IronCam: October 2009

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Well, in this case, it really doesn't. This year's MightyMan was the best race that I've ever had. Hands down. And here's what I looked like after it:

(For those who want to skip the boring stuff and get to the real story, jump to the run section of this report... yes, the run, not the bike.)

From January 2nd onward--the 1st wasn't all that pretty--my year has been all about Ironman Arizona. I want to go out there, give it everything I have and, in my last year of M18-24, hopefully qualify for Kona. Anyone who sets Hawaii as their end goal has to put in the effort, so I haven't by any means done anything special. But, this year I've started working with a coach, focused on consistency and technique and have cleaned up my nutrition--I feel like a real athlete for the first time in my life.

Unfortunately, my race results so far this season haven't really pointed to much progress. I've had some decent road races, but my performance at the Jerseyman 70.3 in April was sub-par (see: 30 minutes roadside because of a very stupid setup for my spare tube, followed by a crappy run) and my one Olympic race this summer wasn't anything to write home about.

Enter, the Montauk Mightyman. My goal last weekend was to wrap up four hard weeks of training with a solid race, then recover this week and prepare to be crushed for a few more weeks before Arizona taper. I've spent a fair amount of my training this summer and fall focusing on race execution: attacking the beginning of the swim, controlling my power on the bike, setting a reasonable but aggressive run pace. This race was going to be the test and, if everything went well, I'd have a little boost of confidence headed into my A race.

I'll try to keep the details short (seeing as my preface is already too long).

Pre-Race:
- Woke up earlier than usual and got down more calories than usual--this ended up working out really nicely and I felt fresher and more charged to go when the race started

Swim:
- Headed out in the first wave and really tried to attack the first 500 m.
- Despite being a mediocre swimmer, this technique really helped me out and I was able to catch a good draft group from 400-1700m--this was a first!
- Lost the draft in the last 200m because it got a little fast--in retrospect I should've probably surged with them.
- Came out around 31 minutes... nothing amazing but pretty solid for me.

Bike:
- Coming out of the water near the leaders was a huge boost for the beginning of the bike.
- As per Coach, I pushed hard for the first 15 minutes and then settled into a rhythm.
- Managed to pace with a group of about 4 guys and at every turn around I marked the race leader and age group leader's splits. I've never focused on strategy like this but it really helped to pass the time and keep me focused.
- The pace group I had started to get a little hot and they definitely started drafting--every time I passed them, they'd settle in right behind me and eventually pass and force me to either drop power or end up in a drafting position. It was really frustrating but good practice for the tightness of biking on an MDot Ironman course... In the future, I think I'll try to surge a bit to open up a little gap.
- I reeled in my age group leader (a Princeton buddy and D1 swimmer) from about 7 minutes down to 1 or 2 minutes.
- Got off the bike feeling fresher than usual and my power had been pretty consistent. ~2:34--not bad given how hilly the course was.

Run:
- "Wow!" That's all I can say. Came off the bike and immediately settled into 6:40/mi. I couldn't believe it. It didn't even feel fast. For reference, I am used to getting off the bike and being sluggish and having to struggle to work up a mediocre pace.
- Spent 3 miles trying to slow down to 7:00/mi but everything just felt good and given how short the race was, I figured I might as well take some risks and hold on.
- Rolled through "murder hill" and it definitely hurt but I felt good... The AG leader was only about 1 minute up on me and I was closing now! If things went well, I was on track to win my age group and finish around 3:38-3:39--amazing for me!
- Everything was working out perfectly. My swim was strong, my bike was tactical and I was cruising on the run.

And Then...
WHAM! SMACK! BOOM! WAPPO! It was an episode of Batman but worse. Somehow, a cyclist heading into T2 at about 25mph down a hill swerved into the run course and nailed me. All of a sudden I was down on the ground trying to figure out what happened. I'm not sure if I blacked out, but when I got my wits about me I started yelling for help. Once I was sure I was ok, I just started yelling at the cyclist to see if he was all good. He was out cold. Shortly afterward, we were surrounded by firefighters and paramedics. The biker was so bad that they didn't even realize I was down.

I spent about 5 minutes on the ground and then tried to get up. Legs were ok but my side hurt a lot and there was a fair amount of blood coming out of my elbow. A race official told me that an ambulance was on its way to get the cyclist and then they'd get one for me. At that point, I assumed that I was going to be pulled off the course but I figured why not ask if I could finish... I mean the race was going so well, I wasn't dead and only a few people had passed me...
Me: "Can I keep going?"
Her: "You want to keep going?"
Me: (I don't know if I want to keep going...) "Well, can I?"
Her: "Your back is pretty torn up."
Me: (My back is torn up? I only thought my elbow was bad.) "Well, can I?"
Her: "Umm, I guess, but you really need to see medical as soon as you're done."

I'm not sure what compelled me to do it, but I gave her a hug and thanked her for letting me keep racing--she looked at me like I was nuts.. And then I was off. The next few miles are a blur... This other athlete Jamie had seen me get up and decided to run with me. He was far out in the lead for M40-45 and didn't mind sticking with me. Anyway, around mile 10 I came out of my haze and started to feel the effects of the crash. The body hurt but I wasn't tired... if anything, I was just frustrated with myself for not having the heart to give more.

Jamie and I jogged through the second loop--I think we held 7:45-8:00/mi but I'm not sure. The two of us chatted about racing and our coaches and our jobs. And then, around mile 11, I looked at him and said, "You know, I'm really starting to hurt... I wouldn't have had it in me to finish this if you hadn't stuck with me." He smiled and said that he had done his best to keep my mind off the crash and hoped it hadn't been too bad. I told him to go on and finish up without me and that I'd just roll in, but he insisted that we cross together. So we dropped the pace back down and wrapped it up. We hit the tape at 4:48. He had won his age group and I still managed to pull 3rd. Oh, and I PRed by 43 minutes.

Afterward:
Once I had had the chance to thank Jamie and catch up with my Princeton buddy (who ended up winning M18-24), I headed to the medical tent. They doused me in hydrogen peroxide and then sent me to the ambulance to get fixed up. Turns out I was worse than I had realized. My side ached a bit and they told me that I had probably bruised my ribs and should go to the hospital. Of course, being an intelligent M18-24, I brushed off that advice and just got checked out by Sean's dad later on in the day. They also told me that the cyclist who had hit me was in the hospital and may have broken his hip. Poor guy--what a crappy way to end your day!

After cleaning up, I headed back to the finish to watch a bunch of SBR folk come in. Andre cruised through with a really solid finish--he's all set for Arizona! I met a newer member of the team, Kevin, and I also got to see Sean and Peter finish their first halfs. MightyMan was my first long-course race and it was really special to be their to share in their days. A few tears to add to my blood and sweat?

A week later, my body is feeling pretty good. Road rash is healing, my elbow has closed up and my ribs feel much better. I'm about to settle in for 3 brutal weeks of training and then it's taper. Time to go get some in Arizona!

A quick but important set of shout-outs.
Jamie: You made those 7 miles fly by. Couldn't have finished without you.
Sean and Jack: Really appreciate you getting me to and from the race and giving me a place to crash. Was awesome to be out there racing with you.
D'Ambro: Way to crush your first half and take 1st!
All the other SBR finishers: You guys looked awesome and really represented the team well.
My coach, Alex: All I can say is that your program is magic. Really pumped for the last 6 weeks of the season.
All my training buddies: You've had to put up with me obsessing over and worrying about Arizona for 10 months... Well, I'm finally starting to feel ready. Thanks for all the support this season and for some really good times.
And of course, unnamed cyclist who crashed: Sorry that your day had to end like it did... Shit happens--I hope you heal up quickly.

A few months back, I signed up to do the NYC Half with my buddy Clarke. It was going to be his first half marathon and he was pretty excited to train up for it. We did one or two practice runs together and I could really tell that he was taking it seriously which was pretty cool to see.

As the race approached, my coach Alex and I talked and decided that it was ok for me to run it provided that I throw in a little mileage at the end and didn't lay down a race effort. So, the plan was to put down a soid 90- to 100-mile ride and short run on Saturday and then just treat the half marathon like a supported Sunday long run. I could get a mile or two in after finishing and, hopefully, still catch Clarke's finish.

Race weekend, it was very hot and very humid! I put down a solid effort on the bike on Saturday but was completely wiped in the afternoon from dehydration and too much sun. When I woke up Sunday, I still felt pretty crappy from the day before and would have rather waited to run a little later in the day. In the end, doing the race worked out for the best because it allowed me to get my training in before it got really hot.

I corralled up around 6:45 and started the race with my buddy Michael. Around the 6-mile mark we came across a pro passed out on the side of the road... that's when I started to realize how hot it was. As we exited Central Park, Michael was feeling really good and I didn't want to push things so I let him take off.

Once out of the Park, we go to cruise down 7th Avenue through Times Square. What an experience! It was completely empty save for runners and you just flew through Midtown.

When I hit the West Side for the last 4 miles of the race, the heat started to get to me and I felt the fatigue form the previous day. At that point, I just cruised to the end and finished easy. There were no chips but by my watch I ran about 1:37.

After getting a little water and food, I jogged back down the course to watch Clarke finish. As he came in, I jumped back on the course and sprinted to the line with him. He had a solid finish of about 1:49--not bad for his first race!

After a little cooldown, Clarke and I met up with his girlfriend and headed home for a snack, coffee and (eventually) a beer. Not a bad start to a Sunday.

Some pictures from the race.