Last year, I attempted to make my triathlon comeback at the end of the season with an off road triathlon in September. In the days leading up to the event the swim was cancelled due to cold temperatures and then the event was cancelled due to snow. I moved on to the off season and set my sites to New Orleans 70.3 race. I chose this race because it was early season. Once May 1 rolls around I typically don't know what is on my schedule due to coaching, working the lake and kids activities so I wanted an early season focus race.
Without getting into a lot of detail I was doing great three weeks out from the race. After completing the Mile High Multisport training camp in Vegas, I was convinced I could go close to 5 hours on this course. About 2.5 weeks before the race and just after returning from Vegas I woke up one morning with an ache just below my knee on the outside of my leg around the fibular head area. It hurt to walk. I started getting treatment and within a day or two my ITB flared..great. I completed a 60 mile bike two weeks out then put the bike away, no running either so I decided to swim, complete light weights and stretch. During this time my body gave me no indications that it was healing and my confidence going into the race quickly evaporated. I worked on positive self talk, wrote down all the sacrifices I had made since breaking my back in 2008 and repeatedly asked myself if I was willing to walk away from all this and not race. I told myself to not worry about what others thought as they truly had no idea what I have or am going through but my mind continued to torment me. I developed a mantra "my mind will be stronger than my body" and I prayed. I prayed a lot.
Kathy and I have always said that racing is "just a test" to see how we handle adversity. In the end, our body always responds positively and that any bumps in the road are just tests. Kathy is much better at handling tests than I am. She has this unique way of just letting "stuff" roll off her back. At times I want to pinch her and see if there is someone inside her skin when "stuff" pops up. So in the weeks leading up to the race I was anxious and nervous. I started to question if I wanted to race. After all, I wanted a great come back race. I knew I could finish this distance. I had put in a lot of effort and my training results were positive. Considering I couldn't run a mile in March of 2011 I couldn't have been happier with my level of conditioning Yet the tests kept coming. My father was hospitalized in March and remains in the hospital to this day (in fact as I'm writing this report he is in surgery for a third time). He sounded bad and my mother told me he looked bad. I couldn't help but question if I was being selfish by racing when I should be back in Chicago helping my parents. I had already gone back in February for 10 days and my mom assured me there was noting I could do to help. It' just a test I kept telling myself.
Two days before the race we headed to the airport for what my wife tells me is a 7:20am flight. I remember discussing with her what time we wanted to arrive in New Orleans so we could test ride our bikes and drive the bike and run course. We arrived at the kiosk and "Can't check luggage 12 hours in advance" "WTF?" She booked flights out in the evening not the morning. We tried standby for two flights to no avail and went back home. It's just a test!! We finally arrived in hotel room and to bed around 1 a.m. We wake up the next morning, look outside, raining and driving winds which meant no checking out our bikes before the race. We headed to the athlete meeting and the swim is cancelled and replaced with a 2 mile run because the forecast calls for 20-40 mph winds. If I'm being honest here I'm telling you I seriously thought about bailing on the race. Injured, tired, mind on my parents, no swim (again) and a forecast of 20-40 mph winds!! This isn't what I had in mind. Then my son calls and says his girlfriend isn't feeling good, describes her symptoms and Kathy says you better get her to the ER ASAP. She ends up being admitted to the hospital. We had the "it's just a test" conversation for the millionth time and head back to the hotel room where I took a bath to try and relax. All along I'm asking myself what the downside is of not racing for me personally and how it would look as a coach who bails on a race. If an athlete were calling me right now what would I have told them to do? (I know it wasn't what I was thinking).
Later that day we decided we weren't sitting inside all day and went and explored New Orleans. The city was full of life. We saw some incredible street musicians and a few weddings parading through the streets with bands. We eventually went out to dinner and had a long talk about our options for the next day. The bottom line was that we would make a decision in the morning that was centered around safety and nothing else. If we woke up and it was gusting over 20 mph we wouldn't race.
The following morning I slept through my alarm. Kathy woke me up, told me she had already looked outside and almost went back to bed. I looked outside and the trees were bending. I didn't say a word, I just started getting ready. We both finished packing our gear and headed out the door. We went downstairs and outside and it was not only windy but freezing. We got in the car and headed out to the race course.WE didn't talk a lot and didn't even play music in the car.
We arrived at the course, set up transition and put on every layer of clothing we had brought with us. The flags were blowing pretty hard and it was cold but we waited until about 30 minutes before the race to make a final decision.We landed on we might as well race since we were here. If at any time we deem the conditions to be too harsh we can stop racing. There were a lot of empty slots in the transition area and a race official said a lot of people didn't even come back up their packets.
Given the new format the 50+ males started approximately 15 minutes behind the pro's and the one para athlete. We were paired in twos and I was about 8 pairs back. Every 5 seconds we would take off. Just before the start, Sister Madonna Buder showed up sporting a Boston 2012 shirt ( I would later see her out on the run course). My goal for the initial two mile run was to use this as my warm up and that is exactly what I did. I was wearing a jacket and this run helped me realize I was over dressed. I ran 8:19's and transitioned into the bike.
My goal on the bike was to be smart and exercise caution until I got a good feel for the weather and how my legs would respond. The wind was still blowing hard and there were some significant white caps on the water to my right as I headed out of town. I sat up for the first few miles as the wind was pushing me around pretty good and I wasn't comfortable in my aero position. I could still see the white caps blowing in the water and with the wind howling I chose to spin at a higher cadence and in the small ring until my legs felt good. I had about 10 people go by me and I noticed they were all in the big ring but I stuck to my game plan. I was in my aero bars now but stuck to the small ring. Around mile 10, I switched into the big ring and found a cadence which I felt comfortable I could hold. I raced naked (no computer no garmin)today because given my over thinking the past few weeks I didn't want to over analyze any race day performance. I always tell my clients to not judge the performance while the performance was happening so I continued to focus on maintaining a higher cadence, keep a clear mind and pick off people who were a head at a steady pace. I started to pick off the people who had passed me earlier and by mile 15 I was by myself for with the exception of a few who I could barely see up ahead. My pre race morning nutrition was a little off since I over slept and wasn't 100% sure I was racing so I made sure I stepped up my calorie intake early on in the ride. I had brought enough calories for a 3 hour bike ride and finessed it all although I rode a 2:26. (21.3 MPH)My bike nutrition was spot on as I had great energy the whole ride. I finally saw the pro's going the other way when I was around mile 20. I maintained a steady cadence and was looking forward to the turn around so I could see other cyclists since I continued to ride mostly by myself. I caught a few more folks just before the turn a round. On the way back in, I saw Kathy and knew she was having a strong ride since she wasn't that far back. I was passed by a few in younger waves but no one in my age group. On a TT start you never know where you are position wise so I kept riding my race. I continued to ride alone with an occasional youngster blowing by.
I entered into transition and saw a few guys from our rack running out. There didn't seem to be many bikes in our rack so I thought I might be racing well. As soon as I started running my legs let me know they weren't happy. Not having done an endurance event since 2004 I had no idea what I was in for on this run. Not to mention I hadn't run except one time since returning from Vegas. I focused on form and breathing and tried to get into a good rhythm. The first mile came fairly quickly and I remember thinking that wasn't so bad. The wind was in our face and around the 1.5 mile mark my inner thigh cramped. I stopped and stretched and it played with me for about a half a mile. A few weeks ago one of the athletes I coached (Susie Wargin from 9 news) who qualified for Boston had posted she was dedicating each mile of her race to certain people who played a role in her getting to Boston. I decided to borrow this concept and started dedicating the mile to people who had played a role in my comeback). I worked on maintaining good form although I was told later I didn't look so good. In the first 3 miles I passed 3 guys in my age group. Since I was running about 8:45 miles I was starting to get passed by some really fast age group runners and some pros who were on lap number two. I saw Kathy coming the other way and told her to catch me so we could run together. I saw one of the athletes I coach who told me she wasn't feeling it today and I yelled back to "then find a way to feel it and race to the finish". (she eventually had the fastest run split in her age group and took 4th.) Around mile 5 I latched on to a small group of guys who went buy who were holding a decent pace and had great form. I just sat on their shoulder to the next aid station. I walk through every aid station to get my nutrition and hydration so I lost the group. Around Mile 7 Kathy came by and asked me if I wanted her to run with me. She had just been passed by a women in her age group and I told her "no go, get her" (she never caught her and took 2nd by 2 minutes). Miles 7-12 were not fun but I kept thinking the same things. Running for the person I had dedicated the mile to and maintaining my form. I was passed by 4 guys in my age group in the last 4 miles but I thought to myself, I passed 3 and got passed by 4 so I only dropped one spot from where I came in (this actually turned out to be accurate as I was 13 off the bike and finished 14th out of 59 in my age group.
I saw Kathy heading up the last climb before she made the turn from home and I proceeded around the last circle to make my way to the finishers shoot. As I came around the corner I heard the announcer calling Kathy in. The last little climb was brutal on my legs but I saw a guy in my age group ahead and caught and passed him although I later learned he was just starting loop number two. As I made the turn for the finish line I felt someone come up on my shoulder and knew I didn't have anything left for a sprint the last 1/4 mile. Thankfully it was a younger age group female and I was relieved I could just cruise on to the finish.
I had dedicated the last mile to myself to signify all the hard work I've put it since getting into a car accident in 2004 and a cycling accident in 2008. There were so many people who played a role in getting me to where I am today but I knew that the person who made the biggest difference was me. The attitude I put forth in working through being inactive for a number of years and the desire to get back to racing. If I didn't want this bad enough it would have never happened. I wasn't pleased how I handled the last two weeks. I put myself and my wife through a lot of worry for nothing. The body sends a lot of mixed signals just prior to a race. Funny how none of my "injuries" affected me on race day. Once again.. "It's Just a Test".
Kathy had waited for me at the finishers shoot and we embraced. She told me she was proud of me and that meant a lot. My finishing time was 4:44. I figured with the cancelled swim and a shortened bike that if the wind hadn't played a factor in the bike leg I would have been close to my goal time. I ended up running a 1:58 which was only 10 minutes slower than my stand along half marathon time from February.
We waited around for Kathy to get her award and then went home for a much needed shower and nap. That evening we experienced the finer cuisine of the French District and then on to Bourbon street to experience some beverages, sites and music. In the end, everything turned out just fine and once again we passed the test.
Technically I still haven't completed my comeback because I haven't completed a triathlon. I will do that with an Xterra race in June and Sprint/Olympic distance races in Steamboat in July and August. I am contemplating a local race at the end of May but I want to see how I recover first and how my next adventure goes in early May.
Thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes before the event. I apologize for thinking "I wish you would all just go away so I could race in complete anonymity". (To my buddy Jeff who I actually told this to, I've already said I'm sorry but this time it is print. ) Next up is a 150 mile ride on the Mountain Bike from Fruita, Colorado to Moab, Utah. No race, just a bike ride and hopefully no tests along the way!!
