More Pics from Interbike 2009
19 hours ago
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sugar Land Turkey Trot 5 Miler
I ran this race 2 years ago right after Ironman Florida also. This race was was a lot of fun, with around 1300 runners. I managed to PR by over a minute, with a time of 33:10. Unfortunately, this was only good enough for 6th place in my age group, a full 2 minutes behind 5th! Oh well, it was fun, I PR'd, and I got to see lots of friends. A great way to start off the holiday!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Halfmax National Championship
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ironman Florida 2009 Race Report
This was my third Ironman, and my second in Florida. But this was by far my best overall race experience! I have never been more prepared for a race before, and I was very confident going into the race. Of course anything can happen in an Ironman, but I was more determined than ever to be ready for this one. I broke my collarbone 3 months before my first Ironman, and I was simply not well prepared for my second Ironman. This time I made it the start line with no major issues, and it all paid off on race day!
I arrived in Florida on Wednesday night, 3 days before the race. I was too busy leading up to the race to worry too much, and I still didn't get too anxious until the day before the race. Fortunately I had no trouble sleeping race week. It was great seeing so many friends in Panama City Beach, both racers and supporters! The weather race week was a little warmer and a little windier than I would like, but certainly nothing to complain too much about. Panama City Beach will always be a favorite race location for me, and I'm sure I will be back again in the near future!
I got to the transition area race morning earlier than usual, so I was able to take my time getting ready. I've found that I can't eat solid food prior to a race, so all I had to worry about was getting down a few gels and some water. Gels and gatorade were my only fuel source that day until after the race was over! As the start approaced, we all made our way into the start corral on the beach. This is quite a sight! It is an awesome experience standing in the middle of 2500 westuit-wearing triathletes waiting to swim out into the Gulf in a mass start! If this doesn't motivate you for a race, nothing will!
I had 4 goals going into this race. My first goal was to go under 1:30 on the swim. I'm not a fast swimmer, but I have been steadily improving every year since I started racing triathlons. There was some wind race morning, so I knew the water was not going to be as smooth as I hoped for. In my practice swim the day before the race, the water was rough and I drank a lot of seawater. My last 2 Ironman swims were in perfectly calm water. So this time I was not hopeful for a fast swim time, but I was going to do the best I could. I started the swim very far to the right this time and swam straight towards the first turn buoy. This was a very wise decision because I did not have any trouble until I got to the buoy. The water did not seem as rough as the day before - or I was handling it better. After the first turn it was hard to see because we were swimming into the sun. I just followed the crowd hoping they were going the right direction! After the second turn, it was very easy to see because we headed right back to the beach condos. I finished the first loop feeling good, just a little bit frustrated with how much we had to walk to get over the sand bar. The second loop was a little rougher and people kept swimming into me. I finally moved from the outside to an inside line and this eased things up quite a bit. I felt great and I had a strong surge on the final leg of the second loop. I finished the swim in 1:28 and was very happy with this! That was a 7 minute improvement from 2 years ago, in worse conditions!
My T1 transition time was not great (7:52), but there's a lot of ground to cover and lot to get done. I ran up the beach, got my wetsuit pulled off, rinsed off the salt water, grabbed my swim-to-bike bag, changed in the tent, went to the port-o-john, and got sunscreen rubbed on my upper body. I later discovered that I should have gotten it on my legs as well.
The bike is the longest leg of the race, so obviously this is what most of my training time went towards. I had ridden 5 straight 100+ mile rides coming in to this, along with numerous 80 milers. I was ready for this. I also drove the bike course the day before the race so that I could chop up the course into shorter sections, which are easier to deal with mentally. I knew the course well and it paid off. The roughest part of the bike - and the entire race for that matter - was miles 22-50 going straight into the wind. The wind was supposed to be 10-15 mph. But if we were going to have wind, this is where I wanted it - in the first half of the ride so that it could push me home on the way back! For the first time ever, I rode the entire 112 miles without ever getting off the bike. I felt really good the last half of the course, and my average the last 40 miles was over 2mph faster than the first 70. My goal for the bike course was under 6 hours. I finished in 5:42, which was a 19.6mph average. This was a 38 minute PR! I was a little emotional getting off the bike because of how much training I had invested into it, and I couldn't believe how well it paid off for me! Hopefully it wouldn't cost me on the run!
My T2 was a little faster (5:23) but I still had to make sure to get everything done, including lubricating the feet to avoid blisters!
My goal time for the marathon was under 4 hours, and I wanted to finish the race under 12 hours. I knew my marathon goal was a little ambitious, but since my swim and bike went so well, I knew I just needed to run smart now to come in under 12 hours. I didn't feel great the first couple of miles. My back hurt and I was expectedly nauseous. I had no idea of my pace but my legs felt good. As I normally do, I found someone running a similar pace to talk to and we ran together until mile 19 or so. This made many of those miles fly by and for a while we were close to 4 hour pace. Since the course is a double out and back, I knew I had some friends not far behind me. This helped motivate me also since I didn't want to get caught! Even with the nausea, I was able to stick to my nutritian plan. I forced down a gel ever 30 minutes like clockwork, and kept the water and gatorade coming as well. I lost my running partner for the last 7 mile stretch when he started cramping up. But I was feeling better and was able to pick up the pace a little after that. At this point the race was over. The race and my body had played all of their cards, and they weren't going to beat me today! I knew I was flirting with an 11:30 finishing time, but had laid it all out on the course and I just held my pace for those last few miles knowing I was well under my goal.
I crossed the finish line in 11:32 - a 51 minute PR! I couldn't believe it! My marathon time was 4:08 - a 16 minute PR! So I had achieved 3 out of 4 goals on the day, but PR's all the way around. I can't complain! Out of over 2400 athletes who started the race, I finished 667 overall. My place after the swim was 1838, so I had passed around 1200 people on the bike and run. This is the advantage to being a slower swimmer!
Ironman is an incredible experience. It is humbling but incredibly rewarding to finish. I am so thankful to have survived 3 of them now. I have learned to respect the distance, and I know I will be back on the Ironman training road again looking to improve some more. Thanks to all my family and friends for supporting me through these crazy endurance races I keep signing up for. And thanks to all of my training partners who pushed me to new limits.
I got to the transition area race morning earlier than usual, so I was able to take my time getting ready. I've found that I can't eat solid food prior to a race, so all I had to worry about was getting down a few gels and some water. Gels and gatorade were my only fuel source that day until after the race was over! As the start approaced, we all made our way into the start corral on the beach. This is quite a sight! It is an awesome experience standing in the middle of 2500 westuit-wearing triathletes waiting to swim out into the Gulf in a mass start! If this doesn't motivate you for a race, nothing will!
My T1 transition time was not great (7:52), but there's a lot of ground to cover and lot to get done. I ran up the beach, got my wetsuit pulled off, rinsed off the salt water, grabbed my swim-to-bike bag, changed in the tent, went to the port-o-john, and got sunscreen rubbed on my upper body. I later discovered that I should have gotten it on my legs as well.
My T2 was a little faster (5:23) but I still had to make sure to get everything done, including lubricating the feet to avoid blisters!
My goal time for the marathon was under 4 hours, and I wanted to finish the race under 12 hours. I knew my marathon goal was a little ambitious, but since my swim and bike went so well, I knew I just needed to run smart now to come in under 12 hours. I didn't feel great the first couple of miles. My back hurt and I was expectedly nauseous. I had no idea of my pace but my legs felt good. As I normally do, I found someone running a similar pace to talk to and we ran together until mile 19 or so. This made many of those miles fly by and for a while we were close to 4 hour pace. Since the course is a double out and back, I knew I had some friends not far behind me. This helped motivate me also since I didn't want to get caught! Even with the nausea, I was able to stick to my nutritian plan. I forced down a gel ever 30 minutes like clockwork, and kept the water and gatorade coming as well. I lost my running partner for the last 7 mile stretch when he started cramping up. But I was feeling better and was able to pick up the pace a little after that. At this point the race was over. The race and my body had played all of their cards, and they weren't going to beat me today! I knew I was flirting with an 11:30 finishing time, but had laid it all out on the course and I just held my pace for those last few miles knowing I was well under my goal.
Ironman is an incredible experience. It is humbling but incredibly rewarding to finish. I am so thankful to have survived 3 of them now. I have learned to respect the distance, and I know I will be back on the Ironman training road again looking to improve some more. Thanks to all my family and friends for supporting me through these crazy endurance races I keep signing up for. And thanks to all of my training partners who pushed me to new limits.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Catching Up
Even though I haven't posted for well over a year, I have still been busy training and racing. Here is a list of races that I've done since Ironman Arizona in April, 2008:
- CapTex Olympic Triathlon - May-2008
- Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 Half Ironman - June-2008
- St. George Marathon - October-2008
- Marine Core Marathon - October-2008
- Houston Marathon - January-2009
- Lone Star Quarter Iron Triathlon - April-2009
- MS-150 Charity Bike Ride (Houston to Austin) - April-2009
- Tejas Sprint Triathlon - June-2009
- PrairieMan Half Iron Triathlon - September-2009
- Houston Half Marathon - October-2009
- Ironman Florida - November-2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Lost in Cyber-Space
Well it seems my blog has been patiently waiting for me to post something for quite a while now! Ever since Facebook and Twitter came into my life, I didn't see much use for the blog anymore. But now that I need to post a race report from Ironman Florida 2009, I see that the blog still has its' place. So I will now try to keep my blog updated again with my training and race reports. Very soon I will post my recent Ironman report, which was a very big day for me. Stay tuned...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Race Report
Ironman Arizona 2008 Race Report:
This was my second Ironman but it was a completely different experience. My first Ironman was five months earlier in Florida and we had near perfect race conditions. This time around a combination of my scaled-back training, extreme heat, and high winds led to a much more difficult day and a 2 hour slower finish time of 14:27:38. However I was just happy to finish this race given how difficult it was. I still finished only 14 spots lower in the overall standings, even with my slower time!
SWIM: Unlike Florida, we had to jump in the water 15 minutes prior to the swim start and make our way towards the start line. For me this is very difficult, even with a wetsuit, since I can't tread water very well. Needless to say I was pretty tired by the time the starting cannon went off! However since we were all spread out it was better than Florida in that I was able to start swimming right away and it wasn't too crowded. The course was a single loop and I finally got into a good rythm after the turnaround. I would occasionally bump into people because of how dirty the water was, but overall I had a very good swim, didn't cramp at all, and even knocked 3 minutes off my Florida swim time with a 1:32:25 swim.
BIKE: After a quick 5 minute transition I started out on the first of 3 bike loops. I knew it was going to be a hot day but I was not expecting much wind. And I didn't expect the heat to affect me too much on the bike either. The wind was not too bad in Tempe but once we got out into the desert the wind picked up substantially and became a big problem. I was barely moving as I rode out directly into the wind and I didn't realize that I was not drinking enough. After the turnaround I was literally flying back towards Tempe and I felt great! Halfway through the second loop I was still struggling with the wind but I felt ok. But by the time I finished my second loop I realized I had not been drinking enough and I was becoming dehydrated. My head hurt, I was losing power quickly, I became nauseous, and I knew I was in big trouble. On my third loop I had to start taking long breaks at every water stop to force fluids down and try to recover. I just felt terrible and every time I stopped I was not sure ifI was going to be able to continue. I also discovered that my Perpetuem (liquid fuel) is not very appetizing when it's hot. I finally started feeling better towards the end of my third loop and I was able to bypass the last water stop as I got some strength back. I finally finished the bike in 7:27:13, well over an hour longer than my Florida bike time.
RUN: I had another quick 4 minute transition and I started out on the 3 loop run course. I felt pretty decent the first loop and a half. I used cold sponges on my shoulders and ice water in my handheld bottle to help offset the heat. I was running well, taking short walk breaks, and getting my gels and fluids down. But I knew I couldn't maintain it for the whole marathon. I started walking up the hills the last half of the second loop. When I started my final run loop it was dark but I managed to meet a guy that I stuck with for most of that loop. He had an amazing 5:30 bike split but then spent an hour in the transition tent trying to recover. We walked quite a bit but both of us were just happy for the day to nearly be over - especially after seeing so many people having to quit the race. I switched from gels to chicken broth and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I started running and picked up my pace quite a bit the last mile and half because I wanted to finish strong. I was so happy to turn the corner and see the crowd as I approached and crossed the finish line. I finished my marathon in 5:18:32, almost an hour slower than Florida.
I was pretty nauseous for about 45 minutes after I finished but after that I was fine and felt much better than after Florida. When I could move I went up into the stands and cheered for other finishers. Michelle sprinted in with a strong finish and a big PR. She had talked me into doing this race last summer and I was signed up before I had even done my first Ironman. We did a lot of our training together and I really owe her because I don't think I could have made it without her. It was also great meeting so many triathletes from the Houston area throughout the training. I'm already looking forward to my next Ironman! Florida 2009???
Picture Links:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chadfikes/IronmanArizona2008
http://picasaweb.google.com/fikesj/ArizonaIronman
This was my second Ironman but it was a completely different experience. My first Ironman was five months earlier in Florida and we had near perfect race conditions. This time around a combination of my scaled-back training, extreme heat, and high winds led to a much more difficult day and a 2 hour slower finish time of 14:27:38. However I was just happy to finish this race given how difficult it was. I still finished only 14 spots lower in the overall standings, even with my slower time!
SWIM: Unlike Florida, we had to jump in the water 15 minutes prior to the swim start and make our way towards the start line. For me this is very difficult, even with a wetsuit, since I can't tread water very well. Needless to say I was pretty tired by the time the starting cannon went off! However since we were all spread out it was better than Florida in that I was able to start swimming right away and it wasn't too crowded. The course was a single loop and I finally got into a good rythm after the turnaround. I would occasionally bump into people because of how dirty the water was, but overall I had a very good swim, didn't cramp at all, and even knocked 3 minutes off my Florida swim time with a 1:32:25 swim.
BIKE: After a quick 5 minute transition I started out on the first of 3 bike loops. I knew it was going to be a hot day but I was not expecting much wind. And I didn't expect the heat to affect me too much on the bike either. The wind was not too bad in Tempe but once we got out into the desert the wind picked up substantially and became a big problem. I was barely moving as I rode out directly into the wind and I didn't realize that I was not drinking enough. After the turnaround I was literally flying back towards Tempe and I felt great! Halfway through the second loop I was still struggling with the wind but I felt ok. But by the time I finished my second loop I realized I had not been drinking enough and I was becoming dehydrated. My head hurt, I was losing power quickly, I became nauseous, and I knew I was in big trouble. On my third loop I had to start taking long breaks at every water stop to force fluids down and try to recover. I just felt terrible and every time I stopped I was not sure ifI was going to be able to continue. I also discovered that my Perpetuem (liquid fuel) is not very appetizing when it's hot. I finally started feeling better towards the end of my third loop and I was able to bypass the last water stop as I got some strength back. I finally finished the bike in 7:27:13, well over an hour longer than my Florida bike time.
RUN: I had another quick 4 minute transition and I started out on the 3 loop run course. I felt pretty decent the first loop and a half. I used cold sponges on my shoulders and ice water in my handheld bottle to help offset the heat. I was running well, taking short walk breaks, and getting my gels and fluids down. But I knew I couldn't maintain it for the whole marathon. I started walking up the hills the last half of the second loop. When I started my final run loop it was dark but I managed to meet a guy that I stuck with for most of that loop. He had an amazing 5:30 bike split but then spent an hour in the transition tent trying to recover. We walked quite a bit but both of us were just happy for the day to nearly be over - especially after seeing so many people having to quit the race. I switched from gels to chicken broth and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I started running and picked up my pace quite a bit the last mile and half because I wanted to finish strong. I was so happy to turn the corner and see the crowd as I approached and crossed the finish line. I finished my marathon in 5:18:32, almost an hour slower than Florida.
I was pretty nauseous for about 45 minutes after I finished but after that I was fine and felt much better than after Florida. When I could move I went up into the stands and cheered for other finishers. Michelle sprinted in with a strong finish and a big PR. She had talked me into doing this race last summer and I was signed up before I had even done my first Ironman. We did a lot of our training together and I really owe her because I don't think I could have made it without her. It was also great meeting so many triathletes from the Houston area throughout the training. I'm already looking forward to my next Ironman! Florida 2009???
Picture Links:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chadfikes/IronmanArizona2008
http://picasaweb.google.com/fikesj/ArizonaIronman
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
IMAZ Facts
Well I made it home and now it's back to work so this will brief - but I'll put something more detailed up later this week.
If you wonder why they are moving this race to November, all you have to do is look at the conditions this year. It got up to 94 degrees and the wind was blowing up to 23mph (although I think more in the desert) directly in our faces for almost half the bike course. Surprisingly they had almost no cold fluids on the bike course and they even ran out of fluids at one critical aid station. Someone described it as racing in a hair dryer. In fact this race had the third most DNF's in Ironman history - at over 17%! And to put it in persepective, I finished 2 hours slower than I did in Florida, and I only finished 14 spots lower in the overall standings.
So with that being said, it was a very tough race but I was just so happy to finish! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support! And congrats to Michelle (with her new PR!) and Russell on a great race!
If you wonder why they are moving this race to November, all you have to do is look at the conditions this year. It got up to 94 degrees and the wind was blowing up to 23mph (although I think more in the desert) directly in our faces for almost half the bike course. Surprisingly they had almost no cold fluids on the bike course and they even ran out of fluids at one critical aid station. Someone described it as racing in a hair dryer. In fact this race had the third most DNF's in Ironman history - at over 17%! And to put it in persepective, I finished 2 hours slower than I did in Florida, and I only finished 14 spots lower in the overall standings.
So with that being said, it was a very tough race but I was just so happy to finish! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support! And congrats to Michelle (with her new PR!) and Russell on a great race!
Monday, April 7, 2008
6 Days To Go
Wow it's getting so close again! It seems like only such a short time ago I was this close to doing my first Ironman and here I am again. I am getting excited and anxious, but I think I am ready. I enjoyed my first official weekend of taper with just a 35 mile bike ride followed by a one hour brick run on Saturday. I also got my bike cleaned and tuned up. It was weird having so much free time on my hands this weekend where I was either not training or exhausted from doing so.
I am flying out to Arizona in 2 days. I'm going early to spend a couple of days relaxing up in Flagstaff/Sedona before the race. I will be boxing up my bike and bringing it with me on the plane. Hopefully that's not too much of a headache. I should be able to pack a lot quicker this time around since I know what to expect.
The early forecasts are calling for a pretty warm race day so I may be adjusting my marathon time goals appropriately. I'm not going to worry too much though because all you can do is trian yourself the best you can and show up prepared to deal with whatever the race day throws at you. Just like most endurance races, the key to a good race is showing up well trained and healthy.
I've made a lot of new friends training for this race and I am excited to see all of them out on the course. And hopefully I'll finish well enough to cheer for a few them at the finish line. I'm also excited that I will be able to see a lot of family at the race. The course is very spectator friendly so it will definitely help seeing my friends and family out there!
I am flying out to Arizona in 2 days. I'm going early to spend a couple of days relaxing up in Flagstaff/Sedona before the race. I will be boxing up my bike and bringing it with me on the plane. Hopefully that's not too much of a headache. I should be able to pack a lot quicker this time around since I know what to expect.
The early forecasts are calling for a pretty warm race day so I may be adjusting my marathon time goals appropriately. I'm not going to worry too much though because all you can do is trian yourself the best you can and show up prepared to deal with whatever the race day throws at you. Just like most endurance races, the key to a good race is showing up well trained and healthy.
I've made a lot of new friends training for this race and I am excited to see all of them out on the course. And hopefully I'll finish well enough to cheer for a few them at the finish line. I'm also excited that I will be able to see a lot of family at the race. The course is very spectator friendly so it will definitely help seeing my friends and family out there!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Lone Star Half Iron Triathlon
Let the taper begin! I raced the half iron distance in Galveston yesterday in a time of 5:44:44. Although I didn't go all out it was still a very tough day - especially on the bike. But I did ride almost 2.5 hours on the bike the day before. So I have now reached the 2 week mark until Ironman Arizona and I am definitely ready to taper!!! My Ironman training has been unorthodox to say the least, but I have stuck to my "plan" and I'll find in 2 weeks how prepared I am. The very good news though is that I made it though my training healthy and uninjured!
Monday, March 24, 2008
3 Weeks until Ironman
Well my second Ironman training adventure is coming closer and closer to its' conclusion. I just completed another big weekend of training. I rode 70 miles and swam 2 miles at Twin Lakes on Saturday, and then I ran 20.3 miles on Sunday. Even though I got a late start to my training, I am starting to feel like I am well prepared and should have a good race. I think it's entirely possible that any time I lose on the bike I may be able to make up on the swim and run. Even though technically I am starting my taper, I am racing the Lone Star Half Iron Tri this coming Sunday. I will not race at full speed, but it should be a good final race tune-up!
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