Race Reports

ITU Long Course World Championships, Las Vegas 11.6.11

By Gary Smith

The ITU Triathlon Long Distance World Championships were held this year in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday November 5. The event is a 4K (2.4 mile) swim, 120K (75 mile) bike and a 30k (18.6 mile) run. The race was held in Henderson, Nevada with the start in Lake Las Vegas and finishing in downtown Henderson.

I felt ready for the event, although I picked up some bug the week before the race while staying on "The strip" in Vegas.

When we arrived on the Tuesday before the race we drove the bike course over some significant hills around Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. The gusts were in the 60mph range. I had heard about this possibility and was glad that I brought two rear wheels. I chose to not use my sub 9 disc and changed to my 1080 rear with an 880 front. In fact at the pre race meeting the ITU reps highly "recommended" not using a disc.<br/>

The weather the remainder of the week turned cold for Vegas, highs in the 50's and low 60's.

When we arrived at the race start early Saturday we were informed that the swim was cancelled! Yes, cancelled do to the Lake temperature of 60 degrees and the air temperature at 40 and windy. They stated that for our safety they had no choice. They thought about shortening the swim to 1500 meters or even 750 meters, but decided to cancel it. This was a World Championship!??

They even bent the rules about covering you country's uniform. They allowed jackets over the uniforms.

The race started with a Time Trial bike with each athlete leaving in 5 second intervals.<br/>

I had a good bike, even with the hills and high winds. At one down hill the cross winds had me hanging on for dear life hitting over 45 mph.

I finished the bike in 4:13:01 and had a 3:05 transition to the run. The changing tents even had heaters in them.

The run is a typical ITU Loop format. There were 4 loops so the spectators could see you on 8 different times. I didn't seem to have my legs as I think this bug I was fighting took over a bit.

Each lap was 2.4 miles up and then 2.4 miles down. Lots of climbing. The format was also good in that there were many fans out on the course cheering. It is always good to hear people you don't know cheering "Go USA" or "Go Smith". it also allowed you to see you competition on many occasions throughout the run.

I finished the run in 2:50:06 for an overall time of 7:06:12. Good enough for a 13th place in my age group and 7th American in my age group.

Now time for some nice little R+R after a very long season that stretched from early March to early November.

Already planning some races for next year......Gary

70.3 World Championships, Las Vegas 9.11.11

By Joe Donahue

The following quote is from the main story in the race program. it really sums things up nicely!

“In the past, Ironman World Championship 70.3 was all about raw speed. Not any longer. The move to Lake Las Vegas promises to dish up heaping portions of heat, wind and hills. This course is designed to do one thing: separate the very good from the very best.”<br/>

Pre-Race

Liz and Myself arrived in Las Vegas on Friday around 1pm. We drove right to athlete check-in on our way to our hotel. We stayed at the Loews which was the host hotel. It is a super nice hotel with beautiful pools and right on the lake, this area is about a 30-min drive from the “Vegas Strip.” The pre race dinner, awards ceremony etc. all happen here. The hotel is about a 1 mile walk to swim start and the race transition area. If you want to stay closer Joe McMahon stayed at a place called Luna di Lusso which was literally right at the swim start and transition area. Myself, Joe, and Dana Dobbs spent race morning hanging out on Joe’s patio watching all the early swim waves go off. Awesome hanging out with these guys before the race!!!

Race Day

Swim

The swim is a non-wetsuit swim in Lake Las Vegas.The 45-49 age group was the second to last wave to go at 7:55 am which meant we would be running our half-marathon at the hottest part of the day. Bummer!! The swim is a clockwise rectangle, flat water, no chop, I made it through with not too much contact. The swim exit is on the opposite side of the lake from transition, so you have to run all the way around the edge of the lake to get to T1. I would estimate about 400meter run or so. T1 is grab your bike gear bag run through a changing tent. Nothing is allowed on the ground by your bike. You can have your bike shoes pre-clipped to pedals and your helmet can be on handle bars.

Bike 

The bike course was hyped as being one of the toughest courses ever. My wheel setup was a 404 front and an 808 rear with disc cover on it. The gearing I used was a 53/39 with a 12/27 cassette. I think a 11/26 would have been better if you can find one....I spun out on the downhills with the 53/12 so a 53/11 would have been helpful and I think a 39/26 would be fine for the uphills. Either way the bike course never really lets up... you are either going up or down short semi steepish until about mile 40 or so, where the hills become more gradual upgrades and downgrades.

Temps on the bike maxed out at 95 degrees but thankfully didn’t feel that bad thanks to low humidity, I wore an aero helmet and didn’t feel any discomfort or overheating although the sun was relentless! no shade at all on the bike course and not a spectator in sight, you are literally riding through a rocky hilly desert!

Run

At T2 volunteers receive your bike and racked it for you so you can grab you run gear bag run through the changing tent and out onto the run course. The run course was a 3 loop course....make a quick left out of transition then approx 1.2 miles slightly downhill with not much shade to the turnaround then slightly uphill with some shade back past transition continuing slightly uphill for another mile or so with no shade to another turnaround then back slightly downhill to the transition area. Each loop was appox 4.4 miles  for a total 13.1 miles. Crowd support was huge going past the transition area

Overall I thought the new 70.3 championship was a fair course, hard but fair, and thats the way it should be. Temps maxed out at 95 degrees, hydration and proper bike pacing are critical. The road surface conditions are good . I can’t wait to go back next year!!!

Long Course Duathlon Worlds, Zofingen, Suise August 21, 2011

By Gary Smith

Here in Zofingen Suisse for the event. We arrived on Wednesday at the Team USA Hotel. The Engel Hotel. A great boutique hotel in the village.<br/>

The race is the famous Powerman Zofingen. A 10k run/ 150k bike / 30k run.<br/>

I knew getting here that my hips continued to be locked even after massage and chiro at home.

Had massage and a very expensive chiro here to see if that would help.

On race morning I was warming up,running for the first time in over a week and I knew it would be a looooong day.

The start of the first run of 10k tells you why this is the most demanding course in the world. The first of 2 laps of 5k goes STRAIGHT UP! The first 2 k was up a 16% grade! What a start!

So I had to take it easy as all my hips would allow was very small steps,no real strides.<br/>

I finished toward the rear hoping the 93 mile bike would help loosen the hips up for the final 18.6 mile run.

The bike course is 3 laps of unbelievable climbs 3 major climbs. So you do a total of 9 major climbs. The fans were unreal. Yelling "HOPP HOPP" meaning Go Go all day.

The first climb was a warm up as to what was to come. A steep 12% grade that went for over 1 mile. Later in the middle of the course this climb was 3 miles of 18% grade. At the top there were lots of fans. They were even using helicopters to get the big shots there and they were all drinking wine in flute glasses!

Then a huge down hill with lots of turns. Able to hit 55mph!

The third climb was all switchbacks ,only way to get up that one. It started to rain on the third lap right after I got stung by a bee as my eye stated to close up a bit. I passed many on the bike. Wasn't sure if I would be able to do the run of 18.6 miles but said to myself let's give it a go.

There is something about wearing the race uniform with USA SMITH on it that kept me going. Doing it for my country as we needed the team points.<br/>

The final run was 2 laps of 15k(9.3miles) for a total of 30k or 18.6 miles. In the deep forest it was 3 miles of climbing on trails and the rains really picked up that you couldn't see the guy in front of you. By the end of the day it had rained over 4 inches! This created rivers of mud. At times we were in mud over our ankles the kind where your feet come out of your shoes. Lots of guys falling down. I somehow kept the same Walter Brennen (no brag just fact) hunched over small steps. EVERY STEP was painful, and I was afraid to stop for fear of falling over. At the top of the mountain as we ran there were reindeer that were fenced in.

Somehow I didn't stop and finished in 9hours 49 minutes. I was 16th in my age group and 5th American in my ag.

Everything I have is still soaking wet. Have had 2 massages in the last 12 hours.<br/>

A super race,one that I would like to do again when I am fit and not hampered by the locked up hips.

It is always great to be a part of the national team and to race for the USA....Auf wiedersehen.........Gary

Timerbman 70.3 Gilford , NH August 21, 2011

By Jesse O'Donnell

The race weekend started off Thursday when we began loading the racing, camping, and spectator gear into the Enterprise rental Suburban.  Friday after work we headed up to my brother in laws house in Massachusetts and spent the night there.  Before heading to New Hampshire on Saturday morning I went for a light 45 minute ride on my road bike and spent some time with my nephews.  I arrived in NH around 2pm and pickup my race packet and setup my campsite at Gunstock Mountain Resort, which was also the host location for the event. 

After setting up camp, I went to drop off my bike in transition, where I met Reneere.   We spent some time in transition together getting our gear setup for the morning and then went out for dinner.   I got back to my campsite around 8:45, packed up the last of my stuff, and went to bed by 9:30.  I was able to get a decent night sleep considering how anxious I was about racing. It has been a long time since I raced this distance and two weeks ago at my last race, Born to Tri, I did not have the result I was hoping for. 

I awoke at 4:45; I got dress and caught the shuttle down to the race start.  I was not in any rush as I was in the 13th wave and did not start until 7:55.  Prior to the race start everything was going well; I had my bike, nutrition, and running shoes all setup. Then, I was putting my wetsuit on and the zipper broke.  This was a bit of a problem, as it was 20 minutes until my wave started and I had no way to close my wetsuit.  I had packed an extra but it was at the camp site and my wife could not get it in time.  I was able to force the zipper on so that it would zipper top to bottom and my wife safety pinned the top to prevent it from splitting open.  The wetsuit stayed closed during my warm up and I was ready to start. 

The swim in Lake Winnepesake was beautiful…the water was a warm, 72 degrees, and clear.  I started in the second row and was able to dolphin dive to almost the first buoy where I settled into a comfortable pace,  I was swimming relaxed trying to find someone to draft.  I finished the swim and headed into T1.  I had a little issue getting my wetsuit off because of the pins but I was able to rip it off.  I headed out onto the bike forgetting to clip my race belt on in transition so I had to wiggle it on while riding.  The bike course is very challenging with some tough climb in the first 10 miles then rolling and climbs again in the last 10 miles.  I had a goal of averaging 23mph I was not sure what my wattage goal should be but I want to stay under 270 watts.  At the turn around I was feeling good and was right on pace.  Riding back towards transition I was focused on nutrition and hydration constantly taking water and gatoraide.  About mile 40 I got a small cramp in my left hamstring.  It did not bother me too much, I was trying to hydrate at much as I could getting ready for the run.  

At the completion of the bike I entered transition, was able to get my socks and shoes on grab my garmin and head out on the run course.  The first 2 miles did not feel good.  I was battling a side stitch as well as a leg cramp.  After mile 2 I started to settle down and feel better.  The run is rolling with mostly shaded but had some hot sunny sections along the highway and around transition.  The run was going well I was able to hold around 7 min pace and was taking water and Gatorade at all the aid stations.  About mile 10 I started to suffer a bit more as I was running out of energy.  The next 2 miles were tough I had dropped to about 7:30 pace.  At the last aid station with only a mile I drank some coke, that and the prospect of finishing got me to the finish line.  All in all it was a great day for me.  I had a goal of 4:45 min and was able to finish well under that time in 4:30:50.  I was 22nd overall 12th amateur but 6th in my AG so I did not get a bid to the 70.3 world championships.  With every race there are things to improve, I have 5 weeks till my next race Pocono 70.3 on October 2, 2011, where hopefully I can improve enough to earn a Vegas slot.  I want to thank Colleen my wife for all her support not only on race weekend but with putting up with my training schedule and making sure I am well fed.  Also thanks to everyone at BPC  and JSMS crit team for all of the group training and racing opportunities. 

Vineman 140.6: In Memory of Gus<

by Jason Martin

Vineman Full-distance Triathlon (140.6)

Location: Guerneville, CA

Date: Saturday, July 30th 2011

# of Participants: 1000 (876 finishers)

Weather on Race Day:

- Swim start (6:30am) air temp was 55 degrees. Water temp 72 degrees.

- 1st half of bike (8am):  Air temp 70 degrees. Winds 5mph.

- 2nd half of bike (11am): Air temp 80 degrees. Winds 10mph.

- Run (2:30pm): Air temp 85 degrees. No wind.

Volunteer support:  1000 volunteers. Excellent support throughout entire race.

Vineman 140.6 triathlon is the oldest independent (non M-dot qualifier) full-distance triathlon in the United States. There is also a Vineman 70.3 a week prior to the 140.6 every year. The 70.3 is an official M-dot Kona qualifier.  The reason I chose this particular race was because it was the only race with available slots in December when I officially decided to sign up (registration begins November 1st every year). Slots to Vineman 2011 didn't sell out until the week prior to the race.

Why I did it:

My quest to complete a full-distance event began last year when I took my family on vacation to Lake Placid a few days after IMLP 2010.  I met a 50 year-old guy with three young kids in one of the shops who had just completed his fourth IMLP, and he convinced me that being 35 years old with one kid wasn't a good enough excuse not to do it!  So I decided to start swimming, biking, and running at the end of September.  I told myself that if my body felt good by the time Christmas rolled around that I'd sign up for an Ironman and get a trainer.  Even though I am extremely self-motivated, I knew that hiring a trainer/coach would hold me accountable and keep me dedicated throughout a long and grueling training schedule. I was right!

In December I was up to one hour of cardio six days a week (two swims/two bikes/two runs per week).  All of the Foundation slots were taken for IMLP, so I signed up for Vineman and thought I'd reward my wife with a week in wine country following the race (if she didn't divorce me before then!)  At the same time I was referred to Joe Donahue at Brielle Performance Center by a friend of mine at the hospital. Joe immediately got me signed up on Race Day, and we got to work setting up my heart rate zones. I also bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS, a bike trainer, and a Cervelo P2 tri bike at Brielle Cyclery. I highly recommend all of them!

In the meantime one of my best friends from the Navy , Commander Robert A. "Gus" Kaminski was battling brain cancer. He and I served together in the same SEAL platoon and deployed to the Middle East together.  His health took a bad turn in September, and I volunteered to be an Ambassador to his family with the Navy SEAL Foundation. I also decided to raise money for the Navy SEAL Foundation with my race as a tribute to Gus' fighting spirit.

- Training:

For me training during the winter months wasn't too bad. We had a bad winter, but my workouts didn't get too long until the Spring.  All of my Winter bikes were on the trainer or in spin classes. My favorite swim was outside in a heated saltwater pool in Park City during a snowstorm in March.  My favorite run was a run I did in Coronado, CA while visiting Gus. I did run outside as much as I could.  Once Spring came around I began doing my weekend workouts outside again.<

My first races in preparation for Vineman were the E. Murray Todd Half Marathon and the Freehold Running Club 10-miler. I really enjoyed both races, and they were big confidence boosters for me early in my training. I then did Bassman 70.3 the first week of May in New Gretna, New Jersey.  That was also a big confidence booster for me, and I completed it in 5:22. After this race I ditched the Powerbars (which felt like a brick in my stomach during the Bassman run) and switched to EFS liquid shot. I also switched from Gatorade to EFS drink mix with Carbo Pro. Brian Shea at Personal Best Nutrition was extremely helpful, and several times he personally delivered my orders to me at home so I could get my nutrition in time for a long training weekend.  In June I did the 2.4 mile open water swim in Lavalette (Lava Swim) with a time of 1:12 and was humbled when Joe Donahue beat me by 16 minutes!

I did every single one of my long bike and run workouts alone. Although I would have loved to have company on the long bike rides, I could never seem to find anyone to do them with me at 5am on Saturday.  In a way it mentally prepared me for the "loneliness" of a long race, but looking back it would have been better to train with a partner (in case I crashed and also to make workouts more fun).  (Note: I started all of my workouts at 5am during the week and on weekends so I could minimize my time away from family).

Unfortunately my friend Gus lost his fight with brain cancer the Friday of Memorial weekend, and my race officially became a memorial race for Gus. The combination of dedicating the race to Gus and the SEALs killing bin Laden made for a big surge in donations, and I cleared $10,000 in donations by July 1st.

My first Century ride was the Bike NY Hudson Valley ride in Poughkeepsie, NY in June. It was a hilly ride, but in hindsight I was glad I did it because it had over 6500 feet of elevation gain, and Vineman had over 4000 feet of elevation gain. I did four rides over 100 miles in all, most of them around Monmouth, Ocean, and Burlington counties.

I stayed injury-free all throughout my training until the final six weeks. During some speed training runs my achilles tendon began to tighten up. I took ibuprofen, iced it, and stretched it a lot, but it stayed tight and a little sore right up to my taper (two weeks prior to race day). Then I discovered "ice massage" (freezing a dixie cup of water, peeling back cup to expose ice, and massaging up and down my calf/achilles with the ice).  It worked great, and my achilles recovered just in time for my race.

During my taper I felt extremely antsy. I kept worrying that I wasn't doing enough and that I was losing all of my endurance. I didn't know what to do with all of my free time! I stretched a lot, researched my race, practiced changing flat tires, and went over my gear constantly.  Joe also showed me how to take apart my bike and change a flat on a tubular tire. Joe hooked me up with a set of racing rims (808 in rear/404 in front). I packed up my bike and flew to CA on Thursday, July 28th.

- Travel:

My flight to San Francisco was a nightmare. The airlines did not know how to check in my oversized bike box. As a result, we missed our flight and had to fly standby to SF via Boston. We landed at 10pm, rented a car, and got to our hotel (Bodega Bay Lodge) at 11:30pm PT (2:30am ET). So much for staying well rested!  I did spend about $70 carboloading in the airport though.  Note: Make sure you always arrive a few days prior to your race in case you need to rest, acclimate to time zone, see the course, etc).

On Friday I continued to hydrate and carboload all day long. I went to the race expo and sat through the course familiarization talk. I was very impressed with the professionalism exhibited by all race coordinators and volunteers. I was very surprised that the majority of the racers in Vineman 2011 were doing their first full distance event.

After the course fam, I went to the run  transition area to set up my gear.  The race expo, run transition and finish line were at East Windsor High School (about 17 miles from the race start and bike transition area).  Then I jumped on my bike and rode the run course loop for a half hour. After that I threw my bike on the rack on the car, and we drove the entire bike course (with my wife jumping out to staple posters with blown-up photos of family on telephone poles every three miles)

Before I went to bed I ate a light dinner and checked my gear again. We stopped at the food store to grab some breakfast food. I went to bed around 8pm with a planned 4am wakeup on race day. I actually slept great considering how anxious I was.

- Race Day:

On Saturday, July 30th (race day) I woke up at 4am. I ate some food and then pumped up my bike tires. I filled my water bottles with 2 scoops of EFS/1 scoop of Carbo Pro and packed the car. We got to the swim start/bike transition area at Guerneville beach at 5:15am. The transition area opened at 5:30am, and I quickly got everything set up. Then I made one last trip to the bathroom and put my wetsuit on.

- Swim:

The swim consisted of 2 loops (1.2mi each loop) in the Russian River. Current was very minimal as the river is dammed this time of year (you might lose 2 mins swimming upstream each loop). My age group (35-39) was the second wave to go off at 6:33am. I went out hard for the first 10 minutes to get ahead of the main pack. However, I ended up swimming into the slower swimmers from the first wave, and then the fastest swimmers from the third wave came up on me. The river was only about 100 yards wide, so it was a little crowded for a while.

There were two sections of the river where it got pretty shallow, and my hands actually scraped the bottom. I saw a lot of guys walking in these areas instead of swimming (which I believe was a mistake because it wastes more energy and you risk cutting your feet if you step on something sharp). I swam the entire time, and I passed everyone who decided to walk. Everyone I saw was wearing a wetsuit, and I did too. I completed the swim in 1:11.<br/>

- Transition 1:

Volunteers helped strip off my wetsuit and I quickly sprayed myself down with sunblock. I already had my tri shorts on, so I put on my tri shirt and bike shoes/helmet and ran out of the transition area. My overall transition time was about 5 minutes.

- Bike:

I ran my bike up the steep hill coming out of transition. I got on the bike and settled into a nice, easy pace. I looked at my Garmin, and I realized my HR was at Z-4.0. So I controlled my breathing and slowed a tad. My biggest fear was going out too hard on the bike and dying on the run. The bike course consisted of two 56 mile loops throughout wine country vineyards on mostly rural roads. Road conditions were overall pretty good. Potholes and cracks were well-marked with orange spray paint. I only saw two riders fixing flats during the race. The course was well-marked, and there were volunteers/law enforcement at every stop sign/intersection.

I kept my HR around Z-3.4 on the flats and got it up to Z-4.9 on several of the hills. There was one very steep hill on Chalk Hill Road at mile 44 (1st loop) and 101 (2nd loop). I believe it is a 350 ft climb in a relatively short distance (0.25 mi). I put my bike in the easiest gear and just kept spinning. The fastest downhill was at miles 28 and 84 where I got up to almost 40mph.

There were 4 aid stations on each loop and 7 throughout the entire course (miles 18/28/38/57/74/84/94).

The bike aid stations had Gatorade G2 Perform, water, bananas, Clif bars, Clif bloks, etc. I began the bike with 4 EFS liquid shots and 2 water bottles of EFS/Carbo Pro drink mix. I also use an aero bottle of water to sip occasionally.

My game plan was to utilize every other aid station and skip the ones between. I ended up grabbing a bottle of Gatorade at aid station 2, and at aid station 4 I grabbed my special needs bag with 3 more liquid shots and 2 more bottles of EFS/Carbo Pro drink mix. I believe my nutrition was sufficient for this ride. I took in a lot of calories, but I burned a lot on the hills. The ride ended at the high school, and the crowd was great coming into the transition area.

- Transition 2:

I probably spent about 5 minutes in transition for the run. I reapplied sunblock to my bald head and stopped for a bathroom break.

- Run:

The run consisted of 3 ea. 8.73mi loops departing from the high school and heading out through a residential area into more of a rural farm setting. There were aid stations at every mile of the run.  They had Gatorade, water, Coca-Cola, cookies, grapes, bananas, Clif bloks, Clif bars, etc. Most of the aid stations were blasting some kind of music, and the volunteers were very supportive with spray hoses, sunblock, etc. The run got a little warm, but it really wasn't bad.

I tried to keep my HR in mid Zone 3 as much as I could. It kept jumping into upper Zone 4 on the hills though. My goal was not to walk, and I was successful the entire first lap. (Note: I ran up every hill, and I eventually realized that I was burning a lot of energy and not gaining any speed on those walking). I fueled with a cup of Gatorade, a cup of water, and a few hits of EFS liquid shot at every other aid station. I had the EFS in my tri shirt pockets. I completed my first lap in 1:18 (2 mins ahead of my anticipated 4 hour marathon pace). At this point I realized the hills were really going to be an issue, so I didn't try to keep the same pace on lap 2.

When I hit the first hill on lap 2 (mile 10) I began to lose a lot of energy and was feeling pretty weak. I decided to begin walking the steep uphills and run everything else. I also started to develop a hot spot on my left foot from movement of my foot in the shoe on the steep downhills.  I was sick of EFS, so I switched to just Gatorade and water at every aid station. My mistake was not supplementing with some high-calorie snack (Gatorade and water were not enough).  I gutted it out until completion of lap 2, but I lost time. It took me 1:32.

As I headed out on lap 3 the adrenaline began to kick in. I also made a decision to walk through and fuel at EVERY aid station instead of every other one. I took a cup of Coca-Cola, 2 Clif bloks, and washed them down with a cup of water. The difference I felt was unbelievable. My pace definitely picked up and I walked a lot less on the uphills.

The final 2 miles went by fast. I began to feel all the emotions welling up which I had held back all through training and the race. I thought about all of the support I had from my wife and daughter.  I thought about my family and friends and all the others who donated to the Navy SEAL Foundation in support of my race. And lastly I thought about Gus and his family and what they went through over the last three years.

As I neared the finish line I said one last quick prayer of thanks to God, pounded a closed fist over my heart, looked up to the sky and thanked Gus for pulling me through the race--and ran across the finish line and into the arms of my wife and two year-old daughter who reminded me out loud one more time that "Martin's don't quit!"

In the end, I've raised over $15,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation in memory of my friend, CDR "Gus" Kaminski.  I had so much fun during the race, and I would definitely do another full-distance race again one day. Vineman was a great experience, and I think it would be a nice race for anyone to do--especially if you're having a hard time obtaining a slot to one of the M-dot races. It definitely isn't a flat course, so be prepared to be challenged by the hills. It's three days after the race, and my legs are still pretty sore!  Lastly, I highly recommend getting a trainer to hold you accountable during your training. In my opinion the training is much tougher than the race. If you can get through all of the training you will have no problem getting through the race!

Ironman St. George

by Jay Gers

I chose to do Ironman St. George because I thought it would be a challenge to train through a Northeast winter for an early season Ironman race and get myself in shape fairly early in the year.  Everyone warned me that it would be hard to do.  They were right.  But I really enjoyed the different type of training which included lots of inside workouts.

After racing the San Juan 70.3, I was able to get in some good training in March and April.  Most rides during the week were on my trainer, and I made sure to do all my long rides outside on the weekend, and every ride was in cold weather gear and booties.  I don’t mind riding in the cold, but the wind in Monmouth County was a killer.  The extent of my hill training for the bike was Line Road and Holmdel Park, as I did not get a chance to travel somewhere to train, due to work and family constraints.  I did manage to get a few 20 hour training weeks in, which included two century rides and two 20+ mile runs.  I thought my bike fitness was there as my wattage numbers were the same or better as last year in July. My running had really improved, as I did all my longer runs at 7:00 min/mile pace or faster, and always tried to include nice hills around Navesink River Road, Hartshorne Woods, and the Atlantic Highlands.  I did not get a chance to do any track workouts.  I went self-coached this year, and based my training off prior years’ plans.

My family and I flew out on the Wednesday before the race to Las Vegas.  On the flight over, I read The Alchemist - a story about a boy who travels to the pyramids of Egypt to find his own personal legend.  After landing in Las Vegas, we drove to St. George.  The drive on Route 15 was spectacular in areas.  When we arrived in St. George, I was able to do an easy swim in the reservoir where the start of the race would be held at Sand Hollow State Park.  The park was a 30 minute drive from the Hilton we stayed at in town.

The next day, I did a quick 45 minute ride on my bike to check the gears and then a short 20 minute run with some pickups to stay sharp.  I was feeling pretty good at this point.  Later in the day, I met up with my buddy Luther White, a.k.a. “400 watt Luther” and “The House”.  I know Luther from his time he spent in Colts Neck but he now resides in Valencia, California.  Luther and I drove the course to see what the talk was all about and if the hype was for real.  The bike course started from Sand Hollow State Park and went back into St. George after 20 miles and then out to a two loop course that was challenging.  We took note of the road hazards, the sharp turns, and the hill ascents and descents.  I loved the last 12 miles of each loop of the bike, as it was a very long downhill.  I planned to think of the bike as a 100 mile ride since the last 12 miles were mostly downhill.  Later that night at dinner, I tried to eat as much as my stomach could possibly handle, to get the calories in.

On Friday, the day before the race, Luther and I mostly chilled while getting our bags and bikes ready.  We dropped off the T2 bags in town and afterwards had to take the bikes and T1 bags out to Sand Hollow State Park, as the transitions were in different spots.  We went for a quick swim and although the water was cold in the low 60’s, once we started moving around, it felt great.  We had an early pasta dinner, and I hit up Dairy Queen for a quick milkshake, and I was in bed by 8:30pm ready to race the next day.

On Saturday, I was up at 3am and had plenty of sleep the night before.  I had a banana nut muffin, coffee, and my usual Hammer Products concoction, which I would use the rest of the day.  I jumped on the 4am bus from our hotel to town to drop off my special needs bags and get on another bus at 4:30am to Sand Hollow State Park where the swim start was.  I just chilled on the bus listening to my favorite Bruce songs, including the Promised Land.  “On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert…”

At transition, I got ready pretty quick and had plenty of time.  I chatted up with another East Coast dude, Chris Gebhardt, right before the swim start.

The swim start went well and was 1 loop in the reservoir. I lined up a few rows back and just took it very easy.  I wore new Tyr goggles that I got at the expo, and they got kicked off a few times, so I had to stop and readjust.  There was a pretty nasty glare for part of the swim.  I exited the water in 1:10, which was OK as I was looking to go 1:05-1:10.  I quickly grabbed my gear bag and bypassed transition as I wore my Under Armour heat shirt and compression calf guards under my wetsuit.

The bike runs back into town and we had a nice tailwind going up the hills back into St. George.  I used my Zipp 404 up front and 808 with Powertap for the rear.  My plan was to keep the wattage at 220-230 on the flats and 250-260 up the hills.  This went pretty well, but I started feeling a little tired after mile 70.  It started getting hot and I tried to grab a lot of water and Perform from the aid stations and doused myself with water to keep myself cool.  It was harder for me to hold the wattage on the flats at this point, and I found myself sitting up more than I wanted to.  I used a 12/25 cassette, and felt I could have fared better with a 12/27, as “The Wall”, which was a ½ mile climb at miles 50 and 90, was causing my wattage to spike to 280-300.  I usually try and maintain the best power I could on the downhills until I spin out, but by this time, I used the downhills to recover and stretch out my legs so that they would feel better for the run.  Several times I felt nauseous from the heat and hills and attempted to throw up, but nothing came out.  Miles 80-100 on an Ironman bike are always challenging, and when I got to that 100 mile mark and the downhill section, I started feeling better as I was easily hitting 40mph going back into town.  I tried to enjoy the views and scenery around me.  Those last 12 miles are very nice, except for a short, steep hill a few miles before T2.  I kept stretching out my legs and calves during these downhills and drank as much as I could to prepare myself for the run.  My average wattage was about 205, about 5-10 watts lower than I wanted it to be.  I finished the bike in a respectable 5:33.

When I got off the bike, my lower back and legs hurt as usual.  I quickly changed into running shorts in T2.  I’ve run my best Ironman marathons in running shorts.  I used my Garmin to see where I was in terms of running pace.  I started the run and it was mentally hard to comprehend that I had to run one tough marathon with the temperatures in the low 90’s now.  But I felt good after a few minutes and told myself that I would not stop and walk, even through the aid stations.  I had salt tablets which I attempted to take at mile 2, but as I opened up my salt tablet carrier, I saw that they had all melted overnight.  I tried to salvage 2 tablets, but when I swallowed and chased with water, I quickly threw them up.  I had no salt caps now.  The run course is challenging, even more than the bike, and, as I got to the bigger hills after mile 3, there were guys walking up the hills and I almost stopped and joined them, but I remembered what I told myself about walking.  I kept repeating in my head, “You’re a tough, tough dude.”  I was starting to feel good now and the run felt easy!  My long sleeve heat shirt was helping to keep me cool.  At every aid station, I grabbed lots of water and ice and put them down my shirt and just had the Perform, water, and gels to keep me going.  On the downhills, I ran on the gravel which was off the shoulder to lessen the pounding in my legs. As I got into town after the first loop, I was feeling good and high-fived my wife.  She knew I was feeling good.  My first half was 1:36.  The second loop was a little slower, but I pushed and felt really good.  I kept thinking – no stopping and high cadence.  I passed a lot of guys in my age group.  On the way back into town, I was just cruising in, going from aid station to aid station.  The volunteers and the spectators were great, cheering me on and encouraging me.  With a half mile to go, a guy in my age group passed me, the only guy that passed me all day!  I could not keep up with him and had to let him go.  I still felt awesome but just did not have the leg turnover to keep up with him.  I ran to the finish and heard my family cheer me on as I looked at the clock which just turned 10:07 and I had finished my run in 3:18.  Mission accomplished - I did not walk a single step.  I was pumped that I ran that fast on this course.  As I came to the finish line, I heard Mike Reilly say.  “Jason Gers, you are an Ironman.”  Then he said something that I am even more proud of and what keeps me coming back to Ironman racing.  Mike then announced.  “Jason is a liver transplant recipient.  And now he’s doing Ironman!”

Nearly 10 years ago, I was the sickest person you would have ever known.  I would be about to get onto the liver transplant list due to a childhood autoimmune disease that caused end stage liver failure.  Transplantation was the only option.  My goal was to make a quick recovery and start living a normal life again.  My mission started 4 days after my 12 hour surgery, when I was released from the hospital.  I chose to walk out of the hospital, rather then leave in a wheelchair. I had no regrets as to what happened to me.  What’s done is done, move forward.  I never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me and wanted to be self sufficient and not live off disability or anyone else. I returned to work and a normal life a few weeks later and took up running again to stay fit, but never imagined that I would have ever completed a marathon, nevertheless be a Hawaii Ironman.  I would have never guessed that things would turn out the way they have for me. It’s been a long journey that I can never forget and taking up Ironman has strengthened my confidence in everything that I do.  It reminds me how healthy I am now and why I show up at the starting line.  St. George was a very challenging race but I knew I could persevere through it.  Nothing is impossible.<br/>

Although I missed another Hawaii Ironman slot by 41 seconds, I believed that I raced the best race I possibly could and consider this race my best Ironman performance out of the 9 races I have completed.  No regrets here.<br/>

Thanks for reading.  Enjoy your health.  Do cool races.  Never give up.  --JG

Xterra Jersey Devill

by Tim Chambrovich

The Jersey Devil was a great race and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to do an off road triathlon.  When I picked up my packet the day before, I rode the bike course. I wanted to know where I could push the pace, and so there were no surprises on race day. I figured I could do the six mile loop at an easy pace and not be sore the following day. 

Swim – I took the swim out at a fast pace with a few other guys I knew were strong swimmers.  On the second lap they pulled away and I held back because I knew the bike was going to be tough.  I exited the swim in fifth place and about a minute back of the leader.  It was about a quarter mile run to the transition so everyone left a pair of shoes at the swim exit.  I found my shoes, stripped out of my wetsuit, and ran to the transition area.  I had a smooth transition and it was on to the bike course.

Bike – The bike course was two six mile loops with a little bit of everything along the way.  The first two miles was pretty sandy so I had to ride the shoulder to maintain maximum speed.  Miles three and four is where it got interesting. There was a water crossing that was about six feet across and deep enough to submerge my bottom bracket. The first time through I didn’t have enough speed to make it across so I had to dismount and run the rest of the way. On the second loop I made sure to pick up enough speed to make it without a problem. After that there was one smaller water/mud crossing, and then it was some rolling hills and few tight corners to the finish.

Run – Heading into the run I was in fifth place, and about three minutes back of the leader. The first mile was the only place to push the pace and make up ground on the guys in front.  I passed three guys in that time and was running hard to catch the leader.  After the first mile is where the run got tough. There were a lot of roots, tight turns, and a few short steep hills.  With about a half mile left the run opened up.  At this point, I had nothing left and ended up being passed with less than a quarter mile to go. I crossed the finish line in third place and was very happy with my result.