Ironman Western Australia

Participant: Ronnie Michael
Race: Ironman Western Australia
Date: 5 Dec 2010
Swim: 1:19:41
T1: 6:34
Bike: 6:51:36
T2: 4:16
Run: 4:40:32
Finish: 13:02:42

This was my first full Ironman. I developed my own training plan with a lot of help from a variety of sources; however, the number one source of information that I referred to over and over again was beIronfit by Don Fink. This book provided me with a lot of useful information with regards to tips and techniques to training and time management. As I approached the start for my 19 week training plan, which started on 26 July 2010, I had worked really hard to establish a fitness base. From 26 Jul to 30 Sep, I averaged 14 training hours per week, which always included an endurance swim, track workout, speed workout in the pool, indoor cycle trainer workout, a long bike (Saturday), and long run (Sunday). Later in the training, I started incoorporating brick workouts on Saturday I would do a long bike followed by a short run and Sunday would be a short bike followed by a long run. By the end of October, my training hit a rough patch. I found myself over trained and lacking motivation. A local race, the Izena 88, which I DNF'd for pushing too hard, helped me get over the hump and caused me to reevaluate my nutrition and fluid plan, and gave me the motivation to push on to the IMWA starting line. My longest training week was 19 hours, my longest bike was 9:21 (139 miles), my longest run was 19.5 miles, and my longest swim was 1.5 hours, which I did on four occasions.

Pre-Race:
The family and I arrived in Australia on 30 Nov. I decided ahead of time to book with Tri Travel Tours in order to take the stress out of working the logistics of getting hotel accommodations and the travel between Perth to Busselton, which is a three hour drive. We arrived in race town on 1 Dec and were able to get in a short swim and short run the same day. The weather was hot with an occasional shower and windy conditions, but calm seas. The following day was cool and breezy. I got in a nice swim but the water was choppy and the current was horrible (the nervousness started setting in). The point of my explanation is that the conditions were so varied that it was tough to predict what the conditions would be like on race day.

The Carbo Dinner was awesome. The food was hot and delicious. The energy was off the charts. Mike Reilly did a wonderful job as the Master of Ceremony. John MacLean, Ironman Hall of Famer and first paraplegic to complete the Ironman World Championship, gave an amazing speech about the obstacles that he had to overcome in order to compete and complete the Ironman event. The Carbo Dinner was concluded with the race brief that went on way too long.

The race registration on Friday was easy. A flash of the photo ID and my bag was handed to me, one side step to get my chip and tada, registration was done. Seriously, I have been to marathons that the registration process was more difficult. The bike and transition bag check-in on Saturday was very smooth. There were no long lines and the volunteers were awesome.

On race morning, I woke up 2:45am in order to catch the 3:30 bus from the hotel to transition. I ate two bananas and drank a bottle of water on the bus. In the transition area, I took care of all the pre-race requirements (marking and check-in), filled up my bottles with water and Gatorade, put air in my tires, took care of the obligatory morning nature call, checked in my street clothes bag and let the long wait begin. The air temperature was 65 degrees. Transition closed at 5am. Funny story: About 5 mins before the transition area closed there was a huge boom (someone's tire blowing), which was followed by a sigh from everyone in the transition area. Hopefully, the person that blow their tire was in the transition when it happened or they got a nice surprise in T1.

Swim – 3.8 Km (2.4 miles):
The swim was an out and back course set up around the historical Busselton Jetty. The swim was straight out, left turn at the IM buoy, a 75 meter swim paralleling the beach, another left turn at the IM buoy and straight back to the beach. At 5:45am, the race was on. Most of the swimmers set up on the right side of the race course in order to make a straight line to the end of the jetty; however, I set up on the far left to avoid the crowd. For the most part I swam by myself until I reached the first turn buoy. Even swimming in a crowd was uneventful. I made the second turn, got a good sight on the beach, which I remember as being a hell of a long way, and started swimming. The second portion of the swim course is a blur, I think I just zoned out. The only thing I remember thinking was that I was swimming through jelly fish, but wasn’t getting stung, and that my wetsuit was rubbing my neck raw even though I put on a lot of Body Glide. I exited the water feeling really good. A quick look of the clock, which read 1:19, was surprising in the fact that I anticipated a 1:30 swim finish.

T1:
By the time I made the 300 meter run from the swim exit to the transition tent, a volunteer was holding my bag in one hand and had a hand full of sunscreen in the other. As I made my way into the tent, the volunteer was right behind me applying sunscreen. I stopped at the first available chair and another volunteer quickly stripped my wetsuit. I dumped my transition bag and the volunteer started putting my wetsuit away. I took my time in transition to ensure that I had everything, and set off to grab my bike. On the way to the bike I grabbed a cup of Gatorade to get the nasty salt taste out of my mouth.

Bike – 180 km (112 miles):
The bike was a three lap, flat course. My goal was to maintain a low heart rate so that I could push hard on the run. The first lap was great. As I headed out of town for my second lap my right pedal came loose and ultimately came off. When the pedal came off, it ripped out two threads from my crank arm. As I was trying to put the pedal back on with my hand, a race official came by to assist. He radioed up a Shimano mechanic, but unfortunately, it took the mechanic over 30 minutes to get to me. A volunteer had offered me a pedal wrench, which the mechanic accepted (Note: No outside assistance is allowed and I wasn't going to accept anything from anyone). The mechanical issue cost me 45 minutes. I continued to maintain a low heart rate even though I wanted to make up lost time. Also, I forced myself to eat and drink. In fact, I drank so much that I had to stop every 15km in order to use the toilet (I really need to learn the art of urinating while riding). As I came off the bike, I handed my bike to the catcher, grabbed my bottle of fuel and off to T2 I went. My 6:51 bike finish was upsetting considering that my goal was sub 6:00, but I quickly put it behind me and moved on to the run.

T2:
This transition was uneventful; I felt really good going into the transition tent. I quickly dumped my running shoes and hat out of my bag, started shedding my cycling stuff and stuffing it into my transition bag.

Run – 42.2 Km (26.2 miles):
I left transition feeling awesome. The run course was a flat, four lap course. My legs were fresh, and I had to remind myself that I had a long way to go. The temperature had warmed up in the high 70s and I noticed that everyone’s running attire was covered in salt. I decided that I needed to increase my electrolyte supplements in order to keep from crashing. The first and second laps were easy; I was maintaining a pace of 8:30, and feeling great. My legs started to go on the third lap. Not only were my legs suffering, I started having some stomach issues. It did not matter what I ate or drank I would get a huge air bubble in my stomach. By the fourth lap, I found myself walking more than I wanted. I was lucky to find a few individuals that did not mind my ridiculous chatter and I would run until my body told me to stop. At one point, I started playing tricks with myself. I would tell myself that I would run for .25 miles and then walk for .25 miles, but rather than running.25 miles, I would run .5 miles. It was great. The best part of the whole race was the last 30 seconds, when I was diverted down the finisher’s chute with my family cheering for me, crossed the finish line and heard Mike Reilly say, “Ronnie Michael, you are an Ironman”. It was an amazing feeling. The volunteer, who caught me at the finish line, put the medal around my neck, wrapped my finisher's towel around me and quickly escorted me off the stage and to the after race tents, where we could get a massage, fluids, our finisher’s shirt and a hot meal.

Just like that, the race was over. After 226 hours of training since 26 Jul, which includes 66 miles of swimming, 1,777 miles on the bike and 489 miles of running, it all ended with four words, “you are an Ironman”. I am now part of the family of endurance athletes that have endured the hardest one day race on Earth.

Thanks to all those that supported me through all the training. A special thanks to my wife and kids, who sacrificed their time with me so that I could be part of this amazing experience. The one question I have been asked the most is, would you do it again? My answer is, "hell yeah, I've got a personal record to beat now. In fact, I've already got the race picked out, IM New Zealand 2012."

Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore

The Bucket List

Really... I have never been the type to plan for anything beyond five years. Since joining the Marine Corps in 1990, my mentors and leaders have always said to create the "big blue arrow" or in layman's term where you want to end up after a given action. I have used five years as a doable option. I always keep my plan flexible in the event that the needs of the Marine Corps dictate otherwise. However, one particular event earlier this year changed my philosophy.
On May 29, 2009, my grandfather and hero passed away as a result of a traumatic brain injury. Fortunately for the sake of the family, he had planned and paid for 99% of all the funeral arrangements, to include picking out his casket, gravestone marker, burial plot, etc. well in advance. In fact, most of the funeral arrangements had been made in the late 1970's. Not only did his advanced planning save a grieving family from having to make additional decisions, it saved his estate a lot of money.
Although, I still have not summoned up the courage to plan for the days following my demise, I have started considering those things that I want to do before I die. There has been some attention given to this area following the Morgan Freeman/Jack Nicholson movie titled, "The Bucket List". There are even Facebook Groups for people to share their "bucket lists". I have even discussed with my family the things they want to do before they die.
One of the things that I have noticed in reading the many bucket lists, is that some people have put unachievable goals on their lists, like "be less judgemental". I wanted my list to include things that can be checked off so that I know I have achieve it when the time comes. I heard my Grandfather say many times, "I thought I would only live about 10 years after retiring". He actually lived 27 years after retiring.
So I know you are are thinking, "get to it already", so here is the much anticipated Tri3-Mike Bucket List:

1. Take my wife on an around the world cruise.
2. Pay for my children's educational expenses.
3. Backpack thru Europe with my family.
4. Thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with my son.
5. Complete an Ironman Triathlon.
6. Complete the Badwater 135 (a 135 mile race that starts in Death Valley and finishes at Mount Whitney).
7. Complete the Furance Creek 508 (508-mile bicycle race that crosses ten mountain passes, and stretches from Santa Clarita, across the Mojave Desert, through Death Valley, to Twentynine Palms and has a total elevation gain of over 35,000 feet).
8. Complete the Race Across America (a 3,000-mile bicycle race from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD).
9. Live in Spain.
10. Become a motivational speaker.
11. Complete at least one tour as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Eagleman 70.3 Race Report

PARTICIPANT: RONNIE D. MICHAEL
SWIM: 42:56
SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION: 4:02
BIKE: 2:50:48
BIKE TO RUN TRANSITION: 6:45
RUN: 2:02:39
FINISH: 5:47:08

My first HIM was not a disappointment. My family and I traveled up to Cambridge, MD on Friday morning arriving around 2pm. We stayed in Salisbury which is approximately 35 minutes away from Cambridge and the race start. We arrived early enough on Friday to head out to the race start and catch some of the set up preparations. I walked the transition and then drove the bike course. To my delight 50% of the course had been recently paved. It just looked smooth and fast.
On Saturday morning, I woke early, fed the butterflies in my stomach and started preparing the gear. That afternoon I drove to Cambridge for packet pick up, the pre-race meeting and to rack my bike. Coming from a marathon background, the HIM expo was not as spectacular as I had expected. There were fewer than 10 vendors and most were selling the same stickers and products.
The packet pick up was flawless. The volunteers were great. I stepped up to the first table where my USAT card and personal ID was checked. I was given my packet and amenity bag. At the next table I was given an Eagleman transition access bracelet and my race shirt. At the third and final table, my chip was scanned, all the information was verified and packet pick up was complete.
The pre-race meeting was brief. The race director briefed the course and the dos and don'ts which was no different from the instructions provided in the packet. One point that caught the participants by surprise was that the large race number had to be worn on the back during the bike leg. Following the pre-race meeting the race was on to rack the bikes.
On race morning, I woke at 4:15am (my wife says that I never went to sleep) and arrived at the transition area just after it opened at 5am. I was lucky to have plenty of room to set up my transition area. After setting up my area I walked through the course several more times and identified the features for my transition area.
My swim wave started at 7:27am. I sited to the first buoy and made the turn. The second turn buoy was equally as uneventful. As I reached the third turn buoy, something happened, a stinging sensation ran up my arm. I realized that this must be what a jelly fish stings feels like. My son only mentioned jelly fish no less than two dozen times the night before after hearing someone come out the water on Saturday saying that the jellyfish are terrible. I came out of the water at 42:56.
My transition was anything but smooth. I spent just over four minutes getting all my trash together. Plus, I dumped all my chow out trying to put my jersey on and scrambled to get everything together. The big mistake here was having too much stuff in my pockets and having a clutter in the transition area.
As I mentioned earlier, the bike course was smooth and fast until I hit the head wind at mile 38. Up to this point I was averaging a 22 mph pace. Once I hit the head wind, my time and legs suffered. At mile 42, I was getting ready to pass a bike that I had been following for the last three miles when I heard a motorcycle coming up from behind. I delayed my pass in order to give the motorcycle time to pass. However, it seemed like he was staying right off my rear tire. This was not uncommon since several vehicles had come up on us, followed along and refused to pass. After about a minute, the motorcycle (or race official) pulled up alongside flashed a red card identifying a four minute penalty and told me that I had been drafting off the lead bicycle for over 30 seconds. My irritation at myself for being so stupid and the realization that I was going to have four minutes to rest gave me the motivation to push my pace for the next 14 miles. The penalty tent for my infraction was just past inside the transition; hence, the six minute transition time at T2.
After the penalty, I was ready to get started on the run. I increased my pace out of the transition to almost 8:00/mile pace. At mile 3, I felt the stomach cramps coming on. Luck was on my side, at the next water stop there was a table of potato chips and saltine crackers. I grabbed what I could carry and started forcing myself to eat. Starting at mile 4 I had to walk every mile until the cramps subsided at mile 8. At mile 10, I decided to push it in. By mile 11, my legs gained a life of their own. I finished the run in 2:02:39, just two minutes over my goal.
This was a great experience and one that I plan to do again, real soon!

Game On

Let the training begin..... I have registered for the Eagleman 70.3 which is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run in Cambridge, Maryland on 14 June.

Below is some history of the Eagleman Triathlon from the website:

The EagleMan Triathlon had its roots as The Oxford Triathlon in 1980 under the stewardship of Oxford, Maryland native Fletcher Hanks. Hanks was a true triathlon pioneer and was one of the first triathlon race directors to offer prize money. In 1990, he moved the race to nearby Cambridge across the Choptank River into Dorchester County and renamed it " The Endurance". After Fletcher suddenly retired in 1992, we stepped in to continue the tradition of this venerable race , with the hope of one day returning it to the list of Ironman Qualifiers. The event was renamed in honor of the majestic bald eagle, the symbol of freedom and opportunity and an inhabitant of Dorchester County and the vast Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, thru which much of the bike course goes. This event is as mentally and physically demanding as any Ironman 70.3 race. The water conditions can be very choppy and and rough and the bike and run courses, while flat, can and often do get very windy and hot. There is little shade to be found. The shear challenge of these conditions cannot be underestimated. This race will select only the mentally and physically toughest to travel the "Road to Kona". BE READY TO SOAR!

In 2008, Paul Amey won the overall male event by finishing in 3:53:33. The female winner, Joanna Zeiger, finished in 4:22:32. The course record was set by Tim DeBoom in 2002 with a finish time of 3:44:07. The female course record holder is Natascha Badmann, who in 2007 completed the course in 4:08:18.

Training

Hello... I'm Tri3-Mike and I'm a train-aholic... Ok, train-aholic may give the connotation of the person at the alcoholics/drug anonymous seminar that ends up homeless because of their addiction. My addiction isn't taking me down the road toward homelessness. Although, my wife and dedicated supporter (or the addiction facilitator) may say otherwise. However, I'm obsessed with training. Whether that training is for the next race (marathon or triathlon) or maintaining a training base, I put 100% effort into the training cycle.

During my marathon training program, I wake at 4am, have a cup of coffee, and I'm on the road before 5am. My weekday runs average five miles. There is a combination of recovery, cardio and anaerobic built into the weekday run. For the weekend long run it is phased run: warm-up, moderate effort, several sprints between 100 meters to a half-mile and cool down. The long runs start out at eight miles and build to 30 miles a month before the race. I minimize training to one run a day, include an upper body workout at least twice a week and swim two times a week.

My family has endured more highs and lows than I care to count. During the training cycle, I am the guy that comes home at 7pm, eats dinner, and falls fast sleep on the couch (usually while talking to the "addiction facilitator"). They support me on my weekend long runs, riding ahead in the car and waiting for me to jog up, take a water bottle and gel, and give a set of quick instructions on where to meet me next. They endure the grumpy beast that comes with the inevitable over training. They are always out on race day even in the rain and cold or extreme heat.

My addiction has effected quite a few dear individuals. My running partner and best friend (who I will call Tom or the "instigator", to protect the guilty) was the one who provided the fuel for the addiction. It was the instigator, who on an innocent run in December 2003 suggested that as our New Year's resolution we should train for and run the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon. Over the last six years, the instigator has endured many runs which exceeded the pre-determined pace or distance. He takes my annoying competitiveness with a grain of salt. Although, it is usually he who picks up the pace, I'm the one that gets the blame. However, he never allows himself to become too addicted, like the time I announced that I was going to run the Bull Run Run, a 50-mile trail run through the Bull Run Mountains in Virginia, "that is just a crazy idea" was his response. Even my berating comments had no effect, he was not "that dedicated". Then there are those that as an addict, I have have pulled into the web.

LaVonda and Ed (names changed to protect the innocent) , my sister and brother-in-law, who became addicted to running in 2004. LaVonda and Ed are proof that anyone can take up running. She was never an athlete and let's just say that they both had some excess tonnage. In March 2005, we ran the Sea Side Half Marathon. Then in January 2006, they ran their first marathon (Disney Marathon) which I proudly ran with them to share the moment. Since those early days, they have ran many half and full marathons. They are now triathletes and have become train-aholics.

At some level we are all addicted to something (at least, I'm convinced that I'm not the only one with a problem). If running, cycling and swimming are the worst addictions that I ever have, I have succeeded in life.

Tri-ON,

Mike