Cooling off at mile 80ish...

This year Ironman Florida landed a mere 4 weeks away from Ironman Hawaii.  Each and every time I do these two races back to back I can’t help to wonder that no matter how well I recover from Hawaii, what truly lies deep in my muscles?  Something good or bad?  This was my 6th time doing the “double” and I really wanted the answer to that question.  The fact of the matter is that these are two of my favorite races and they just happen to land close to each other.  I don’t necessarily race Florida to qualify for Kona.  Even if there were no slots, I’d still race it.  I resumed my “normal” training about 10 days after Hawaii and did one long 3 hr ride/10 min run brick 2 weeks after Kona.  I ran about 9 times in between the races, all well under 1 hour. A few days before the race my body felt as good as it did before Kona, perhaps even better.  Perhaps this was the work of ARX, a recovery supplement that sponsors our team. 
 
This year we brought the whole family and had a great time on the beaches the few days before the race.  We stayed with my friends aunt & uncle who have a place in Panama City Beach and they were great hosts and babysitters!  I did 2 swims in the ocean and one ride before the race.  Race day came and wow, there were so many people at the swim start!  2200 starters I think, one of the biggest in IM history.  As the gun went off I did my thing and got out in front right away.  I took the lead and before I knew it I was dodging all kinds of jellyfish that looked exactly like this, but luckily not as big as this.  I know I touched a few, but kept on my way through the choppy ocean.  I finished the 1st loop in 25 min and the 2nd in 27 finishing as the top amateur swimmer in about 52 min.  Thanks to Aqua Sphere for the great Kayenne goggles and Icon wetsuit!
 

Having fun (I think)

I began the bike with my quads feeling tight on Front Beach Road, but not unbearable.  Although I was a little worried it was going to get worse, I was still confident that I’d feel better.  After mile 10 they loosened up and I got into my groove.  I started passing the pro women, and saw my friends Tamara and Gabriella from the team and former team member Heather Gollnick.  I even passed a few pro men to my surprise.  I have to agree with what Alex McDonald said after his first pro race in 2008, stating, “the bike was very lonely”.  I was by myself almost the entire time.  It felt like a head wind the entire way which didn’t help.  Jackie Arendt and Brian Hainsworth from Sugoi were out there cheering me on at almost every intersection.  It was so great to see them out there!  You guys rock!  I got passed by one age grouper at mile 90 then another at mile 100.  No big deal as I just kept on pushing to get back to T2.  I did so with a new PR bike split of 4:48.
 
Then came the run.  My legs felt shaky at first, but then I felt that zip, that magic that I usually feel at this race and never looked back.  My ultrarunning friend Scott Jaime calls this “running without a chain.” I passed the other two age groupers in the first 2 miles, and put everything out of my head, and just ran.  I wasn’t worried about time or my place, I just let “feel” dictate my speed, and my legs responded accordingly.  From 6 years old til I turned 21, my family has vacationed in PCB so every corner on the run course had a memory.  Like the time I caught several “Croakers” (a type of fish) on the famed ”Croaker dock” when I was 7 years old, the same dock I passed on the run 4 times. 

2nd loop!

It was at about mile 20 when I was getting sad that the race was almost over.  I realize that this is not normal during an Ironman, but for me that is an indication of feeling good.  I was legitimately sad that the race, and my season, was about to end.  With these thoughts, I entered into the last 10K and gave it everything I had.  I think I was running on pure emotion at this point.  I then saw Nikki and Connor & Spencer cheering  for me and loved it!  I  glanced at my watch at mile 24 and hoped to finish under 8:50.  My last two miles were 6:16 and 6:18 and finished in 8:47, 1st amateur, 10th overall, with a PR run of 2:59, my 1st marathon under 3 hours in an Ironman.  I was greeted by Nikki, our boys, and Art and Jeannie at the finish and I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I later learned at the awards ceremony that I got a new course record for my age group by 6 minutes!  It made me wonder if doing Hawaii hurt me or helped me for Ironman Florida.  As long as I do them back to back I guess I’ll never know, but I’ll always be curious what I could do without doing Kona.  For now this was probably my best race result yet and for that I am thankful to all the people who believe in me, sponsors, family, and friends.

With teammate Blake having pizza!

Interview post race for Ironmanlive.com

 
A big thanks to Keith, Tristan and Tom at Timex, Trek and Bontrager for the awesome gear as usual.  A HUGE thanks to Brian at Sugoi for not only the clothing but all the cheers during the race.  Powerbar always is way up there in terms of support and making just plain good nutrition products that help athletes and non-athletes alike.  (I think I had 18 Power gels or so during the day).  Also Jamie LaChance at Saucony for the killer Fastwitch racing flats, Trakkers for all the help throughout the year, and Aqua Sphere for helping me to be the top amateur swimmer by using their Icon wetsuit and Kayenne goggle.
 
Next up is Ironman Arizona in a few weeks…just kidding.

Tim

A happy Timex clan in Kona!

(More pictures are located at the bottom of this report!)

I still can’t believe that last weekend I finished my 11^th Hawaii Ironman in a row.  It was a tough day for all athletes (as it is every year), but Kona has this lure that keeps pulling me back.  Nikki and my parents felt so lucky to be there one more time.  After arriving on Wednesday morning, I got my bike set up and went for a quick ride to “relive” the winds and heat on the Queen K.  Nikki and I rented a red Mustang convertible and went for a drive to Mauna Lani then picked up my parents from the airport.  Thursday we went for a swim at the swim beach and saw a 4 ft. sand shark that looked just likethis about 300 yds from shore.   We didn’t bother him and he didn’t bother us which seemed to be for the best.  I finished up the day with an interview with Roger Thompson from Timex which you can see here in three parts: Part 1, Part 2,and Part 3.  It was very professionally done and I thank Roger and Dave for taking the time to interview me.

 Friday came and I did my usual 20 min run, light swim, and rented a stand up paddle board for an hour with Nikki.  I had Doug Berner do a quick once over on my Trek and it was ready to roll!  I was excited for the race and was feeling great.  I saw my friends from Trek at the bike check in and before I knew it I was back in the room eating my pasta dinner and had one of my better nights of sleep before an Ironman.

 Race morning came and I was ready to go.  I gathered my stuff together while my parents got their usual spot on the sea wall.  I have to admit it was neat the last few years having my bike in the first row with all of the professionals since #40 was my bib number.  Just before I got into the water I was lucky enough to see my super cool teammates Jackie Arendt and Cindi Bannink and we all had a group “good luck” hug.  We all knew it was going to be a special day for each of us, especially for them since it was their 1^st time in Kona.  I swam out to the very front and saw the whole Timex crew right by the cannon (Keith, Tom, Tristan, Dave, Doug, Herbie) and told them thanks for all they have done for me.  Herbie shouted out, “No Tim, Thank You!!”

 The cannon went off and I was on my way.  It took about 14 minutes for me to get away from the majority of people.  Until then it was a lot of kicking, grabbing, and bumping among the athletes, the usual routine at this race.  My Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles and Speedsuit worked perfectly.  I just hope everyone can try these products at one point, as they are superior.  I hit the turnaround with the 1^st age group pack and slowly moved up to the lead.  It was me and one other age grouper leading when he pulled ahead toward the finish.  I was 2^nd out of the water in 53:14, a new swim PR for me in Hawaii.

T2 was a quick 2:04 and my sponsors from Timex, Powerbar, Aqua Sphere among others were all cheering for me on the pier as I got onto my Trek fully equipped with Bontrager Aleous 6.5 race wheels. I was feeling really good and the winds were not too bad as I was still leading the amateurs out of town.  I got passed by one amateur around mile 30 or so, but just kept my focus and pushed hard to the turnaround.  I hit Hawi still feeling good and had a nice tail wind back to Kawaihae.  I passed Sergio and tried to give him some good mojo.  It was the 34 miles from Kawaihae all the way to Kona when the head winds really began.  It’s true, the winds have been worse in prior years, although they came at the worst part of the course, the remaining 34 miles, which forced people to dig even deeper to keep a good rhythm.  I knew they would come, so I just put my head down, and broke up the ride in to segments along the way: Waikaloa to Scenic Point to the Donkey Crossing, and finally to the Airport, when I knew I was close!  Although, it was a little tough at mile 85/90ish.  This is where the intensity of the race seems to catch up to me mentally.  I was fully expecting this, but my mind wondered a little and out of nowhere I thought, “I should go cliff jumping tomorrow.”  Crazy I know, but after 5 plus hours of racing I was trying to think of something fun to do after the race.   Read on to see if I actually did it.  After a bike time of 5:04, I hit T2 in 3:28 and was off on the run.

 The thing about this race is that you never ever know what’s going to happen, as is life.  After the first mile, I knew I had to dig deep mentally for the remainder of the race.  Man, it was so hot out there, but I knew what I had to do and just ticked off the miles–26 of them, one at a time.  The Sugoi clothing worked so well…thanks Brian, you made all of us on the Timex team looking sharp and feeling comfortable!  I was holding 6:43 miles, then dropped to over 7 for a while.  I was passed by a few more amateurs and more in my age group.  I still focused on my effort only and ignored people that would pass me.  I got to the Energy Lab and saw my buddy Michael Lovato walking.  I told him I needed company and asked him to run with me.  He stayed with for a bit, but soon I was by myself again.  I saw a lot of people walking, throwing up, and everything in-between.  I don’t like the term “death march”, but I could tell it was a tough day for all of us out there.  I cranked out the last hill into town with all I had. 

 Rounding the corner onto Ali’i drive was magic.  That moment makes this race for me.  I saw my parents cheering for me like crazy and as I crossed the finish line, Nikki was there to greet me with my lei.  Finish time:  9:17.13, 59^th overall, 6^th American, 5^th in M35-39.  All things considered it was a good day.  No matter what, in my opinion it’s a good day if you get on the podium in Hawaii.  Of course I wanted to do better, but I cannot beat myself up too much for the quality effort I put out there mentally and physically. 

Sometimes it’s hard to balance it all with family and training, but in this months November issue of Triathlete Magazine (page 90), I try to explain how it can be done.  You also know it’s a good day doing an Ironman when your able to finish, shower, speak in complete sentences, walk in a straight line, and have dinner with your family before 8 PM the day of the race.  Luckily, this was the case for me because I know that wasn’t the case for a lot of athletes on Saturday. 

 Back at the finish line from 10pm to midnight was so fun being with the team.  Nikki, Trista, Cindi and I threw out a bunch of swag and a few watches to the crowd and had a blast!  The next morning, we had a Timex brunch and then I did go cliff jumping with my parents and Nikki by Keahau .  After all of us looking over the dangerous, jagged,  38 ft. high lava cliff, my dad told me, “Tim, my advice would be no.”   I still jumped (3 times) and had a blast.  We talked with Tim & Nicole DeBoom out there as they were going to meet Peter Reid to jump as well.  By the looks of Tim’s Blog I think they had a lot of fun and were safe.

  Before we returned home to Denver, Nikki and I went to the North Shore on Oahu and did some mountain biking, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, swimming and even took out an outrigger canoe.  Oh yea, and I ate a lot too.  It was a fun recovery week!

 A huge thanks to my sponsors this year including Timex, Trek, Bontrager, Powerbar (and the profile they did on me located here), Aqua Sphere, Tri-Swim, JT O’Malley, Saucony, Sugoi, among others for all the support they’ve given me over the years!  Thanks to Larry Rosa for the awesome pictures he took on race day, some you’ll find in this report.  He is the real deal and you won’t find a better photographer out there.  Also congrats to Jackie, Mike, Cindi, Sergio, and Tamara for making it to Hawaii this year, especially for Mike and Jackie for making the podium!!  Only one more little race in Florida on Nov. 7^th before the season is over! 

 Thanks for reading!

 Tim

A little reflection post race

Me, Nikki and Doug - The BEST mechanic!

6th American overall

A little scary...

A strong support team!

I’ve never been to Oklahoma City before, but this weekend worked out in terms of my Kona preparation and personal schedule, so I thought I’d see what I could do at this years USAT Long Course National Championships.  I drove in from Denver on Friday afternoon, asked a ton of course related questions, got to bed extra early, and felt very prepared for my race. 
 
Race morning was great minus the few sprinkles that turned into a steady (and miserable) rain right before the start.  There were full Ironman and half Ironman distance races held together on Saturday so there were a lot of worried athletes to say the least.  Roughly 1000 were in attendance.  Apparently, there was a lot of water accumulating on various parts of the bike course and there was speculation about cancelling the bike and making it a swim/run race for all athletes!  After about an hour after our original start time, the race director told us the bike course was safe to ride on, but we had to be careful of ”knee deep” water at mile 6.  Before I knew it the gun went off and I was on my way!
 
I really tried to go hard the 1st 200 meters or so to distance myself from the pack in my Aqua Sphere Icon Wetsuit.  Me and one other athlete did just that and soon caught up to the other athletes from the full Ironman wave. We finished together and began the wet, rainy, slippery bike course.  I went as hard as I could on my TTX yet still tried to remain very cautious in the rain.  I pulled away from the other athlete and soon found a good rhythm, and the water at mile 6 was lower by the time I got there.  My new Bontrager Race X Lite Aero TT tires were great on the wet roads but still remained very cautious since I was the first athlete to be on the course.  I luckily made it back to T2 unharmed with a 5 min lead over 2nd place. 
 
After coming into T2 I was relieved and nervous at the same time.  Relieved because I completed the bike safely, but slightly on edge because I was in the lead and had a chance to win.  I just told myself to run strong, enjoy it, and to trust my body. After all, it’s rare for me to be able to run in the rain, and its usually a lot of fun.  I knew what I had to do and pushed the pace.  After the 1^st loop I saw my lead was getting bigger, so I kept pushing on and before I knew it I was running down the finishing chute as the 2009 USAT Long Course/Halfmax National Champion!  I ended up getting a new course record in 3:59.25 and a new PR run time in a ½ Ironman of 1:16.53.  Full results can be found here.

After cleaning my red dirt covered bike (I guess this is why they call it the Redman) and spending a fair amount of time sorting out my 100% soaked race bag (yes, everything was soaked), I went to the awards and one of the things I won was a gift card for meat from Cusack Meats.  Although I am not a meat eater I thought it was very cool and appropriate since we were in Oklahoma!

It was a great race and I was happy with how everything turned out.  I got in the car, drove home and made it into Denver at 1:30 AM, with a special pit stop celebration treat at McDonalds for a Big Angus 1/3 pounder burger.  It was heaven.  Andrew Hodges, I knew you’d be proud of me!  I arrived with plenty of time for some sleep and Sunday morning church with the family. 

I feel very confident for Ironman Hawaii in less than 3 weeks, and hope my body will deliver great things.  You never know what’s going to happen out there, but up to this point I feel ready and am very excited for #11 on the Big Island. 

 Be sure to check out Timex’s history with Ironman and Kona plus an update on the Timex athletes racing in Kona 2009 at TimexIronman.com.

 Aloha—

 Tim

As a swimmer since I was 7 years old, I’ve been in the water almost my whole life and love to swim.  I’ve had the chance to try out a number of wetsuits and swim gear.  This year our team is sponsored by Aqua Sphere and their new Speedsuit is fantastic.  I swam in it this morning in the pool and logged in about 6300 yards to test it out before Ironman Hawaii. 

 
I was very impressed with the results.  I did a set of 11 x 100’s descending (4 on 1:25. 3 on 1:20, 2 on 1:15, 2 on 1:10) and immediately could tell that I was going 4-5 seconds faster per 100 than I normally do, and I do this set a lot.  I then did a 3100 yd set broken and I got the same results.  Could this be? I kept looking at the pace clock to make sure I wasn’t missing a 50 or something, but I was right on.  I was a little worried about chaffing as the stiching around the shoulders was a little rough at first, but with some Trislide, it seemed to work well.  Check out my friend Chris Thomas’s write up about this suit and you’ll see he had a good experience as well.  
 
An Ironman swim at 2.4 miles equals 4,224 yds.  At saving 4-5 seconds per 100, that equals to cutting an estimated 3-4 minutes off your swim time in this speedsuit.  Very cool.
 
To be fair, I know a lot of the other suits are up there in terms of cutting drag, comfort, etc., but this suit worked exceptionally well for me and I am excited to race in it in Kona.  Check it out, give this suit a try, and think fast!

Tim

Hey all, if any of you are interested in applying for the Trakkers team in 2010 you can find the application here. It’s a great program so if you think you might be interested fill out the forms by November 10!