Jocelyn's Kona Recap

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Jocey's Kona Recap, as posted on Facebook. I am reposting here, for all to see, as I imagine FB's security settings would not allow me to link to it, and I am so PROUD of her I just have to let the world know. Maybe, I can convince her to start her own blog. ;-)
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I am going to start the recap of my Kona adventure on Wednesday before the race. I was about 7 minutes into an easy ride when a red pick-up truck made a right hand turn into me. Without going into every detail of the accident – the result is that I ended up with bruises on my knee/elbow/hip and a broken bike. Needless to say, I was so shaken and upset that I could not stop crying. I just kept thinking that I am so sore, I don’t have a bike, and I have to do an Ironman in THREE days. Jeremy came up with the idea of taking my bike to the Quintana Roo tent at the expo to see if they had any idea on what we could do. We carried my bike to the tent, and with tears running down my face – told them what had happened. Immediately Brad, Mac, and Chris from Quintana Roo said not to worry – they were going to set me up on a CD0.1. Now my only worry is my physical and mental state.

Thursday morning I woke up feeling like a truck had hit me. My right ribs/abs/hips/knees and shoulder were all very sore and swollen. I dressed up in my banana underwear that Nate provided me, and went down to the underwear run. Only instead of participating, I became a spectator because there was no way I was able to run a mile. This is when I felt the lowest. I was thinking that all of these people are in tip top shape and so healthy that a mile is NOTHING to them, and I couldn’t even walk a 100 yards. How in the world am I going to run a marathon in TWO days? Depressed and feeling so negative – I went to pick up my new bike. When I walked into the Quintana Roo tent, Brad had done some research and found out that I was a part of the Ballou Skies Charity Team. He asked me about Ryan Ballou. I sat down and told him all about Ryan and the charity that I race for. Somewhere in that conversation, I gained perspective. I am racing for a young man who has to fight muscular dystrophy every day of his life, and who never gives up. Ryan overcomes challenges that I cannot even begin to imagine. Thinking about Ryan inspired me to take this little itty bitty challenge and overcome it, without giving up, without taking one step for granted. So that was my new plan!

SWIM: Wading out into the crystal blue ocean waters with 1800 athletes, spectators as far as the eye can see, hearing the drums beating in the background is a very cool experience! When the canon went off, the craziness began and lasted until the turn around buoy. I was a little bit surprised at how sandwiched I was getting, but I guess that is what happens when everyone in this race is a somewhat decent swimmer. I must say that it was a little bit difficult to not look at the amazing fish right beneath me!

BIKE: I felt stomach cramping immediately when I got on the bike, but I was hoping that it was going to settle in a few minutes. I was wrong! The first time I took a drink, I threw up in my mouth and felt stomach pains. 45 minutes into my ride, I tried to take a gel, which I threw up right away. This has never happened to me before, so I just tried to continue with my nutrition plan hoping that it would go away. It never did and I ended up throwing up every single gel/block I tried to take on the bike. At 4 hours I stopped taking in any type of calorie, and I watched as my heart rate continuously went down. My average heart rate was about 15-20 beats lower than it normally is, which I attribute to a lack of calories. In the midst of this, the thought of Ryan constantly crossed my mind, and I continued to fight through the bad and enjoy the day. I was, after all, experiencing the famous Queen K, the Hawi crosswinds, the sun beating on my back, and I couldn’t help but smile through it all, thinking how lucky I am to be out there!

RUN: With pretty much zero calories in my body, and my stomach cramping like crazy, I had no clue what to expect on this run. I planned on just running as long as I could possibly run. My run turned into a port-o-potty to port-o-potty run. At this point, I don’t even know what was coming out of me, because I still was only taking in sips of cola and water. At 10 miles into the run, my knee pain caught up to me pretty bad. I know that I changed my stride, but I kept to my run as long as I possibly could run plan which took me to the next potty (I stopped in at least 5). I hung in there for the rest of the run. At the top of Palani Rd. at mile 25 I could hear the cheering and music. I was overcome with so much emotion that I almost couldn’t breathe. Running down Ali’i drive I know that I left every last piece of me (and my stomach) out on the course.


In the medical tent, I was given an IV and told that the copious amounts of Ibuprofen that I had been taking for my swollen knee/body is definitely what was causing my stomach pains. Luckily I don’t think I did lasting damage to my knee despite it being swollen to almost twice its size. Needless to say, it wasn’t the race that I had planned, but I learned that things don’t always work out as planned. But if you take these challenges as they come, the results can be just as sweet!

Thanks to all of the wishes, thoughts, and prayers that I received through text/email/calls/conversation. Every single word gave me strength. Thank you to Jeremy and my ever supportive family! Thank you to Quintana Roo’s Brad, Mac & Chris who made this race possible! I wholeheartedly know that they did not have to help me, yet they went out of their way to get me up on a bike. They kept saying “it is all about the athlete” and I cannot even express how grateful I am! Finally, thanks to Ryan Ballou for being my inspiration to do everything in my power to overcome adversity and be the absolute best that I can be!

Ironman Hawaii 2010 update

Yesterday Jocelyn and I competed in the 2010 Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI. This was my second trip out to the Big Island to compete in the "Super Bowl of Triathlon", earning the opportunity to compete the first time last year, and Jocey's first attempt but only her third Ironman ever. We had arrived in Kona a week prior on Oct 2nd to adjust to the time difference and acclimate, and for the most part had a very enjoyable and relaxing week leading up to the race. The one low point was when Jocey was hit by a truck when cycling on Ali'i Drive on Wednesday, right in front of the triathlete people watching epicenter of Lava Java, which rendered her bike useless and bruised and battered the whole right side of her body. Not the sort of thing that you want to happen three days before the most challenging physical event on earth. The circumstances of this accident are even more surprising and disappointing, but this post will not devolve into a negative rant on that subject. On the contrary, this unfortunate incident led us down another path that we would not have otherwise gone down, and as a result met some incredibly helpful, compassionate, and great people here in Kona. Mad props go out to Brad, Mac, and Chris of Quintana Roo for stepping up completely unbidden and saving the day (race, week, sanity, etc.) for both of us. In addition to these lifesavers, there were a number of others who were so sympathetic and supportive, and we both are so thankful for this at this tough time. Jocelyn was going to make it to this race come hell or high water, and it would live up to all of our expectations.

Saturday morning started early as usual and we were down at the Kailua Pier by about 5am to setup in transition and meet up with the rest of our Pittsburgh crew out for the race, Chad, Matt, and Beth. My parents were there to cheer us on, in addition to husbands, wives, and parents of some of the others. The race was underway at 7am and then it was on for the next 9+ hours. At times the conditions were the challenge, and others my body, but sometimes you just have to bear down, knuckle up, and as Jens Voigt has said, "Shut up legs!" Or perhaps, "Puke and Rally!" It was very tough at times to keep the pressure on and to continue pushing so hard when quite often my body was in revolt, but that's when you learn the most about yourself, when the chips are down and as I constantly reminded myself, that this was the world championship, you are here to do your absolute best and to suffer mightily in the process. As hard as I thought I had it, my tough as nails wife was pushing through the 140.6 mile race with a bum knee, which was probably swollen to almost twice its normal size. Seeing her out on the course in addition to my close friends and also the sport's top talents gave me so much inspiration to draw upon, to allow me to reach deep within myself for every ounce of effort I could. Hearing people shout, "Go Jeremy" and "Go Ballou Skies" at every turn was so powerful and I couldn't help but smile and do as they asked. I came across the line at about 4:30 HST for an Ironman PR with the following splits on this most competitive, fulfilling, and magical of days.

0:59:57

05:13:01

03:13:05

09:33:14

My official race report is soon to follow, but I just wanted to put something out there before I undergo radio silence during the long journey back to Pittsburgh tomorrow. Thanks everyone for reading and for all of your support leading up to and during the race! Mahalo.

Portage Lakes Race Report

On September 19th, I raced in the Portage Lakes Olympic Tri outside of Akron OH. I decided only the day before to do the race, thinking that it would be a good change of pace from my typical weekend routine of long ride/long run, and a good tune-up opportunity with some speed three weeks prior to Kona. This would also be my first olympic distance race since 2007, so I was excited to once again try this distance and suffer in a little different manner than usual.

Jocelyn wasn't going to be making the trip with me for the race, but Ty and Kevin from the BallouSkies Team were both going to be doing the race so there would be some teammate company and friends to support. I drove up late Saturday afternoon and met up with Ty and Kevin at the Olde Harbor Inn for a drink, some stories, and some pre-race grub. After that it was off to the hotel to settle in for the night and to get some rest before the event. After some laughs, it was time for bed.

The next morning started with a modified race morning breakfast, maybe only taking in about half of the total calories I have become accustomed to eating before half and full ironmans. It was a short 15 minute drive to the race site where we picked up our packets, chips, and racked our bikes, all the morning of the race! It had been a while since I had done such a low key race, and it felt good to just go through the motions roaming freely in and out of transition with bags and gear strewn everywhere, mountain bikes, hybrids and road bike almost numbering triathlon bikes equally. I got out for a 15 minute or so warmup ride with some spin ups and tempo efforts, and then I was back to transition to grab the wetsuit and head down to the lake.

I signed up for the elite open category and started the race at the luxuriously late hour of 8:25am, after all of the sprint tri waves went off. I got in about a five minute warmup swim, some arm circles and pushups and then it was to the line. When the horn went off I ran through the shallows, dolphined out and was near the front and jockeyed a little for position. As usual the first 500 or so really hurt and I was sucking wind, but I made the first buoy in about 4th and that's where I stayed the rest of the swim. I found a decent rhythm and swam a pretty good course, only going a little offline once as I didn't spot one buoy early enough and zig-zagged a little. I came out of the water in 22:20 and was off to transition.

I was out of transition fast and did my 2nd ever flying mount with the shoes clipped in, and executed this flawlessly save for the slightly bunched up insole in my right shoe. I just pushed on, knowing that the ride should take less than an hour and I didn't have time to waste on comfort. Within the first two or three miles I caught and passed who I thought might be my main competition, while trying to strike that perfect balance between a high cadence, powerful pedal stroke, and a sustainable yet uncomfortable intensity. As the bike continued on I passed the remaining two athletes I figured were ahead of me from my wave and tried my best to keep the effort up. I found as the bike went on I really struggled to keep my HR at or above 170 as I was aiming, and saw it steadily dropping down toward my more well known HIM intensity. The bike still went well though on a fair and rolling, though short course where I biked a 55:30 for the fastest bike split.

T2 went fast and I was out onto the two lap run, just as both the swim and bike before were two laps as well. Each lap consisted of two out and back sections, giving you a great opportunity to get splits on your competitors. I started out with about a 30 second lead on the guy chasing me and went about trying to build on that throughout the run. My main goal for the race was to build throughout to a hard, nearly sprint tri, lactate type effort by the end. My HR was the highest it had been the whole race by the end and I had steadily built my lead over the 10k, keeping good form and quick feet throughout to run to a 35:46 and a 1:55:44 overall.
Coming across the line for the suspected, but uncertain win (no results whatsoever were available until two days later!)

Kevin finishing up strong.

Our fearless leader Ty coming in, proudly wearing the colors of BallouSkies.

In the end, it was a fun small town race, and a great tuneup for the big dance that gets underway now in 8 days time. It was fast and furious and I surely won't be reaching the same run speeds out in HI, but I know I will be racing with the same level of confidence and emotional intensity. Olympics hurt, but in a good way! Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone else is ready to rock their own end of season races as I am!

Ironman Louisville weekend and mini-camp

Today Jocelyn and I are headed west with the Holderbaums to Kentuckiana, site of Sunday's Ironman Louisville , where we have friends racing in the 140.6 mile event. We packed up Chad's car in WashPa this evening and set out with our bikes and all of our training gear.

Tomorrow morning we are going to get up and do a fairly long swim (1.5hrs) in the mighty Ohio River and the will be followed up by a long ride of th IM bike course and a short transition run.

Sunday morning will start quite early, almost as if we were racing ourselves, cheering on friends Steve, Matt, and Jason, as well as so me other Pittsburgh area triathlete we have gotten to know and become friendly with. The TT style swim starts at 7am and then everyone will start their individual 140.6 mile battles with the currents, heat, and humidity. After the guys head out on the bike we will do a long-run on the run course and then settle in for some serious spectating and support. Let's go Steve, MattyMo, and Jason!

Cooking with the Cornmans!

Earlier tonight, Jocelyn and I joined Gretchen McKay of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for her backyard and home-based cooking show, Cooking with Gretchen, that is to run online in the next couple of weeks. Jocelyn and I were her guests for this piece highlighting healthy, summertime meals, and we got to show off our non-existent cooking skills while talking about Ballouskies and Kona.

Gretchen, Jocelyn, and myself cooked up some Summer Salmon Pasta and some Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs, while Gretchen's associate Steve Mellon filmed it all and provided some creative direction.

This is the beginning of something of a media blitz that Ty setup in advance of Kona, whereby Jocelyn and I will be out promoting Ballouskies and our efforts at the Ironman World Championships! Next stop, NightTalk!

ups and downs in the NC heat

Training has been pretty good so far in Topsail, however there have been some ups and downs between individual sessions when dealing with the heat and my acclimation (or lack thereof) to it. The beginning of the week started off strongly, there was a slight fade in workout frequency in the middle due to dealing with some disruptive weather, but I plan to close out the week well with another long ride and a couple runs.

Sunday I got in my long ride for last week, doing a Kona-esque 114 mile ride in the heat and the wind. Starting out at 7am the air temps were already at about 78' (the typical low down here!) with the winds out of the ENE. While the terrain is quite flat, if the winds are kicking up, it can make for some difficult riding, and even to the point of hoping for some hills to break things up! With the lack of the hills as well there is no hiding from the wind and not much variation in gearing or body position. This necessitates getting out of the saddle more often than usual and doing some variable gear sets to mix things up and use the muscles to create force in different ways. I had hoped to ride out to and through Camp Lejeune, to continue on towards Cape Lookout and the southern point of the Outer Banks, but I was shot down by the young Marine sentry at the south gate to the base. I was hopeful that I would be granted entry as I was permitted to ride all through Camp Pendleton out in California two years ago, but it wasn't meant to be I guess. Starting out on the ride, I was dealing with a cross shifting over to a tailwind out to my revised turnaround point at the Duplin County line, but then of course on the return I was now dealing with about 23 miles back into the wind and it was certainly heating up now as I was approaching 10am. Hello Queen K flashbacks.

The highlight of the return trip was stopping at a very rurally located gas station, and trying to convince the incredulous clerk that I was actually in the middle of a ~110 mile bike ride. A close second was on my third water stop (I was drinking about 30% more on this ride than a typical training ride), where I filled up two of my empty water bottles with ice water, making the last 20 miles home the most comfortable of all, despite the now 87' heat.

Monday I attempted an eight mile run with my brother Chris, but made the mistake of waiting to start the run at 10am, and then the secondary mistake of getting caught up in a fraternally charged, running ego dynamic, starting at sub seven minute mile pace right out of the gate. Towards the end of the run, at 5 miles, when we were about to pull the plug, the paces were slipping drastically and the heartrates were completely out of control. Not good things at all. So the rest of the day I hydrated as much as possible and then had a surprisingly solid swim with Jocey that evening at a local gym that provided a bizarrely distanced pool of 24.5 meters.
Tuesday morning I did my long run for last weekend, or to start this week I suppose (Sunday is the long run day), and I started at 7am to avoid making the same mistake as the day prior. I also made it a point to start slow for the first couple miles, observing a HR cap of 145-150 bpm to let my body settle into the rhythm and adapt to the heat. This appeared to work and allowed me to accelerate through about 14 miles to average close to my goal IMHI marathon pace, however in my last two miles again the heat played the spoiler and the cadiac drift set in again. In the end though, I finished with 16 miles and the overall experience was much more satisfying and promising than Monday's run.

Wednesday evening the storms rolled in and ruined an attempted swim, but I got in an upper body strength session and worked some wall pushups and pullups so it wasn't a total loss. Today the storms again foiled mine and Jocey's long ride (for this coming weekend?) plans, but we snuck in a quick swim on tired arms for the first session of the day. Hopefully I can get in a run tonight if the storm stops and before dinner, but so far it has showed no signs of abating. At least this gives me an opportunity to do some blogging though! We will try again for the long ride tomorrow before leaving Saturday morning to start the long drive back to da Burgh. Next weekend is Ironman Louisville spectathloning and training camp, and the countdown to Kona continues! Cheers from Topsail (Top-suhl)!

beach week (#1!) 2010

This week Jocelyn, my family, four large dogs, two bikes and myself are headed south for a week's vacation in Topsail Island NC. This will be a perfect opportunity to de-stress and unwind, while catching up on some reading and catching some rays. And while I may be de-stressing in a general life/work sense, I am certainly planning on increasing the physical stress as Kona is now only 8 weeks away. Topsail training camp - shhh, don't tell the family! I have been slacking pretty bad on the blog posts recently and so I am going to make a concerted effort to get back on track this week and beyond. Updates to follow throughout the week from Topsail!