70.3 - The Sticker is Mine!!!!!

I have finally achieved Jedi status! After two failed attempts, the sticker is mine.

My wife and I hit the road on Thursday morning. The Austin Ironman Longhorn 70.3 was just four days away. I like to arrive at the destination of a big event a few days early. This gives ample time to relax, enjoy the process and survey the course. When possible, I like to stay a couple of days after the event to further enjoy the relaxation. We took two additional days off after the Ironman Kansas 70.3 and found it very relaxing. Since this was the end of the season and a huge event, we decided to take the entire week off after the event. Neither us has taken extended time off in a long time. We were looking forward to some much needed downtime and some sight seeing in Austin.

I don't know if it was the importance of completing this event or the shock to my brain that I was about to take eleven days off, I was not my usual anal retentive self. I normally start packing for a Triathlon several days out. I didn't start packing for this trip until the night before and didn't finish until about an hour before leaving town. Even more out of character, I didn't test ride my bike with the race wheels. I couldn't help but think I was forgetting some equipment or losing my focus.

Race morning was a typical race morning. Everyone was up early and dealing with the usual race jitters. However, I noticed my wife's race jitters were a bit worse than normal. Parking at was about a half mile from the race site so we had to ride buses from the parking lot. My wife had the expression of kid on her way to the first day of school and she looked terrified. I tried to calm her nerves but was not making very much progress. I deiced to let her sort out her feelings and wrote if off as race jitters. Little did we know about how this day would end. I can honestly say women's intuition now scares me.

The race site was buzzing with activity. There were over 2300 participants, but it seemed like 10,000 people were at the site. I am a very relaxed guy on race day and nothing really bothers me. I can't image what was going through my wife's mind as she organized her transition area.

With this many people racing, there would be sixteen swim waves going off two minutes apart. I was in the fourth wave so I didn't have to stand around long. I am not a fast swimmer, but I am a very strong swimmer. I can maintain an steady pace and keep a fairly straight line. I know I can't swim fast, so I prepare for a long journey of mind wandering and full contact swimming. Tons of people pass me in the swim with several of them having unpleasant experiences. Being a strong swimmer, and a big guy, it is not likely anyone is swim over me or move me around in the water. I had more people attempt to derail me on this swim than any other swim I have done. I had a lady swim all the way up my back and hit her chin on the back of my head. Without missing a stroke, I looked back to see if she was OK. I thought I was going to have to turn around and rescue her. A very stubborn guy decided he was going to swim right through me to get closer to the buoys. Each attempt became more aggressive and I became agitated. I am not easily agitated, but I can be quite unpleasant if you get me to that point. After several minutes of this behavior, I decided to plant my right elbow to his forehead. Needless to say, that was the last I heard from him. The swim was a bit short, but my time would still have been a good seven minutes faster than usual. I had gotten off to a good start.

The bike is where I let the big dog eat and enjoy myself. I have noticed the majority of Triathletes, at every level, are average cyclist. Coming from a cyclist background, I usually have very good times on the bike, even at my higher weight. The bike course was extremely congested. Cyclist were stretched out from the yellow line to the edge of the shoulder, it was madness. One of the worst things about racing with average cyclist are their average knowledge of riding in a pack. You should always be as far right as you can be so you don't impede the faster riders passing on your left. I am a big safety guy. Being the club president, and leading group rides of fifty people or more, safety has to be my main concern. To my surprise, I found myself going over the yellow line to pass the crowds. Even worse than that, was my average speed. Through the first twenty miles I was averaging twenty-two and a half miles per hour. That is faster than I average on the sprints. I must have gotten caught up in the moment and was concentrating too much on getting away from the crowds. I knew if I didn't slow down I would be toast later. The crowd started to clear out at around mile thirty. My speed had started to go way down, much further than I wanted it to. The wind, the rolling terrain and my early pace had already done the damage I had hoped to avoid. My legs were toast. It was going to be a long thirteen mile run.

I started the run with some surprising enthusiasm. Even though my legs were toast, I had several celebration points. I had a good swim and a descent bike time. More importantly I had not had any cramping and my energy levels were good. By this point of the Ironman Kansas, I couldn't bend over to put on my running shoes. The current pain I was experiencing was child's play to that pain. The run course was a tough six mile loop with two miles of dirt trails on each loop. There was a huge hill, Quadzilla, on the trail section. The pain of running up that would only be surpasses by the pain of running up it a second time. The run course had its good points. The rest stops were awesome and had live bands. I have never seen as many spectators at a race as this race. The run course was lined with hundreds of people. It seemed like everyone was cheering you on and handing out wet rags to throw on your neck. It was by far the best supported run course I had every experienced. I never really relax at a run course until my wife passes me. I always worry about her making out of the swim. She is small thing, so she is like a small fish in a big pond of piranha. She passed me at mile seven. I gave her a high five and told her to finish strong. I had started my walk run procedure so it would still be a while before I crossed the finish line. I was very happy at this point in the race. My wife was safe and I was going to finish. My only remaining goal was to try to run enough to finish in under seven hours. I would have to some painful running, but I thought I could do it.

I ran the last one hundred yards to the finish line. I mean, hey, you can't walk across the finish line. I looked at the clock and smiled. I had finished in under seven hours. I hobbled across the line over to the section where they take your timing chip off your ankle. It is really great that they have people to do this for you. Bending down would be a big mistake. I had my medal around my neck and a big smile. I looked around for my wife. I knew she had finished before me and would be waiting at the finish line. I looked for a few minutes, but didn't see her. She must have got tired of standing around and went to the team tent to rest her legs. I reached the tent to receive high fives and congratulations from the crew. I took of my shoes and slipped on my flip flops. One of my friend then ask me a question I was not prepared for and made me feel a bit sick to my stomach. "Where is your wife"?

I looked at them in disbelief. I quickly pointed out that she had passed me at mile seven and I had not seen her after that moment. She had surely finished at least thirty minutes before I finished. One of our friends, Gary, immediately took off in a mad dash for the medical tent. I grabbed a bottle of water and started to gather my thoughts. Moments later, I could hear someone yelling my name. Gary was running at me in a full sprint waving for me to come running. My wife was in the medical tent and was in bad shape. They were preparing to put her in an ambulance and get her to a hospital. I hobbled as fast as i could after Gary. I could hardly walk, I was in pain and very hungry and thirsty. It is amazing what adrenaline will do for the body and mind.

I arrived at the medical tent and nearly went into shock. My wife was laid out on a stretcher surrounded by medics and a doctor. She had an IV in each arm and an oxygen mask covered her nose. I can't tell you how pitiful she looked. I quickly bent down by her side. She looked up at me with those big eyes that were full of fear and tears. It was all I could do to stay calm. I grabbed her hand and calmly told her it would be all right.

I could hear them calling out her blood pressure numbers and had to ask them to repeat those numbers because they couldn't be real. Unfortunately, they were real, sixty-six over forty-four. That wasn't the worst part of the problem, her oxygen saturation levels were low and were not rising. I had recently seen this problem with my mother, who had a bad lung infection. I knew this was bad. The doctor informed me they were waiting on an ambulance.

Our friends were now around us figuring out what they could do to help. Jo and David were going to load up our bikes and gear and get my Xterra back to the hotel. I have mentioned this several times but it is worth repeating, you can not underestimate the value of great friends. As we stood around waiting on the ambulance, I heard the doctor say my wife's blood pressure was rising and so was her oxygen saturation levels. We were not out of the woods, but this was great news. As the gang heard this news, we all started to relax a bit. Gary leaned over to me and stated this will be really funny in a couple of months and someone should get a picture. I looked at him like he was crazy.

The ambulance arrived and they loaded her onto another stretcher. At this point her vital signs were looking good, but they wanted to play it safe and continue with the planned visit to the emergency room. I looked to the left and saw David snapping off several pictures of Rebecca on the stretcher. What was I saying about friends? The paramedics were very nice and accommodating. The driver would relay me information from the guy in the back. We were looking very good now. Her vitals were really looking good. We stayed at the hospital for around four hours. The visit wasn't all roses and made me very glad they sent us to the hospital. Rebecca received almost four bags of fluid. The diagnosis was a heat stroke.

Rebecca had finished the race and was waiting on me at the finish line. She decided to run to the ladies room and felt dizzy. She had walked over the medical tent to get some help. Luckily, she made it there before she passed out.

We arrived at the hotel that night and ordered pizza. We were all hungry and exhausted. Rebecca and I stayed in Austin another three days and relaxed. We tasted the local flavor and and some fine dining. I awoke in the middle of night several times that week. I couldn't help but stare at my wife sleeping peacefully beside me. Life will beat you up on occasion, but in the end, Life Is Good!!!!!!

Half Marathon - Personal Best

It was a brisk 43 degrees Saturday morning. This was quite the contrast of the 90 degrees at the Ironman Longhorn just a few weeks ago. Rebecca and I had decided to run the Soaring Wings Half Marathon in Conway. This event benefits a Christian home for children in Conway. I believe this was their first year. This was an awesome event! The course was great, the rest stops were great, the finishers metal was great and finish line food was awesome! Rebecca and I will make this a regular event. Mark your calenders for the third week of October next year. The website is www.soaringwingshalf.com.

The race started at 8 AM so we planned to arrive just before 7 AM to pickup our packets and timing chips. The online registration showed around 600 participants, so this was going to be a nice sized event. We got checked in and ready to roll.

I had some fairly lofty goals for this event. As most of you know, I have lost over 30 lbs this year. In addition to that, I have done more run training than in the past. We trained for the Ironman Longhorn with the plan to move into the Marathon training for the LR marathon in March. Even though this was a spur of the moment decision to do this event, we were physically and mentally ready.

Earlier this year, at the LR Half, I ran with a time of 3 hours. Two year ago, I ran the LR half at 2 hours and 35 minutes. In my mind, with the weight loss and the training, I was convinced I could do this half marathon in under two hours. You read that correctly, I was hoping to do the race in under two hours. I only told a couple of friends this number, and they thought I was crazy. One of my good friends, Hboo, even gave his prediction of a 2:09 finish. Make no mistake about it, for me, that would be a phenomenal time, but I wanted the gold standard of a sub two hours. Another one of my friends, Jo, thought I was crazy as well. She would later tell me her and another friend were discussing my goal and getting a slight laugh. I can just hear them saying, "Oh that Chris Irons, he such a funny guy".

I had a solid plan. I planned to start out with the 1:55 pace group. This would allow me to get a jump start and allow me to drop back to the 2 hour pace group if I needed too. If all else failed, I knew I had to have a pace of 9:09 per mile to get below 2 hours, I had my garmin ready to roll.

I joined the 1:55 group at the start as planned. I was running along trying my best not to look at my garmin. The pace felt great, but I knew the number would scare me If I looked down. I made it two miles without looking at my garmin. We had averaged 8:41 for the first two miles. I snarled a bit but decided to give it my best. Just after mile 3, I had that bonking feeling. I had a great dinner the night before and some pancakes for breakfast. I had consumed plenty of food, but my blood sugar seemed to be in trouble. I didn't bring anything, other than water, with me. A volunteer was handing out sport beans at one of the rest stops. I couldn't get to them in time, but two ladies next to me grabbed some. They didn't like the taste and were considering throwing them away at the next stop. I quickly volunteered to dispose of them. They handed them over and I inhaled them. That seemed to help a bit, but I needed more. I was in trouble.

I hung with 1:55 group until mile 6. I could have stayed with them a bit longer, but this rest stop was handing out Roctane Gu Gels and I needed some crack. I grabbed three packets, a Gatorade and decided on a porta potty quick stop.

The right turn past this rest stop was downhill and I needed it to get moving again. A half a mile later, I was in a race car. My blood sugar shot up and my legs decided they wanted to move. I settled into a 8:30 pace. This course had several inclines and a couple of small hills. I blew up the next hill at 8:20 and found myself running just over an 8 pace on the flats. I was a bit confused. I was not putting out that much effort but was blazing a trail and passing several people who had been in the 1:55 group. I decided to let my body guide me and run whatever pace it would allow me to run, no matter how fast it was. From mile 7 to 10 I was a different person. I would see the pace as low at 7:55 and as high as 9. The important thing was my average being 8:50.

I reached the 10 mile marker and started telling myself there was just a 5k left. How many Triathlons have a done and just had to suffer through the 3 mile run? I can kick in the pace and finish this out. I was already doing the numbers and figuring out what pace I need to finish in under 2 hours if I had to walk. It was then that I had tough talk with myself. I will not be walking I will be picking up the pace.

I keep passing mile markers, 10, 11, 12. At mile 12, my legs decided to let me know they were in some pain. The last half mile starts with a big downhill ending with a flat finish. That downhill nearly ripped my quad muscled from the bone. My legs were screaming, but I was not going to let them win. We were going to finish strong. I picked up the pace as I rounded the corner to the finished line. I looked up at clock and couldn't keep from smiling. I crossed the line at 1:56:24.

They removed my timing chip and gave me my medal. The medal was very cool and heavy. I walked back to finish line to watch other finishers. I took off my shoes to let my feet relax. That is when it hit me, my wife has not finished yet. I had actually finished a running race before my superhero wife who is a great runner. I looked at the clock, she still had two minutes to finish in under 2 hours. Under my breath I started repeating, come on baby, come on, where are you. There she was coming around the last corner. I looked at the clock and she had 45 seconds to finish. She was going to finish in under 2 hours. She crossed the line at 1:59:30.

It was an amazing morning. We both had personal best and finished in under 2 hours. (Don't tell anyone, but I think I like this running stuff).

MTB and Mating

I skipped out of work early today and hit the trails. I had planned to go home and do some P90x, but I just couldn't resist the weather. With just a couple of weeks of late daylight left, I want to get in as many afternoon rides as possible. I have developed quite a MTB addiction. I don't know if i will be able to maintain my sanity if I have to wait for the weekend to eat some dirt. (Sarah is probably grinning ear to ear as I write.)

My legs were a bit tired from the weekend running and cycling so I decided to take it easy and enjoy the outdoors. I have never really been able to enjoy the ride. I never had the fitness or the skill to relax in the woods, not to mention my fear of being in the woods alone. I always feel Jason or a Grizzly bear is waiting at every corner. I have started riding with my IPOD shuffle and that seems to take the edge off. I have finally developed some skill and I am reaping the benefits of the end of the year Triathlons and weight loss.

I was coasting around a corner when I had to slam on the brakes and grab a tree. Just up ahead, on the trail, were four deer. I didn't see any antlers, so these were does, the female deer. With the weather getting colder, the deer are nearing mating season. With that many doe in one area, I was sure there was an anxious male nearby. As I suspected, the big boy was about twenty yards to my left. He had a small body but his antlers had eight points.

I decided to just hang out and watch for a few minutes. The four doe moved about thirty yards and stopped to wait on him. He was motionless and eyeballing me. He was either worried about me shooting him or stealing one of his ladies. Obviously, I had interrupted the mating process and he was not happy. I can't blame him, I would be very upset if someone interrupted me during the mating process.

He had things setup well. He had four ladies show up to his pad. Four to one odds are pretty awesome in the animal kingdom. Oddly enough, that is not top notch odds for men. You really need like thirty to one odds to feel like you have a chance with women. I don't think the ladies understand how hard it was dating as a young man. The fear of rejection was crippling, especially knowing you needed either good looks or good conversation skills to make any progress.

Hey, if you are a deer, all you have to do is rub your antlers on a tree and pee near the tree. If there is an interested lady in the area, she will go to your spot and and duplicate your process. Sooner or later the two of you meet at tree and all is well. How easy would it be if the human mating process was that easy? Well, that might not be a good idea, men would go around peeing on everything.

Frequent Blogging

Alright my blogging friends, or should I say my not blogging friends, it is time to pick up the pace. Several of us are guilty of only blogging a couple of times a month while our other blogging friends pick up the slack. I am going to lead by example and hope the rest of you join in the fun. I am sure you want to share you exciting life with others and they want to share it with you. Lets get rocking!!!!!

I am working on the Ironman Longhorn update. There is allot to tell so it is taking a while. I will be wrapping up the weight loss blogging with the Ironman update. I will recap the race and give some final thoughts on the weight loss. I will still throw in some weight loss conversation in the future, but it is time to switch gears on the blog.

Winter time is just around the corner in Arkansas. The daylight is going away and so are the races and most of the group rides. This is a perfect formula for getting out of shape and putting on some holiday pounds. Do you have a plan to avoid the holiday monster?

I have developed a plan and started it last week. I still have some fine tuning to do, but I have the basics of the plan down. Starting last Thursday, I vowed to do at least a thirty minute workout each day for thirty days. I am on track with completing that goal for nine days now. This is a jump start to get me back into the training mode. With the taper leading up to the half Ironman and twelve days of vacation, I had slipped of the wagon. My diet has suffered as well.

I struggled with the idea of working out that much and not getting bored or injured. They say variety is the spice of life, so I am loading up on variety. My workout plans include, road cycling, running, mountain biking, racquetball, and P90X. I am taking a break from swimming and brick workouts. The P90X will add much needed weight and core workouts. I am training for the Little Rock Marathon in March. With this variety of workouts and intensity, I should be able stay fresh and avoid injury.

I hit the MTB for the first time last Thursday. It was miserable experience. I made it less than two miles into the ride before I drew blood. I went down on some sharp rocks and nearly cut my finger off and bruised my bicep and triceps in my left arm. I was pretty shaken up, but rode another two miles before heading home.

I decided to get back on the horse and went to Cedar Glades on Friday. I had a very nice hour and ten minute workout. I gained some balance and sharpened some skills. I had fun. I went back to Cedar Glades on Sunday for an hour and twenty minute workout. I had an awesome time. Today, I had the breakthrough. I left work early and headed out to Burns Park. I rode for an hour and thirty-five minutes. The ride is hard to describe. I have never felt that way on a MTB. Everything just seemed to be flowing. I imagine the increased fitness from the half Ironman training and the thirty pounds of weight loss contributed to the great ride.

Well, I don't want to waste all of my tales on one blog, so I will end for now. Besides, Rebecca and I are getting up early and doing an eight mile run. Blogging friends, get to blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Circus Bear and The Skinny Guy

A friend of mine posted the photo on the right on his blog. I thought it would be cool to compare that with a an older photo of me. The picture on the left is from three years ago at the same ride. I look like a Circus Bear on a bike. I am having a hard time understanding the feelings that ran through me as I stared at these two photos. I stared at the photos for over an hour. I was overwhelmed with so many different feelings: happiness, sadness, pleasure, guilt, accomplishment, embarrassment, success, failure and many more. I am overjoyed with the new me, yet I am very embarrassed that the old me ever existed. Do we have to be a failure at something before we see success. Do we need to hit rock bottom before we climb out? What does it take for us to realize we need change in our lives? I honestly thought I was going to cry. I did at one point have to wipe my eyes.

How can something as simple as losing weight make such a difference in your life? Nothing about losing weight is simple. The process is certainly not and the positive affect of weight loss is far from simple. I believe most people realize how hard it is to lose weight. I also believe that most people underestimate the positive affect of weight loss. This leads most of us to believe the hard work to lose the weight is not worth the payoff. I am here to tell you the payoff is worth ten times the work.

The first thirteen weeks were the core of the program. You adhere to a strict plan consuming only the food provided by the program. You are required to go to a class each week. You pick up your food, see a nurse and step on the scales. Every three weeks you take a blood test and see the doctor. This part of the program was very important to me. I needed the accountability and someone watching over my shoulder as I step on the scale.

This week is week fifteen of the program. This is called the Transition part of the program. We start introducing fruits and vegetables and prepare for the maintenance phase. Before this program, you couldn't pay me to eat vegetables. The only may my wife could get vegetables into my stomach was to hide them on my meat lovers pizza. The maintenance phase is just as important as the core phase. In fact, statistically speaking, ninety-nine percent of people that don't go through the maintenance phase regain most if not all of the weight. Putting the weight back on is not an option for me. I will be in maintenance for a long time.

You have seen the visual change so lets get to the numbers. Over the last fifteen weeks I have lost thirty-one pounds. I have lost eight and half inches from my waist and one and half inches from my neck. My blood pressure has dropped from and average of around one-hundred and thirty-five to below one-hundred and twenty. My resting heart rate is in the thirties and averages in the mid fifties during the day. I dropped my bad cholesterol by over twenty points and raised my good cholesterol by seven points.

I have not completely reached my weight loss goals. I still have a few more pounds to lose. My weight loss has slowed the last few weeks. I have been training for the Ironman Longhorn 70.3 in Austin, Texas. That has required me to consume a lot more calories than someone would normally consume at this phase of the program. I expect to regain the momentum after the event and lose the remaining weight.

The 70.3 event is just ten days away. I am in the best shape of my life and I am pumped. I have had two bad experiences in my previous attempts. The first attempt ended with me quitting due to heavy cramping. The second attempt was ended early due to bad weather. To tell you the truth, I am not sure I would have made it. I was experiencing heavy cramping and was already walking the run. I have my chance for redemption. I want my sticker!

Grazing, Binging and Super Powers

A few weeks ago, my parents were in town. My mother had "minor" surgery and they were here for a little over a week. I won’t go into my thoughts of "minor" surgery. To say the least, my idea of "minor" surgery only includes dental work. I am sure most of you have experienced the hospital drill. You wait, wait and wait. Your sleeping arrangements are less than desirable and the hospital food selection is just as appetizing.

My mom had some complications and ended up staying in the hospital for almost a week. Since we live close, my dad stayed with us at night and returned to hospital each day. During the difficult days, he stayed at the hospital. He stayed in the room for forty-eight hours straight at one point. He went without a shower and ate hospital food. Throw all of those factors in to one basket and you have a very tired and stressed out individual.

The complications cleared and mom improved dramatically in a short time. Dad had decided to come to our house for a shower and some sleep. He was very tired, so he decided to grab some food at the hospital café on his way out. The café had a nice looking salad bar. This sounded good to his taste buds so he grabbed a plate and headed for the bar. He loaded the plate to the point it started to fold. He grabbed a soda and approached the check out counter. The lady started ringing up his items and continued to press buttons on the register. My dad looked around as if she was ringing up the next persons items by mistake. This was a café that charged you by the items you added to the salad. By the time she stopped, the total for the salad was almost sixteen dollars. The truly hilarious part of this is that my dad is a bit "tight" with money. He didn’t know if should eat the salad or preserve it as an ornament.

The past couple of weeks have brought a lull in my weight loss efforts. I have weighed in at the exact same weight as the week before or just a few ounces below. I have been stuck at just below thirty pounds of weight loss for three weeks. At first, I just dismissed it as the expected lull the nutritionist was telling me to expect. As the weeks passed, I became concerned and a bit discouraged.

Being of the technical type, I have learned to break things down to their basic level to find the issue at hand. I broke out a spreadsheet and started analyzing the basics. I am not going to tell you that losing weight is easy. If it was easy I would have done it a long time ago. However, I will tell you the basic premise of weight loss is actually very simple. You need to burn more calories than you eat.

I have a daily habit that is crucial to my weight loss and will be crucial to maintaining my weight once I reach my goal. I log every single calorie ingested and every single calorie burned. I run weekly reports and use charts and graphs to track everything. I am not saying everyone should be as anal retentive at this as I am, but I do recommend that you use some sort of system to track these values.

It did not take me long to figure out what was causing my problem. I don’t know if it was my increase in training or my increased load at work, but I had all but stopped logging my calorie intake and exercise. I was shocked and very upset to see that few entries in my logs. I was even more upset when I started trying to catch up on my logging. I discovered I had a couple of days with a calorie deficit and several days with excess calories consumed. I ran the report for the week, and you guessed it, my totals for the last couple of weeks were at a break even point.

If the first step is finding the problem the second step is finding a way to fix the problem. The first thing I need to do is get back to my logging. That part is easy so I started that right away. The second issue I discovered was a bit more surprising. As I started logging my calories, I discovered I had been grazing and binging the last two weeks.

I have binged before, but I have never been a grazer. In the past, if I was hungry I ate a full meal. Lately, I have been grazing on all sorts of foods. What is even stranger are the foods I am craving. I have been craving sugar. This may not seem strange to everyone else, but I am not much on sugar. Sure I will occasionally indulge, but I rarely seek out sugar. My wife found these low sugar one hundred calorie ice cream sandwiches. They are great as long as you don’t eat five of them in a span of two hours. I always wondered how people who didn’t eat much gained weight. Grazing is a bad habit.

This weekend was the Multiple Sclerosis cycling benefit ride at Petit Jean State Park. This is by far the best benefit event I have had to pleasure to attend. We have been doing this ride for several years. Not only is it a fun time with great people for a great cause, it is one of the best rides on the planet. The scenery around Petit Jean is awesome.

Our cycling club has kind of adopted this event as our main benefit to support. We do a lot of benefit rides across the state. If you want to raise money for something, put together a cycling event with interesting terrain and you will draw a crowd. This event is rather special. Since it is a two day event, they have a great dinner on Saturday night. They invite someone with MS to be the guest speaker. The person always tells their story of when they discovered they had MS. It is always an emotional story that will have you reaching for the nearest napkin to wipe your eyes. If you haven’t had time to join a benefit event near you, you should make the time. It doesn’t matter what benefit you support as long as you support at least one.

In the past, the MS 150 has been a fun ride for me. I was never fast enough to hang with the front groups or even the middle groups. My weight made it hard for me to complete the ride without cramping or taking an hour or two longer than everyone one else. I had different plans for this year’s event. Since we have a half-ironman in four weeks, this was the perfect opportunity for me to test my nutrition and body. I planned to use my Triathlon bike and ride without drafting the entire seventy-five miles. To further test my fitness I planned to run five miles after the ride.

I rolled in the middle of pack to start the ride. We are always bunched up the first few miles until we descend down the mountain. About a half a mile from the start of the descent, a good friend of mine comes around me. I quickly follow his lead so we can be the first ones down the mountain. As we reach the bottom of the mountain, I move into the lead spot. Before the ride started, I told all of my friends that I would be out front all day. If I wasn’t moving to slow for you, feel free to set on my wheel and enjoy the draft.

I had three goals for the day. I have a sprint triathlon next weekend, so I needed to test my efforts for fifteen miles. I plan to put in a hard effort for the first fifteen miles, and then maintain a steady effort for fifty-six miles. My third goal was to have a good five miles run after the seventy-five mile ride. These goals would allow me to test my cardio, legs and my nutrition.
I moved to front and settled into a fast pace that I thought I could maintain for fifteen and not jeopardize my other goals. I looked down at my speed several times in disbelief and decided to slow a bit. I was moving fast and felt great. The fifteen mile point ended at the base of a hard climb. My actual race strategy is to spin up the climbs at a pace that will not kill my legs. I pulled of to the left of the paceline to let the next person take over. To my surprise, there were a ton of people riding my wheel. As I pulled off from the front, the next guy in line complimented my pace and found it astounding that I could pull for that long at that pace. I tried to hide my smile and thanked him for the compliment.

Most of the group shot up the hill and continued the pace. It was hard to let them go, but they weren’t going to be by themselves the next sixty miles and then go for a run. I settled into my pace and stuck to my game plan. I was moving very fast, but still had time to enjoy the scenery. The miles would pass by and I would continue to feel great. Actually, I was getting stronger with each mile. I caught several people along the way. They would jump on my wheel and hang for a bit before they had to drop off due to the high pace. At one point I thought I had super powers. There is nothing that makes you feel better on a bike than being able to drop other riders.

Most of the riders stopped at the lunch stop. I brought all of my nutrition with me, so I only made two quick stops to refill my water bottle. This allowed me to get in front of most of the people that left me on the hill earlier. I ended up being the seventh person to finish the ride. That is far cry from the heavy guy who was one of the last people in last year.

I loaded my bike and put on my running shoes. Needless to say, everyone who saw me get ready for the run thought I was crazy. I took off at a good pace and felt great. I had plenty of speed and power left in my legs. I don’t know if I did this on purpose, I ran in the direction the riders would be coming in. I guess I wanted everyone to see that I was in good enough shape to go for a run. You should have seen the look on peoples faces as I met them on the hill. They would be suffering up the last climb of the day and look up to see me running at them looking fresh. I couldn’t hide the smile any longer.

I was successful in meeting all of my goals. In fact, I exceeded those goals. This was a great weekend. I love having super powers!!!!

Double the fun.

How do I get myself into these things? Last week, I found myself in the middle of a race that had three stages. Normally, I love events that cover multiple days or multiple stages in one day. This particular event was one day containing three separate events. I feared I had bitten off more than I could chew. However, once I commit to something, I have to go through with it.

The first race was a bit of warm up, so there were not really any surprises. This type of racing is not my strong point, but I did fairly well. The course was easy and there were not that many competitors.

The second race was tough! I started to question my sanity towards the end of the race. The competition was a lot tougher than the first race. I got banged up a bit. There was a larger crowd and and a couple of newbies. They may have been newbies, but they were very aggressive. It almost seemed like they were angry about being at the event.

I was really nervous about the third event. I had done this event a few times, but never as part of stage race. I really wasn't sure if I was mentally or physically capable of finishing this race. The competitors were brutal. The skilled racers would take no mercy on the weak. They had no problem cutting you off or even running you down. There were allot of newbies in this race. They were much slower and were not aware of their surroundings. On several occasions I found myself slamming on my brakes or quickly steering left or right to avoid a crash. By the end of the race of was wiped out. I had no energy and had a hard time thinking straight. It was all I could do to drive home. Luckily, my wife is a strong racer. She helped me through all of the events. Blockbuster was easy, but the trip to Target and then the grocery store was brutal. I don't know how she does it. This kind of stuff makes a two Triathlon weekend look easy.

We had an awesome weekend at the Lake Degray Triathlon Festival. My wife was planning on getting Half Ironman redemption. I was going to brutalize myself with the double, Olympic Triathlon on Saturday and a Sprint on Sunday. Of course, all of our crazy friends would be there to share in the pain and glory.

As usual, the morning started with my normal anal retentive race mode. Truthfully, I was probably a bit more relaxed than normal. My wife's Half Ironman started an hour before my Olympic, so I would have ample time to prepare. I did enjoy dropping elbows on Brent to wake him up. He decided to stay with us and have his family come up for the sprint. Brent likes to wait until the last minute to arrive at the race. I took much pleasure in waking him up.

We stayed about three miles from the race, so it was a nice and short drive. Brent and I were able to get great transition spots. Since the Olympic started an hour after the Half, we were among the first handful of people to arrive on site. I helped my wife get ready and gave her a kiss for good luck. Brent and I setup our area and started our pre-race routines.

The weather was absolutely perfect! The rain just missed us and left cool temps behind. Last year it was over 100 degrees, the high for today was 85 and cloudy. Race time temps were at 68 degrees. It was warmer in the water than out of the water. That would make the swim nice but the bike a bit chilly for the first couple of miles.

I was very excited about this race. I love events than span over two days. It kind of feels like you get more for your money. This would be my first Olympic distance and I was looking forward to a longer bike ride. However, I was very concerned about my swim time. The swim for the Olympic is only 400 meters shorter than the half. This gave Brent a big advantage, he is a very good swimmer. We were betting our usual steak dinner on each race. I had now lost 28 pounds and was feeling very confident on the bike and run. I told Brent I would beat him, if I could limit the swim damage to three minutes or less. Judging by our past times, I estimated he could gain as much as 5 minutes on me coming out of the swim.

I had a plan for the swim. I was going to start on Brent's heels and possible grab his shorts on the way out. I was hoping to draft him as long as possible and limit his lead. We started the swim and I was on his heels. I took a few strokes and he started pulling away from me immediately. No way, this could not be happening this early in the race. I hammered down and he drifted further from my site. He left me like I was standing still. He might as well have been Michael Phelps. I was hoping to come out of the water in under forty minutes. I was certain Brent would below forty and somewhere close to thirty five. I knew I would need all of the time I could get, so I came out of the water running. I looked at the clock and almost cried. My time was a weak forty two minutes. Brent surely had at least a five minute lead on me.

I had a quick transition to the bike and dropped the hammer. I was very confident in my bike times. I was a good cyclist and had lost a lot of weight. This was a hilly course so it gave me an advantage. I turned onto the main highway and let it roll. I could tell early in the ride that I was going to have one of my best bike times ever. I used the rolling hills to gain momentum. I started passing people like they were standing still. I was constantly taking notice of my effort as to not waste all of my energy on the bike. I was a bit surprised at my speeds and the fact I wasn't killing myself. I easily gave my most consistent effort on the bike. It was a hilly course and I was able to maintain an average of over 20 mph. I had expected to catch Brent on the bike, but I never saw him. That was not good news for me. Brent was a solid runner, so I had my work cut out for me.

I had another good transition and sprinted onto the run course. The run course was a three mile out and back that starts with a nasty uphill. It has a couple of flat spots, but is mostly uphill for the entire three miles out. The run back was mostly down hill and fast. I finally saw Brent a few hundred yards past the turnaround. I was heading out and he was heading back. I estimated he was less than two minutes ahead of me. Unfortunately, that is allot of time to make up with three miles to go. I had my best run ever, but couldn't catch him. I knew it was close when I saw he was still breathing hard at the finish line. He had beaten me by about one minute and twenty seconds. I found out later he had taken over five minutes on me on the swim. I actually beat him on the bike and the run, but I could not make up the entire deficit. I was more happy with my performance than I was sad at the defeat. If you are going to get beat, it might as well be by one of your best friends.

The sprint the next day was very painful. My legs felt like they had been hit by a truck. I actually had some knee pain, so I took it easy on the run. It was an awesome weekend. I think we all had more fun at this two day event than any other event. This event will make the calendar every year.

My wife did awesome on her Half Ironman. She finished in under six and half hours to beat her goal. She looked awesome when she finished. One lady asked her how she stayed so cute during the entire race. While running, she looked like she was just out for a stroll.

My wife now has a 70.3 sticker on her car. I am very happy for her and a bit jealous. I felt so strong at the end of the Olympic, I wished I had done the Half. After a bit of "persuasion" from our good friend Jo, we have decided to do the Half Ironman in Austin, TX on October 5th. My wife's birthday is that weekend, so we will throw in a birthday celebration. I believe we are going to take the entire week off, after the event, and vacation in Austin. We have several friends going, so it should be a grand event.

I look forward to this event and will be training hard the next six weeks.

I want my sticker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baggy Clothes and Loose Socks

We are our biggest fan and our harshest critic. We need to believe in our self and reach our own standards and goals to be happy. We have to get to a certain point in the journey before we finally come to the realization that we are meeting our goals. Sometimes that point is well defined and sometimes it sneaks up on us.

I have developed and unexpected morning routine several times a week. The Jedi Master, David, persuaded me into attending a 5:30 AM workout a few weeks ago. To say I am not a morning person, is an understatement. I am the type of person that can sleep twelve hours if I forget to set my alarm clock. My wife is the direct opposite, she can't sleep past 6:00 AM to save her life.

I am now doing early morning workouts two to three times a week. I hate to admit it, but I really enjoy it. When you have friends that show up at 5:30 AM with smiling faces, it is hard not to come back. Besides, an early morning workout can do wonders for your body and your day. I am shocked at how good I feel throughout the day. The affect on my weight loss has been astounding.

My weight loss has become noticeable. Very few people noticed the weight loss when I had lost ten pounds. When I reached the fifteen pound loss, people started telling me they could see it in my face. As I neared the twenty pound point, people started to turn their head to take a second look to be sure it was me. I am now nearing the thirty pound mark, and the response from others has been nothing short of awe. Everywhere I go someones jaw drops as they come over to take a second look.

These responses are awesome, yet hard for me to fathom. I hear the compliments, yet I am skeptical. I watch the numbers on the scale decrease, yet I am skeptical. I see my body getting leaner in the mirror, yet I am skeptical. I buckle my belt, yet, holy Toledo, I have moved down four notches on my belt.

It was at that moment I realized I was really accomplishing what I set out to do. My clothes were falling off of me. I am down to my last buckle hole and I still can't keep my pants from falling down. I walk around the office all day doing my best Urkle impression. The only way I can keep them stable is by pulling them up to my chest. My shirts resemble a small parachute. What is the deal with my socks? I never thought losing weight would affect my socks. If I am not pulling up my pants I am pulling up my socks. I guess I need to get one of the sock garter things.

I have finally accepted that my weight loss is real and that I want to use my new powers for evil. I want to blow past people in the Triathlon and drop people on the hills at any chance I get. I want to ride in the heat and smile as my competitors suffer. These are the thoughts that athletes have on a daily basis. I believe I can finally call myself and athlete.

Last Sunday was the Arkansas Road Race Championship. It was rumoured to have two major climbs, which turned out to NOT be a rumour. As if that wasn't enough, the weather was predicted to be over 100 degrees with a heat index close to 110. Once again, the predictions did not disappoint.

Don't get me wrong, I don't currently have delusions of grandeur about winning or even placing in a cycling road race. However, I do have goals to accomplish and I do enjoy the races. The race held a number of challenges for me. I have done several races this year, since moving up a category, and have yet to finish one. By moving up a category, I doubled the distance I have to race. I usually get dropped about ten miles into the race and have to ride alone. I straggle past the finish line and call it a day with one lap. Hey, I am just an overweight guy out for a ride, what does it matter.

Well, it didn't matter until today. Today was different. I have lost twenty-six pounds and I am in great shape. I had always done well in the heat, so that didn't scare me. As usual, I got dropped in the first few miles. The first climb was tremendous. I had decided to pace myself and keep the pace I plan to do in the Olympic triathlon in two weeks. In hind site, I should have went harder up the first climb. I haven't quite figured out my new limits and recover ability. I am finding out I can put out a lot more effort and recover more quickly.

I came to the second lap starting point and continued on. I felt great and had no ideas of quitting. As I made my way up the climb, I noticed someone behind me. My good friend, Doc, started in a group five minutes behind my group. He caught me on the hill. I was very happy to have company. It would have been a lonely hot ride.

Doc and I slowed a bit on the last ten miles. It was getting hotter and we were running low on water. There was another big climb about three miles from the finish with a water stop at the top. We reached the top and grabbed two cold bottles of water. We dumped some on our head and gulped the rest as we headed toward the finish line. As we were nearing the finish line, I heard a weird noise. I ask Doc if he could see anything wrong with my bike. He laughed and pointed out the noise. Our tires were starting to melt and stick to the asphalt. I told Doc we needed to speed up before we burst into flames. If your tires are melting it is HOT!

We finished the race and found time to have a few laughs. It was a great race, with great friends and great accomplishments. If I have my way, I will never quit again. I love this weight loss stuff.

Friends, Support, Encouragement and Fun

Most people would say friendships are an important part of life. I disagree with this statement. I believe friendships are an essential part of life. I don't see how anyone can function without a strong support system of friends. My wife and I are blessed in the friendship category. Just the other day, we were marveling over the fact that we have so many close friends. I would like to take this moment to thank all of our friends for their support, encouragement and fun you bring to our lives. I hope that we return to you the quality of friendship that you share with us.

I would compare friends to the relationship a woman has with shoes. You can never have too many shoes and you need to have particular shoes available for each occasion. Some shoes will work for multiple occasions, but seldom does a shoe fit for all occasions.

I have some friends that play golf, some that like to hunt, some that are in to cycling and some that are in to Triathlons. I have friends that like fine wine and some that prefer a cold brewski. I have friends that get emotional and friends that don't. Depending on my mood, I may choose to call on different friend today than I did yesterday. However, don't assume that because I have a lot of friends that I take them for granted. Nothing could be further from the truth. I cherish every one of my friendships and I don't toss around the word "Friend" loosely. I don't spend time with people I don't trust or that I just don't like.

It's not surprising that I spend most of my time with friends that are in to cycling and Triathlons. It only makes sense that I spend most of my time with friends that enjoy the same things I enjoy. Over the years, I have traveled the world and made a lot of friends. I have been told I make friends easily. Out of all of my friends, over the years, I have found that cyclist and triathletes make the best of friends.

These people are amazing! There is something noble about a person who can share the fun of riding your bike like a kid again and suffer with you for hours when you decide to push your body to the limits and still give you a smile. It is hard to hide your true personality when you are drenched in sweat on a hundred degree day climbing a huge mountain in a strong headwind.

Several of us headed over to the Mighty Mite Triathlon in Forrest City, Arkansas last weekend. One of my great friends, Brent, rode with my wife and I. We were staying with a friend, David, whose parents lived nearby. David is a one of kind guy. David is in his early fifties and has been doing triathlons for twenty-three years. He is full of knowledge and will bend over backwards to help a friend improve. Our club refers to him as "The Jedi Master". We are all his loyal subjects that aspire to use the force as he has learned to use it over the years.

Brent is one of my closest friends. He is one of those shoes that works for many occasions. It is not very often that we go an entire day without speaking to each other. We balance each other out in several areas. Brent is doing a similar weight loss program. We have been an encouragement for each other through this process. I attribute a lot of my success to him.

Brent and I have an addiction to competition. To say we are competitive with each other would be a huge understatement. Weight loss, golf, cycling and triathlons, to name a few, hold a high level of competition for us. Triathlons win the prize for the most competitive event.

I met Brent while visiting a church with some relatives. We quickly figured out that we were doing the same triathlons. An immediate friendship was born. We have been competing against each other in triathlons for a couple of years now. Brent has always had the edge on me. He usually kicks my butt by five minutes or more. That is a severe butt kicking when you are talking about a race that last less than an hour and a half.

For the first time in two years, I had him nervous. I had lost twenty pounds since our last Tri and I was fast. I had gotten the better of him on a couple of rides recently, and I could see the concern on his face. As of today, I have lost twenty-four pounds in five weeks. I have a lot of friends to thank for their encouragement.

We arrived at the race site a bit over two hours early. There were two transition areas, thirteen miles apart, getting there early was a must. This race has a beginners division for people who have done three or less races. I like to walk around the transition area and see if any newbies need any help. I was having a great conversation with a guy who was doing his first Tri. A guy with a deep voice walks up behind me and ask if he could rack his bike by mine. I turn around and I am looking at the guy's chest. His name is Dave and he is six feet ten inches tall. This was his first triathlon and he was a bit nervous. I saw him after the race and he was out of his mind with joy. He was now hooked on triathlons and couldn't wait to find anther one to do. This is another example of the great people that are surrounding this sport.

Brent and I have a habit of talking trash before an event, and man was I pouring it on. I was very confident in my weight loss. Brent was not talking much trash, which is completely out of character for him. The weight loss had him nervous.

Brent is a great swimmer and was in the first wave. I started in the second wave that was five minutes back. The gun sounded and they were off. I watched Brent get off to a strong start. I knew I would lose a couple of minutes to him on the swim, so I had to prepare to hammer the bike and the run portion.

I had a good swim and jumped on my bike. I felt like a rocket coming out of the gate. This was a hilly course and would give me an advantage. I have never rolled through a bike course as easily as I did this day. I pushed myself hard, but it felt almost effortless. I racked my bike and started the run. It was hilly and it was hot. Brent is a good runner, so I had to continue to push. About a mile into the run, the Jedi Master passes me. He started five minutes behind me and is not a very good swimmer. Needless to say, he can hurt you on the bike and run.

The course had a very sick sense of humour. At the two and half mile mark, you have to run past the finish line and make a loop. I can't explain to you how hard it is to see the finish line and not be able to stop. I made the turn and thought I was going to throw up. I had never pushed my body and mind this hard. I knew Brent was already at the finish line counting down the clock to see If I come in more than five minutes after his time. I gave it my all and pushed hard to the finish. My lovely wife was waiting for me. Brent was right behind her shaking his head. He was sure I had beaten him by close to two minutes. I waited for the official time, and sure enough, I had beaten him by one minute and forty-five seconds. I had my first victory!

Brent and I bet steak dinners on the races. Coming into this race, I owed him two dinners. I now owe him one, and I plan to get that one back at the Lake Degray Tri festival in August. Brent was very happy for me, but very upset that he had lost. He hates losing! Naturally, I started talking trash. Its was payback time for two years of defeats.

Monday morning I made a trip to the local Flower shop. I picked out several black balloons, a smiley face, Get Well, and Thanks for you support balloon. I had them tied to a stuffed duck and delivered to Brent's office. On the card, I said "Sorry for your loss, but I plan to give you another one soon".

How does anyone make it in life without good friends?

Disturbing Behavior

My wife and I have an arrangement that helps me control my taste buds. Anytime she eats something I find tasty, I get a kiss so I can taste the flavor. This has worked very well, especially with chocolate. Chocolate has a strong taste, even it is received second hand. This has also worked well with other foods.

Last week was one of those work travel weeks. My coworker, Steve, and I had to visit one of our satellite offices. It was a six hour round trip, so there would be lots of nibble time in the car. Riding in a car is one of the worst situations for dieting. I am the type of person that needs to have something to drink and to nibble on while I drive. Since limited diet drinks are allowed, I can satisfy the liquid cravings. I have found that a small bag of pretzels can subdue my need for snacking. There is a bit more sodium than I need, but it will have to do. However, none of this helps when the passenger can eat anything they desire.

Steve and I headed back on Friday. We made the normal out of town stop to fuel up and load up on caffeine and snacks. I love convenient store food! Call me crazy, but the greasier the better. As usual, this store had plenty of pizza happily baking under the heat lamp. I took one glance and ran to the car with my pretzels and diet soda. Within a few minutes, Steve was in the car and we were on our way. As I took a drink of my soda, I noticed Steve unwrapping something. You guessed it, he had some pizza. I silently watched as took bite after bite. I looked at him with a pitiful look on my face. "Dude, you wouldn't do me a big favor would you?". He almost fell out the car when I told him how my wife and I handle that situation. We had a good laugh. No, I would not have kissed him for a taste of pizza. If he could have guaranteed me that I could have a full slice and it was calorie free, we would have had a situation on our hands.

This was a great week that ended with some disappointments. Our cycling group had planned a huge ride followed by a picnic. If there are two things our group can do, cycling and eating would be at the top of list. We did a very hard ride before the picnic. I am sure most everyone, including myself, decided not to eat much before the ride. That would somehow make us feel less guilty about what we were eating after the ride. I had already decided I was going to eat a hamburger. No cheese, no mayo, just burger, bun and ketchup.

I won't go into a long description, but I may have had more than one burger, hot dog, cheese dip and maybe a cookie or two. I actually switched to celery sticks in a desperate attempt to fill this black hole of an appetite that was taking over my universe. I finally regained control of my senses and backed away from the buffet line.

It is difficult to understand the emotions I felt the next few minutes. I felt defeated, lazy, disgusting, and severely depressed. I had to weigh in the next day and I was sure I just put back on the entire seventeen pounds I had worked so hard to lose the last three weeks. I decided to take a walk to the restrooms that were about fifty yards away. The group was laughing and having a good time so I am sure nobody saw me. If they did, I must have looked like a puppy who had just been kicked by its master.

I am not sure if it was the food or the fact that I was so upset, I became very nauseous. I stood in the restroom and hoped I would get sick. It then occurred to me, if I did vomit, most of the stuff I just ate would disappear. It would almost be like it never happened. You know, I could just use my finger to induce the action.

Holy crap, did that thought just run through my head! Have I lost my mind? Never in my life have I had this type of thought. I quickly left the restroom and rejoined the group. I did not want to be left alone.

Bulimia is a serious condition. I had no idea that there were two types of Bulimia. There is "Purging" and "Non-Purging". The purging thought scared me, but I think I am more worried after reading about "Non-Purging". This a condition where the person uses excessive exercise or fasting after a binge to offset the caloric intake.

After much reading, I decided I am not in either of these categories. I can't tell you how much this episode bothered me. When we lose weight, we feel better about ourselves in so many ways. We want to lose more weight and we want to lose it fast. No one can be strong all the time. You have to give yourself a break or even consider it a reward for being strong up to that point. Reward yourself sensibly and get back on track. Eating disorders are common and are very dangerous. If you feel you have a disorder, get help!

I was very nervous stepping on the scale the next day at the clinic. To my surprise, I still lost six tenths of a pound that week. I had not ruined my progress, all was not lost. I have recovered and hope that will be the weakest moment I have throughout this process.

Something else has been off the last few days. Until today, I couldn't put my finger on it. I have been pulling my socks up every hour for the last few days. I had no idea weight loss would affect how your socks fit. This weight loss process is an adventure. I can't image what happens next.