Kona Kev's Tri Life

D-Day -1: Kona 2010 Tomorrow is the Day!

2010-10-09T02:21:00.006-04:00

Well I've just retuned from a nice Thai feast with my recently arrived family and my friends the Dempsters. Today was rather laid back just as it should be. Took in an early short swim, then biked over to Bike Works to replace a cleat screw that mysteriously fell out. I was also trying to help settle the nerves of a first time Kona participant Katie Thomas. No worries needed. She's ready to rock, and she knows it.

I had a late breakfast and watched the area around my hotel transformed. There seems to be an army of hundreds simultaneously transforming this little patch of rocky coastline. I waited until the family arrived to go check-in my bike. Right as I was in line none other than Phil White (co-founder of Cervelo) walks up to check out my bike. We talked about it at the expo and he said he wanted to see my "old school" bike. I told him as I told all the manufacturer counters as I entered. I'm kickin' it old school. I got a chuckle from some of them. I told the one guy from Profile Design that nothing has changed on my bike since 2007--and that even included the tires.

The only thing that has spoiled this evening was my Giants blowing a 4-0 lead to lose in extra innings. Oh well, I'll try and make up for it tomorrow. Thanks for all your support over the season and all the well wishes. Most of all, I'd like to thank my family. Without them none of this would be possible, and I certainly wouldn't be here. I look forward to talking to you all after all this is a pleasant memory. And remember, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

D-Day -2: Kona 2010 Big Day, Best in Kona Yet!

2010-10-08T03:25:00.006-04:00

Wow! Where do I begin? I got to see both old and new friends and hang with some of the biggest names in Triathlon. Before I begin I want to thank Mike Orton of Blue Seventy for all of his help this week. He, Blue Seventy, and Bonzai Sports have come through in a big way for me this year. I hope to do you proud in a couple days.

This morning was the obligatory swim followed very closely by THE Underwear Run and this year was MUCH bigger and far MORE revealing than in 2007 (two words on the pic: black bra). I know I can't upload all my pictures here due to VERY slow Hawaiian upload speeds but boys...you are going to get an eye full. For the record I wore boxers with fish all over them. Nothing to bold. I did see women wearing nothing more than Spider Tech kineseo tape. After the craziness that is the underwear run I had another fantastic Hawaiian breakfast and Tante's. One must have the coconut syrup on the pancakes. It's "the shit" according to Eric Dempster and trust me, that's a good thing.

After that it was time to move rooms. Long story, but the Kona Seaside really came up big for me in that I managed to keep my room here through Sunday which will be a big plus once my family joins me tomorrow. After that we made it up to the Clif House for the Macca party. What a character. A very warm and personable person. He stayed and talked to everyone willing to wait. We even had some good fun on Facebook. Some question how big/tall Macca really is. For the record, I am much shorter than Macca. He's at least 10lbs heaver and 2" taller. The pic proves it once and for all. OK?! Shawn?

After that we went straight to the Slowtwitch gathering at the beautiful and spacious Muscle Milk house that was powered by Blue Seventy (official title). This was the most amazing party I have ever been to: period (full stop for those of you from the Commonweath countries). I didn't know it was possible to get Joe Bonnes, Rasmus Henning, Dick Bockel, The Commerzbank Triathlon team, Phil White, Herbert Krabel, Tim Carlson, and many others all under the same roof! To quote the younger generation, "the party was off the hook!" Did I mention they had Kona Brewing's finest on tap. Yeah baby! You know I had some. Race be damned! I even got to see my mate from the "land of the long white cloud (that's New Zealand by the way)" David Craig who was at my camp in the Pyrenees this summer. This guy is a beast. Did I also mention that both Debi and Ben from yesterday were at the party? I could have stayed there forever; instead, Dave and I headed for the official pre race banquet. It had the stadard fare of Luau enetrtainment followed by Ben Fertic, Mike Reilly, and Bob Babbit. You guys all know the rest.

What a full day. Now I'm in my room anticipating the arrival of my family in the morning. I will pack my bags, check my bike, and then hangout with the family before I head over to Thai Rin for my pre-race Thai feast. Talk to you tomorrow night when it will be nearly showtime!

D-Day -3: Kona 2010

2010-10-07T02:29:00.004-04:00

So today just about everyone coming for the race is now in town. That means everything is happening often at the same time. You can't be everywhere at once so you just go along for the ride, or as the Hawaiians say, "hang loose." That has become my mantra. No type A obsession going on here. I'm eating anything and everything I want and I'm certainly partaking in my fare share from Kona Brewing Company.

The day started off as everyday has with a swim. This time I was joined by my friends from Winchester Eric Dempster and Katie Thomas. I didn't go quite as far. The water was pretty rough today and the sea was crowded. The last thing I need now is a head to head collision in Kailua bay. I did take Katie and Eric for their first trip to the CoH cat. Good stuff. Can't say it enough. I don't usually take my coffee black but here it's certainly good enough to. Oh, I forgot to mention, right as I was getting in I was greeted by Chrissie Wellington and posse. She was as gregarious as ever and had a chat with Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman). Right as I was about to dive in here comes Mark Allen (a.k.a. The Grip) out of the water. Just another day in Kona during Ironman week.

After breakfast with Cascio and the Dempsters I went for a short 50min ride down the length of Ali'i. I made stops at the Muscle Milk house, the Clif house, and lastly, the GU house. Picked up a lil bit of swag from each. My jersey looked quite full to onlookers. On the way out I saw both Kate Major and Macca taking in a run. On the way back I saw Chrissie on the bike. Simply awesome.

At 3PM I made my way to my first true sponsor event where Hammer Nutrition was hosting a party at the Kona Brewing Company--always a good reason to go there. I got to meet Brian Frank the owner and founder of the Company. I can tell you he's genuinely interested in the athletes who use his products. It was truly a pleasure to represent this company in any way that I can. While there I got to meet a very interesting family. I didn't get their last names but this is definitely a story for NBC's profile during the race. Debi, the mother, did her first Ironman in 2006. One year later she went to the inaugural Ironman Louisville and qualified for Kona. Sound familiar? She tried a couple times to make it back unsuccessfully. Once again, sound familiar? This year her and her son Ben both competed at Ironman Louisville, and both qualified. I don't know if that's a first but pretty amazing to say the least. Lastly, Ben and Jen are expecting their first child in April. Congratulations on both counts! I'll see you out there for sure. Best of luck.

Today ended on a sour note. Apparently this two-time qualifier doesn't know Kona well enough. I couldn't find Scott Molina's place tonight so I missed out on the new documentary on this year's Epic Camp NZ. I would have liked to meet Scott. I guess there will have to be another time. Tomorrow is a BIG day: underwear run (before you ask--boxers), Macca party at the Clif House, Slowtwitch get together, and then the Pre-race Ironman banquet. More to report tomorrow and the family is coming in on Friday. I already miss them so much.

D-Day -4: Kona 2010

2010-10-06T03:40:00.004-04:00

Well today the action and hype that is Kona got into full gear. First, I head down the 100m from my hotel room to Dig Me beach at about 7:30. The pros and AGers are everywhere. I spot KarenSmyers and Michelie Jones in seconds. Today also marks the first day that Albert and all the boys and Girls from Coffees of Hawaii have the catamaran out with espresso read to serve all those interested. I knew I was going to have to make a stop there on the way back. Yes, it is time to taper so today I turned around at the last regular buoy. On my way out there I see a nice draft chain of about 6 folks off to my left at about 10m. Yes, the water is so clear here you can see people underwater nearly 30m away. I jump into the group and fell right in to the pace. I had a nice tow for 300-400m. We all stopped at the 1km buoy and I said, "thanks for the lift." They looked at me odd and then I realized they were all German and spoke not word of English. That's the World Championships for you. I decided that was enough and I headed straight to the CoH cat. Coffee was excellent and it was nice to get the saltwater rinsed out of the mouth.

Once back on terra firma I spotted a couple other pros and I made my way to grab my running gear for an easy 5 miler. On the way out Ali'i I spot Faris Al Sultan running straight for me. He's got the big beard going this year. As I headed south I passed both the PowerBar Perform drink station as well as the Muscle Milk house (I'll be going to a party there on Thursday--stay tuned). I grabbed a couple bottles and jogged the 2.5 miles back. That's when the pros were coming at me fast and furious. I saw Terrenzo Bozzone and Julie Dibbens out riding together. Once I got to the last mile I saw the voice of Ironman Mike Reilly drag race John Duke (publisher of Lava magazine) on scooters. Got to love it.

After breakfast it was time to go to packet pickup. That was a rather smooth affair and came back with some nice swag. They gave out backpacks this year for goodie bags. Not bad. After that I decided I needed to catch up on some work--yes, some of us have to actually work while in Kona.

I decided I had to get out of the hotel room for a bit so I went and got a massage and I hooked up with Mike Orton from Blue Seventy who, thanks to Bonzai Sports, hooked me up with the new Blue Seventy WTC legal swim skin the PZ3TX. It's tight, but nice. By that time it was time for the Parade of Nations. I had the sole honor of representing my birth nation this year (see pic). It was a blast. I had a ton of people cheering for me and yelling well wishes. When we passed the Thai restaurant on Ali'i I got a standing ovation. It was really an awesome and humbling feeling. After the parade was over I quickly checked out the expo. I got to meet and talk a while with Phil White of Cervelo. I managed to pickup my Cervelo Kona t-shirt. The I headed back to enjoy my first of many parties at Endurance Maximus.

Lastly, my good friend Eric Dempster and his wife Kathy just made it into town and I joined them for a beer at, where else, The Kona Brewing Company. What a great day. The town is really coming alive. Tomorrow I get to go to my sponsor's party (Hammer Nutrition) at where else, Kona Brewing Company and then to Scott Molina's place for the airing of the new documentary about this year's Epic Camp New Zealand where a crazy crew went from tip to tip in less than two weeks! I'm sure much more to report from Kona tomorrow...stay tuned.

IMWC D-Day -5: Windiest bike ride ever and dinner with a couple legends of the Tri World

2010-10-05T02:38:00.005-04:00

Today started much like the last. This non-swimmer can't get enough of the serene and beautiful Pacific here in Kailua Kona Bay. I managed to get out for another couple miles before breakfast. After that Dave and I drove up to Kohala so that we could ride the most infamously windy place in all of tri-history: the road to Hawi. Today around Noon it lived up to its billing. I almost lost the front of my H3 mounted steed a couple times. Dave, as light as he is didn't seem to have the same challenges. I guess having a Zipp 303 front can make a lot of difference. Once we made the turn to the east and we were going directly into what I would estimate was a 30-40mph headwind. I probably did 5-10 min at 1/2 IM pace and I was moving at a whopping 10mph. Wahoo! I home Madame Pele looks for favorably upon us all come this Saturday.

Dave and I drove back and rested for a bit before we made the obligatory trip to Lava Java. There while having some very nice goat cheese salad and a Marguerita pizza, we were joined by the legendary triathlon photo-journalist Timothy Carlson. I had the fortune of meeting Tim some 7 years ago while on a work trip in Zurich. He was there to cover this thing called Ironman Switzerland. We both toured the Alps and toured Mt. Titlis (no joke). This time he's just one of my Facebook friends that I stay in touch with infrequently. Not long after Tim joined us another legend joined us: Mitch Thrower. Many of you may know Mitch from his POV movies on YouTube of the Ironman. We talked about that and a whole bunch more of topics off limits to the blog including the dirty on the pro triathletes and our musings of WTC politics.

Tomorrow is a big day. We have both packet pickup and the Parade of Nations. Stay tuned...

IWC D Day -6

2010-10-04T02:21:00.004-04:00

So today was the first full day in Kona. Dave and I started the very short walk down to "Dig Me" right as the sun was peaking out above Mauna Loa. The picture you see here is the view from our hotel room's balcomy. It was a beautiful day both in and out of the water for some nice training. At about 7AM we headed on out the swim course. The goal was to swim out 30min and back. I was feeling so easy and relaxed and comfortable I went a little farther. We both turned around about 200m before the actual turn around on race day so I'll put 3500m in the log. We hung out and checked the scene afterwards because that's what Dig Me is all about after all.

We then headed back up to the room as the early NFL games were already on at 9AM. Even though I hated tearing myself away from the last Giants game of the year with a single win giving them the Division Championship I felt comfortable they'd hang on to their 4th inning 2-0 lead--which they did. Congratulations to the GIANTS for winning the NL West. Oh back to Kona. Dave and I had a quick breakfast at Tante's and then headed out for a ride around 40 miles to Waikoloa and back. Heading out we were easily going 30-35mph. Something told me we were certainly getting a good tail wind. About 15 miles out the winds changed and a whipping 30mph crosswind was coming down Mauna Kea and it was making me a little nervous on Darth (my P3SL). You see, this was the first time I've taken this bike out for a ride. I usually only race on this bike so this was very awkward feeling just going out for training ride. As we made our way back we caught up to a female pro from TBB. It was a shame we didn't get her name but she was rocking out on her iPod. Once back we got showered up and headed out to make the obligatory Costco run. Yes they have a Costco in Kona--Americanization at its best. After buying way too much stuff for two triathletes to consume in a week, we headed our for a 4 mile run right at sunset. It was a shame I didn't bring my camera for this one. Suffice it to say, it's Hawaii at its best. We took a quick plunge in the hotel pool after stretching and then it was my time to make the dinner call.

We headed out to a new Thai restaurant Kona Tang. Excellent service and pretty good food. After dinner we headed directly downstairs into Kona's Bike Works. One word: Awesome. Got to see Fabian Cancellara's bike from this year's Tour. Wow! Now it's time to get another good night's sleep after drinking my Kona Brewing Company Longboard Lager so I can do it all over again tomorrow.

32nd Ironman World Championships 2010: D-Day -7

2010-10-03T20:54:00.003-04:00

Here's Dave and I part way to Kona. We had to get up at an ungodly time of 4AM to make the 6AM flight from Dulles to Denver. This is us waiting for the direct Denver to Kona flight. We managed to meet a lot of doctors and ART PT's heading out for the sports science conference taking place out on the big island. That way they get to stick around and help take care all of us (or should I say those that need their help like me) on race day since the Kona hospital has 2 Dr's and 6 beds. While waiting at the gate, I also managed to meet one of Winchester's fittest athletes who managed to qualify for Kona in her second attempt at the distance and at Ironman Louisville (boy that sounds familiar doesn't it). I'm of course talking about the lovely Katie Thomas of the Winchester Wheelman. Besides her parents heading out to Kona, she's going to have some hometown support once my good friends Eric and Kathy Dempster make it out here later in the week. I feel bad for Eric not making it at Louisville but he and his wife will get to enjoy a great vacation and watch us slowly kill ourselves on the 9th. Once we finally got here we managed to get in an easy 4 mile run and then get some good Italian and beer at Boston Basil's. We were both very tired and decided getting a long full night's sleep was most important. This 6 hour time zone swing can take it's toll. More daily updates to come...

Ironman Louisville 2010

2010-10-03T20:29:00.006-04:00

Like updating this blog, I'm late in writing my all important race reports. I plan on finishing up my 4th Ironman Loo race report while here in Kona. As you guessed, the race went pretty good if I'm here in October. The race took place on my 39th birthday as you can see in the great pic of my boys here and their handiwork. It was the toughest and hottest race I've ever been in but I managed to suffer with the best of them and finish within 6 minutes of a PR to secure the 41st finisher (27th amateur), and placed 6th in my AG with a time of 10:10 (gotta love the coincidence since the race is in 2010). I missed being on the podium and bringing home hardware by a mere 20 seconds. Boy that hurts. Leave it to me to find the grey cloud in an otherwise perfect day. As you can tell the stacked 35-39AG had 8 qualifying spots for Kona so I managed to bring home a guaranteed 6th place slot. More to come on the actual race report. I don't want to spoil it.

Catching up

2010-10-03T20:24:00.002-04:00

Once again it's been way too long since I've updated the blog. So much to say, and so little time to say it: typical Kevin Kunkel ;-). Well...this year I went to France again. This time I decided to double the pain and go for 2 weeks (thank you Joanne the love of my life for making this possible). I had a fantastic time with Chuck and Michelle Potter and my main man Nate Miller. We made the best of the 100th anniversary of the Pyrenees being in La Tour. We did the toughest ride I have ever done in that of the Ride of the Dead. Pictures, videos, and stories to come here in the blog. I hope to work on it this week while in Kona. Oops! I got ahead of myself again. ;-)

First Month of '10 was a good start to the year

2010-01-31T19:46:00.004-05:00

2010 has seen some major changes in Kevin's life. First, my new coaching business is taking off big time! I already have 7 clients and I haven't even really worked that hard to get them. I really hope I can impart some wisdom and help some triathletes reach their goals this year. Second, I have finalized all the planning associated with Camp RATatouille and the RAID Pyrenees with Ian at Pyrenees Multisport. This year it's going to be even more epic since the Tour de France is celebrating it's 100th year in the Pyrenees so in tribute we are going to do two full stages from this year's two less than two weeks after the pros hit them. The IronCamp will take place from July 24th - 31st, and the RAID will be from Aug 1st - 7th. If you are interested in participating in these camps do not hesitate to contact me. They are a great value and I can truly attest a memory that will last a lifetime! And third, my winter base training got a big boost this month. I finished 3rd of all those who log their training total on the Slowtwitch training log. Here are the stats for just over 82 hours of training this month:

Yoga/Pilates/Weights	9:50	0 km
bike	26:02	747.4 km
swim	15:32	43,884.8 m
run	30:37	371.7 km
Total	82:01	1,162.9 km

Last Year is Done. New Year and New Goals Abound

2010-01-01T20:46:00.005-05:00

Well this past year of 2009 was much the like mountains and valleys I toured in France, Spain, and Andorra in August. I had some highs and some lows. I know, I'm my own toughest critic. I didn't accomplish any of my "A" goals for the year like breaking 10 hours and getting back to Kona to renew the subscription on my nickname. Regardless, I got a new PR. I biked and ran faster than ever before in an Ironman. So its something to build on.

I'm going to change up some of my training. As one great coach once told me, if you keep doing the same thing expecting different results, that's the definition of insanity. I'm going to take that and put it to good service. I'm finally getting some real help to learn how to swim. That has been my achilles heel since I entered the sport and I'm determined to change that. And I'm going to reinvigorate my approach to running by trying to establish new run goals over the winter by returning to compete at the Boston Marathon after a 6 year hiatus.

I'm not only going to alter my physical preparation, but also my mental outlook and approach to reaching new goals. One example you ask? Sure, instead of saying I'm going to break 10 hours. I'm going to remove that which is to be broken from being referenced in the goal. I learned that from another wise triathlon coach. Instead of shooting to break 10, the goal is now let's break 9:45. That way if I fail by a few minutes I still will have shattered the barrier I have artificially set for myself. If I can reach this goal I feel comfortable that it will get me another ticket to the big island in 2010. That's enough blabbering about myself.

I look forward to training with all my friends, fellow RATS, and some of my favorite folks from FeXY in the new year. I hope you all will join me at the 8th edition of the Tour de Skyline on April 30th and May 1st, and Camp RATatouille on July 23-30 or RAID Pyrenean Cycling Tour from Aug 1-7 in France. Or join me and EnduranceWorks for the 1st Iron Camp in my old training stomping grounds of Lake Sherando and the Blue Ridge Parkway from May 12-14. If not, I'm sure I'll be at the regular RATS ride on Saturday's and look forward to training and socializing with you all.

I referenced coaching number of times through this new post, as some of you may or may not know I've recently received my USAT Level 1 Coaching certification. If you are interested in receiving one on one coaching from Kona Kev, Please email me at for more details. I am not expensive and I will provide whatever you need to accomplish your goals. I hope to assist everyone from the triathlon novice to the seasoned Ironman shooting to qualify for what else, Kona. ;-)

Lastly, since we are at a new year one must pause and look back to what I did, and what I need to do to improve this year. By looking at these totals you can see why my year was up and down. This log tells where I was successful, and where I struggled. I can tell you as a coach it's important to record what you are doing so you can reflect and determine in analyzing your past you can improve your future. So from me to you, you look at this and tell me what it says to you?

Here are my totals for 2009, and Happy New Year and I'll see you in 2010!

Activity hours distance

weights/yoga/Pilates 83:550 n/a

bike 357:08 10,179.2 km

swim 80:10 240,190.7 m

run 224:22 2,663.7 km

walk 8:50 42 km

Total 754:26 13,125.2 km

Post RATatouille Results & Summary

2009-12-03T19:08:00.007-05:00

Now what everyone has been waiting for, how much did we really do? And who won the KOM competition?

TOTALS	KOM
Swim 9000m 2:53	The Pro = 124
Bike 835km 31:50	The Visionary = 113
Run 47km 4:10	The Legend = 100
Total ascent on bike 51,743ft	The Roadie = 64
Total Time 891km 40 hours!

Now I know I talked a big game at the outset of this article about what an “epic camp” like this can do. Well, the proof is in the pudding as they say. One week after returning from the camp yours truly went on to the Luray Triathlon and recorded a bike split 3 minutes faster over 40km than ever before. I then followed that up two weeks later with a bike split at Ironman Louisville 15 minutes faster than the two prior years, and was the 7^th fastest in the entire age group race! Matias went on to win the Reston Triathlon handedly and win the age group title at the world’s largest triathlon. That’s right, Matias won the Chicago Triathlon! As this article goes to print, Matias is in the final stages of preparing for the Ironman World Championships and if he proves me right the title I bestowed upon him as “Pro” will no longer be fiction, but reality. Nate Miller went on to take 3^rd overall in the 3-daty stage race Tour of the Catskills in New York. By doing so he moved from a Cat. 4 to a Cat. 3 racer. The results are clear. If one can successfully overreach in a camp setting like this and then properly recover, the physiological and psychological gains are virtually unlimited.

In summation and retrospection, I must admit this week changed me. Not only in the fitness gains reached, but it altered my perception of what I can do. What used to be considered very difficult like Skyline Drive and Mt. Weather here locally are now just little blips. I became quite jaded and seasoned to the Pyrenees. If a climb doesn’t have too much double-digit grades and doesn’t exceed 20km, I consider it rather easy! These climbs and this week are doable by a lot of people, but certainly not for the weak at heart. You have to have a lot of heart and determination to take this on, just as you should if you want to compete in an Ironman. I cannot think of anything that would prepare oneself for the mental and physical rigors of Ironman than a week like this. If this sounds like fun, feel free to contact me, or visit www.trirats.net for more details on next year’s camp. We have room for 10-17 campers. Don’t be intimidated. We will have two groups: one for those that want to go ”epic” like in this article; and another for those who are a little more sane.

Lastly, I’d like to thank those who have supported me and made my participation in this camp, or dare I say, experience, possible. First, my sponsors: Bonzai Sports for taking care of my bike and providing me the Polar CS600x which chronicled and measured every aspect of the week; To Hammer Nutrition for providing me the energy needed to hammer on; to DeSoto sport for providing the most comfortable technical gear one could want for an “epic week” of training; and last but not least, the Wrights’ and Pyrenees Multisport for providing everything anyone could ever want to make an experience like this possible. See you next year on the slopes of the Pyrenees.

Day 7: The Test

2009-12-03T19:06:00.002-05:00

Swim Session (08:00 – 09:00) One last swim over at Lake Aventignan. This time I only managed about 1400m. We quickly headed back for a quick bite and then time for the time trial for which everyone had been waiting all week. Dave “the Legend” certainly takes the title of fish for the week. For the week he must have swam what both Matias and I did together.

Bike Session (11:00 – 15:00) – We had a brief easy roll out to the Col des Ares (797m). This serves as PM’s 6.7km uphill TT that every camper comes to do at the end of the week. The goal: get on all-time top 10 list back at the house. The record is in the 15min range. I don’t want to name names but there are some pro names on that board that everyone would recognize. We did the TT in true racing style. Those with the least KOM points started at 1-minute intervals ending with Mad Dog Matias the KOM leader. My goal was to try and catch Dave 1 minute up the road, and/or not be passed by Nate 1 minute behind. The climb isn’t that bad. It varies from 2-7%. It just hard to keep your focus and drive going uphill all out for nearly 20 minutes when you’ve been killing yourself all week, but it is this type of effort that pushes the mental limits for your upcoming Ironman. You’ll think, the training was hard, so the racing will be easy. The end results were predictable. Everyone managed to stay pretty close to his or her 1 minute gap. That was one of the best things about this group is that we were so closely matched.

Ian, Julie, Lewis, Amy (Ian and Julie’s daughter who just came home from college in England), and Nate all decided they were knackered and headed home. The weather wasn’t all that good either with intermittent drizzle and cool temps. Mafias, Dave, and I had some unfinished business and sights to see and pay our respects. First we hit the Col de Buret (599m) before hitting the infamous Col de Portet d’Aspet (1069m) where Fabio Casartelli met his end in 1995. Fabio played a critical role mentoring Lance Armstrong in his early days of European racing. When Lance looked up at the end of every stage he was saying a prayer for Fabio. This was done as an out and back climb so that we could descend past the memorial. The last climb of the day I thought was going to be an easy one. I was very wrong. The weather continued to get worse to the point that we were ascending Col de Menté (1349m) and entering a cloudbank with visibility of about 20m. I couldn’t see the switchbacks coming which was a good things because we must have hit at least 25. At the top Dave, Matias, and I all congratulated each other for doing every climb, every run, and every swim. By doing so we all got 20 bonus KOM points. We managed to get over 110km on this supposed light day. It was a fantastic way to end the week.

Brick Run I came back and we all managed another 6.5km run off the bike. I was thoroughly beat after this. All that was left was cleaning up, packing the bike, and going to our ceremonious bon voyage dinner with our hosts. It was there that Matias was presented with his KOM polka dot jersey while the rest of us got our PM jersey that shows all the climbs we did. A true memento that I will cherish forever.

Day 6: The Queen Stage

2009-12-03T19:04:00.006-05:00

Bike Session (09:00 – 17:00) Everyone, especially me, was waiting for this day with great anticipation. Just three weeks ago it was Stage 9 of this year’s Tour, but only the first two climbs. Ian and I decided we had to make it even more brutal by adding a Cat. 1 mountain top finish at the Hautacam (1525m) to make it even more “epic”. We rolled out from base camp in Luscan and it was a rather easy, for once, 42km rollout to the base at the first Cat. 1 climb for the day, the Col D’Aspin (1490m). The road leading up to this climb was repaved just for the Tour. According to Ian that is quite common. The TdF serves the country in many ways. Not only is it the most competitive bicycle stage race in the world, it shows off the beautiful and varied countryside that is France. As we made the right turn to start the 12km climb we were all together. The Col’ D’Aspin has some beautiful vistas. As you near the top the switchbacks start in earnest. Based on what we have already done this

week it really wasn’t too bad. As we neared the top the order was the same even though this wasn’t the KOM climb for the day. The weather cleared and according to Julie this was the best day she’s seen atop the D’Aspin this year. We as a group were truly blessed. There were a lot more cars, bikes, and motorcycles around on this

ascent. I guess because these are the most famous climbs of the Pyrenees--this isn’t the queen stage for nothing! Once at the top the vista was spectacular. We also had some comic relief. First goats came up and wanted to lick the salty sweat off our legs. I rewarded him by feeding him my orange peels. Not 10 minutes later before we were to descend a huge cow came right up next to us on the road next to the van and relieved himself--about 5 gallons worth! We had a good time with that one.

Finally, we made our way down a crazy 20km decent. This is one area where I’m probably the best in the group. Only Ian who lives here can take me to task. I guess riding a motorcycle since I could walk has its advantages. I led the group out to the beginning of the ascent of the granddaddy of them all, the Col du Tourmalet. As we began the ascent we noticed quite a few cars and a lot of people at the side of the road. We didn’t know why but later we’d find out. Since the weather was clear you could see the way we were going to meander up the mountain. It’s a very daunting climb. What makes this one so special is first its length. It’s nearly 18km in length, but what makes this one different than every other climb we’ve done is the consistency of the climb. It is literally 10% constantly from start to finish. There is no let up. Not even a 100m flat spot. Because this climb was so special to me I had to take pictures along the way. I didn’t want to dishonor the climb by stopping so I took pictures while seated and riding. This was most difficult. About 5K from the top you get tricked. You aren’t at the top but rather the ski village of La Mongie. There were more and more people on the side of the road. A few even clapped for me. I was thinking the French really are nice and welcoming. As I neared the 1km to go mark I saw Nate sprinting in to get the 2nd place KOM points. I was hoping to get him once this week but with the swimming, running, and writing these reports at night, I just don’t have it in me. Yesterday I gave it my best shot and I came quite close. With about 300 meters to go I noticed a group of 3-4 guys catching me quick. I’m thinking they may have been some pros but I didn’t know. As we neared the van with about 50m to go they were along side. I sprinted with all I had to the summit and we crossed together. Those guys got me to work.

We all got together for a French lunch at the cafe at the top. We took the obligatory picks and the view was amazing. After about an hour it was time of a harrowing descent. We found out that the growing crowds on the side of the road were for the Tour of the Pyrenees, which was passing through within minutes. We didn’t want to get caught in all that but sure enough nearing the bottom of the descent we all got together at a little village to watch the leaders and peloton come through. As we were coming into town people thought we were the race leaders. I heard clapping and “allez, allez, allez" coming from numerous directions. Nate and I caught up on the descent and shared the duties passing motorbikes and cars--even one bus! It was wild to be riding alongside Nate at nearly 80km/hr holding a conversation.

Once we got to the turn for the Hautacam the race was in full swing and the back of the Peloton caught me. I came to the one roundabout, the race was 15km from the finish dead ahead and we had to go right. When I turned right the Gendarme yelled at me along with about 100 people in the crowd that I was going the wrong way. I had to simply shake my head. By this time I was ahead of the whole crew. I simply followed the signs to Haut cam to the great dismay of the assembled crowd and police.

Our mountain top finish of the big day and a deciding mountain top finish in many TdF--including one of Lance’s greatest victories. Ian led the group up a short cut while I took a route that was around 2-3km longer. Great, I went from being first to last. This climb isn’t particularly hard (about 9% for 13K). Let’s just say my perspectives have changed. This one was different. I really started to bonk and I really wasn’t having much fun. Suddenly the skies turned dark, it began to rain and thunder as I ascended into a cloud. My mood and weather were both becoming gray and ominous. One by one I caught Matt, then saw that Cascio got in the van, and then finally caught Ian. I guess we were all feeling pretty bad. I never saw Matias or Nate: nothing new, but when I reached the top you could tell Matias wasn’t happy. He thought this last climb was a little over the top. I think his exact words were, “stupid.”

Brick Run Regardless, Matias, Dave and I took off for the 1km ascent to the top of the Col de Tramassel (1635m) beyond the summit of the Hautacam. I did have fun turning around to the sound of thunder to get back to the car ASAP. Weird how the first and last real big climbs for the week were bad weather but the rest was excellent. As I was coming in I was a few yards ahead of Matias. All of a sudden I heard him sprinting from behind so we stupidly sprinted at full speed for 100m after we have just ridden 130km brutal miles with three ridiculous climbs. Not smart, but “epic” to say the least. Finally, we all pilled in the car and drove the 60km back to the house. We did stop by a local bike store and I picked up a sweet jersey that had all the climbs I just did. What a great day and queen stage for the inaugural Camp Ratatouille! We will certainly repeat this day for all newcomers.

Day 5: Challenges and Welcome Back France

2009-12-03T19:03:00.002-05:00

Swim Session (08:30 – 09:30) After a very traditional French breakfast in the lobby of the hotel we managed to ride our bikes about 2km to Lake Mercus. A very cold swim welcomed us this morning. It couldn’t have been warmer than 65 degrees. This was actual a welcome change for this time of the year and lucky for me I brought my wetsuit. Poor Matias only brought a swimsuit so I let it borrow my swimskin. He gets cold easy so he only managed a 500m loop. The lake is used for water skiing and jumping. We used the buoys and ramps as turns. I managed to do one big lap that probably equated to about 1500m. We had to make a quick turnover for our ride that today would only have one 18km climb. Boy, aren’t we lucky. In all honesty this was pretty much a recovery day. The first four days built upon each other and got tougher by the day. Here we would make one decent climb in the middle with rolling countryside and sleepy French villages, which was a welcome change.

Bike Session (09:30 – 16:00) – After the brisk swim we headed down the valley to the city of Foix. Passing a medieval castle we started the lone climb of the Col des Marrows (990m) on the way to the Col de Portel (1432m) as ridden in the Tour de France in 2008. The Col des Marrous had about a 20km lead up. I decided to be bold since this was the KOM climb of the day and take off the front with Lewis. This was a mistake because we didn’t exactly know the way. We managed a 1km lead by the time we reached the bottom of the climb but gave it away because neither of us new the right turn to make the approach. So we were all bunch as we started the climb. We pretty much stayed all together for the first 5km. I saw Ian in the Sag ahead and he stated this is where the climb starts. I thought what the heck have I been doing for the last 20 minutes! So we start the climb, which isn’t particularly difficult, just long. The grades range from 2-8% throughout. This was the first time I felt like I was actually in the mix with the best guys in the group. Nate took off with Lewis to the front and Matias brought Cascio up to me. I decided to let Matias set tempo and go with him. This was a very bold move because Matias is one hell of an athlete. I didn’t call him Mad Dog for nothing. I managed to stay with Mafias for at least 8K and then I decided I had enough. No need to go high into zone 4--hell I’ve practically been there all week.

By this time I was all alone and settled into a decent rhythm. I’ve have discovered a lot about myself this week. I now have a better appreciation of what the climbers endure racing to the top of these cols. It’s a true test from within but at the same time projected and amplified with competitors around you. Both physically and mentally this week will tell me a lot about myself this ace season and years to come.

Once we got to a relative flat spot (anything less than 4%) I would get out of the saddle, click up through the gears and take off). For the first time I this week I managed to reach all the way up to Nate. He got sight if me once I was about 100m behind him and he started running scared. He ramped up his pace but it didn’t matter. I got on his wheel for about a minute and then I took off like a bolt and got up the road about 50m. My mistake was that I set back down before I got to the turn. The second I set down he took off caught me and went up the road. I guess you lose some. Considering I have been swimming and running this week and doing all the optional climbs I feel good about my effort. I still managed to stay close to both Nate and Mafias to the top. I came in 4th for the KOM today and now have a 3 point lead over Cascio and am sitting in 2nd place overall. With the company I’m training/racing with, I’m very happy with that.

After the climb we had a harrowing decent down a road about as wide as the W&OD. Lucky there were no cars coming up. You had to be very careful on the hairpins or you were off a 200m cliff. At the bottom we simply regrouped and rode into a village for lunch. We were all starting to feel the week, but I think the main culprit was the weather. All of a sudden we were pushing the mid 30s (which is the States is well into the 90s). We started going through water bottles as fast as we good get them. We worked as a well-oiled machine all the way back through some flats and rollers in some of the most beautiful countryside you’ll ever see. We managed to average nearly 40km/hr (26+mph) for nearly 2 hours, which got us back to Luscan after our three day, three-country tour of the Pyrenees. It simply doesn’t get any better than this. About 15km from Luscan, we came by a sign to the tiniest of villages, the name, “Reston.” Can you believe that? A bunch of RATS never left Reston, even when going to France.

Run Session All of us weren’t in the mood to run so we regrouped put our legs in the pool and hydrated. Mafias, Cascio, and I finally headed out for a run at about 6PM so that dinner would be ready when we got back. Perfect plan. I managed 10K after the run, Cascio did the 6.5km lop and Matias unbeknownst to me went off on his own plan and decided to find a trail to the top of the local hill where he said the view was fantastic.

Tomorrow is the “queen” stage that I designed and it’s sick. Two HC climbs and one Cat. 1. I designed this one with Ian before I realized what I was getting myself into.

Day 4: Hello Andorra and Do We Climb Forever?

2009-12-03T18:57:00.005-05:00

Bike Session (08:30 – 17:00) today was the most fun ay I have ever had on a bicycle. We started out from Sort heading straight up an 18K climb the Port de Canto (1725m). It was breathtaking views as we ascended and looked down on the valley and town below. The dry area and scenery reminded me a lot of Southern California where I’m from and the San Gabriel mountains. We regrouped at the crest that took well over an hour to get to. Then the fun began as we descended to make our way toward the Principality of Andorra. Finally Mafias gave me a run for the most aggressive descended. We had fun trading our leads down. I was only slightly shell shocked from yesterday. The turns here are unlike anything experienced in the mid-Atlantic. It’s very common to have more than 180-degree hairpin turn at 10-12% grade. That would mean if you didn’t brake you could go into turns at 45+ mph! The key and rule is to always look well ahead of where you are and where you want to go. As soon as you look at an obstacle or the side of the road, or a guardrail, guess what? That’s where you are going!

We regrouped at the bottom and had a Spanish egg and toast and started to make the 15K flatland that would lead us to an unbelievable 40K climb to the highest paved road in the Pyrenees, the Port d’ Envalira (2408m), which was featured in the Tour de France this year. As you begin the ascent you head into the Principality of Andorra. It’s a European tax haven so you can find ample cigarette and liquor stores that are tax-free. Beyond that there isn’t much to it, unless of course you are talking bout the natural beauty. We headed all the way across Andorra. The entire population lives in a canyon with a winding river that runs through it. Once you get past this area the road starts to kick up in earnest and you make your way out of the traffic. And yes there was a bit coming into the border patrol. The fours of us were dodging in and out of traffic and hitting the numerous roundabouts quite aggressively. As we left the population center the road turns up to a rather slight 3-6% and goes on for nearly 30miles! Yes you heard me right. It took well over two hours to make this climb. About half way up there is a divide in the road so that big trucks don’t have to go to the top. They enter a tunnel. I mistakenly headed down this road. After a couple hundred meters I recognized my mistake. So I literally had to climb a dirt embankment on all fours with my bike on my back to get back on the right road. I felt like Lance in the 2003 Tour when he had to go off-road after Bloke crashed right in front of him. I managed to get righted and I proceeded to alter between sitting in the 39/25 gear and standing in the 39/19. This managed to get me up most of the climb at around 8-10 mph. Not bad considering my legs are starting to get weathered. Odd enough I feel like I’m getting faster and stronger over the course of this week then when I started. On this climb Ian and PM did a spectacular job of hop skipping all over the mountain to get us cola, water, or whatever else we needed. It was as if we had our own team captain providing us the goods all day.

This was the KOM climb for the day and I’m proud to say that I was the third to the top, which means I still hold second alone to Matias (mad dog). This is a well-earned nickname that will become evident over the course of this article. When we reached the top it was time for some of the most beautiful pictures you’ll ever see. We were way up high and the temps went from 33 degrees in Andorra to 19 at the summit. The descent was one for the ages. My wife wouldn’t have liked what I was doing for one bit. We had to pass cars on the inside that was stopped in traffic. We must have passed 2,000 cars in the first 10km of the descent. As we neared the bottom and regrouped we said we were going to take it easy for the last 20km into our night stop in Terascon, France. That didn’t happen at all. Nate our resident “roadie” decided to hit the massive sprints off the front that Matias and I were obliged to respond to. We bridged up to the point that we had to pass a bus. Nate yelled at me, “go go go!” So I went in my best Mark Cavendish impersonation and passed the bus in about 100m. We had a blast and passed tons of cars and motorcycles. Once we made it into Terascon, Matias, Dave, and I, the running fools, headed out on a 30minute run after we had already biked well over 160km. Once back we made our way out of the hotel to the river below and iced our legs a good 10 minutes in water that was like ice. Good recovery! We then finished the day with a nice 4-course meal at a French outdoor bistro. Life doesn’t get better than this. This will go down in my memory as one of the most fun days I’ve ever had on a bike, and we haven’t even made it to the Queen stage of this week I designed for Thursday.

Day 3: Au Revoir France, Hola Spain…ouch!

2009-12-03T18:55:00.003-05:00

Swim Session (07:30 – 08:30) – Lake Swim, Aventignan. Once again swam with Matias and Cascio for a bit. I’d see Cascio starting his third lap, as I was 200 meters from fishing my second. He managed to catch me right as I finished my half loop. Then back for another English breakfast before a monster bike ride.

Bike Session (10:30 – 17:00) – We head out for the start of the “Tri Country Tour” over the Port de la Bonaigua (2072m), which was in the Vuelta 2008. But first we had to hit the Portillion which at the summit take us into Spain. Everyone was smiles at the top. This even after it was a rather tough 9K climb with grades exceeding 14% and averaging 10%. We still managed to TT from Lucan to the base which was just dumb, but epic to say the least. I took off first this time following Lewis Ian and Julie’s son, the 17 year old cycling extraordinaire. I was trying to get on his wheel for the decent just like I did his dad the day before, problem, he weighs about 1/2 as much and thus doesn’t brake nearly as aggressively. About 1km down into Spain, which happens to have far better roads than France, I was lulled into some very aggressive descending on very fast roads. At about the third or fourth right hand turn I went in way too hot and crashed. I didn’t want to his the guard rail otherwise my bike would be destroyed so I braked so hard I flipped over the handle bars landed on my butt after hitting my chin on the ground. Miraculously I was no worse for the wear other than a few scrapes, a ripped jersey and a torn vest. I did happen to land on my bad wrist that coincidentally I broke just three weeks before on Monday. I guess I’m really starting to hate Mondays more than for the usual reasons. After Ian we descended down to a beautiful village cleaned me up. We meandered down the river valley yelling at rafters, “Hola!” We then made our way to the King of Spain’s favorite ski resort. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a prettier place. This led us to the Pla D’Buret, which has been featured in many mountain top finishes in both the Tour and Vuelta. This climb was everything I had hoped for this trip. It has been featured in so many magazines and shows that I was trying to take it all in. How you ask? How about taking pictures at 9% grade with a HR of 160. Not easy. At the top there is a long plateau where Matias and I took a picture with some local wildlife. I really hit this climb hard and finished second to Matias, which came to hurt me later in the KOM competition as Cascio rode away form me on the third and last climb, the Port de la Bonaigua. This was billed as a fairly easy 6K climb. It was more like 8K with 20 switchbacks. We crested at 2100+m and then had a 60km descent. You heard that right 60km!

Run Session (18:30) – When we finally got to the kayaking village of Sort we had a 5K prediction run. This is to make the KOM competition more geared for triathletes. You guess your time. The closest to their prediction gets KOM points. But wait, that’s not it, to make it hard the fastest get KOM points on down as well. So you must race your prediction run. That’s what everyone wants to do after two Cat. 1 and one HC climb, isn’t it! I was bonking near the end of the ride so I downed a 1l bottle of chocolate milk--not a good idea if you are going to try and run a descent 5K along a beautiful class 3 rapid river where the Spanish Kayaking team practice for the Olympics. I predicted a very modest 25:00 5K because I can usually knock out 8min miles like a metronome. Instead I watched from afar as Matias and Dave were going for 19:00 and 21:00 5Ks, respectively. Nuts if you ask me. The funny thing is, we all came in way early. Points were had for the winner and the closest to their prediction. Matias won on both counts and Dave and I countered each other, as I was only 3 minutes ahead of my prediction, while he was 3:30. Once again, Nate opted out: he’s here for the cycling. We finished our day with a typical Spanish dinner of roast rabbit at 9PM. Yes they eat late here. You would too if you had a huge lunch and then a 3 hour siesta. All in all I’m a little sore but I’ll count myself very lucky. The accent could have put me in the hospital or worse. Instead, I’m still having the time of my life.

Day 2: Trial by Fire: “Port de Bales”

2009-12-03T18:53:00.002-05:00

Swim Session (07:30 – 08:30) – Lake Swim, Aventignan. This time I did nearly three laps of the lake (2700m). The lake is nice and tranquil. The village where the lake is located had a cheese festival all week and they celebrated with fireworks over the lake the night before. Lucky for us there was very little leftover debris in the water.

Bike Session (10:30 – 16:00) – The intent was Port De Balés (1755m) the Col de Peyresourde (1569m) and the Col de Portillon (1293m) in to Spain a 122km loop in all. These three cols are featured in the Tour de France most years. I was a little anxious going into the ride since Ian prefaced that he believes that Port de Bales is the toughest climb in the Pyrenees--and he should know. He lives here and takes crazies like us week after week nearly all year long. The climb was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I never questioned whether I could do it but I found myself doing things like I never have before. For example, I have never had to get out of the saddle to climb in my lowest hear. Granted I’m spending the week with a 12/25 cassette on the back. This was maybe not the smartest move I have ever made. Most pros ride the Pyrenees with that gearing, and I’m certainly no pro. Other things I have never experienced was as I climbed I found myself climbing by myself with the cacophonous clang of cowbells from the mountain side while I ascend literally into a cloud. Yes it was cold in August but you didn’t feel it until we stopped at the top for a picture and then the descent was a whole another story. One of my favorite sayings is “descending is what makes climbing fun.” I may say this because I’m a far better descender than I am a climber. This time I followed Ian’s lead. He knows the rote and his skills are second to none. I felt completely comfort staying a foot off his wheel at 70+km/hr. Once we got to the bottom we made the right to Peyresourde. This is a classic and beautiful climb that is often featured in the tour. Once again Matias took off the front, Cascio and I climbed virtually together, and Nate was having problems with his rear derailleur. As I got about 1km from the top I look up and I see Matias stopped near the summit. I didn’t know why but I yelled at him to take a picture. When I got up there I realized he had a bad puncture and his tire was quickly on its way out. We decided to descend toward Lushon and get some lunch and discuss the last climb of the day. This descent was one of the best ever in my book. I had several carless 180-degree hairpin switchbacks with good camber. I must have taken those turns at nearly 50km/hr. I managed to get it over 80km coming down. How do I know? I was caught is a radar speed trap. At the cafe in the ski town of Lushon we decode that Matias’ tire might not make it over the Col de Portillon, so we decide to ride home the last 30km. What I didn’t know at the time was that we were going to turn this into a 30km TT with each of us take 1km pulls at the front. It was classic teamwork. We managed to hold 40km+/hr all the way back. So essentially we made up for a lack of quantity with lots of quality. I really enjoyed this workout. Speaking of another first on this ride, when looking at my post-race HR profile, my zone chart reads like the mountains and valleys we just conquered. I have really high spikes in Zone 1 and 4 (clearly 1 for the long descents and 4 for the climbs). This is the exact opposite of a normal ride.

Brick Run – I was a little worried heading off into the run. People who know me know that I don’t run well with a full stomach. I decided I’ll FINALLY take it easy and simply do the 10km loop from Luscan. It was some beautiful single track through pastureland. You look around at fountain and chateaus from the 11th century. Just breathtaking.

Day 1: Arrival at Pyrenees Multisport in Luscan, France

2009-12-03T18:50:00.002-05:00

This day seemed to last for three. That’s right, it did! Since Nate and I missed our direct flight to Geneva Thursday night we ended up flying to Frankfurt and taking 5 trains over 12 hours and two nights to catch up to Matias and Dave coming from Washington Friday evening. Ian, the owner of PM, picked us up at both the train station and airport in Toulouse which is just 100km north of the base camp in Lucan.

Bike Session (15:00) PM calls this the little local Hautaget Loop. It turned out to be a beautiful rolling 48 km loop with two small hills a little tougher than Taylorstown out in Loudon County. In TdF parlance they would be cat. 4 climbs. It wouldn’t have been so bad but I was struggling off the back. I think this is a result of barely sleeping for two days but I was a little concerned. I think Ian likes to scare us gung-ho folks. His idea of taking 5 guys around the loop averaging well over 40km/hr is his idea of sating, “you have no idea what your in for this week!”

Swim Session (17:00 – 18:00) – This cool clear swim came in the middle of a pretty hard bike ride. Not to mention that at the start of the swim it was about 90 and very dry. By the time I got out a pending thunderstorm and associated winds was brewing quite nicely. I worked really hard to lead the group back the last 15K to the farm house in Luscan.

Brick Run – According to PM “road book” plan this was to be a “short steady run off the bike.” It became a little more than that. Since we just raced back to the farmhouse in time to escape the pending storm, we weren’t so lucky, which made us push the pace to avoid the ever-increasing amount of rainfall. We started off on a beautiful mix of roads and trails for 6.5km, which is clearly marked thanks to PM. The last 3km, at least for me, turned into a good steady tempo trying to keep pace with Matias and Dave. “Iron Camp” and relatively speaking this is a light day we might as well test each other right out of the box. Nate fell off the pace due some concerns with his knee but he didn’t care. The run was just to test his legs. He was here for the cycling anyway. This falls with the rest of the day quite well. The feeling being, since we are at “epic” training, me mine as well it the run hard too.

1st Annual Camp RATatouille: In the Pyrenees of France, Spain, and Andorra

2009-12-03T18:46:00.007-05:00

The term “epic” gets thrown around often times by cyclists and triathletes alike. Just this past summer in Tri-DC, Kyle Yost (creator of the SavageMan Triathlon) pontificated on how “epic” his Diabolical Double in Western Maryland and West Virginia is. I can personally attest that this is an “epic” ride by any method of measurement: blood, sweat, pain, lactic acid accumulation…you take your pick! But how about taking the single ride and going “epic” for a week, or even a little longer. The concept of going “epic” is to successfully overreach. What is overreaching you ask? Dave Scott, arguably the greatest Ironman of all time, believes there is great utility in overreaching; that is successfully training in a fatigued state to build greater mental and physical toughness for the challenge that lies ahead in your upcoming Ironman race. Scott also contends that there is a fine line between overreaching and overtraining. It’s important for the Type-A’s that are so drawn to our sport to recognize the lines and to not cross it. How do we do that? We configure a week or little more of significant training in all three disciplines that stress our bodies to new levels of exhaustion and fatigue only to develop new levels of strength and mental toughness. The aim is to stay within the three training parameters that dictate success for an endurance athlete, which are progression, overload and recovery. To do this one must go into this week well rested and ensure that we fully recover afterward to allow our bodies to build back stronger than prior to our “epic week.”

The first to take on this moniker of “epic” and to put it into practice was Gordo Byrn, famed co-author of Going Long--one of the most influential texts for Ironman racing, and Scott Molina, the winner of the 1988 Ironman World Championship. These two set up the idea of a week of “epic” training to prepare the body both mentally and physically for the demands of not just completing, but racing an Ironman. They have formulated this into what is known as Epic Camp. Byrn and Molina have successfully held Epic Camps all over the world from Kona, Hawaii to the Dolomites of Italy, and from Arthur’s Pass in New Zealand to the Pyrenees of France. The backbone of their Epic Camps in Europe is a small company based out of little village Luscan nestled in the middle of the Pyrenees of France. The company, which is aptly named Pyrenees Multisport (PM), is run by two British ex-pats Ian and Julie Wright. Very accomplished triathletes and cyclists in their own right, have decided to make their life and passion the business of providing triathlon training holidays in one of the most scenic and challenging places on Earth. I was originally planning to attend Epic Camp France this past summer but due to the recent global economic crisis their numbers were not sufficient to hold the camp. So I turned to PM directly to help me plan this week. They more then lived up to my expectations.

What follows is what happens when a small group of Reston Area Triathletes (RATS) takes on an epic week of training in no place more “epic” than the Pyrenees Mountains of France, Spain, and Andorra. Most of this was captured each day in a haze of exhaustion and hunger. I hope you’ll find the following chronology interesting, enlightening, and most of all, inspiring, so that you may tackle this or similar week for yourself. Just to preface, we climbed many of the same Cols that have defined countless Tours and Vueltas over the years. The goal is to show you the anguish, and yet the fun of preparing oneself properly and adequately for the rigors of racing all out, all day, as is the case in Ironman. To make it even more competitive and interesting PM has a King of the Mountain (KOM) competition. Each day on of the many climbs is determined as the KOM point. The first over gets 10 points and each following get one less point. There is a chalkboard on the wall back in Luscan where the KOM points are tallied daily and where the greatest of all time are permanently ensconced.

Additionally, I have taken the liberty of renaming the four that took on the challenge of this week by attributing something about their essence and role played during the week. The characters/campers:

Matias Palavecino, “the Pro” is a member of the Snapple Lyte Water team and although relatively new to triathlon has taken the region by storm. He has won numerous local and national races. He is the one that named the camp. He wanted to capture the Club name and France all at once. What better way then to name it after a peasant dish from Southern France that was recently a blockbuster animated feature starting none other than a RAT!
Nate Miller, “the Roadie” is a former Div. I runner for Stanford and Villanova who was thoroughly burned out decided he was going to give cycling a go. In less than two years he’s made his way through the USA Cycling ranks to become a Cat. 3 racer. He came to the camp purely for the cycling—what else?
Dave Cascio, “the Legend” it would be hard for anyone involved in triathlon in the mid-Atlantic over the last 20 years to not know Dave Casco. He has been involved in triathlon since the sports inception. He is a perennial top 3 in virtually every race he enters despite the fact he is now 47. He has raced in Kona 7 times and has numerous sub-10 Ironmans to his credit. He has even raced in the Race Across America (RAAM).
Yours truly, Kevin Kunkel, “the Visionary” is the guy who simply did the leg work to make the camp a possibility. I worked with PM to make a sadistic week of pleasure and pain. I also used my used car salesman skills and gift for gab to rope these guys into the camp. My claim to fame is that I love going “epic,” (this should be clear by how many times I’ve used the word). The longer the day, the better I do. This camp was made for me.

What can I say, I'm not a great blogger.

2009-12-03T18:31:00.003-05:00

I know, I know. It's been forever since I've posted an update. No 2009 race reports, nothing. It's not that I haven't been up to anything. It's the exact opposite. I've been up to everything! Yes I raced a lot this year but no where near as much as the Kunkelian quest from last year. I certainly trained a lot more, especially the bike as you'll see in the following post from this past summer's Camp RATatouille. What's that? You'll see in great detail in the following posts. I also happened to work a lot this year and with that came a lot of international travel. Writing blog updates and race reports fell by the wayside. So now I'm going to play catch up quick.

My season was a real mixed bag. I know some people will rag on me for this. They'll say you did great. You posted PR's, but I'm a perfectionist. there's never good enough--figure that for an OCD triathlete. Yes I finished some races faster than ever before (Reston, Luray, Eagleman, and Ironman Louisville), but I failed not getting the necessary amount of races to post an AG place in the VTS series, and more sadly, did not break 10 hours at Ironman Louisville (came pretty damn close at 10:04) and failed to qualify for the World Championships in Kona. Once again I didn't live up to my nickname, KonaKev. Very disappointing. :-(

I hope to come back next year. Yes I'm doing Louisville again as are a lot of my blog readers. I hope to train with you all and join you in the race that happens to fall on my 39th Birthday. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The following posts are my report of the inaugural Camp RATatouille which was a one-week Iron Camp in the Pyrenees mountains of France, Spain, and Andorra. A true experience of a lifetime. I really can't say that. I'm going to try and got back for two week in 2010. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone. I wrote this for the soon to be released winter edition of Tri-DC. Unfortunately, my 1200-1800 word article became over 7,000! I simply didn't know where to cut or to start rambling--depending on your perspective. The article is still going to appear as a teaser followed by the full article on the online edition of the magazine. In the meantime, I thought I would share it with those who went to Europe with me as well as some of the other reads of my blog. Enjoy the following. If you are interested in joining me next year e-mail me.

ChesapeakeMan 2008 = Redemption Race and End of the Kunkelian Quest

2008-10-03T12:01:00.006-04:00

The “Kunkelian Quest” and Pre-race

By now most of you have heard about the craziness that is the Kunkelian Quest. For those whop don’t know it was essentially 7 weeks in a row of racing consisting of 5 int’l distance triathlons with a couple Ironmans thrown in for good measure. Was it the smartest thing to do? Probably not. Would it possibly reveal something substantive both mentally and physically to me as an endurance athlete? Most likely. Having just completed the “quest,” I managed to PR at most of these races. That’s not what you’d expect going into races where you’re either tired and/or not tapered. I think this is more a result of diligent and dedicated training over the last 6-9 months where I was incorporating prudent well-structured workouts, not the craziness of racing every week.

Unlike last season where everything came up roses and exceeded my greatest expectations, this season has been kind of like the stock market of late: lots of peaks and valleys and as volatile as nitro glycerin.

Race Day

Race morning was pretty eventful. As my friend and fellow racer Eric Dempster like to call me “Drama.” I was certainly living up to the name today. With the new swim course we had to take our run bags over to T2 at the high school in the morning. I thought perfect, now Kevin Shaw can help me put the RATS tent up in the morning. Little did I know then that the tent would serve as a warming for all racers to make their turn and serve as the official aid station at the turnaround. The tent went up quick and we were off to Great Marsh Park. There were a lot of people simply being dropped off there which caused a little bit of traffic. As I walked toward my bike in transition I realized that I left one of my water bottles (the most important one with concentrated Hammer Sustained Energy) at the hotel. The wife headed back as I got everything else ready. As I was about to put on my wetsuit I stopped by to say some encouraging words to Kevin Shaw when he informed me that his bike bag was missing. He was rightfully panicking a bit. In the interest of keeping participants bike bags dry overnight they took them off the rack. Problem, they never put them back. As we headed into the water the wife showed up with the bottle and they found Kevin’s bike bag. Tension eased right before we start, right? Wrong. At that moment the skies opened up and poured. What else can go wrong? I’m sorry, that was the pessimist talking, what other challenges can be thrown my way today? ;-)

Swim (1:13:22, 33rd of 136)

The moment I entered the water the heavens opened up and poured. Due to the rain and the limited light at 6:55AM in late September left a very fuzzy line of gray between the water and sky horizon. It was in water, two-loop triangle course. Essentially it was a two-loop Eagleman course but this time in Hannock Bay which is the other side of the Great Marsh Park peninsula. Apparently this is where they held Eagleman prior to Vigo’s directing of the race. The feeling was that the bay is rather shallow and protected from the chop and current of the river. This is rather unfortunate this year because the usual point to point course this year would have been with the current. This happened the first year of the race with swim times in the low 40s and most going under an hour. I could have used that early break. The feeling was that this would be the fairest and safest alternative: possibly? The two loops were done clockwise; which meant that when coming back to the start finish you’d be swimming 700-800 meters each loop against the current nearer the middle of the river. This is where is made a good race time difficult. With the rain, wind, and current there was a good couple feet of chop. It seemed to take me twice as long on this stretch as it did going out. This only got worse on the second loop. Even still at the end of the first loop I managed to glance at my watch and I was at 32. I thought great, I’ll have a sub 1:05 swim and with a wetsuit I felt that’s about where I should swim. Remember, of the 5 Ironmans I’ve competed, this was only my second that was wetsuit legal. The other being this vary race two years ago which was my first Ironman.

As I mentioned earlier the second loop was even choppier. I didn’t feel like I was fatiguing but I was suffering a little getting thrown around a lot. In conclusion, if the swim had been done counter clockwise I think I definitely would have gone 5-8 minutes faster. Regardless, an ironman isn’t supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to challenge you and this swim certainly lived up to that billing. A look at other swimmers times bears out that this was a rather tough swim. The fastest swimmer was also the youngest competitor who happens to be a top swimmer at Georgetown Prep. He only went 56 which tells you this was a rather slow swim course. I finished in the top ¼ of swimmers which is OK. I had been finishing in the top 1/6 at other races during the season which means I still have more work to do.

T1 (2:54, 13th of 136)

Now that the race is in its 5th year, and the Aquavelo has more competitors than the full ChessyMan, Vigo needs to give some serious consideration at making the changing tent larger. Granted coming in at 1:13 means it’s going to be crowded, but not only could I not get a chair, I couldn’t even find a place on the floor to peel my wetsuit and get into my bike clothes. I ended up going over by the door to get changed.

Usually I leave my shoes and helmet and such on the bike to save time but since it was pouring rain I left all this in the bag. It probably added a good :30-:45 seconds to my time. Oh well.

Bike (5:04:06, 2nd of 136)

Now on to my specialty, the bike, I was very much looking forward to this ride. I like to put out a consistent effort. A flat course lends itself to this perfectly. There can often be wind which can act as surrogate hills. I’ve raced Eagleman now 4 times and Chessyman for the second time so I know the course well. The plan is to try and stay aero as long as possible and put out consistent power. In the first 20 miles things felt every easy and relaxed. I was averaging over 24 mph when I wanted to average 22.5 mph for the race. Things were going perfectly. I managed to see how many people were in front of me and by how much. I saw that Glover had about 10 minutes on me which was pretty much expected. It was hard to tell exactly who I was racing against because even though there were more than 400 people registered, only about 150 were doing the full ChessyMan with the rest participating in the Aquavelo. Once we turned around at the out and back it began to rain which it did for probably half the race. Once we made that out and back turn my speed dropped to 20-21 mph so I knew there was some wind involved. Not much but enough to alter speed a little. Also when it rained it seemed that with the exact same effort a minute earlier I was suddenly going a whole 1 mph slower once it started raining. I’d like to see the low speed wind tunnels test the effect of rain on aerodynamics. I’m guessing that the air is heavier and denser during rain which makes the air more resistant and causes more drag. It’s unscientific I know but these squalls would come and go all day. It would go from no rain at all to pouring. Each time my speed would fall off by 1-2 mph each time. This began to get quite frustrating but I figured everyone has to deal with it. Near the end of the first loop (10-15 miles to go) you come to the most beautiful part of the Blackwater Nature Preserve. It is here where I found the 1+ miles of water on the road. On the first loop it was more an annoyance than anything. I would speed up to 22-25 only to coast through 40-50 meter puddles that were 4-6” inches deep which would slow me to about 13-15 mph. Your speed would fall off and the entire bike would be soaked but you just took it in stride and enjoyed one of your few opportunities to get out of the aero position and stretch. It was somewhat frustrating because it was this portion of the course two years ago where I put on my best time due to being a good solid tail wind. Once out of the puddles I managed to get into a good rhythm back to the high school at mile 65 and blasted through not even slowing for special needs.

On the second lap we had more of the same but some longer stretches of sustained raining. I was already beginning to think of the puddle crossings being worse. One of the guys I was leapfrogging with on the bike from Brazil got a flat. I fly by him knowing that I really couldn’t offer any assistance since he was racing on tubulars and I was on clinchers. I really had no idea where I stood in the race but by now I figured I must be in the top 5 of those doing the full ChessyMan. The rain stopped before I got to the submerged road. Good thing for me because there was much more water to account for. This time instead of being able to coast through the flooded areas there was more than a mile that was completely submerged. Now the water was between 6-12”, I couldn’t simply coast through any longer. I had to pedal through. This time each time on the down stroke of the pedal my foot would be completely submerged. The water came up to the BB and the axels of my wheels. I was something like I’ve never seen before. I’m not a mountain biker was I was starting to feel like one. Here I could only manage to average about 10-12 mph which really hurt because two years ago I was going at 25+ mph here. I would say that the water single handedly cost me my sub 5 hour bike. Oh well.

With about 2-3 miles to go I finally came up on Dave Glover. I couldn’t believe it. Never did I think I’d ever pass Dave Glover—the legend. He was having a pretty bad day with a flat and a crash. He also hasn’t been training much so it only goes to prove that even the best need to put their time in. The whole day on the bike I never really looked down at my watch but I could see that the 5 hour window had passed. I felt just like I did on exiting the swim—a little disappointed. I’m usually able to hit my goal times.

As for my nutrition, lots of people ask me about my nutrition strategy, especially when on the bike. I’m an all fluids kind of guy. I do not have a cast iron stomach so I have to be careful what I put in it during times of great or lengthy exertion. I managed to start with about 700 calories (6 scoops) of concentrated Hammer Sustained Energy and two 6 serving Hammer Gel flasks, that totals about 1780 calories consumed very 15 minutes over 5 hours = 356 cal/per hour. I only took water from aid stations to wash down the SE and gels. Unlike at IM Louisville I was feeling much better on the GI front. I wouldn’t say I was excellent but I certainly wasn’t feeling bloated and nauseous. I also am a very heavy sweater. I took 4 Endurolytes every hour on the bike and run to keep the electrolytes in check. If I don't, the cramps are sure to come. This time no problems

T2 (2:42, 16th of 136)

I had a little bit of trouble getting my wet feet out of my soaked shoes so I couldn’t perform my normal flying dismount. I took a real safe and casual approach knowing full well that Glover was right on my heels. My only other complaint about the race comes again at the transitions. This time at T2 there was plenty of room in the tent—as there should be considering Dave and I were the only ones in there since we were in 3rd and 4th position, but the asphalt in the parking lot is like jagged rocks. Maybe it’s because my feet were so pruned from being submerged in water but it was excruciatingly painful to jog the 30-40 ft. into transition. I hope Vigo puts a rug there in the future. That would help a ton. Lastly, I sat down a good 15-20 seconds before Glover entered the tent but he had his shoes and socks on before I could blink. I guess 25 Ironmans and countless other triathlons prepare you for lightening fast transitions.

Run (3:45:43, 5th of 136)

I exited with Glover and felt great, probably the best I’ve ever felt starting a run. Glover and I started to have a conversation as if we were out on a training run. We talked about races and relationships—just about anything to pass the time. I thought this would be a good strategy for a couple reasons. First, it would keep me relaxed and loose and help keep any anxiety at bay. And second, it would keep me from going out too fast since I was feeling so good. We managed to take splits just about the whole first lap and they were all sub-8. I was worried that I might be going too fast but heck I was conversational the whole time. On the second and third loops I still felt good. Yes I was getting a little tired as the miles went by but the excellent volunteers at the aid stations and seeing my son and family hand me fluids at every turnaround buoyed my spirits. At the end of the first loop Dave fell off the pace and was just going to take it easy. It was only here did I start to realize I’m still in 2nd place and the guy in 3rd is only ever so slowing catching me. I thought I’d be able to hold him off but he managed to catch me at about 22 miles. That was rough but I was confident with my pace. And as for that, I was starting to get a little confused. Vigo changed the course slightly so there were two sets of mile markers out on the course and it was tough to know which were the right ones. I really didn’t know my pace but I certainly felt like I was running faster than any previous Ironman run. Only after the finish when I saw my results did I realize that I must have really slowed down or the course was long. I never walked. I felt like I ran consistently the whole time. I never had any excruciating leg or GI issues. I felt like I was on cruise control the whole time.

With about 5 miles to go Craig Ellis was out on the course trying to cheer me up and push me forward. He said you can still go sub 10. This was the first time I started doing mental calculations. I noticed for me to go sub 10 I would have to run 5 miles a little under 8. I doubted I could do this but I thought at least I’ll be close. It was about this same time I got passed. Speaking of Craig, he and Todd Stuckey were all over the course that day. They were driving all over the place. Not to mention all the other competitors I knew doing the race. You had both Brent Miller and Kevin Shaw doing their first Ironmnas. It was awesome getting to see them a bunch of times on the out and backs. A lot of people are turned off by this race because of the 3 loop course. I have to tell you it’s one of the races greatest strengths. Everybody know the run is the toughest part of the race where you need all the morale support you can get. It was great to sound off with all these folks and not to mention how good it is for all your friends and families who can follow along with your day. You think your day is long; it’s really long for them.

Back to the end of the race, with about a little over a mile to go I knew I wasn’t going to break 10 so I grabbed a cup of chicken broth at the last aid station which I did 2 years ago at my first Ironman. I looked for the lights of the stadium which was easy to see in the somber gray sky. I managed to see the family one last time; they took a short cut so they could see me finish. Kurtis tried to run with me. After about 100 meters he told me I was running too fast.

I really picked up the pace once on the track and sprinted for the finish. Even though I didn’t break 10 hours which was the goal, I had a 10 minute PR on a day with very tough conditions and I managed to podium. Not too bad. It leaves a much better taste in my mouth than did Louisville. The guy who passed me finished in 10:05 with a 3:32 marathon. That’s about the pace I hoped to run. Had I done that I would have been second and sub-10. Last year at IM-Loo I ran a 3:35 is much tougher and hotter conditions. This is another area I’m going to work extra in the off-season. Dave Cascio has got me inspired to really work on my run again.

Finish (10:08:44, 2nd Overall of 136)

After the race I hung out under the RATS tent and saw a lot of my friends finish. At about the 11 hour mark I finally made it over to the high school to take a shower and a nice 30 minutes massage. You won’t get that at an “M” dot Ironman! I felt much better after this race than just about any before. I hung around to see Kevin Shaw finish. He seemed pretty happy with his maiden journey into Ironman. He’s already signed up to do IM Louisville with me next year. That a boy! Brent Miller finished right along with Dave Glover just under 11 hours. He had to get back home so I picked up his AG award the best day, wouldn’t you know it, 2nd in the 35-39AG, that’s the exact same award I got two years ago! We capped off the night with dinner at the Portside restaurant where the wife and I managed to put down a pitcher. Ahhh the life.

Conclusion & Commentary

In analyzing this race, my expectations were completely thrown out the window. The bike which I felt was pretty weak during the time I was racing was probably one of my best of the three disciplines. While the run I thought went spectacularly well was actually my second slowest ever, and probably my weakest leg of the day—for me that is ;-). It was like the results were not the proper feedback from how I felt I did. This was a very peculiar race in that sense.

I’d like to thank Vigo for another great race. I would have liked to swim the original course but you can’t get everything you want. I feel pretty confident that if I had I would have broken 10 hours by swimming around 10 minutes faster than my 1:13. I still have some mixed feeling about my performance but as the days go on it gives me more fire to come back and break that elusive 10 hour barrier next year. I’ll take all the self-induced motivation I can get. I also want to thank Dave Cascio and Kevin Shaw for training with me. Lastly, I want to thank my wife and family for standing by me all those long training sessions when I wasn’t around. Without you guys there’s no way I could have raced as well as I did. A heartfelt I love you to you all.

A 10 minute PR but More Work To Go.

2008-09-29T10:59:00.006-04:00

The race report is coming but suffice it to say I have a lot of mixed feeling about the race. I'm happy with my place and my effort. Depsite some very tough conditions (probably the toughest I've ever faced) I still managed a 10 minute PR. I didn't accomplish my "A" goal but I'm much happier finishing off my season with this than Louisville. When you get as close to that elusive 10 hour barrier as I did there's a lot of woulda, coulda, shoulda; nontheless, I probably enjoyed myself more than any other Ironman race I've ever done. There were so many firendly and supportive faces out there it made the day pass beautifully. There's a lot more to come, stay tuned....

ChessyMan here I come

2008-09-26T13:20:00.003-04:00

Well it's been a long 7 weeks in the Kunkelian quest. It feels like an eternity ago when I did Luray and Louisville, which is weird considering the latter race was 3 weeks and 5 days ago. I'm a little worried that either I have been slacking too much on the training (haven't gone longer than a 2 hour ride in 7 weeks!) or I'm still not recovered from Loo. One thing is for sure, I will learn a lot about myself tomorrow. This is truly an experiment of will.

I have managed to touch base with a lot of old friends since I've been in Cambridge. Kevin Shaw and his family have made it to town, as has Stephen Brown (a.k. the remission Man--very long story. My family gets in later today. Still no sign of the man the myth David Glover.

Watch for me tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Part VI of Kunkelian Quest complete

2008-09-22T09:57:00.002-04:00

I finally made it back down to Smith Mountain Lake. It's been two years since I made it to this race and that one wasn't pretty. I got two flats and it represented my only DNF. This time the weather and competition were great. I drove down with Eric Dempster and stayed in one of the Park's beautiful cabins with the ever gracious Landaus.' As for the race, everything went about as planned. I didn't redline this one since the Ironman is 7 days away. My swim was slow but I think the course was a little long. The bike was as hilly as I remember it. I'd say it's a little tougher than Luray. The run has been compared by many to Columbia but since I have raced there I can't compare. I felt really good and strong on the run. First time in a while. I eased it into the finish. Smith Mountain Lake and the environs around there are some of the best and most beautiful this state has to offer. You are really missing out if you haven't been down there. I manged 13th overall and 3rd in my AG. I think I've secured 2nd in the 2008 VTS series. Mission accomplished!

"Kunkelian Quest" being expanded

2008-09-19T15:39:00.003-04:00

In honor of Lance's return to the pro peleton, and my own insanity, I've decided that the 5 races in 5 weeks wasn't good enough. I'm now doing 7 races in 7 weeks. Tomorrow is Biglick Traithlon down at Smith Mountain Lake and next Saturday is ChesapeakeMan in Cambridge, MD.

The "Kunkelian Quest" and Ironman Louisville Race Report

2008-09-19T11:51:00.001-04:00

I guess it’s about time to getting around to writing the IM-Loo race report. Initially after I finished the race I knew I needed to capture my thoughts carefully and comprehensively because from failure we learn far more than we do our success—at least that’s what I have always felt. I know what you’re thinking; a 10:43 isn’t failure. I know. It’s a respectable time but if you had an appreciation of how hard I worked this year and how much effort I went into improving all 3 disciplines you may have a better idea of where I’m coming from.

Last year was a very successful year for my racing. It went way beyond all my expectations. I held the slimmest glimmer of hope at qualifying for Kona but honestly thought that was out of reach. I went into Louisville last year very carefree and relaxed. I had completed one Ironman before that so I knew what the distance was and had my head physically and mentally well wrapped around it. I took that race as it came to me but was very relaxed and confident. When I finished that race with a 5 minute PR on a harder course and in tougher conditions then my first Ironman I knew I could be proud of my efforts. When I got the Kona slot the next day it was simply icing on the cake.

This year I came in with some internal and external pressures on me. I knew I wanted to get back to Kona. I had set sub10 as the goal for the race which was both realistic and doable. At the same time, people expected me to really breakthrough with another incredible race. Although I don’t think I felt that pressure leading up to the race it was most likely affecting my subconsciously; having said that, I’m usually quite good of staying within my own limits both mentally and physically.

Build up to Ironman Louisville

Build up for Loo was similar to last year, but with more volume, especially on the bike and run. This year I did two “epic” camps. The big one was at Sherando lake again where I managed to bike about 600 miles and run 50 miles over 8 days (I couldn’t get the necessary swims in due to some weed issues in the lake--I’ll be looking for another locale most likely for next years epic camp.), and a brief stint thanks to Kevin Shaw (host), Dave Cascio (riding partner), and Kyle Yost (course designer) up at Deep Creek Lake.

As is the case with most all of my Ironman prep I like to reduce volume three weeks out from the “A” Ironman race and replace long weekend volume sessions with shorter race efforts. Dave Orton from the list gave it a name: the Kunkelian quest. What would that entail you ask:

Luray Triathlon on August 16th
Chicago Triathlon on August 24th
Ironman Louisville on August 31st
Reston Triathlon on September 7th
Nations Triathlon on September 14th

I know a lot of people will question the best case, wisdom, and worst case, sanity, of such a quest but it has seemed to work for me in the past. Luray was a very interesting race. Dave Glover did a great job as RD and the race seems to get better every year. I still consider the bike course one of the best test of overall cycling ability in the area.

I was then off with the family to combine my Kunkelian triathlon quest with that of visiting in the in-laws. That meant the Chicago Triathlon 7 days out from Loo. This is where Luray fell last year so I knew it was doable and worked well with my plan. To boot, I knew Chicago would give me a flat and fast course. The flattest oly distance tri race I had done previously would be Reston. Chicago had the best expo I have ever seen, many vendors with lots of freebies and good deals. I managed to have a good rather long conversation with Kiwi transplant and U.S. Olympic team member Matt Reed at the expo. He was still a little jet lagged and tired considering he had raced the Olympic Triathlon 11 time zones away just 4 days prior. He signed a CROCS poster for me so it was pretty cool.

Race day was nuts. I met up with fellow RAT Keith Jacobsen whose wife also happens to be from Chicagoland so we hung out for nearly 3 hours after transition closed before our 36th of 45 wave departed at 8:41AM. That’s a long time to wait. I know Chicago is the largest triathlon in the world with nearly 9,000 competitors but I really don’t know if that’s something for which the city with broad shoulders should be proud. The race went well. The swim seemed long but I exited the water with the exact same 1500M time I did the week before at Luray (24:17). Better than last year but not exactly where I want to be. They have a ½ mile shoeless run on concrete to the largest transition I have ever seen. The bike is 2 loops of Lake Shore Drive. I felt like I was suddenly launched into a video game. First, you ride to the left and pass on the right with a median to the inside and 2 lanes of traffic to the right. Essentially, everything is backwards. I was passing people like crazy. There were often places where there were 3 and 4 bikes wide. Going north had a stiff 15-20mph headwind and then you were riding in dead air going south. I fluctuated between 19 and 35 mph—not exactly what you’d expect on a flat course but you really do develop an appreciation of how wind can affect speed on a bike. The run was a tour of the Chicago museums and landmarks such as Grant Park, the Field museum, the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium and Soldier Field. You pass directly in front of every one of these sites so it was certainly a scenic course. Only complaint, first 800 meters was on grass after that it was all concrete—not the most forgiving surface in the world. Again you were passing people on the left and right like crazy. Because of this you had no idea who you were racing. You have to go into this race thinking you are on an obstacle ridden pure time trial. The best part is that exactly when I finished (11AM) the pros were starting their race. I could follow along and recover while watching them finish: pretty cool indeed. I did pretty well considering all the obstacle dodging. I was 31st/4,103 overall, 8th/502 in my AG, splits (S 26:49 long run to transition, T1 1:57, B 1:02:37, T2 1:41, R 41:52) for a total time of 2:14:58.Lastly, only in Chicago the beer truck is the most popular area in the finish line area.

Race Week
After the race in Chicago there were a few days penance with the in-laws—just kidding. I get along fine with them—now!

The family then moseyed on down to southern Illinois to visit all my extended family (where my parents are from), and then made our way to Louisville. Race week wasn’t all that different than last other then I was probably the only RAT to race last year this year there were a bunch of RATS or other local triathletes I knew competing. Not only that, some fellow RATS were coming (Dave Cascio, Doug Steele, Craig Ellis, Brian Crow, Neva Fulkerson, Brett Dewitt, Jen Burg, and I know I’m leaving a few out) but there were even a few who going 600 miles just to watch (Reid and Mary Beth Kaiser, and the man the myth, Scott Baldwin)!

On Friday I did the usual packet pickup and check in as well as the carbo dinner. This time it was interesting because it happened to coincide with my 37th birthday—damn I’m getting old. I didn’t do any training and the same goes for Thursday. I usually take 2 full days off on the 3rd and 2nd day prior to an Ironman. I still felt pretty relaxed but unlike last year where I was just there to see what I could do, there were a lot of expectations placed on me not only by myself but others. Now it was are you going to qualify for Kona again? Are you going to break 10? Are you going to place in your AG? Normally setting lofty goals expectations raise my game and get me motivated to accomplish the primary task at hand. The pre-race carbo dinner got me all psyched up. They showed the ubiquitous, “you will do this” video. If that can’t get you up, nothing can. We headed back to the hotel, had a couple beers and slept pretty well.

Saturday started as the day before any ironman does for me. Make it down to the practice swim, get in about 10 minutes of swimming, followed by 15 minutes on the bike to make sure everything is working while getting in a couple good 10 second surges, and then cap it off with an easy 15 minutes of running with some striders to help loosen up the pre-race tension. During this brief workout I ran into just about everyone who made it out from our area to race. I racked my bike and headed back to olive garden for the never ending pasta bowl lunch. I surely filled up good there. I took the approach this year to go big at lunch with the objective of getting a light dinner so that I won’t spend the whole night before the race digesting food. This approach sounds good on paper but the only problem is that I have a pre-race routine of having Thai the night before—which has served me well in the past mind you. Like last year I went to dinner with my old high school classmate and friend Art Siler who lives right across the river from Louisville in New Albany, Indiana. We did everything the same as last year, which is I overate. I think last year it wasn’t a problem because I didn’t have much in the way of lunch so I was pretty hungry. This year I was full before I even went to the restaurant--big mistake. As anyone who knows me and my voracious Thai eating acumen will attest, I cannot turn away a good Thai dish. There in lies the problem: I ate WAY, WAY too much the day before the race. This I believe constitutes my greatest mistake in underperforming at Ironman Loo. I know some of you are thinking, a 10:43 isn’t bad, but according to my training and my recent race results this was about 45 minutes slower than I should have been able to do.

Race Day

Everything went smooth in the morning. I downed a couple Ensures, made my way to transition, put bottles on the bike, pumped up the tires, and walked the ¾ mile to the swim start in a pre-dawn haze. I felt cool and confident. This year when I got to the swim start you could tell people had been lining up very early for their seeded swim spot. This is something race organizers may want to look at closely in the future. I don’t have a problem with the TT start and it’s quite novel and takes a way a lot of anxiety for those who swimming isn’t second nature, but it encourages people to improperly seed themselves in terms of speed. I heard that the first inline got there at 3:30AM! That’s just nuts. I managed to spot Craig Ellis, Brian Crow and Neva Fulkerson already in line. I jumped in with them and had some familiar folks to pass the hour or so until the race started.

Swim (1:16:03 officially, my watch 1:14:52) OP 509th/1975, AG 98th/347:

The swim was like last year, not much of current and relatively clean water. Even though I lined up at about the same place this year I didn’t get into the water until over 8 minutes after the first swimmers started. We headed up river between Towhead Island and the shore which has a bunch of boat slips. This is probably a 100ft wide corridor that makes sighting simple. The island also acts like a barrier to the sun as it’s rising right on the water at 7AM. What seemed different was that it seemed to take FOREVER to get to the turnaround buoy beyond the island. I don’t know if that was because of some current, or whether they had the course longer, or what. It just seemed to take forever.

Once you make the turnaround you head straight down river. For better of for worse you can monitor progress because there are 3 bridges between you and the finish. While sighting you can simply take a look up and see how you are doing. It’s at this point that many people take two approaches. At the pre-race meeting the very highly esteemed coach Lance Watson stated that at his clinic a month earlier he had two group swim the course. One took the near shore route, while the other headed toward the middle of the river where you’d benefit from a current, if present. He stated that his middle river group, although swimming an extra 200-300 meters were far ahead of the near-shore group. I decided I would go a little further out but not all the way to the middle of the river. I think on this day this did me a disservice. Seeing in retrospect that there really wasn’t much current I simply ended up swimming farther than I needed to. Oh well, lesson learned.

Once again the swim seemed to take forever. Those who know me know that swimming is my biggest weakness and something that I have worked hard on over the winter and in the early season. If you look at my race times I’ve certainly improved. On average I have gone from a 26-27 minute 1500 meter swimmer to a 23-24 minute swimmer. I’ve gone from being in the top third in most events to the top 5th—not where I want to be eventually but a noticeable improvement nonetheless. I had estimated that since this was NOT a wetsuit swim I would still be 6-8 minutes slower than if it were. I figured that would put me in the 1:05-1:10 range which would be OK. Heck, I was 1:14 last year and that’s my best Ironman swim yet. That 1:14 was 8 minutes faster than my first Ironman swim where I was wearing a wetsuit, so as you can see I used to be an even crappier swimmer.

I managed to stay pretty strong and focus on good long strokes with lots of glide. I managed to pick up the pace over the last 200-300 meters as you van hear the crowd and announcers by then and I just wanted to get it over already. I exited the water and my watch said 1:14. I couldn’t believe it. I knew I was swimming faster this year but the time was exactly the same as last. What I didn’t know at the time is that everyone was a lot slower. Even the pros were 6-8 minutes slower than normal so in retrospect I’m pretty satisfied with the swim but at that time I knew it made accomplishing the sub-10 goal all that much harder.

T1 (2:58)

Uneventful transition other than the swim exit ramp was a little farther away from transition and they didn’t have the hanging racks this year for the transition bags. It didn’t matter; the volunteer staff had my bag and was waiting to give it to me. They shortened the transition a little this year. You didn’t have to run with the bike all the way to River Rd. The mount/dismount line was right out side of transition. Nice improvement.

Bike (5:17:45) OP 98th/1975, AG 17th of 347

Now it was on to the race for me. The bike is where I usually do my damage. At this point the body felt pretty good. The conditions seemed as they were the previous year—humid with temps moving into the 90s. I trained in it, and I expected it. Going out toward the east on River Rd. is an almost imperceptible uphill. I was hitting it nice and strong with a 22-23 mph avg. which was a little better than the year before so all systems were go. This year like last I knew I was going to go with an all liquid diet. This time I put 20 gel servings in my down tube aero water bottle with water in the aerobar bottle. This would take care of me so long as I kept getting water and I took a gel every 15-20 minutes or 5-6 miles. The only problem I ran into and fellow RAT Doug Steele prepared me for is that I couldn’t get the gel to come out of the bottle. I ended up having to unpop the top each time and simply take a swig. It was a little of a hassle but no biggie. Everything felt OK until about 20-30 miles. It was at this point that we start hitting some of the hills on the brief out and back portion of the course. I felt kind of bloated and heavy through the gut. At the time I didn’t know what was to account for it. I thought maybe it was that I had a tight tuck in aero. I had felt this way before in the days leading up to an Ironman due to the limited amount of training whole really packing on the glycogen. I thought this is just a bad patch that everyone talks about, no big deal. In a way it was for me because in my previous three Ironmans I never really had any bad patches to speak of. I was still able to meet the necessary speeds but I never really got in my “zone.” It’s hard to explain but when cycling I can sometimes just get locked in and motor along without a care or concern in the world. It’s almost as if nothing is going on a round me. I never really found that zone this time. I felt this way pretty much throughout the entire ride. At the beginning of the second loop of the bike we meet up with some of the slower cyclists. For the previous 30-40 miles cyclists were strung out about every 100 meters, now all of a sudden people are everywhere and let’s just say some on the second loop are going considerably faster than those on their first. I’m at 60 miles and they are at 30. It was here that I had a minor mental breakdown. I took a second to see why my rear derailleur was handing up and the second I looked up I ran right into the back of a woman on a very nice carbon steed. Mind you were going uphill so I was probably doing 15 mph and she was doing 5 mph. The speed of the collision caused the rear of her bike to come up to the point that my aerobars actually got stuck in here rear Zipp 808. She was totally caught off guard as was I. It simply took me a couple seconds to get extricated and ask her if she was OK. She said all was good so I said no harm no foul. I felt bad but it was literally right after we made the turn from the second loop and I was used to riding in no mans land and all of a sudden there are cyclists everywhere.

The last 25-30 miles is with the wind and slightly downhill. I looked forward to this portion and knew that as of right then I was on the same pace as last year; thus, the bloating and lethargy was affecting me. I expected with my other race times and improvements in cycling fitness that I would go 10-15 minutes faster than the previous year, given similar conditions. The only thing different this year is that it was considerably windier and maybe that had more of a profound effect than I had previously considered during the race. I managed to take my avg. from 20.5 to over 21.5 by hammering those last 25-30 miles at about a 24+ mph avg. I ended up cruising into T2 at virtually the EXACT same time as the previous year. This left me mentally troubled more than physically. I knew as a swimmer and cyclist I had worked and trained very hard to improve, so to head into T2 with a cumulative time of 6:37 had me perplexed. I think this mental weight was on my subconscious through the rest of the day.

T2 (3:23)

I managed to get my running shoes on and I was out. I did get sprayed down with another coat of sun block on the exit.

Run (4:03:15) Final OP 79th of 1975, AG Final 11th of 342

Once again the transitions were a little shortened. With the run course being changed at the last minute so as to take us over the bridge and move from 3rd to 4th Street to avoid the Governors Cup football game between Louisville and Kentucky, I knew this run would be different. Coming out of transition we made our way to the big bridge that connects Louisville to Indiana. This first two miles took you nearly over the entire bridge only to do a 180. It was here on the out portion that I finally saw Jason Goyanko. He looked good and was able to hold me off on the bike so I knew he was having a good day. My early pace felt comfortable and relaxed and my first few mile splits said I was running about :30 a mile faster than last year! I knew at this point if I could keep that up I’d come close to sub-10 but would surely get a PR. To do this I ran through the first few aid stations; in retrospect, this was probably a mistake. It was now 94 and I could tell much more humid than last year. This meant that instead of drinking 3-4 ounces in each cup as the other half is spilled all over yourself, I should have came to a walk for 10 seconds and simply drank as much as I needed. That’s what I did in my 3 previous Ironmans and I should have stick to that plan. It was in one of these early aid stations coming off the bridge heading south on 3rd Street that I passed Jason. We’d end up leapfrogging each other all day.

They had chip mats to take splits all over the course. At both 4 and 8 miles I was going around 7:30ish pace so all was well. My HR was in check and everything. I was starting to think that the bloating was assisted by simply being erect. One thing was bugging me was that I had some tightness in my lower back. I chalked that up to the fact that I was dumping ice at every aid station down the back of my jersey and the cold was tightening up the muscles. From then on I decided to start putting the ice down the side of my jersey to keep myself cool. Folks who know me know that I’m also a very heavy sweater. In these conditions I lose 2-3 liters of fluid per hour which makes it very hard to keep yourself hydrated. I alternated between Gatorade and water and each aid station. That gives me about 200 calories per hour which is about what I can consume on the run. I also take 4-5 Endurolyes each hour to keep from cramping up and keep my electrolytes in check. This worked until around mile 10. I started to get the GI distress again and this was accompanied by leg cramping—especially in my quads and calves. I began to drink only water to avoid nausea and I didn’t have any additional Endurolytes to take. I started to feel less nausea once I began consuming only water but then I started falling behind on necessary calories.

I did manage to see some folks during the run who cheered me up. I managed to see Scott Baldwin, and Reid and Mary Beth Kaiser cheer me on at the halfway point. That helped a lot. At about mile 15-16 when I headed back out on the second loop things started to fall apart and that’s where for the first time in an Ironman I had to walk. I began to walk and run alternatively. It was weird, when I could run I would go 7:00-7:30 pace, and then I would walk 15:00 miles. I ended up leap frogging with some guys who were consistently jogging. I had more than one of them say to me, “man...when you run...you run!” I was thinking to myself why couldn’t I just keep running. At about mile 20 I started to get sick. I ended up throwing up about every mile the rest of the way in. It was at this time I realized I was throwing up the previous night’s dinner. Now that I’ve had some time to think about it I realized that I simply overate the day before and combined with the very hot conditions my GI system just simply stopped working. So even though I didn’t consume any solids during the race I still couldn’t clear the system. Note to self, don’t go nuts eating the day before the race. I managed to finally feel somewhat better around mile 25 and that’s probably more mentally than anything because I knew the race would be over soon. I realized that once I began to walk even a PR wouldn’t be in the offing so I just did what I had to to get across the line. Interestingly enough I couldn’t help but look at calves as they past me. I didn’t see one person in my AG pass me but since we have the swim TT start this really didn’t mean much to me at the time.

Conclusion, Commentary, and the Kona Roll Down

From mile 21-25 of the run I was simply angry. I was mad at how hard I trained for this day and that it was being wrecked like this. Now that I’ve had some time to think about it I realized one cannot have every Ironman go perfectly. We have to have a bad race so that we actually learn something about ourselves physically, but more importantly, mentally. How do we bounce back from something like this? What changes to we make so it doesn’t happen again? What mental adjustments do we make so that when adversity is countenanced again, how do we blow right through it and march on? These are the questions I’m working on as I write this. One thing was very troubling for me was that I went over 4 hours for the marathon. I didn’t even think about it at the time. If I had run just 3 minutes faster to go sub 4 I would have been going to Kona—more on that later.

I felt good crossing the finish line it was good to be done. I was immediately greeted by my family as well as the Kaisers’ and Baldwins’. They were probably the only ones who could appreciate that my 10:43 was very disappointing. I know I’m very hard on myself but that’s what keeps me focused on goals. I felt good for about 15 minutes and then all of a sudden I stated to feel very sick again. I knew I was very dehydrated so they took me to the med tent. There a nice Dr. decided to give me an IV and let me tell you it felt good—now I know what all the fuss is about when heroin addicts get their fix. Oh man! In about 30 minutes I felt ten times better. I still didn’t have to go pee until the next day. I must have really taxed my system.

I managed to catch up with training buddy Dave Cascio at the day after race brunch. He had a spectacular race and won his age group by an amazing 45 minutes. That’s insane! In fact, he’s ranked #1 in the nation right now in the USAT rankings. The man has really made it back from the brink with his recent knee injury. He claimed his spot and I knew that the chances of me getting a slot at the Kona roll down were minimal. Will Waskes had sent my wife text messages all day updating her exactly where I stood. She would then relay that information to me at transition and on the course. It really is helpful. During the early miles of the run I went from 17th in my AG all the way to 5th only to settle back to 11th after I got sick nearing the finish. What’s amazing was that my race the year before I was 25 minutes faster and finished 10th in my AG and was 66th overall, this year 79th. The total number of races this year was increased by about 400 so I essentially finished at about the same place.

I know Kyle Yost is a student of the complexity and inequity of the Kona roll down process. Maybe he’d like to take a stab at this one. This year they had 45 slots, the same as last. Last year my AG had 297 starters. They managed to get 4 slots increased to 5. This year the same AG had 347 starters and only got 4 slots. I don’t quite understand that one. Oh well. This was altered somewhat when the RD announced that is any of the older male AG slots weren’t claimed than the slot would roll down to my AG. So in effect, there would possibly by 5 slots. Before they got to my AG I got to hear Jason Goyanko’s. He managed to beat me by about 3 minutes I believe, although there was only one spot left available for his AG so he missed out. I think he’s OK with it because the race was PR for him and so he was pretty happy. When they got to my AG it became clear that there were still 2 unclaimed spots ands they were going down through the names quickly. I said to Jason, “this is getting interesting.” Finally that 4th slot was claimed by the guy who finished in my spot from last year—10th. So I missed it by one spot. I looked at my wife because she heard they say that my AG may get another slot so stay around. When they got to the older AG slot the man in his 70s claimed his spot. I didn’t care, I felt good for him. Honestly, I didn’t expect to go and really I shouldn’t. I had a bad race. I underperformed so really I wasn’t deserving enough. My good friend Eric Dempster sent me an e-mail telling me that the guy in his 70s actually did the race in 17:10 so he actually wasn’t an official finisher but due to the TT start Louisville has it stated that you must complete the race 17 hours from when the last swimmer starts so he really lucked out. Eric told me I should take it up with the WTC but like I said before. I didn’t deserve the honor and grandeur that is Kona. Thus, according to Dave Orton I cannot be called KonaKev until I earn the moniker back. I guess I’m letting the subscription lapse for a year. ;-)

All in all, the race was a disappointment in many ways but if in the end I learn something valuable about myself both physically and mentally I will chalk this up as a very valuable race. Lastly, I want to give a shout out to Craig Ellis for finishing his first ironman. He’s going back to Loo for more pain just like me. To Brian Crow for finally getting to PR—good thing you kept running, heh? Also, Neva Fulkerson, wow! She debuts in Ironman with a second place finish and is on her way to Kona. You go girl!

I have a couple surprises coming before the end of the season. The Kunkelian quest has been lengthened and I’m not done with Ironman this year yet!!!!

"Erratic" is the word to describe the early 2008 Tri-season

2008-05-29T10:36:00.008-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted. The last couple months have been a whirlwind of activity; both in terms of work, training, and racing. First, I learned a LOT at the New England Multisport expo at MIT on March 30th. Discussions and seminars I attended there will certainly make me a better triathlete and coach in the future. I'd first like to thank the guys from Total Immersion (TI). Their one hour seminar was eye opening for me in a number of ways. My swimming has already improved. I hope to share with you all some items I learned in time.

Second, I've been traveling a LOT for work. First I was in California, then New Orleans, then Shepardstown, then Tajikistan, then Turkey. Hell I've traveled the world practically over the last 8 weeks. I've managed to keep my training up the best I can but lets just say the word "erratic" comes to mind. For those of you who know me, erratic and Kevin don't go in the same sentence together unless we are talking about my temper--that's a whole another story.

Third, my first race of the year was a debacle all together. I've been trying to erase the water-logged and muddy memory of the Kinetic Sprint all together. Let's just say that April and sprint race don't sit well with KonaKev. As for erasing the 7 week memory, I really couldn't no matter how hard I tried until this past weekend's TTT in Shawnee State Park, Ohio--more on that later. Then of course squeezed in the middle of all this was the "big event" I organize every year for the RATS and that of course being the Tour de Skyline (TdS). It was another crazy and hectic year with the weather not cooperating very much. The weather on DAY 1 was so bad and miserable that if you didn't descend the mountain to start you most likely got turned around by a very insistent Park Ranger who wanted us off the cold and wet mountain. All in all the TdS was a success I along with only 3 or 4 others did the entire 220 mile ride.

My next post will bring you up to speed with what happened at TTT and the Reston Sprint triathlon. those represent the 2nd and 3rd races of the year for me. Now that we are getting to June the training and race calendar really begin to heat up.

Never underestimate The Marathon...

2008-03-29T14:02:00.005-04:00

...if you do, you'll crash and burn. I'm proof in the puddin' as they say. Today I "attempted" DC's own National Marathon. By all accounts, a great event. Great course. Great race direction from Keith Dowling and his crew. They could have used a few more porta potties but don't we say that about every race?

Coming into today I would say I've had a trying offseason in the least. It seems like an eternity ago I was cruisin' down A'li'i Drive. First the pneumonia that had me out of commission with ZERO workouts for 6 weeks. True it was good that was January and not July. Nevertheless, it's taken me a while to get back in the swing of things. I've had some issues with my groin/hip flexor/lower abdominals that has kept me guessing a lot. I've also been very busy with work but it's good to be busy over the winter and early spring so I can open thing up once the warm weather hits. Enough whining and self loathing, back to the debacle that was today's marathon.

My first mistake is forgetting what a marathon is all about. Even as a seasoned Ironman I have the most respect for the event. I still contend that a hard raced marathon is more mentally and physically demanding than an Ironman. I know it seems counter intuitive but to me it's just a fact. Today, I didn't give the marathon it's due respect. Yes I got the requisite 2-3 20+ mile long runs in but I didn't have the volume and all the lactate threshold work that goes along with training for the event. Second mistake was that I did a zero taper. This past Tuesday I hit the RBC bike ride with a vengeance. My glutes and hamis are still sore. I then backed that up with some hard 200s and 400s on the track. Not exactly the taper that your supposed to do pre-marathon. I figured, hell, I'm an Ironman, I can grit it through: wrong! Third mistake, I didn't think about my nutrition the last few days out. Back in my days before triathlon I was meticulous about my training and nutrition. It's amazing that in 3 yrs and 11 months from my last stand alone marathon how quickly you forget all this. I figured, no matter, I'm an Ironman. I can tough it out: wrong again!

The morning of the race was uneventful. I carpooled down with some RR and had a good time seeing some familiar faces. I got so wrapped up that I didn't manage to take care of business before the race (#1 and #2). Not good. 25 minutes waiting in line was apparently not enough. Oh well. As the race started all was good. I managed to see Fabrice and Erica in the great corral system that had been set up. I also ran into Greg Gould a coworker of mine which I've never done before. As the race started I quickly got in a good rhythm. the pace for the first 2-3 miles was in the 7:10-7:20 range. I was breathing easily and relaxed. The pace was even faster than I thought possible. Coming in I thought I'd go somewhere between 3:15-3:30. It looked like I was going to meet that with no problems. Then the GI issues started. Breakfast or dinner was not agreeing with me today. I usually never have these kind of problems. And also because I could take care of business before the race I had to hit just about every porta-potti I saw over the first 6-7 miles. Regardless, I was still in sub 3:30 order. Then the sore hamis and glutes that I thought I could tough through started showing fatigue over the very hilly portion of the course (miles 6-8). This was my 11th Marathon if you include my 3 Ironmans. I mention this because I started getting the mile 20 cramps at mile 9. Not good. It was about here that I decided a 1/2 sounds just about right today. Thus, I managed to keep cruising at around 7:20ish for the last 4 miles and I called it a day. Yes, I'm sad. My first DNF technically even though I completed the 1/2. Look on the bright side, I'll recover quick and starting getting ready for the tri season and I'll actually be able to go hard at next week's Cherry Blossom 10 Miler which represents a special milestone for me. It was 10 years ago that I started in endurance sports. The CB 10 Miler in 1999 was my 2nd race ever. This year will mark my 10th in a row! Now I'll be able to give it it's due. Sorry Brent, it looks like I won't be going to Boston with you, unless I decide to comeback for some revenge this fall. Maybe then I'll treat the marathon with the REAL respect it's due.

Talk to you tomorrow. I'm heading up to Boston for the Multisport World Conference and Expo. It should be an excellent learning experience. They are going to hold some awesome clincs and seminars. For more information see: http://www.newenglandmultisportexpo.com/clinics.html

The 29th Ironman World Championship Race Report

2007-11-20T16:16:00.001-05:00

Race Week

OK. So it’s been a month and I haven’t written my race report. Apparently I’m not as type “A” as everyone else in this Club. With the likes of people like Shawn Clark and Stacy you’re a loser unless you don’t crank out the RR in less than 24 hours. For me, I need to do a little introspection to get my full take on the event. And with this race that was certainly needed. I would characterize this race as an “event” more than anything else. There is so much wrapped into it with the international crowd, to the laid back nature of the Hawaiians, to the crazed press corps, to the ever-exercising participants. As the tri geek that I am I was in continuous visual overload. I could certainly see that I wasn’t the only one. My roomy and fellow Kona participant Stacy Taylor was amped up all week.

Most of you probably followed my blog all week and that only scratches the surface of what it was like to be there. The experience was everything I thought it would be and more. The greatness of our sport is its accessibility. Not only to participate but to follow the daily happenings of the pros and the realization that they are just like you but they have the fortune of making triathlon their career.

Pre-Race

I woke up about 5AM which wasn’t much earlier than I had been. I think I was still on East Coast time or something. I drank my 2 bottles of Ensure and was feeling pretty fresh. The morning of wasn’t much different then the 4 days prior. I got down to “Dig Me” beach a little earlier but I felt very relaxed and confident that it was going to be a good day. Loads of people were already lined up on the sea wall. I got my last minute stuff all sorted out. I pumped up the tires. The guy on one side of me was from Japan and the other side was German. Neither spoke any English. Yup, it was a world championship for sure. Another thing was unique about Kona. The bib numbers are sorted by AG, so everyone on my rack was in my age group. I think there were over 200 in our age group.

After I had that all sorted out, there was about 40 minutes to go until the race. I wandered off to check out the pro bikes and sure enough everyone who is anyone was there. Macca was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Later I learned that’s because the morning he showed up a tire was flat so someone got him a new wheel and tire ready to go. Over by the bathroom sitting all by her self in a meditative pose was none other than the 6-time wonder Natasha Badman. She looked pretty ready to go.

I stood by the ramp down to the water to see the pros start with Kona Stacy. It is here where we got videoed on the Ac tive.com Ironman blog. After the pro gun Stacy and I said “good luck” and a goodbye kiss and hug to one another and we made our way out into the water. I felt pretty relaxed out there treading. I was as ready as I was going to be. Stacy wanted to be way out to the side. I was hoping to find someone I could draft off—yeah right!

Swim (1:20:30; 1350th)

A couple things about this swim put me at a distinct disadvantage over the rest of those competing. One, put simply, I’m not a good swimmer. Second, I have NEVER done a triathlon is salt water/ocean. Three, I have never done a mass start Ironman swim before. You’d think I’d have broached these last two concerns prior to coming to the World Championships, don’t you think?! Oh well, I tried and make the best of it. I eased out into the water a few minutes aft the pros started and put myself right in the middle of everything. Not to close to the start line. I was probably about 20 yards back of the kayakers and surfers watching the line. When the gun went off the washing machine hit the large load dirty cycle. The proverbial washing machine created consistent turbid foam for nearly the first half of the swim. There weren’t a lot of punches or feet pulling but put simply, it was very crowded. I had people right in front, back, and both sides the entire swim. I have never experienced that before. Every one is a while I would look for the mast of the catamaran where we were to make the turn back to the pier. I saw it from way out. It appeared a lot closer and seemed to take a while to get there. It was only once I got to it that realized how massive of a boat it is. This is what made it seems to take forever.

The trip back seemed to go quicker than the way out but I was starting to develop a lot of pain in the neck and under the arms. This kind of thing had happen before in wetsuit races but never without. What I was feeling was the trapped air between my jersey and my skinsuit mixed with the saltwater had rubbed me completely raw in a few areas. Just last night my wife told me a I have a 1”x4” pe4rmanennt scar now on my lower back where all my skin was rubbed off. Lesson learned: when you are going to be doing a LONG swim in the ocean pretty much apply lubricant to your entire upper body. I noticed people doing this to what I thought was an excess before the swim, now I know better. I guess they learned their lesson the hard way as well.

I have to admit that the swim seemed long to me and my time reflected this. I was 6 minutes slower than Louisville which was disappointing because I felt like I certainly worked harder here. Both were non-wetsuit races to I guess the mass crowd start and the effects of saltwater are responsible for the slower time. On the bright side, it was beautiful to be able to see 50ft in any direction and to look at the reef and wish while you cruise along. I certainly haven’t had that fortune at any previous race.

T1 (3:17)

One thing can be said for the transitions at Kona—compact. Because it’s on a pier and that there are nearly 1800 competitors, there’s not much room left to waste. Other then about 30 porta-potties the pier is full of bikes. Nothing too cramped, but efficient. As a comparison to Louisville there was very little running with the bike prior to mounting. I made an effort to rinse off the salt water in the hose tent they have. I wish I had spent a little more time in there. The injuries suffered during the swim only got worse throughout the day.

Bike (5:29:11; 753rd after the bike)

As is always the case, I said to myself within seconds of mounting the bike, “now the race starts.” I managed to keep the mind and body in check and just motored the first 6-7 miles in town. I was checking out the crowds and all the people. It was a true festival of excitement in every sense of the word. Once out of town the first thing I came upon was a bruised and battered Natasha Badman on a cell phone with one foot inside an ambulance. I guess this was only the beginning of a crazy day for the pros. As I headed north on the Queen K past the airport is when the real surreal moonscape takes the fore. You could never feel lonely but I was steadily passing a bunch of faster swimmers/slower riders the whole way. I’d try and strike up a little conversation here or there as I pass like I do in most big/long races. It’s a way to keep me going easy and not pushing too hard. The difference here at Kona was that only about ½ the people in the race speak English. A couple times I got back, “I don’t speak English” with a heavy German accent. Oh well.

As I got out to Waikoloa it became less crowed and more windy. This was only the beginning of the windiest day I have ever had on a bike! It is also where there are some slight climbs and descents. As for the course as a whole I didn’t find the topography all that challenging. I’d say a ride through rural Loudon County is considerably more hilly. But the fact that the land is so barren means that the effect of the wind is greatly amplified. As I made the turn by Kawaihae for the last 20 or so mile to Hawi the winds temporarily subsided until I got about 6 miles from Hawi. It was in the 14 mile stretch where I ran into the pros coming back. First I saw Chris Lieto doing a lot of work by HIMSELF as should be the case. He was followed at this point by Torjborn Sinballe about a ¼ mile back and then about another 1/8 of a mile there was a PACK with Cam Brown, Macca, Alexander, and a lot of others. If these guys were 10 meters apart then I would truly be shocked. About 10 minutes later right before I started the 90 degree right turn for the last 5 miles to Hawi I ran into the woman’s leader at that time which was still Michellie Jones. Now my beef here was that the cross winds were getting wicked. I almost got blown off my bike 3 times in this 5 mile stretch. I knew she was coming up because there was a helicopter overhead and there were two minivans, one on each side of here completely protecting her from the wind. Now, giving her the benefit of the doubt I would say these may have been the medical cars talking to her about her inner ear problems. I hope so because she was getting protected from some vicious winds.

The last 5 miles to Hawi were absolutely brutal. I was fully tucked in aero, certainly pushing somewhere around 230 watts and I was going 14 mph! As soon as we made the turnaround at Hawi was the special needs bag pickup. I got my bag and sat up putting stuff away in my jersey. I looked down at my speed and was going 42 mph while in top gear. Then I got down to business and for 5 miles I avg. 46 mph with a couple peaks over 50! I have never done that anywhere before. It was nuts.

My nutrition strategy on the bike was about the same as the two prior Ironmans. No solid food. 12-13 gels with water (1 every 20 minutes with 10-12 ounces of water) and 4 Endurolytes per hour. Supplemented by the occasional Gatorade or coke diluted with some water. Everything was going along fine until I took the Ensure at the turnaround. I had never done that before but I was craving it. I think that may have been a mistake. After that I felt bloated. I thought I needed it because after fighting that wind for nearly 60 miles, whether it be cross or head on, I was more tired than I should have been. To this day I haven’t nailed it down whether it was the two Ironmans in 6 weeks, or was it the improper fueling that did it. Trial and error and time will tell I guess.

I never felt a precipitous decline in power or output on the way back I was just getting a little tired and I knew I was sweating a lot because my outfit was virtually completely encrusted with salt. Usually from 80 miles on is when I feel my strongest on the bike. At IM Loo this is where I made up a lot of time and avg. over 24 mph. That wasn’t happening here. I was somewhere right around 20 which is pretty much what I avg. all day. As for the chaffing which started during the swim only got worse to the point that I was bleeding in my lower back and on the back of my arms. Another issue that was rearing up, most people know me know that I most of the time don’t use sunblock. Most of the time I get away without it because I don’t usually burn all that easy. This time I knew that the tropical altitude of the sun was going to be a doozy so I sun blocked before the race, and then again before the bike. But before I even got to T2 I could tell I was burning. Thank God I put on what I did because if I hadn’t I would have been roasted. I don’t care who you are ALWAYS wear sunblock in Kona!

On the Queen K just past the energy lab I saw the helicopters coming my way. I knew that meant that the lead men were on the Queen K heading fro the Lab in the other direction. I came upon them and it looked to be one hell of a race at that time. I saw Chris Lieto STILL leading, followed by Macca about 100m back, and then another 100m to Crowie. Having the lead three men within 200 meters had to make for some exciting racing. That gave me a little lift to an otherwise pretty sobering ride through barren lava fields. As I came back to town and down Palani I could see my entire posse in their RATS yellow yelling and screaming. That was a big emotional lift.

T2 (3:38)

I got off the bike and the legs felt quite good which left me excited because I wasn’t feeling all that well over the last 20 miles or so on the bike. I reapplied more sunblock and I was on my way. Thanks to Jeroen pointing out that I passed somewhere around 600 on the bike. It felt like a lot but not necessarily that many. It sounds more impressive than it is. It just means I suck at swimming.

Run (3:54:40; 725th at the finish)

When you exit the transition and make your way up Palani to the turn at Kuakini there are people everywhere. It’s like being in the biggest big city marathon. There is just so much stuff going on. I got to see my posse again as well as tons of other people calling out my name.

You make your way down to Ali’i and then out toward Kehahoe which is where we were staying. You pass lava Java and all the other places that make Kona special. As I got to about 5 miles where you make a turnaround I just didn’t have that killer instinct. I just didn’t possess that mental edge necessary to push oneself to the limit. That same drive and ambition that was free flowing from the well at IM-Louisville just 6 weeks prior had run dry. I wasn’t doing anything differently. I didn’t think it was any hotter or any more humid than at Loo. In fact, the weather conditions were probably better here at Kona. As for my pace and strategy it was the same as well. I was cruising at 8 min mile pace and then walking through the aid stations. I did feel a little more bloated so I wasn’t craving the calories as I should have. I just flipped a mental switch in my brain and I said, “the hard part was getting here...enjoy it.” So that’s what I tried to do.

Because my approach had changed I became chatty with the people around me. As I made back to downtown around mile 9 and was about to head up Palani to the Queen K I saw my load posse again. They were doing their best to cheer me up. I didn’t let them know that I wasn’t really racing anymore. I just said, “I’m gonna keep on truckin’.”

As I made the turn up Palani to the Queen K I knew there’s no way I’m running up that. I still have the Energy Lab to deal with. I walked up the hill and began to run again. My pace never really fell off per se. I still managed to finish with a sub 9min pace. I just walked longer out the back of all the aid stations. As I made my way out to the Lab here came the women’s leaders. The first girl I saw I said to myself, “who was that!” Apparently the announcers were doing the same thing. Not far off of Chrissie’s feet was a hard charging Sam Maglone. She was working hard to catch up. The only other women’s leader I noticed was Desiree Ficker and she was walking. It was clear she was having bad day.

Once I got to the energy lab I met up with a buddy I made during the parade from the Oakland area (my old stomping ground). He has done the race a number of times. We both were feeling about he same. We just decided once we got back on the Queen K for the last 6 miles or so that we would just keep each other company. Sometime I would surge ahead of him and then he would leap frog me. We did this the rest of the way. With about 4 miles to go I was starting to feel better. I think this was more of a mental thing than a physical one. I asked, “we’re going to break 11 aren’t we?” He came back real quick, “no doubt.” With that we began to pick up the pace and barely walk through aid stations. In fact, I skipped the last two all together. As I was coming down Palani I saw the back of Rutger Beke who I had saw earlier coming back from the lab while I was heading there. He was still walking. I told him as I passed, “I really respect you for finishing this race.” He quipped back, “Thanks man. It means a lot.” He’s a real class act.

When I made my way back to Ali’i I knew I have about 600 meters left. I looked for my family. Not all of them were there. Apparently the system sending out splits was delayed and they thought I had about another ½ hour. My oldest son Kurtis was ready to go, other than he didn’t have any shoes on. Oh well, it is Hawaii after all. He proceeded to run down and cross the finish line with me which was pretty special because I didn’t do that in my two previous races.

Initially right after the race I felt pretty good—much better than at IM-Loo. That’s for sure! About 30 minutes later I felt like crap. I always want to stay around and welcome all the late finishers in but I can never make it. I’m either too hungry or too exhausted to care at that point. I did hand out long enough to wait and see Kona Stacy finish with her daughter. Both of them were really beaming with excitement and fulfillment. I’m proud of both of them. After that I grabbed my bike and hobbled down to meet my folks who drive me back to the condo.

All in all I’m OK with my race. I was really bummed at that point and the next day because I thought Kona deserved a better effort from me. I thought Stacy was going to hit me a couple times within the first 24-48 hours after the race. She got tired of hearing me whine and complain. I don’t blame her. I do want to go back someday. I hope to have the fortune to do so again. I’m doing IM-Loo again next year and maybe I’ll accomplish my main goal for next year which is to break 10 hours. If I do that I may be on my way back to Kona.

I can wait to share the rest of my story with you all. To here more you’ll have to come to the Kona special on December 1st Dave Cascio’s. See you there!

Tomorrow is the Day

2007-10-13T02:55:00.001-04:00

The bike is in transition. The bags turned in. The fluids locked and ready to go. The carbs have been consumed (Thai Rin--right next to Lava Java). The bike and it's parts were inventoried by a team from the "Kona bike count." I got a couple last shots and conversations with the pros. I saw Faris Al Sultan quietly reflecting by himself looking out at the water start mid-afternoon. Everything is set. Tomorrow is the biggest event in my athletic life. I'm looking forward to getting it on or as my friends from New Zealand and now Reston like to say, it's time to smack it! I don't know if this foretells anything but the volunteer who accompanied me in transition is the very same USAT official who dinged me for my position penalty at the Reston Triathlon last month. It's a small world, I know. The weather looks pretty favorable. Right now it's forcast for 86 with a 20% chance of showers and only 10mph winds. Things can change here in a hurry. I'm at least savy enough to know that I shouldn't worry about the things I can't change. Wish me luck tomorrow. I'll give it my best. Talk to you all after the race.

Full Kona Kunkel Klan has arrived

2007-10-12T03:42:00.002-04:00

Today started off with the infamous Kona "underwear run." It was very funny and eye opening to say the least. I would say about 300+ folks showed for a brief 1+ mile run around the streets of Kona. We were led by our fearless leaders Paul Huddle and Roch Frey. I was one of the few wearing boxers--sorry no tidy whiteys for me since grade school. After that I managed to get another 1 mile swim in to the Coffees of Hawaii Espresso bar. I finally got to meet Albert (owner) and none other than Gordo Byrn got me my drink of Gatorade. They both got me fired up to join the boys from ironmantalk for Epic Camp New Zealand. God I'd love to do that. After that I got some breakfast at a total dive that coincidently had Heather Fuhr and Paula Newby Frazer at the next table. Seeing all these pros is mind boggling. From there I headed out to the airport to pick up the boys Kurtis and Cameron and my wife Joanne. We are now complete. The day ended with the welcome dinner and entertainment. It was awesome and funny. They showed a brief video that I would give anything to get a hold of. Lastly, for those of you who are going to track me online. You will receive a free video clip of me. It's the first time I think they've done this. Let me know how it turns out. Tomorrow is the day to check in the bike and rest up and just take it easy. For those of you who know that that's no problem---right? NOT!

Day 2: Registered, pro sightings everywhere, and Mom & Dad Arrive

2007-10-11T02:36:00.001-04:00

Today was another crazy day in Kona. I started off with a 1 mile swim. Why 1 mile? because at a half mile the folks from Coffees of Hawaii had an Espresso bar on a catamaran. I can't think of a better place for a stop. As I was about 50 meters from shore I saw a pretty strong swimmer come by on my left so I decided to try and jump on hs feet for the last little bit and I was able to hang pretty well. As we exited the water and looked at who's feet I was on, they were none other than Norman Stadler (see pic at right). After that I hung out with Kona Stacy and went to packet pickup. On our way we ran into Desiree Ficker and I told here to "rock this race!" She said she's, "going for it!" At registration, I ended up being in line next to Kate Major. Yes, the pros have to go through the same lines and process as us mere AGers. We then headed over to Lava Java for some breakfast eats--quite good. I then rode from town to the airport on the bike to pick up my parents and get the minivan rental (for you training factoid junkies, I swam a total of 1 mile and bikes about 20). I can't believe how many people you see swimming, biking, and running all day long and all over the island. I really don't know if that's the smartest approach. I'll quote the late great Bill Bowerman here, "the hay is in the barn folks." Then I finally got mom & dad checked in to their hotel. Yes I brought my parents to Kona on frequent flier miles and I put them in a hotel using points because I'm a good son. It's my little way of thanking them for raising me and hell they've been married for 51 years. They deserve it. Also, my mom has never seen me race...anything!Tomorrow is another short swim followed by the annual underwear run. You know I've got to do that. I can't talk Stacy into it so she'll take pics. Then hopefully I'll make my way out to the airport AGAIN to pick up the rest of my nuclear family. Check in with you all tomorrow.

Finally arrived in Kona

2007-10-10T03:37:00.001-04:00

The two days since my last post haven't gone exactly as planned. My sliced toe still hurts and I managed to come down with a head and chest cold--not exactly what you want before the most important race of your life! I managed to get in today a little after 11AM and my favorite tri cheerleader Stacy Taylor was there to pick me up. We then headed back to the condo (nice recommendation Cascio), built the bike, and then headed out for a 20min swim and a 30min run to loosen the airline induced thrombosis legs. After that we headed to own for the parade of nations. If one thing in my academic career served me well , it was my extensive knowledge of flags. Everyone was looking at me watching the parade to let them know who was up next. Since the U.S. was last we jumped and then paraded with the U.S. delegation (U.S. makes up 761 of the athletes this year). Candy was flying all over the place. Natascha Badman headed the Swiss delegation. Ken Glah and Paula Newby Frazer were Grand Marshals. The parade ended at the Athletes Village where the expo kicked off. I managed to see Bob Babbit, Rock Frey, and got signatures and pics from Michellie Jones and Simon Lessing (see pics to the right). Stacy is keeping me and everyone within earshot in good spirits as she always does. Tomorrow is a swim and bike day before I ride the bike to the airport to pick up the rental car so that I can pick up my parents. My immediate family is supposed to come in Thursday so it's going to get crowded soon. Talk to you all soon!

Kona Tune Up @ Giant Acorn

2007-10-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

Contrary to what many think, I really have had some success with the "reduction in volume, ramp up of intensity" taper. Following that logic I did a sprint race 1 week out from Kona as a tune-up before departure. I don't want to write up a full race report here, but suffice it to say it was a decent tuneup. I had some issues with a sliced toe and a bike computer that decided to fall off my aerobar with 5 miles to go, I manged to get 12th overall and 2nd in my AG. I ended up coming across the line with two friends Seth Flory and Scott Baldwin. My Team Thunderstruck teammate for next year's TTT managed 3rd overall. Eric Dempster, you are a beast. Next time I blog to you all I'll be in the land of the volcano!

KonANTICIPATION

2007-10-06T00:37:00.000-04:00

Bear with me, I'm new to blogging. I thought this would be the best way to keep everyone abreast of what's happening with me over the next couple weeks. What better time then a couple days before I leave to Hawaii to start a bog. Tanks Shawn for the encouragement.

Tonight my triathlon club, Reston Area Triathletes (RATS), threw me a bon voyage party over at Clyde's in Reston. I was really moved. The craziness of the race that is just 8 days away hasn't really sunk in yet. I bet when I land on the Big Island it'll really hit home. We all raised glasses to Stacy "Kona" Taylor as well I'm really looking forward to the whole event. I plan to post daily blog along with pictures and short videos if I can figure out how to make it work. Talk to you all later.