I know, I know, this is a late race report.  Well, I guess better late than never.  The new job has got me pretty busy.  I’ve been traveling quite a bit in the past couple of weeks.  Now I am at home and things have seemed to settle down for the time being.  So, I thought I’d sit down and tell you all (or Ya’ll for you in the South) how things went down in the 26^th Annual Gulf Coast Half Ironman.
The week prior to Gulf Coast I was back in California.  Santa Ana, California to be precise.  And no, this trip wasn’t as fun as my previous trip to California.  It was a MedAvant Sales Meeting that lasted all week.  And while it was good to meet the people I was going to work with I was wishing I could have been back in Nashville, TN preparing for the upcoming half that was looking me right in the face.  I was definitely outside my comfort zone and was just going to have to make due with what I had.  Adapt and overcome!
I flew into California on Monday and immediately got checked into the hotel.  The first thing I did was look at the workout facilities.  Well, how about the lack of workout facilities.  At least they had something that looked like a bike in there.  It was one of those recumbent bike machines.  Hey, at least it simulated biking.  The pool was 4.7 feet wide and 2 feet deep.  Swimming was going to be a challenge.  Looks like my flip turns are going to get a whole lot better.  Just kidding.  I brought a stretch cord with a belt affixed to it so I could do some stationary swimming.  It’ll do in a pinch.  Running, well, I could do that outdoors.  I was set.  Rest easy!
So, the week was all about day long meetings and eating.  I ate a ton.  Hey, it wasn’t my dime that was buying the food.  At the beginning and end of each day I was trying to get in some kind of workout.  These weren’t exactly high quality efforts.  But, I did get some work in.  I kept telling myself that it was OK that I was supposed to be resting this week anyway.  Power of the mind!
The week did come to a quick close.  Thank goodness.  I needed to get to Panama City.  In order to do so I had to take some drastic measures.  I took a “red eye” from Orange County, California at 7:44 that night and arrived in Birmingham, Alabama at 8:30 the following morning.  I could give you all the details but let’s just say that there wasn’t a whole lot of sleep involved in this event.  I did get to see a couple get kicked off the Las Vegas to Charlotte leg of my venture.  That was quite cool.
So, once I arrived in B’ham my wife and kids picked me up at the airport.  Drove to my Mom’s house, picked her and my nephew up and away we went!  My Mom has been making going to Panama City with us an annual event ever since my Dad passed away.  She has a great time and the kids, Tammy and I love having her there.  My nephew, William, is also a welcomed person as he really keeps the kids occupied most of the weekend.
The drive (yes, I drove) down to Panama City was uneventful.  We rolled into the city at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I immediately headed over to the expo, got checked in, bought a few items for the race and then headed down towards the condo that we were staying at for the weekend.  I have to give props to Cynthia Smith for her place down in Panama City.  It’s very roomy, very clean, right next to the beach and it’s also on the run course.  If you’re ever down in Panama City and you’re looking for a place to stay I highly recommend it.  You can see her place here http://www.findvacationrentals.com/10080.

At this point I am so tired I can’t even see straight.  All I want to do is get some sleep.  I got my gear ready for the following morning, went for a quick bike and run and then ate dinner with the “gang”.  Yep, Sonny’s all you can eat BBQ.  I am really picky for pre – race meals as you can see.  Got back to the condo, got the kids to bed and then went to sleep myself.  It was 10:00 and I feel asleep at 10:00 plus two (2) seconds.  I don’t even remember falling asleep.
5:00 the following morning the alarm goes off.  I sit up and have no idea where I am.  It was quite freaky.  I finally got my bearings and it dawned on me, HOLY CRAP!  I’ve got a race to do this morning.  And not just any race, a half Ironman.  This was going to be interesting.  I could have slept for ten (10) more hours.  So, after gathering up all my gear and eating I was out the door, heading down towards transition.  Actually I had to be driven down to transition as it was over five (5) miles away. 
Once into Transition I got all my gear set up and headed for the beach.  Looking at the surf I knew that a lot of people were going to have a rough time.  The professionals had already taken off and were already half way through the swim.  I was in the 11^th wave.  I had a little time to mull over how I was going to race this day.  I came to the conclusion that I was going to just do my best with what I had on this day.  That’s about all anybody can do on any race day I thought to myself. 
Once my toes where in the water and listening for the horn I switched to race mode.  Horn sounded and I was off.  The surf was rather big about ten (10) yards out.  I dolphin-dived under a couple good size waves and was swimming.  About fifteen (15) more yards out you hit a sandbar.  More waves and more dolphin-diving.  After that things were a bit better.  The ocean was very choppy and sighting was difficult.  Add to that the outbound site buoys were green (yeah, who make that decision) and you kind of get the picture of a very zig-zaggy swim.  I was all over the place.  I finally got a bead on the turn-around buoy and headed straight for it.  I was passing people left and right.  Once I got to the turn-around buoy I knew things would get better.  I was finally able to get into a groove with my stroke.  I altered it a bit as I took shorter strokes but really concentrated on stretching my arms out once they were underwater.  This worked very well and before I knew it I hit the shore.  Took a glance at my watch and say 23:44.  Not too shabby I thought.
Running to T1 I took off my Blue Seventy Wetsuit (http://www.blueseventy.com/) and ran as fast as I could.  Now, I could sit here and “gush” over the Blue Seventy Helix but I’d just be preaching to the choir.  It’s the best wetsuit I’ve used (and I’ve used a lot in my day) BAR NONE.  Dean Jackson and the boys have really done themselves proud.  I can’t wait to get to use the speed suit!  Here’s a pic of me heading towards T1:

Into T1, off with the wetsuit and on with the bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses.  Wasn’t’ the fastest transition but it’ll do.  I have been accused in the past of having a “tea party” in transition.  Well, this time was no exception.
Out on the road you could immediately tell that the wind was up.  Heading North you would have a tail wind.  Heading back South, well, that was a different story.  I got into a fairly good groove right from the get go.  No issues with lack of sleep.  This was a good sign.  I was experiencing some soreness in and around my knees but I figured that would go away once I got “warmed up” on the bike. 
I was passing a lot of people at this point and giving encouragement to all the people that I knew.  It’s amazing how many people you know out there on the road.  I was cruising on the Front Beach roads and really having a good time.  The Trek 9.5 (http://www.trekbikes.com/) was cutting through the wind like nobody’s business.  I had also chosen not to ride a disc wheel this day because of the strong winds.  I rode an Aeolus 6.5 (http://www.bontrager.com/) in the back and an Aeolus 5.0 in the front.  The front was a loaner from my local bike shop as the 6.5 I got had some issues with the carbon bulging out when a pumped up wheel was on it.  As of today I’ve got the wheel back and am ready to put it through its paces.  Pic of me on the road.

Anyway, out on the road things were shaping up quite well.  Then it happened.  I was on Highway 388 and heading towards the turn-around point on the race.  I was passing people pretty regularly and not having any issues.  We’ll I was about to.  About 600 meters from the turnaround I came up on a group of people who were riding in the middle of the road.  Evidently the right hand of the road was very, very rough and they were trying to avoid it.  I would have avoided it as well.  Anyway, I came up on this “pack” of riders pretty quickly and moved over to the left to pass.  Evidently I scared the crap out of the first rider I passed.  He yelled WHOA and then proceeded to turn right into me.  Ok, survival mode started kicking in.  I leaned right back into him and pushed him back where he came from.  I could feel his front wheel basically running down the length of my bike.  I was leaning hard right for all I was worth.  Once his front wheel came off my back wheel I heard that most gosh awful sound.  It was him going down.  I felt awful.  I stood up and soft pedaled to make sure that he was OK.  I couldn’t stop as people were coming up behind me.  I told myself I would hit the turn-around and catch him going back the other way.  Of course he wasn’t there when I went back.  I also got some “colorful” comments from one woman when I came around the turn-around.  I think her comments were “You should be disqualified you Son of a Bitch, I saw what you did”.   Hey, I was passing where I was supposed to, on the left; you were riding in the middle of the road.  What was I supposed to do? 
Now, like Earl, I do believe in Karma.  After the race I was talking to Charlie Crawford who was the Head Referee for the race.  Well, it seems that the guy I tangled with was a “bandit” racer.  So, not only is not going to get his injuries covered by USAT but he is going to get suspended for a year from racing and the guy who gave him his number is going to get suspended as well.  Karma, don’t mess with it.
Well, the rest of the bike was “kind of” uneventful.  There was another wreck that I was around but certainly didn’t cause.  I just heard it.  It was awful.  I turned around and looked and saw three (3) people on the deck.  Not good.  Again I pulled up to make sure everybody was OK.  Once I saw that they were, off I went.  The rest of the bike was mostly in a pretty stiff head wind.  Time to really get aero and see what I can do.
I had a solid ride back into town.  I ended up catching and passing a good friend of mine, Brett Reagan.  Brett is an excellent cyclist and would go on to post the 4^th fastest bike split of the day.  He and I headed into T2 together.  Bike time was 2:14 and change.
T2 was, once again, slow.  For runs over 10k I pull socks on.  What can I say?   I am a bleeder.  Plus, it was really warming up and I didn’t want to have to deal with blisters.  I pulled on my Zoot shoes (http://www.zootsports.com/) and headed out.  Now, I could sit here and give you all the details of the run but that would be pretty boring.  I think this race report is long enough.  Let’s just suffice it to say that it was SLOW.  I really struggled with the heat.  I think by the time we hit St. Thomas Park the temps were in the mid 80’s.  Couple that with some fairly humid air and you have the makings of a melt down.  All I know was that the last four (4) miles seemed to take forever.  That finish line couldn’t get there fast enough.  Here’s me dying in out on the run course.
 

Yeah, it was that hot out there!
Well, thankfully the finish line finally came into sight.  I had very little left in the tank.  I crossed the finish line and stopped the clock at 4:18:37.  Not exactly my best effort but certainly not my worst.  I’ll take it considering the “out of sorts” week leading up to the race.  

1 MIKE NEILL              	36 VICTORIA BC             	4:06:38

2 ZACH RUBLE              	26 MONROEVILEE IN          	4:07:32

3 DANIEL MOSS             	27 SIMPSONVILLE SC        	4:11:10

4 NICHOLAS VANDAM         	21 WEST POINT NY           	4:15:47

5 BRUCE GENNARI           	42 BRENTWOOD TN            	4:18:37

6 JOHN ROBERTSON          	34 HOUSTON TX              	4:19:47

7 ANDRES MUNERA           	37 TAMPA FL                	4:19:59

8 NICHOLAS STERGHOS       	21 WEST POINT NY           	4:21:41

9 PETER KOTLAND           	36 MOORE SC                	4:22:30

10 JASON WILLCOX           	38 ALBANY GA               	4:26:36

 The first three (3) guys were professionals.  Mike Neill has won this race several times.  He’s a great guy and a fierce competitor. Evidently he and Zach were running stride-for-stride on the run.  Mike put it into overdrive with 1.5 miles to go and took the win. 
So, that’s pretty much how things went.  I have that “happy” but not “satisfied” feeling about the race.  I always ponder “what could have been”.  I know I shouldn’t but that’s just how I am “wired”.  But, I can honestly answer with an emphatic YES to the question; did you give the most you had on this day?
Next up for me is the DeSoto Triple T in Portsmouth, Ohio.  I’ll try to be a bit timelier on the race report.  Until then, I hope you all Train smart, Train safe and Race fast!
 

Yeah, I know, how lame am I doing a dual race report?  Pretty lame I know.  But, things have been pretty busy around the Gennari household these days.  The new job has kept me busy.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

The race in Tuscaloosa was part of an entire race experience in Tuscaloosa called Tri-Palooza.  Along with the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Trials race there was a 21-12 race (draft legal) and a Citizen’s race that made up this racing weekend.  Since I am a mere citizen I took part in the Tuscaloosa Triathlon.  For me the race could should have been called Hack-aPalooza as I’ve been dealing with some kind of funk for several weeks now.  I basically can’t stop coughing and it only gets worse when I do any kind of exercise.  It’s almost like I exercise induced asthma.   But, there’s a drainage issue going on here like nobody’s business which leads me to believe that it’s more of a lingering cold than anything else.  I’m going to the doctor tomorrow to get it all straightened out.  Anyway, enough about my sob story.

Saturday my family and I woke up early and drove from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa.  We got there just in time for the USAT Collegiate Championship race.  I knew Andrew was racing and wanted to show my support.  Andrew was in the 1^st wave and gave those young college guys a run for their money.  Andrew was about 6^th out of the water and then got into a good pack of guys during the bike.  Off the bike Andrew was down about 2:24 and things were looking pretty good.  Knowing how well Andrew can run I thought he might be able to catch some of the guys in front of him.  This is exactly what he did.  Andrew ended up 3^rd overall and did Team Timex proud.

After the Collegiate race the family and I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed back down towards the race site to watch the women vie for the next US Olympic slot.  The race was awesome to watch and the crowds were amazing.  Four women broke away from the start and really put some time into the chasers.  You just knew that one of these four women would end up winning the Olympic slot.  The four women were Sara McClarty, Sarah Haskins, Sarah Groff and Julie Ertel.  These four women put about a minute coming into T2 on all the other chasers and never looked back.  Surprisingly (to me) Julie Ertel came out of that pack of four women to take the seconds slot to Beijing.

Before the men’s race it was decided by our four year old (Noah) that he in no way, shape, form or fashion would be hanging around for the race.  So, my wife and Noah headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap.  My other son, Ian, and I hung around and watched the entire men’s race.  In the men’s race Andy Potts immediately tried to steal the Olympic slot on the swim.  I think Andy thought that he could swim and bike away from everybody in the race.  He almost did just that.  Mr. Potts put almost 40 seconds on his closest chaser coming out of the water.  Then two things happened that doomed Andy’s effort.  A really nice head wind showed up on the bike course and Hunter Kemper, Matt Reed and Brian Fleishman all worked together on the bike.  Andy really had no choice but to sit up and wait for them.  The men’s race would come down to the run.  Well, at least that is what it looked like.  At the end of the last lap Matt Reed put in a huge surge and gapped the three other races by about 22 seconds.  That would be the move of the day.  Matt was able to keep that advantage throughout the four lap run course and sew up the Olympic spot to Beijing.

I have to tell you, it was great day to watch racing.  Not exactly the best thing to do knowing that I was racing the next day but, hey, how often to you get to watch Triathlon Olympic Trials in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (where I went to college)?  So, after watching the races my son and I had to hoof it all the way back to the hotel ourselves.  Yeah, I was pretty dang tired once we made it back.  After some dinner and some relaxing time I thought for sure I’d have a good sleep that night.  Nope, no dice.  I ended up coughing most of the night and getting almost no sleep at all.  What’s a guy to do?

The following morning the alarm clock went off at 5:00 and I was wishing I could sleep for eight more hours.  Anybody else ever feel like this?  I packed up all my gear, pumped up my tires and then headed out the door.  It took me less than ten minutes to bike from the hotel to the race site.  Once at the race site I grabbed my timing chip, got body marked and then set up my spot in Transition.  I was still wondering how this day would go.  Once I was settled I went off and started to warm up.  I felt OK but was still having some issues with coughing and exercising.  Once I got back to the Transition area I did some last second preparations and headed down to the swim start.  It then dawned on me that I hadn’t even worn my new Blue Seventy (http://www.blueseventy.com/) wetsuit.  As a matter of fact the tag was still on it when I brought it out to put it on.  Well, I am here to tell you that the wetsuit worked flawlessly.  As a matter of fact I am quite impressed with it.  You can tell the mark of a good wetsuit when you don’t realize that you’re actually wearing it.  I didn’t feel like I was wearing a wetsuit.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that I was coughing while I was swimming.  I don’t know if any of you have ever tried to do this but it is actually quite difficult.  I think I swallowed a good bit of the Black Warrior River during my swim.  Even with the water intake I did break away from a fairly solid field of racers in the event.  I was first out of the water and into T1.

Transitions in the past have normally been a huge pain point for me for this time I was in and out in no time.  I was still hacking up a storm but at least I was hacking in the lead.  I jumped on my new Trek Equinox TTX 9.5 (http://www.trekbikes.com/) and away I went.  The legs felt pretty good.  Not great but good.  I knew at this point that the race was going to be a “gut check” effort.  This basically means that I’ll go as hard as I can for as long as I can.  If I blow, well, then I blow.  Out on the bike course I was moving along fairly well (well, at least that is what I thought) until Professional Triathlete Kirk Nelson (http://www.trikirk.com/) came flying by me at Mach 2.   Man was he moving.  I didn’t even have a counter move for him as he went by.  I basically stayed within my racing “zone” and paid attention to my race instead of his.  Nobody else passed me on the bike except for Kirk heading into T2 so I felt that I had had a fairly solid bike.  Here’s a pic of me hammering (well, I thought I was hammering) the bike on Jack  Warner Parkway:

 Coming into T2 I was solidly in 2^nd place.  Off with the Rudy Project Helmet (http://www.rudyprojectusa.com/) and on with the new Zoot racing flats (thanks Ben).  It was here where I noticed that I still couldn’t feel my feet.  Evidently the water was a lot colder than I thought.
The run was an out-and-back two loop run course.  At this point in the race I just wanted to have a steady but solid run.  The crowds during this race were pretty awesome.  I was getting all kinds of support from a lot of the college kids that were also there yelling for their team mates.  If I had a nickel for each and every time somebody yelled GO TIMEX I’d be a rich man.  OK, well, maybe not rich, but I certainly would have been able to buy one gallon of gas!
So, how did I finish up?   Well, I ran fairly well and finished up second overall to Kirk Nelson.  I saw Kirk out on the run course and the guy runs like a Gazelle.  He’s super smooth.  Some of the guys behind me were reeling me in and I could see them coming.  Thankfully I had a big enough lead and was able to fend them off before crossing the finish line. 

And speaking of the finish line I have to give huge props to Tim Yount of USAT who was giving me all kinds of compliments and kudos for my years and years of racing triathlon.  Tim and I go way back and he’s definitely one of the good guys at USA Triathlon.  If you ever get the chance to participate in ITU World Championships and Tim’s there make sure you introduce yourself.  Tim is certainly a guy that you’ll want to know.
All in all, considering the circumstances, I’d say that I had a fairly solid day. 

Here are the overall top five finishers in the race with all of their splits:

You can certainly see that Kirk gave me a pretty good beat down.  I don’t think I could run a 15:58 5k in a straight running race.  Kirk did it while he was eating a slab of Dreamland ribs.  Yep, that’s how fast and graceful he runs.
And speaking of Dreamland Ribs, no trip to Tuscaloosa would be complete without going there.  And that’s exactly what we did.  The family and I took the short ride out to Dreamland and chowed down on some of the best BBQ ribs that you’ll ever eat.  The place is actually, well, a hole in the wall.  I think it’s held together with duct tape.  There’s a sign over the door that says NO FARTING.  I think you get the picture of what this place looks like.  But I have to tell you, the food is awesome.  I could have just sat there and ate Wonder bread dipped in Dreamland sauce and been happy!  But, I was there to eat some ribs and eat ribs I did.  If you’re ever looking to get some good ribs Dreamland will deliver.  Here’s their website; http://www.dreamlandbbq.com/.  Trust me, it’ll be worth your while.
After filling up with ribs it was time for our venture back to Nashville.  So, we loaded up the family wagon and headed north.  I felt pretty good about the weekend.  I got to see some quality racing, good friends and gotten to eat some Dreamland ribs.  What more could a person ask for?   Well, I guess he could ask for some good health.  All in good time I suppose.

Ft. Yargo next!