Didn’t See That Coming

Wow, that did not go as planned.  The Auburn Triathlon put me to the test.  It was like a bad dream.   My long-time training partner, Dick Kirkpatrick, always said, “Everybody has to go through a bad race”.  Why do things go wrong?  Maybe to make us appreciate how many times they go right?  Which, thanks to God, has been often for me.  I don’t know what will happen one race to the next, but I do know that God’s steadfast greatness never changes.  That’s what I rely on to keep me going.  Although God’s plans are guaranteed to work, my race plans (as you’ll see) aren’t.  But I feel I’m better from it, I’ll learn from it, and God has good reason for it.  I hope you enjoy the story.. more than I did J

Iron Prayer & Pasta Feed

The day before, Robin & I helped with the Iron Prayer and Pasta Feed.  We had 18 people come to enjoy some good donated dishes and great worship music.  Jeff ‘Landshark’ Landauer spoke on the overwhelming joy the Lord has for us, despite the mistakes we make.  And Pastor Eric spoke on our “sanctification” that comes only from a relationship with Jesus and how, as “solitary triathletes” this reliance on God can be an extra effort.

Prerace Anticipation

I feel optimistic.  God has been blessing me with steady improvement.  Dave Campbell has outfitted me and Mike Statz with MyAthlete™ tracking units.  Mike & I once raced neck-n-neck so there’s potential for a great battle which now can be watched every step of the way on the internet.  My goal: 5:22 - the winning time Robin & I got as a relay last year.  But it’s a tall order trying to bike the same 3:09 and then run the fast 1:40 that Robin clocked in the ½ marathon.  Fortunately the 3-loop run course should be easier this year.

A Strange Cold Wave

It’s May and strangely cold (37° this morning). However,  I don’t think much of it.  Although earlier in the week Robin warned me of very cold conditions, I was feeling confident I could handle anything that could happen in May.  But just in case, I’ll wear swim booties and bike with arm-warmers.

The Swim

The water is cold like Wildflower but that’s ok.  Although the booties slow down my flutter kick, my feet feel great.  Michael Cooke, next to me, is in a shorty… now that’s cold.

Go!  I start fast but quickly loose my groove and never feel really “on it” again.  The fog makes sighting impossible at times.  Everyone is zig-zagging, bumping into each other, and I can’t get a draft.  It’s not going well like at the Morgan Hill Sprint Tri last week.  I don’t feel the power in my stroke.

Staying Positive

Last year I remember it felt like a bad swim but really wasn’t so I keep up the effort.  I’m getting cold during the 2^nd lap… similar to Wildflower.  The final stretch to the ramp is going well.. probably because it is the only target we can easily see.  Getting out, I’m expecting to be behind.  Robin’s on the ramp  and cheering that it’s a good swim.  Sure enough, 32 min, under my goal.

T1

The booties are also great for running on pavement.  I see Sherwick has already come-and-gone.  Booties, wetsuit off.  Racebelt, T-shirt (opted for extra cold protection), arm-warmers on.  Pack everything into a bag (the volunteers bring the bags to the finish line). Helmet, glasses on.  Wow, 3:48, this is a slow transition.

The Bike – Cold!

Man, it’s cold!  I’m wearing a tank-top race suit with arm-warmers (I unroll them while I ride) and a light T-shirt.  No socks (for running through transition with my bike), gloves or leggings.  My fingers suddenly are freezing.  I actually planned to wear gloves but forgot.  I pull the arm warmers down over my hands.  Now my arms are cold, too.  I’ll ride hard on the steep climbs of the first 6 miles in order to warm up.  I push harder, but am getting so cold at the same time.  I’m standing every chance I can get.  I dread any moments of speed that bring on the wind chill.  My feet were fine at first, now they’re cold.  I wish I had socks which Sherwick suggested.

Struggling

I’m not climbing well at all.  I’m shaking and don’t want to go off the road.  I long for each steep climb but the warmth doesn’t come.  Everything is a blur.  I only see the road in front of me.  I keep trying to move;  against my body’s response to shutdown.  Suddenly, a cyclist turns to face me and yells, “I just can’t get warmed up!”  Scared me. Trying not to crash into him.  It’s hard to form words.  I feel sorry for him… and the others that are unprepared.  But I know my situation is getting dire as well.

Falling Behind..

I was excited to shoot for a 3:09 bike and to race against Sherwick, Mike and Lance.  But after 6 miles of hard climbing effort, I’m only falling behind.  I’m miserably cold and getting worse.  My muscles are tense and the pedals are turning slowly.   I’m being crippled by cold.  It brings out every little pain.. a past shoulder injury, a strain behind my neck, the bottom of my feet.

This just isn’t right.  It’s not how I pictured it.  Sherwick and  Mike are pulling ahead.  Lance might be right behind.  I can’t get going.  The thought of 50 more miles is too much.  I’ll be curled up on the side of the road after 6 more.  I want to quit…. to curl up in a warm house.  But dropping out isn’t an option.  I still know that often when we think we’ve exhausted our options, God has more.

A Bad Dream

My house is nearby.  I could get clothes and continue on.  But if I do, hope of a 3:09 bike is gone.  Lance & Mike would be out-of-reach.  It’s a tough decision.. but the shivering is making it easier…

It feels like a dream because my mind is making decisions and I can see that I’m in a race, but I don’t really feel the pedaling, the effort, or the bumps in the road.  It’s a sinking, anxious feeling as I see myself pulling off the course at Burlin Wy into my neighborhood.  Good.. no one follows me.  This is crazy.  It’s a bad dream.

I’ve had bad racing dreams:  Like running a hot, dusty race in jeans instead of running shorts; or being in an Ironman, realizing I didn’t set up and having to go home during the race to get my gear.   It’s mile 6 and this is my bad dream - a big race, my home town favorite, expectations, supporters… and I don’t have the right clothes on.

I ride 0.3mi to my house, run into my bedroom and start grabbing clothes:   leg warmers, socks, warm gloves and a jacket.  It’s going quickly but then I try to put them on.  I didn’t realize how much I’m shivering until I need to stand still.  Finally I run out and onto the bike.  The girls and babysitter were watching a video in the other room and didn’t really notice me.. which was good because I didn’t want to explain… I’m still in a race, every minute counts.  I enter back on the course where I left (does that make it all right?).

Kryptonite

I’m pressing on now with full coverage.   I’m still cold, the descents are miserable and it’s going to be a long 56 miles… but I’ll make it now.  Thinking back, I only remember the climbs, not the descents.  I’m blocking them out.  I am remembering the volunteers.. they’re dressed up goofy and very enthusiastic.  They have so much energy.  I am missing mine.  Have I used it up by standing so much?  Or has my body diverted the blood from my legs to my organs?   I feel like Superman strapped with kryptonite.  Ah!  Maybe it’s this MyAthlete™ tracking device I’m wearing… maybe it operates on power it sucks from my body!  Ok, but something has happened to my energy.

10 mi – Leaving  Auburn

Bob Funk, who started 5min back, goes by and then looks back in surprise.  Dave Campbell, who started 30min back in the Sprint race, also goes by, nicely tucked into an aero position.  I cheer them both on.  I’m starting to take notice of what everyone is wearing and admiring their toughness.  Dave is skinny, too, but he’s only wearing a singlet and shorts.  A couple girls near me are also wearing only 2-piece suits.  I’ve got a race suit, arm warmers, leg warmers, T-Shirt, jacket, socks and gloves.  I know everyone is cold and wishing for warmth but they’re pressing on and really impressing me.

16mi – Place Hills Rd

My toes are numb.  I’m concerned if I ignore them, they’ll never have full feeling again.  While coasting, I pull them out and massage them with my hands.  It brings some feeling back.  I keep climbing.. but slowly.. like I’ve been riding for days and have nothing left.  I take Gels from aid stations and drink Heed. 

26mi - Colfax

I have to sit on the ground in the sun and work on my feet.  I shake ‘em around and rub them until I feel some blood going there.  I have to get going because I know people are watching my motionless beacon on the internet (MyAthletegps.com) thinking, “Come on, Troy, get moving again..”  Just like I did for so many hours tracking Michael Cook’s progress in last year’s Race Across AMerica.  Or Pablo’s world record dribbling attempt at the Napa Marathon.  You stare at the beacon on the map, hoping and praying it gets moving again, wondering what is going on in their mind and how sore their muscles are.  And then the blinking dot starts moving and you cheer.  So I get my blinking dot off the ground and start pedaling again.

I say Hi to Lance flying the other direction across the Placer Hills Rd overpass.  He looks at me surprised.  We were both expecting to be dueling it out.  My body is warmer now, except for the cold feet.  I’m taking more advantage of the down-hills.  I can’t climb worth beans but I can make up time with my descending skills.  It’s fun flying down to the Bear River Campgrounds and passing a few people.

30mi – Plum Rd Climb

At the start of the tough climb out, I feel a little more confident and think, “I won’t use my easiest gear, I’ll just stand and ‘power up’ in my #2 or #3”.  After about 100 ft I concede to the hill and decide, “ok, I better shift to my easy gear”.  But when I look down, I’m already in it.  Wow, this is a tough day.

32mi – The Top

Finally at the top, I make a good descent down and take my first drink of Perpetuem.  Immediately I start feeling sick.  I’m only at mile 33 but everything’s feeling more like the end of an Ironman.  At 35mi, a 60 yr-old passes and asks how my foot is doing.  How does he know about my long time foot injury?  Oh, he must’ve saw me massaging my cold feet earlier.  “They’re ok, just cold”.  He replies, “I’m from Minnesota, if they aren’t frozen, they aren’t cold.”  That put things in perspective.

39mi - Applegate

A girl goes by that looks like Jami.  I finally assess that, yes, it could be her.  I want to catch her to say hi.  What a rare moment to race side-by-side.  But I can’t catch her.  She probably didn’t know it was me all bundled up.  I feel bad I never got to say anything.  The surge has now made me feel completely empty. 

42mi – The Out-n-Back

We start the out-n-back.  After a mile I feel wasted.  I stop again, this time to stretch and try getting rid of the “cement” feeling in my legs.  Am I the last one in the race?  Is a sag wagon about to pull up behind me to tell me what the bike cut-off time is?  But then I make the turn-around and learn a lesson.. no matter how far back you are, or, similarly, how hard your life is, there’s always someone behind you.  In fact, there are many back there, and they’re all trying hard which makes me continue to try hard.

49mi – Two More Hills

I’m riding behind a guy who just did Ironman St. George, Utah (according to his jersey).  More proof that I’m still in it and not just bringing up the rear with beginners and those that have changed multiple flats.  But then we hit “Lemond Hill” and as we push harder his bike starts screeching like a traumatized hawk.  He tells me calmly that his rear wheel is rubbing the frame.  Indeed, he has the new Cervelo P4, like Sherwick, with horizontal drop-outs, and the greater force on the chain is pulling the tire against the carbon fiber frame.  Talk about a bad dream, the harder he pushes up the hill, the more resistance against the frame.

One last hill up to Bowman.  I think of Dave’s recent video of the Amgen Tour.  The pro’s made this hill look so easy.  At the top, the real Jami Min comes by.  “Are you all right, Troy?”  “Yes, just slower today”  I work hard to stay up with her. “Are you all right, Jami?”  “Yes, just a flat tire. I’m in catch-up mode”.  We go back-n-forth, pushing a little harder, encouraging each other.  We’re both looking forward to the possibility of running together.

55mi – The End

With a mile to go, and almost 50 min over my time, I’m still pushing as hard as I can to the bike finish.  I think of when I watched Lance Loveday sprint all the way to end of a bike race in which he was off the back early with a mechanical.  Because he never stopped trying, he still beat ½ the field.

T2

Coming into T2.. it’s great to see Francie Campbell’s smile as she directs bikes into the narrow transition chute.  The St. George Ironman guy with the screeching bike is ahead of me - walking his bike.  Patience, patience.. ok, finally he’s running.  I sprint towards the racks.  Yesterday, Jami & Sherwick set up my shoes here and Robin put a balloon on them to help me find them.  At the ‘Pete Kain’ rack I head diagonally right and then get help from Jami behind me.  “Over there, Troy”. “Thanks, Jami”.   I rack my bike at the balloon.  Jami racks hers next to me, drops her helmet, whips on her shoes and blasts out of transition.  I’m still unzipping leg warmers and pulling off my jacket.  I hear my lovely wife (already finished with her race) behind me still cheering for me even as far back as I am.  I want to tell her all about it but now I’m jogging out to the trails.  I’m glad that the MyAthlete™ tracking told the story so she and Dave could be assured that I was only slow and not in need of medical help.

The Run

I’m glad to be running.. where I can control my temperature better.  I love this course.  My biking legs weren’t working but maybe my running legs will be.  Onto the NID (canal) trail, one of our favorite training paths.  I can’t see Jami way ahead but I hope to catch her after my legs loosen up. Mile 1: 8:51

Instead of feeling better my knees start hurting.  I shorten my stride and use my arms more.  The best part, the long downhill, is no friend to my knees.  It’s going to be a long day. Mile 2: 8:29

I see “Mile 2”, but I also see “Mile 6” and “Mile 11” signs as this is a 3-loop course.  How I wish those bigger numbers were mine.  I won’t catch Jami but I cheer for her on the out-n-back.  I also see Mike Statz (on his 3^rd lap) doing great.  The aid stations and the volunteers are awesome today, very enthusiastic.  I catch up to Sherwick (on his 2^nd lap), and even pull ahead for a bit, until the climb where he powers ahead. Mile 3: 8:00

The 1^st lap ends with a steady climb.  My knees hurt so I stop for a moment to stretch.  Again I picture someone tracking me on the web saying, “Come on, get moving.. there you go!”  Gotta keep going. Mile 4: 10:58

Lap 2

I finish lap 1 (Mile 4.2) in 9:09 pace.  I’ve been eating gels and drinking a lot because I didn’t get many calories on the bike. Mile 5: 9:07

I keep trying to push but the knees complain when I do.  I hear many volunteers calling my name.  It’s our eLevation Church aid station!  What a boost!  I’ve been looking forward to seeing Anna.  I stop and ask her for something to think about to get me to the finish.  She says, “We prayed for you on the bike and you made it”.  Then Ariel comes over with a big smile and I’m surprised how big she looks.  How long have I been out here?  I have to leave but I can’t wait to see Robin and the girls again on my last lap. Mile 6: 8:53

I see Michael Cook running his last mile. He says, “Catch me, Troy”.  But I’ve got another lap to go.  While descending this section, there’s a great view of the American River below where the Auburn River Festival and kayaking competition is currently happening.  I can see the paddlers tackling the section of man-made rapids.  It’s a beautiful day but I bet that water is cold. Mile 7: 8:32

I see Ryan Moll that I met at Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon.  He’s walking on his 1^st lap but runs with me for the moment.  I encourage him and tell him, “God can be glorified even walking.  Keep moving”  It’s his first ½ Ironman.  He’s concerned about the 2pm cut-off time.  I pray for him.  He’s hurting but I can tell he’s got a good attitude and is open to God’s help.  He can make it.  I take some Coke and start the climb.  Mile 8: 10:27

Coming through the finish area again I see Nicole Cook taking pictures.  She’s always in the right spot and takes the best pictures!  And Dylan is always close by.

Lap 3

I finish Lap 2 (Mile 8.4) in 9:22 pace.  I grab some jelly beans to start my 3^rd loop.  Then I spit them out.  Sounded like a good idea.  Mile 9: 9:43

One more time through the eLevation aid station.  I yell to Robin, “My last lap.  I love you!”  She did such a great job organizing our church’s volunteer effort for both the aid station and the Iron Prayer and Pasta Feed yesterday.  Mile 10: 8:57

I see Dean Davis coming up and I laugh when he points to me and says, “Sanctification”.  We learned the word from Pastor Eric yesterday and I’m glad to be reminded of it now.  I reflect on all God does for me, and that only in Him am I made clean from all the mistakes I make every day.  There’s Jami, kicking it in before her final climb to the finish and I see 2 girls like wolves right on her heals. “Give it all you got, Jami!” (she goes on to win her age division)  Mile 11: 8:32

This time the “Mile 11” sign is for me.. it’s been tough but sure enough the miles are now behind me. After the turn-around at the bottom of the hill, I chug a cup of Coke and lean into the climb, trying to finish with my best effort.  I pass Bob Funk. He says, “I knew you’d catch me, Troy”.  I reply, “I didn’t”. Mile 12: 9:37

Even though I’m ahead of Bob, he’s really ahead of me because he started in the 44 and older wave.  It’s still an accomplishment catching him.  I’m glad I kept pushing.  On the grass at Railhead Park, my smile starts growing.  Ah, the beautiful finish!  I finish the last lap 3 (Mile 12.6) in 9:10 pace.  My run split is 1:55:46 (9:11 ave)

Finished!

God is good.  I’m happy.  I don’t even know some reasons why I’m happy.  I didn’t hit my goal, I didn’t give someone a run-for-their-money, but I just know that I did something right after doing some things wrong and best of all I hung out with Jesus part of the day and He assured me there’s more to this day than meets the eye.  I’m looking forward to finding what it is…

It’s great to hear Lance’s good ride and winning team.  He’s had some “bad-dream” races lately and I’m glad his prayer from the day before was answered.

This was the first event Bob & I got to race together and it was special as he won his 60-64 age group.  I’m glad I got to see it unfold.

Dean finishes and tells me a moving story about organ donation in his family and the amazing results & joy it brought to others.  This takes me back to one of the happiest opportunities of my life.

I give Dave the tracking device back and tell him its battery drained all the energy out of me.  He laughs.  For those of you that tracked my progress, you know it wasn’t a close race, but you did see me keep going which is better than my original plan to drop out and sit in my house (hmm, I can imagine sitting down to check my own progress on MyAthlete… ‘look at me, I’m not moving…Come on, Troy, get going!)

I hope you all find strength, or at least creative ways to get warm, in the sudden cold moments of life  J

What Happened?

As I write this days later, I’m sick and have a stiff neck.  During the race, the intense cold caused my neck to tighten up and, ironically, I’m now using ice to loosen it up.  So what went wrong Sunday morning?  I wasn’t protected from the cold.  Instead of pouring energy into my legs, my body was diverting blood back to my core.  Instead of a higher heart rate up the 6 mile climb, mine was dropping as I went.  Once chilled, even the extra clothes couldn’t reverse the blood back to my legs.  They remained sluggish & cold.

After the race I weighed in 10lbs underweight.  Perhaps the extra biking and work the week before wore me down.  This may have led to being more cold.  Getting sick after the race shows another reason my body chose to conserve rather than race.  Also, I just didn’t plan well leading up to the race.  With the excitement from previous races I took for granted how well everything was going.  More rest would have helped.

I’m excited to plan better for the next race!  But most importantly, may the Lord’s will be done, not mine.

OUR FAMILY & FRIENDS

(Click on pics to enlarge)

Michael Cook

Jami Min

Anna Waiting for Daddy

Elevation Aid Station