Sock It To Me

I am fully aware that it looks like I raided Captain America's sock drawer. But, NEVER underestimate the power of great socks.

2/3

It amazes me every time I look at my blog. Thinking back to when it started with me signing up for a sold out race a year in advance. 2/3 of the wait is over.

There aren't too many things you look forward to knowing when it comes it will probably be the most painful day of your life.

Weather Or Not, Here I Come

You know when you hear 10% chance of rain, and you think I don't need an umbrella, and it rains. Before I tell you about today, here is my location's forecast.

You were probably thinking rain. But you see that it was sunny. So far so good, but you are missing the fine print. The real report out there was more like raging 30 mph winds with a chance of none 17 mph winds. If you have been to Lubbock, that will give you some idea of the landscape around the highways of the ride. 80 miles later, it was probably the most brutal event I have participated in.

The 79.2 mile ride took me about 6 hours and 15 minutes to complete. I can show you the ride map, but the summary is: you ride 40 miles Southeast from the start and then ride 40 miles back. Did you see what direction the wind was blowing? Did you look at the ride map? Basically, the last half of the race was like riding on a runway with a jet taking off in front of you.

Temptation is at the rest stop at mile 46. With a SAG vehicle (Support And Gear) asking if everyone is OK and if anyone needs a ride. There were two more rest stops after that one, and I would be lying if I wasn't thinking about yelling SHOTGUN.

After I finished, I had a 5 minute transition, packed my bike up and ran for 15 minutes. It felt good. Probably, because I was off and running in the opposite direction of where my bike was.

9 More

Tomorrow I am going to bike 9 more miles than I have ever biked before, 79 miles.

I think I will go for a bit of a run afterwards, just not a marathon.

Blueprints

You know what hasn't helped me? Attempting to read "Going Long..." The book I'm sure is good, when read before signing up for a race. I skipped around after struggling through the first couple chapters and ended at page 70, as it was due back at the library after its third renewal. Probably, not the best read with less than 125 days to go.

I do like advice from those who have done this before, like the tips below from Keith Davids, Commanding Officer SEAL Team ONE. And my friend J-Bear said I should read "Becoming an Ironman..." Which I also picked up at my library, still currently on its first checkout, and have yet to open.

Here are 11 Tips for Triathlon Success from a Navy SEAL:

1. Eliminate self-limiting thoughts. More often than not, people have preconceived notions about what is possible for them to achieve. They sell themselves short. Abolish thoughts that hold you back from achieving your true potential.

2. Optimize your skills. Everyone begins at a different place and each of us are dealt a different set of genetic cards. Use that to your advantage and optimize your assets.

3. Be willing to spend the effort and energy to be successful. Anyone can succeed if they are willing to work at it. Too many people want to reap rewards without the sacrifice that is necessary to achieve any goal.

4. Enjoy the journey. If you can enjoy the pursuit of excellence, you've got it made. Aiming to enjoy only the end result makes it impossible to endure the necessary sacrifices to achieve any goal really worth having.

5. Be a student. The more you understand about what it is you're trying to do and how to do it, the easier it is to be successful. Be a student of your passion.

6. Persevere. There are many things that can get in the way of successfully achieving any goal. You have to be willing to figure out how to get over, under, around or through those obstacles. Keep trying.

7. Develop mental toughness. It is not the physical challenges that keep men from successfully surviving the SEAL training, it is mentally giving up. You need to start believing that you can do it, you can be successful. Others have been successful before you, you can do it too.

8. Be prepared to suffer. When you are training for an event as large as a 140.6-mile triathlon, it is a long haul. There is going to be bad weather, aching body parts and times when you are just plain tired. Know that some stress, followed by rest, will make you stronger physically and mentally.

9. Take strength from others. This tip is particularly valuable for race day. Right when you are thinking things are really bad for you, look around. You'll see that others are suffering too. Knowing you're not the only one and that other people will suffer generates energy, if you're willing to accept it.

10. You must want success. Doing something that is difficult requires that you want to be successful with every fiber of your core. The intense desire to succeed helps you overcome obstacles that crush other people.

11. Avoid over-training. It is easy for highly motivated people to over-train. Achievers are often rewarded for doing more and working harder. While you must work hard and do the prescribed work, you must also rest in order to reap the benefits.

Clarification

Just so we all know, tennis elbow hurts on the outside of your elbow. Golf elbow hurts on the inside of your elbow. Whatever hurt, it was on the outside. I am just glad to have normal elbow again.

LIVESTRONG

Remember my Did You Know? Lance Armstrong said, "If you ride, you will fall." He fell. And, he was in a "race," not a "ride" (think 40 mph dominos on the road).

It is difficult to separate an injury from pain. Today I did a Perfect Pushup, multiple pushups. If you have been praying for me, this is the part of the service where we all get up and dance and sing... and someone passes around the collection plate.

Today

Today, I rode in the Guaranty Bank Tour de Houston. Just a 70 mile bike ride. It took me 4 hours and 15 minutes, which I had to hurry just a little so I wouldn't be late for my 1:40 tee time. Just another day.

Note: Sadly, yes. I did play with a cart.

Did you know? Most all your typical organized biking events are called "rides" rather than "races." True, they don't keep official time and it is in wave starts, but mainly, because biking can kill you. Just imagine 20 mph dominos on the street.

Losing It

I had it. And I lost it.

It is a feeling of invincibility, strength and a zone you can do anything. It was last seen on display signing up for a 31 mile race the morning of and knowing I'm coming out fine. It is just like being in "the zone," but as an endurance sport participant that zone wasn't like basketball where I can't miss a shot, it was like I can do anything with this trained weapon I'm walking in.

I took a week off after my last race, did very little the next week, and I am just now ramping up again. Probably, to the average racer, very normal recovery time. But, for me the time off was rotting my brain, thinking I am becoming less than I am. I am the same person I was just two weeks ago, performing beautifully, but my swagger is gone. I have no physical pain. It is a complete mental feeling I am trying to describe with failing words. The only way I can put it is, it is like being half way through the movie Rocky, the first one.

The good news is, I just pasted this part, that feeling, and the next scene takes place in a cold meat locker.

Weakness

Just now I tried to do some Perfect Pushups. I did one and my left elbow had a shooting pain. Better do one more to make sure something is wrong, I thought. Yeah. Something hurts. I just played golf, but somehow did I get tennis elbow? I also think there is such a thing called golf elbow. Maybe it should just be called Country Club elbow.

I shall continue to monitor the situation.

Janus Charity Challenge

I need a charity. I like running for a cause and this time I get to pick one.

The Janus Charity Challenge is a fundraising program that adds to an athlete's Ironman experience while making a difference in the lives of others. Anyone who is registered for an Ironman has the option to participate.

If you know of a great charity you were looking to donate to or have any suggestions of one, let me know and I will put my miles to the cause.

Something Gone Terribly Right

I don't know how it happened, why it all clicked and how I could run such a sound race. But, somehow everything went terribly right.

I couple things to note:

• The weather was cold, maybe 45 degrees with a 25-30 mph wind.
  
• I ran with a base layer of shorts, a compression long sleeve top, singlet, hat and a light wind breaker.
  
• I had a full bottle of water about every 45 minutes.
• I ate something (bars, gels, road snacks) about every hour.
  
• I tackled the event by an initial 2 hour and 50 minute run. 17 miles down.
  
• Mile 17 I met up with my support team (J-Bear) in a 6 minute and 30 second transition. I ditched the windbreaker and changed shoes. 14 miles to go.
  
• The next part is done all by watch, not by how I feel, 15 minutes walking, 30 minutes running.

I ran the Cowtown Ultra, 31 miles, in an unofficial 5 hours and 42 minutes, by my watch. Normally, you don't feel just great at the finish. I did. I played golf the next day.

I think it is just a statement to what the human body is capable of, amazing things. When you look at the body, all the systems God created and how they all work together and you run a race like this, it is fun to know you are getting the most out of your vessel.

Dust In The Wind...

R.I.P. GB

It would be wrong of me if I didn't mention the departing of a dear close training partner of mine. This weekend in the midst of glory was sadness and loss.

In the early minutes, right before the gun went off to start the race, I was on the other side of what resembled a cattle chute. On a street packed tight with people, I needed to cross the sea of runners to get my bag to bag check before the start. Little did I know, not everything was going to make it across. 

My Gatorade Bottle, my favorite source of hydration that I have used for years, did not make it across the gamut of crazed runners. It was tucked in an outside pocket of my backpack and when I made it through, it did not.

It fueled me for so long and when Nalgene bottles and smaller squirt top water bottles came along, it remained my go to liquid source. I only hope it is in a better place. Or at least with some old friends.

As I continue to get stronger and carry on, I will not forget what you did for me, what you gave me. I will always remember you. R.I.P. Gatorade Bottle.

Cowtown

I was thinking about something I once heard when I was first starting to tackle a marathon, that it is really not recommended by doctors to run more than one marathon a year because of the stress it puts on your body.

Yesterday, I ran an ultra marathon... again. 31 miles and I torched it. I ran the Cowntown Ultra Marathon in under 5 hours and 45 minutes. Not bad compared to the Sunmart Ultra I ran this December, my first race of that distance. I completed it in 6 hours and 18 minutes. Nothing like shaving 30 minutes off a personal record.

I guess the Houston Marathon in January was a good warm up.