Vineman 4th Place: The Inner Game of Ironman
Vineman Triathlon 20th Anniversary – August 1, 2009 Finish Time: 9:53:38.3 for 4th Overall Swim: 00:57:39.0 T1: 00:02:18.5 Bike: 05:13:44.4 T2: 00:01:27.8 Run: 03:38:28.6 As I headed out of transition at the start of the 26.2-mile run, race announcer Dave Latourette yelled to me: “You’re 24 minutes back on the leader.” My heart sunk as a surge of disappointment and sadness welled up inside me. This was my 6th time racing in Vineman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) in Santa Rosa, CA, and I had won the race two years ago by taking the lead at the end of the bike...
Read MoreReflecting Back on 25 Ironmans: #3 Vineman
My first Ironman, Ironman Canada, was about finishing. The race was an unknown quantity. I was fairly confident that I could finish the event because I had done the proper training but I had no idea what to expect. My second Ironman, Great Floridian Triathlon, was about recapturing the ecstasy of the finish. I wanted the finish line “high” that I felt at Canada. Vineman Full in 1998 was different. I wanted to go faster. At the time, the Vineman Full was still a Hawaii Ironman Qualifier – there were 25 precious slots to be given away to the top athletes in each group. ...
Read MoreReflecting Back on 25 Ironmans: #2 Great Floridian ’97
This blog entry the second of a series of articles that began with my first race, Ironman Canada and will ultimately end with my 25th Ironman-distance triathlon at ChesapeakeMan this past October. After I crossed the line at Ironman Canada, I felt a sense of euphoria that lasted a week. Like an addict, I was hooked on the Ironman-distance and craved that euphoric feeling again. I now knew that I could finish the race. I had made some mistakes, yet still narrowly missed a coveted Hawaii entry slot bya few minutes. Now, I wanted to do it faster. Hawaii was not an option for me but there...
Read MoreReflecting Back on 25 Ironmans: #1 Ironman Canada ’97
“What do I need to know to train for and finish an Ironman?” “What do I need to do to go faster in an Ironman?” As a triathlon coach and a sub-nine Ironman-distance athlete, I hear these question a lot. With the completion of my 25th Ironman-distance triathlon at ChesapeakeMan last month, I thought it might be interesting and helpful to others for me to reflect back on mistakes made, what I learned along the way and tips for success. With my next door neighbor and training partner, Phil Young, I signed up for the 1997 Ironman Canada in October 2006. At this point in...
Read MoreChesapeakeMan: I Can’t Fake an Ironman
ChespeakeMan was an experiment with a sample size of one – me. I learned that I can’t fake an Ironman. This is good news for all the triathlon coaches out there (including me) – following a structured, periodized, Ironman-specific training program does make a difference! For me, there was a 2 hour difference between my 8:51 at the Quelle Challenge in Germany last year and my 10:55 in ChespeakeMan this year. I offer no excuses. I did what I could do on race day. My swim was decent, my bike was reasonably fast although I did lose time when I took a turn too fast on wet...
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