Treasure Island 2006
by Charles Seegel @ The long road to IronmanSo if you have been following my blog and race career to this point and let’s face it, how could you not be following this gripping and compelling story of woe and triumph :-) then you know that my swimming has been less then stellar over the last year. That was until I became “Lord of the Swim”. Armed with my new optimism and the realization that there is no way my race could actually be worse then last year’s, I entered the water at Treasure Island.
My goals were simple, 1:15 swim (a large improvement over my 2hour nightmare last year) and a 4:15 total race time (again a big improvement over getting pulled from the course last year just short of transition). In my wildest dreams (and yes my wildest dreams are about racing, don’t judge), I might go 1 hour swim and maybe near 4 hour total race but these were stretch goals to fantasize about (your judging again!)
The swim: a 750 meter triangle that we circle twice to reach the nearly 1 mile swim distance. Just prior to getting into the water I notice that there is one guy in my wave who is not only not wearing a wetsuit but is wearing baggy basketball shorts for the swim! I assumed he was crazy but more about him later. As the swim horn sounded I just started swimming and swimming. I first came up to catch my breath about 2/3 of the way to the first buoy ... and I wasn’t alone!!!!! I was on the back end of my wave but still with the actual group!!! This is an unheard of event and brought much joy to my heart! Imagine my surprise when I hit the first buoy at 9 minutes! I tried not to get too excited as I expected to slow a bit as I tired but I was 1/6 of the way through the swim at a sub hour pace and actually ahead of 1 swimmer! I just kept swimming and then doing sidestroke to catch my breathe much like last year but this time I was doing significantly less sidestroke. As I passed the ½ way point I was at 28minutes, still under my stretch goal and feeling good! It wasn’t until I rounded the last buoy that I was actually starting to really fatigue and slow, but now the finish line was only 250 meters away and I was still in sight of a sub hour swim so I just pushed through and kept going and going. I crossed the swim mat in 57:29, more then an hour faster the last year!!! It is really hard to describe how excited I was at this point, but if you have read any of my last few entries then you understand what was riding on my having a good swim and here it was.
I had a pretty slow transition but I haven’t spent any time working on it (Lord of the Swim sounds sexier then Lord of the Transition). After 7:04 in transition I finally made it out onto the really bumpy and pothole ridden 4 mile bike loop that we would have to repeat 6 times. At first I just thought that I wasn’t quite warmed up from the cold water but after about 6 miles, I was getting very worried about how much my legs were burning. The course was pretty flat so I shouldn’t be burning. Then I realized that this is what it feels like to actually race! I have never “raced” before because I was always more interested in just finishing then I was in my finishing time, but today was different. I was a man on a mission. If I could just manage 15mph on this technical course then I might actually have a shot at sub 4hours, so I just let all ride. If I fell apart on the run then so be it, but I was going for it. At about this point I saw mister no wetsuit again, still wearing the same long baggy shorts on the bike. As I looked closer, I realized that he didn’t have a seat on his bike! He was riding from a standing position the WHOLE TIME! This guy was hardcore and I can only imagine what his plans are for the run. I finished in 1:36:33 which was well ahead of my estimate and actually placed me right in the mix of all of the slower people in my age group and left me about 1:15 for the run after my leisurely 3:56 T2. Actually, I wouldn’t call it leisurely but I just felt like I was forgetting something so I lingered to make sure I had everything. I had everything and was ready to hit the course... almost literally. I hadn’t done any brick workouts in quite some time and I had never run after riding that hard in my life, I started to run and my legs just didn’t want to come along so I nearly fell. The first mile was miserable! I walked and shuffled for a while but I was moving so slowly that there was just no way that I could possibly make the 4 hour stretch goal so I would have to be content with a 4:15 and a great personal swim time. That is until I reached the first turn around ( the course is an out and back course that you do twice) and saw that I was at 18:25. 18:25!! That is right at a 12 minute pace! How in the world did I go that fast with how slow I felt! Reenergized and starting to feel some spring in my legs, I started to push a bit to make my goal time before my legs could realize what was happening and revolted on me. As I was making the turnaround for my 2nd loop, I saw Mr no wetsuit no bike seat guy out for his run... Pushing his kid in a stroller... and beating me... by 30 minutes!! Anyway, I am not pushing the run like I pushed the swim and the bike mainly because I have got nothing left to push with. My body is done but I had built a little bit of a buffer so if I can just maintain 12 minute mile for the last 3 miles then I should be able to clear 4 hours. Not only do I maintain 12 minute pace, but I manage to go 1:09:40 and PR my 10K and finish the race in 3:54:42!!!! That is 3rd form last in my age group but still an absolutely amazing race time for me!!! The day is a spectacular success and I have most of my TNT family around me to share it with me (which is good since they can take a big chunk of the credit for getting me here).
As tradition dictates from last year, I had to come back on Sunday for the sprint race. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t take too long in the water to realize what happens to your body when you really “race”. The lead weights that has taken the place of my arms were not nearly as effective today but I still managed to finish in just over 20 minutes. I won’t bore you with the details of the race but needless to say that I was significantly slowed by fatigue from the previous day. That being said, I still had a good day and finished in 1:54:32. Not bad for being tired and sore. The real high point of the day was being able to find enough left in my legs to run some of my friends in to the home stretch where the crowd energy would get them to the finish. It was great being able to share in their accomplishment and maybe help them a little with the last little hurdle. Congrats to Leslie, Heather, Jean, and the entire TNT fall team for a great race and thanks to everyone who helped me in the last year to get me to my finish line!
My goals were simple, 1:15 swim (a large improvement over my 2hour nightmare last year) and a 4:15 total race time (again a big improvement over getting pulled from the course last year just short of transition). In my wildest dreams (and yes my wildest dreams are about racing, don’t judge), I might go 1 hour swim and maybe near 4 hour total race but these were stretch goals to fantasize about (your judging again!)
The swim: a 750 meter triangle that we circle twice to reach the nearly 1 mile swim distance. Just prior to getting into the water I notice that there is one guy in my wave who is not only not wearing a wetsuit but is wearing baggy basketball shorts for the swim! I assumed he was crazy but more about him later. As the swim horn sounded I just started swimming and swimming. I first came up to catch my breath about 2/3 of the way to the first buoy ... and I wasn’t alone!!!!! I was on the back end of my wave but still with the actual group!!! This is an unheard of event and brought much joy to my heart! Imagine my surprise when I hit the first buoy at 9 minutes! I tried not to get too excited as I expected to slow a bit as I tired but I was 1/6 of the way through the swim at a sub hour pace and actually ahead of 1 swimmer! I just kept swimming and then doing sidestroke to catch my breathe much like last year but this time I was doing significantly less sidestroke. As I passed the ½ way point I was at 28minutes, still under my stretch goal and feeling good! It wasn’t until I rounded the last buoy that I was actually starting to really fatigue and slow, but now the finish line was only 250 meters away and I was still in sight of a sub hour swim so I just pushed through and kept going and going. I crossed the swim mat in 57:29, more then an hour faster the last year!!! It is really hard to describe how excited I was at this point, but if you have read any of my last few entries then you understand what was riding on my having a good swim and here it was.
I had a pretty slow transition but I haven’t spent any time working on it (Lord of the Swim sounds sexier then Lord of the Transition). After 7:04 in transition I finally made it out onto the really bumpy and pothole ridden 4 mile bike loop that we would have to repeat 6 times. At first I just thought that I wasn’t quite warmed up from the cold water but after about 6 miles, I was getting very worried about how much my legs were burning. The course was pretty flat so I shouldn’t be burning. Then I realized that this is what it feels like to actually race! I have never “raced” before because I was always more interested in just finishing then I was in my finishing time, but today was different. I was a man on a mission. If I could just manage 15mph on this technical course then I might actually have a shot at sub 4hours, so I just let all ride. If I fell apart on the run then so be it, but I was going for it. At about this point I saw mister no wetsuit again, still wearing the same long baggy shorts on the bike. As I looked closer, I realized that he didn’t have a seat on his bike! He was riding from a standing position the WHOLE TIME! This guy was hardcore and I can only imagine what his plans are for the run. I finished in 1:36:33 which was well ahead of my estimate and actually placed me right in the mix of all of the slower people in my age group and left me about 1:15 for the run after my leisurely 3:56 T2. Actually, I wouldn’t call it leisurely but I just felt like I was forgetting something so I lingered to make sure I had everything. I had everything and was ready to hit the course... almost literally. I hadn’t done any brick workouts in quite some time and I had never run after riding that hard in my life, I started to run and my legs just didn’t want to come along so I nearly fell. The first mile was miserable! I walked and shuffled for a while but I was moving so slowly that there was just no way that I could possibly make the 4 hour stretch goal so I would have to be content with a 4:15 and a great personal swim time. That is until I reached the first turn around ( the course is an out and back course that you do twice) and saw that I was at 18:25. 18:25!! That is right at a 12 minute pace! How in the world did I go that fast with how slow I felt! Reenergized and starting to feel some spring in my legs, I started to push a bit to make my goal time before my legs could realize what was happening and revolted on me. As I was making the turnaround for my 2nd loop, I saw Mr no wetsuit no bike seat guy out for his run... Pushing his kid in a stroller... and beating me... by 30 minutes!! Anyway, I am not pushing the run like I pushed the swim and the bike mainly because I have got nothing left to push with. My body is done but I had built a little bit of a buffer so if I can just maintain 12 minute mile for the last 3 miles then I should be able to clear 4 hours. Not only do I maintain 12 minute pace, but I manage to go 1:09:40 and PR my 10K and finish the race in 3:54:42!!!! That is 3rd form last in my age group but still an absolutely amazing race time for me!!! The day is a spectacular success and I have most of my TNT family around me to share it with me (which is good since they can take a big chunk of the credit for getting me here).
As tradition dictates from last year, I had to come back on Sunday for the sprint race. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t take too long in the water to realize what happens to your body when you really “race”. The lead weights that has taken the place of my arms were not nearly as effective today but I still managed to finish in just over 20 minutes. I won’t bore you with the details of the race but needless to say that I was significantly slowed by fatigue from the previous day. That being said, I still had a good day and finished in 1:54:32. Not bad for being tired and sore. The real high point of the day was being able to find enough left in my legs to run some of my friends in to the home stretch where the crowd energy would get them to the finish. It was great being able to share in their accomplishment and maybe help them a little with the last little hurdle. Congrats to Leslie, Heather, Jean, and the entire TNT fall team for a great race and thanks to everyone who helped me in the last year to get me to my finish line!
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Treasure Island 2006
by Charles @ The long road to Ironman
So if you have been following my blog and race career to this point and let’s face it, how could you not be following this gripping and compelling story of woe and triumph :-) then you know that my swimming has been less then stellar over the last year. That was until I became “Lord of the Swim”. Armed with my new optimism and the realization that there is no way my race could actually be worse then last year’s, I entered the water at Treasure Island on Saturday for the Olympic distance race (1500 meter Swim, 40 K Bike, 10 K Run).
My goals were simple, 1:15 swim (a large improvement over my 2hour nightmare last year) and a 4:15 total race time (again a big improvement over getting pulled from the course last year just short of transition). In my wildest dreams (and yes my wildest dreams are about racing, don’t judge), I might go 1 hour swim and maybe near 4 hour total race but these were stretch goals to fantasize about (your judging again!)
The swim: a 750 meter triangle that we circle twice to reach the nearly 1 mile swim distance. Just prior to getting into the water I notice that there is one guy in my wave who is not only not wearing a wetsuit but is wearing baggy basketball shorts for the swim! I assumed he was crazy but more about him later. As the swim horn sounded I just started swimming and swimming. I first came up to catch my breath about 2/3 of the way to the first buoy ... and I wasn’t alone!!!!! I was on the back end of my wave but still with the actual group!!! This is an unheard of event and brought much joy to my heart and a spring to my step (impressive while swimming)! Imagine my surprise when I hit the first buoy at 9 minutes! I tried not to get too excited as I expected to slow a bit as I tired but I was 1/6 of the way through the swim at a sub hour pace and actually ahead of 1 swimmer! I just kept swimming and then doing sidestroke to catch my breathe much like last year but this time I was doing significantly less sidestroke. As I passed the ½ way point I was at 28minutes, still under my stretch goal and feeling good! It wasn’t until I rounded the last buoy that I was actually starting to really fatigue and slow, but now the finish line was only 250 meters away and I was still in sight of a sub hour swim so I just pushed through and kept going and going. I crossed the swim mat in 57:29, more then an hour faster the last year!!! It is really hard to describe how excited I was at this point, but if you have read any of my last few entries then you understand what was riding on my having a good swim and here it was.
I had a pretty slow transition but I haven’t spent any time working on it (Lord of the Swim sounds sexier then Lord of the Transition). After 7:04 in transition I finally made it out onto the really bumpy and pothole ridden 4 mile bike loop that we would have to repeat 6 times. At first I just thought that I wasn’t quite warmed up from the cold water but after about 6 miles, I was getting very worried about how much my legs were burning. The course was pretty flat so I shouldn’t be burning. Then I realized that this is what it feels like to actually race! I have never “raced” before because I was always more interested in just finishing then I was in my finishing time, but today was different. I was a man on a mission. If I could just manage 15mph on this technical course then I might actually have a shot at sub 4hours, so I just let it all ride. If I fell apart on the run then so be it, but I was going for it. At about this point I saw mister no wetsuit again, still wearing the same long baggy shorts on the bike. As I looked closer, I realized that he didn’t have a seat on his bike! He was riding from a standing position the WHOLE TIME! This guy was hardcore and I can only imagine what his plans are for the run. I finished in 1:36:33 which was well ahead of my estimate and actually placed me right in the mix of all of the slower people in my age group and left me about 1:15 for the run after my leisurely 3:56 T2. Actually, I wouldn’t call it leisurely but I just felt like I was forgetting something so I lingered to make sure I had everything. I had everything and was ready to hit the course... almost literally. I hadn’t done any brick workouts in quite some time and I had never run after riding that hard in my life, I started to run and my legs just didn’t want to come along so I nearly fell. The first mile was miserable! I walked and shuffled for a while but I was moving so slowly that there was just no way that I could possibly make the 4 hour stretch goal so I would have to be content with a 4:15 and a great personal swim time. That is until I reached the first turn around ( the course is an out and back course that you do twice) and saw that I was at 18:25. 18:25!! That is right at a 12 minute pace! How in the world did I go that fast with how slow I felt! Reenergized and starting to feel some spring in my legs (more valuable now then in the water), I started to push a bit to make my goal time before my legs could realize what was happening and revolt on me. As I was making the turnaround for my 2nd loop, I saw Mr no wetsuit no bike seat guy out for his run... Pushing his kid in a stroller... and beating me... by 30 minutes!! Anyway, I am not pushing the run like I pushed the swim and the bike mainly because I have got nothing left to push with. My body is done but I had built a little bit of a buffer so if I can just maintain 12 minute miles for the last 3 miles then I should be able to clear 4 hours. Not only do I maintain 12 minute pace, but I manage to go 1:09:40 and PR my 10K and finish the race in 3:54:42!!!! That is 3rd form last in my age group but still an absolutely amazing race time for me!!! The day is a spectacular success and I have most of my TNT family around me to share it with me (which is good since they can take a big chunk of the credit for getting me here).
As tradition dictates from last year, I had to come back on Sunday for the sprint race. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t take too long in the water to realize what happens to your body when you really “race”. The lead weights that has taken the place of my arms were not nearly as effective today but I still managed to finish in just over 20 minutes. I won’t bore you with the details of the race but needless to say that I was significantly slowed by fatigue from the previous day. That being said, I still had a good day and finished in 1:54:32. Not bad for being tired and sore. The real high point of the day was being able to find enough left in my legs to run some of my friends in to the home stretch where the crowd energy would get them to the finish. It was great being able to share in their accomplishment and maybe help them a little with the last little hurdle. Congrats to Leslie, Heather, Jean, and the entire TNT fall team for a great race and thanks to everyone who helped me in the last year to get me to my finish line!
My goals were simple, 1:15 swim (a large improvement over my 2hour nightmare last year) and a 4:15 total race time (again a big improvement over getting pulled from the course last year just short of transition). In my wildest dreams (and yes my wildest dreams are about racing, don’t judge), I might go 1 hour swim and maybe near 4 hour total race but these were stretch goals to fantasize about (your judging again!)
The swim: a 750 meter triangle that we circle twice to reach the nearly 1 mile swim distance. Just prior to getting into the water I notice that there is one guy in my wave who is not only not wearing a wetsuit but is wearing baggy basketball shorts for the swim! I assumed he was crazy but more about him later. As the swim horn sounded I just started swimming and swimming. I first came up to catch my breath about 2/3 of the way to the first buoy ... and I wasn’t alone!!!!! I was on the back end of my wave but still with the actual group!!! This is an unheard of event and brought much joy to my heart and a spring to my step (impressive while swimming)! Imagine my surprise when I hit the first buoy at 9 minutes! I tried not to get too excited as I expected to slow a bit as I tired but I was 1/6 of the way through the swim at a sub hour pace and actually ahead of 1 swimmer! I just kept swimming and then doing sidestroke to catch my breathe much like last year but this time I was doing significantly less sidestroke. As I passed the ½ way point I was at 28minutes, still under my stretch goal and feeling good! It wasn’t until I rounded the last buoy that I was actually starting to really fatigue and slow, but now the finish line was only 250 meters away and I was still in sight of a sub hour swim so I just pushed through and kept going and going. I crossed the swim mat in 57:29, more then an hour faster the last year!!! It is really hard to describe how excited I was at this point, but if you have read any of my last few entries then you understand what was riding on my having a good swim and here it was.
I had a pretty slow transition but I haven’t spent any time working on it (Lord of the Swim sounds sexier then Lord of the Transition). After 7:04 in transition I finally made it out onto the really bumpy and pothole ridden 4 mile bike loop that we would have to repeat 6 times. At first I just thought that I wasn’t quite warmed up from the cold water but after about 6 miles, I was getting very worried about how much my legs were burning. The course was pretty flat so I shouldn’t be burning. Then I realized that this is what it feels like to actually race! I have never “raced” before because I was always more interested in just finishing then I was in my finishing time, but today was different. I was a man on a mission. If I could just manage 15mph on this technical course then I might actually have a shot at sub 4hours, so I just let it all ride. If I fell apart on the run then so be it, but I was going for it. At about this point I saw mister no wetsuit again, still wearing the same long baggy shorts on the bike. As I looked closer, I realized that he didn’t have a seat on his bike! He was riding from a standing position the WHOLE TIME! This guy was hardcore and I can only imagine what his plans are for the run. I finished in 1:36:33 which was well ahead of my estimate and actually placed me right in the mix of all of the slower people in my age group and left me about 1:15 for the run after my leisurely 3:56 T2. Actually, I wouldn’t call it leisurely but I just felt like I was forgetting something so I lingered to make sure I had everything. I had everything and was ready to hit the course... almost literally. I hadn’t done any brick workouts in quite some time and I had never run after riding that hard in my life, I started to run and my legs just didn’t want to come along so I nearly fell. The first mile was miserable! I walked and shuffled for a while but I was moving so slowly that there was just no way that I could possibly make the 4 hour stretch goal so I would have to be content with a 4:15 and a great personal swim time. That is until I reached the first turn around ( the course is an out and back course that you do twice) and saw that I was at 18:25. 18:25!! That is right at a 12 minute pace! How in the world did I go that fast with how slow I felt! Reenergized and starting to feel some spring in my legs (more valuable now then in the water), I started to push a bit to make my goal time before my legs could realize what was happening and revolt on me. As I was making the turnaround for my 2nd loop, I saw Mr no wetsuit no bike seat guy out for his run... Pushing his kid in a stroller... and beating me... by 30 minutes!! Anyway, I am not pushing the run like I pushed the swim and the bike mainly because I have got nothing left to push with. My body is done but I had built a little bit of a buffer so if I can just maintain 12 minute miles for the last 3 miles then I should be able to clear 4 hours. Not only do I maintain 12 minute pace, but I manage to go 1:09:40 and PR my 10K and finish the race in 3:54:42!!!! That is 3rd form last in my age group but still an absolutely amazing race time for me!!! The day is a spectacular success and I have most of my TNT family around me to share it with me (which is good since they can take a big chunk of the credit for getting me here).
As tradition dictates from last year, I had to come back on Sunday for the sprint race. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t take too long in the water to realize what happens to your body when you really “race”. The lead weights that has taken the place of my arms were not nearly as effective today but I still managed to finish in just over 20 minutes. I won’t bore you with the details of the race but needless to say that I was significantly slowed by fatigue from the previous day. That being said, I still had a good day and finished in 1:54:32. Not bad for being tired and sore. The real high point of the day was being able to find enough left in my legs to run some of my friends in to the home stretch where the crowd energy would get them to the finish. It was great being able to share in their accomplishment and maybe help them a little with the last little hurdle. Congrats to Leslie, Heather, Jean, and the entire TNT fall team for a great race and thanks to everyone who helped me in the last year to get me to my finish line!