I approached the turn around I saw Tillery and knew he was out of reach.  I made the turn and saw the gap back to Dan.  I had it in the bank as long as I didn't trip over myself...which actually happens far too often :)  I pushed hard just in case to the line.  Done!

I love these races and they put on such an amazing series!  I will be back, Lord willing, year after year.  Plus the material the shirts are made of this year rocks....my wife has stolen them all!

1hr 8min 6secs