Bora Bora....

Running the Coast Line in Bora Bora....

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Ironman Louisville

Post Leadville race I took the first flight out on Monday morning back to LA for work.  Surprisingly I felt pretty good.  I was a little stiff but overall was doing fine.  Carla, Daley, Joleen and I got up at the crack to drive back down the mountain out to Denver airport.  Everyone was a little tired, but pleased that both Daley and I were able to get a finish and a buckle in Leadville.

Race Start with Carlita
When I landed in LA I called up Massage Envy to get a 90 minute massage and pounded down the amino acids, vitamins and joint supplements.  Rest, a massage and eating healthy post are is critical to a speedy recovery, which is what I'd need to do in order to finish Ironman Louisville.  The race was in 6 days and I had only been in the pool twice and bike three times.  The longest bike distance was 34 miles.  I couldn't be accused of over training.  On Thursday I took a flight back to Nashville and on Friday drove 2.5 hours north to Louisville to register, grab my gear and head back home.

On Saturday, late morning, Carla, Jack and I hopped back into the Denali and drove up to Louisville.  We'd have to check in the bike and hand in our drop bags for the swim, bike and run.  We got to Louisville around 4:00PM an hour before the 5PM cutoff.  The weather was warm, overcast with rain threatening.  We dropped off the gear and then figured out where we'd be meeting/seeing each other on race day.  The Marriott hotel was just a few blocks from the swim finish/bike out.  The race start however was about 1 mile up the Ohio River.   We went and checked in at the hotel and were able to meet some old friends from Bardstown KY that were in Louisville for a girls weekend.

Jack and I at Race Start - Looking Good
This was my 8th Ironman so I was pretty relaxed pre race.  Carl, Jack and I went out to get a bite to eat and suck down a couple of beers.  We then went back to the hotel and rented a movie and got to bed around 10PM, knowing that we'd have to be up at 5AM and out the door by 5:30AM for a 7AM race start.  It's interesting how uptight athletes are at an Ironman event.  At an Ultra Marathon runners are pretty chill, very different than IM.  I guess having just completed the LT100 I wasn't feeling like this race was going to be difficult, however, I was wrong.  Albeit the LT100 is more than twice as long an Ironman, the IM is a higher intensity race.

So it rained the night before the race and the ever inaccurate unreliable weathermen were calling for more rain on race day.  As usual they were absolutely right about being wrong.  There was no rain.  The morning of the race we stopped at Starbucks and grabbed a banana and some lemon cake, it was perfect.  I avoided the coffee.  IM Louisville is a wave start, meaning that you are grouped in corrals and enter when your group is called.  Due to water temps being in the low 80's, wetsuits were not legal, however you could wear them but just couldn't be considered for "placing" for Kona.  I had zero chance of qualifying for Kona so I suited up to get the added advantage of the flotation that a wetsuit brings.  Having not trained for the swim, the wetsuit made sense to me.  Due to a last minute trip to the bathroom, I ended up being the very last athlete to jump into the Ohio River.  It was a pretty cool experience and a first for me.

The first 1/3 of the swim is up river against the current.  It took me about 45 minutes to swim to the end of the island at which point you swim out into the main channel of the river and begin the remaining 2/3 of the swim downstream.  When I looked at my watch and it read 45 minutes I couldn't believe that I was only 1/3 of the way through the swim.  Quick math in my head said that I was on a 2:15 swim pace…when the cut off is 2:20.  At that time I didn't appreciate how the current was going to help me so I put my head down and just swam….doing a really good job sighting and swimming pretty straight..buoy to buoy.  Before I knew it I had the swim exit in site by Joes Crabshack restaurant.  It actually finished in 1:24, swimming the last 2/3's in 39 minutes…BAM!  I was pretty pleased coming out of the water with that time as I entered the T1 transition tent, preparing to ride 112 miles…ugh!

LaGrange, KY 38/80 Mile Mark with Carlita & Jackson
Bike to Run Transition
Carla was at the bike OUT exit, while Jack had gone down to the river looking for me.  A quick kiss and off I went onto the bike course.  The first 10 miles were pretty flat, making a mental note that this would be a nice way to finish the bike.  My approach to the bike was to take it easy and try to maintain a steady pace, taking advantage of the down hills and flats and just grinding out the ups.  As I made my way to mile 38 the course led us through LaGrange, a small town filled with IM spectators.  It was a Lollipop design and we'd come back through LaGrange around mile 80.  Jack and Carla were there to greet me at both mile 38 and mile 80.  By mile 80 I was feeling the impact of no bike training.  My ass, back, quads and calfs were aching.  I kept everything in check, taking in water, gatorade as well as my hammer gels, shot blocks, protein bars and bananas at the aid stations.  At the drop bag station I was able to grab and suck down a gatorade and cheese sandwich and stuffed the extra cheese sandwich in my bike shorts.  My focus then was to get to mile 90, then 100 and so on.  Just grinding out the miles.  It was incredibly hot on the bike…it felt like a hair dryer blowing in your face, so hydration was really important to stay on top of.  As I approached mile 100 I was pretty psyched because I knew that the last 10-12 miles were flat and I could spin and get the lactic acid out of my legs and prepare for the run.  I managed to suck down my last cheese sandwich at about mile 95 under the shade of a tree and guzzle down my last gatorade…getting prepared for the run.

Getting off the bike was a great relief.  Now I was actually to run, which was the only part of the IM that I was actually trained up for.  The temps at this point were at above the 100F heat index level.  I drank a gatorade in the bike transition and carried two out with me…hydration and electrolytes were important.  Carla and Jack were there at the transition.  She snapped a few pics and off I went onto the two lap run course.  I decided to try and maintain a 10-11 minute mile for the first lap, given the extreme heats and desire to have some gas left in the tank for lap 2.  I actually felt pretty good running the flats and downs and walking the ups.   By the time I made it through lap 1 I saw Carla and Jack.  They greeted me and Carla was nice enough to tell me that my pace was too slow…nice…exactly what I needed to hear.  It pissed me off and I started out on lap 2, grabbing another gatorade from my drop bag.  Between the gatorade, soup broth, cookies and chips I was able maintain a good energy level and keep a good pace.  In fact my last 13 was a negative split.  As the sun began to set we gained some relief from the heat, although the humidity was still a challenge.  Many runners had been reduced to a walk.  As I was about 1-2 miles out there were a lot of runners just starting their first lap…which I couldn't imagine doing.  I knew that there was no way that 99% of them would have enough time to finish.  As I came down the final stretch I could see the finish line in all of the lights, with the crowds cheering loudly.  I let a few runners pass me so that I could come down the finishing chute by myself, slowly to take it all in and enjoy the moment.  Instead the moment got me amped up as I began to wave to the crowd to get them excited.  I jumped around and let out a ton of energy and relief as I crossed the finish line holding up 8 fingers for my 8th finish.

I lowered my head and a nice lady put the finisher medal around my neck, asked me if I was ok and then ushered me over to get my picture taken and hand me my finishers shirt.  Having Carla and Jack there to experience this with me was pretty special.  It's a very very hard race.  I started in dead last place of 2,388 athletes.  As the race progressed I was able to climb up to 935th place or in the top 37% of all competitors.   Post race we drove back to Nashville getting in at 12:15AM and had to take a 6:30AM flight to LA for work.  Morning came early, but I was very very happy to log another Ironman finish.  Cheers!!


NameCountryDiv RankGender RankOverall RankSwimBikeRunFinishPoints
Theodore, PhillipUSA12176393501:24:0806:46:2205:09:2213:42:432130



Friday, August 29, 2014

The Leadville 100 Mile Trail Run - Race Report

Leadville Colorado sits at about 10,200 feet above sea level at the base of the several large mountains, Massive and Albert, within the Rockies.  For the past 30 years the town has hosted one of the most epic 100 mile trail runs in the world.  The race starts and ends in Leadville at the end of 6th and Harrison.  The race course is an out and back that has it’s runners traversing 3 major climbs and descents, twice.  In fact mile 40 to mile 60 is arguable the hardest 20 mile segment that there is in any race.   Runners must climb and descend over Hope Pass twice, reaching altitudes of 12,600 feet.  See below the pics from the top of Hope Pass at the aid station.

Pre Race in Leadville
Daley Ervin signed up for this race about 9 months ago when registration opened.  He pinged me on a Saturday or Sunday telling me that he wanted to run it and I quickly agreed to sign up as well to pace him for at least the first 50 miles.  Well, as time grew near I decided that I’d give it a go as well. 

Daley has paced me for three LT 100’s, two of which we’ve finished in under 30 hours and one ended in a DNF.  So he knows the course well, in addition to how hard the race is.  However, pacing 30-40 miles is completely different from running the entire 100, which he was soon going to find out.

Daley, Joleen (his Mom), Carla and I all arrived on Thursday night rather late due to flight delays.  Francisco and Brian, the other part of our crew/pacers arrived on Friday afternoon. While Greg had arrived before all of us and was hanging out in Leadville in an RV waiting for our arrival.   Carla had found a nice house on Airbnb up in Leadville that easily accommodated all of us.  We held our usual pre race planning session, along with printed plans and instructions for the crew and pacers.  We made our trek up to the local grocery store and loaded up on all kinds of food that we’d eat both pre, during and post race. 
The Elusive Belt Buckle

By 6PM on Friday Carla and Joleen had made some rigatoni pasta with olive oil, salt and pepper along with some Italian bread.  I ate light while the young bull ate heavy and we dispersed to hit the rack shortly thereafter.  Sleeping at altitude is always a bit of a challenge, but it didn’t seem to be a problem this year.   I try to get 6-8 hours of sleep before a big race like this and managed to get in about 7 hours before the alarm went off at the godforsaken hour of 3:15AM.

Having everything organized and ready on Saturday morning allowed for a smooth, calm morning and I was able to suck down a bagel and a bottle of water.  At 3:40AM we left the house and drove about 6 blocks to the race start.  As usual the race start is abuzz with anxious runners and spectators.  The morning temps felt pretty pleasant at around 42F, much warmer than some years.

Brian and Joleen in Twin Lakes Waiting for Daley & Phil
Daley and I had mapped out the race plan, laying out the targeted times for each aid station.  Equipped with my Garmin, I was able to keep us pretty much on pace through the first 50 miles.  Some aid stations we came in early while other aid stations we arrived late.  All in all we hit our targets, except for the last aid station where we were behind by over 30 minutes.  Or put differently, we were 30 minutes from missing the last cutoff leaving us 4 hours to run the last 13 miles.  While that may seem like a lot of time, it’s not on 87 mile legs.

Daley taking a Break at Fish Out
Daley and I were able to run together for the first 50 miles of the race.  After 50 miles it rarely makes sense for two runners to stay together and run because each has strengths and weaknesses that are counter productive to the other.  We decided to each pick up a pacer at mile 50.  Daley picked up Scot and I picked up Francisco, both seasoned, experienced ultra runners who know this course very very well.  More importantly they can pace a runner and keep them on schedule.  As races progress so does a runners ability to rationalize staying at an aid station for an extra 5 minutes, or walking for a while instead of running.  A good pacer keeps their runner focused and moving forward as the merciless hands of time keep ticking towards the 30 hour mark.

Race Crew & Pacers At Twin Lakes Out Aid Station
The Twin Lakes to Winfield Station leg was brutal as usual.  No matter how many times that I’ve climbed that mountain it never gets any easier.  In addition, I still get tricked by the false summits along the way.  The weather was hot, but we were protected, for the most part, by the shade of the huge evergreens that canvased the mountainside.  We crawled at snails pace up the mountain.  I was able to make it to Hope Aid Station about 5 minutes before Daley, so I snapped a few pics, loaded up on soup and cookies as well as sucking down a bunch water and reloading my camelback.  When Daley arrived I told him to grab a seat on an old log while I got him Roctane and soup, several times.  He was looking pretty beat up at this point, as were most runners.  I was feeling it but knew that we had to get down the hill and then return back up it.  This kept me determined to keep my fluids and calorie intake up so that I could mount the final attack on this mountain.  As we reached the peak of Hope’s Pass I snapped a few pics of Daley as well as the scenary, because I knew that this would most likely be my last time to go up and over Hope.
Daley Summiting Hope Pass Out

As I approached Winfield Station Daley was about 5 minutes behind me.  I was welcomed by Scot and Francisco.  It’s always great to see familiar faces, especially if they’re your pacer.  Fco grabbed my camelback while I went through the aid station to get weighed.  I checked in at 184lbs, right at what I started the race at.  I sucked down more soup, cookies, chips and water and quickly departed spending no more than 2 minutes there.  I took off down the road while Fco was getting my camelback taken care of as well as getting himself prepared.  We ran into Daley and Scot coming down into the aid station as we exiting.  Daley was looking beat down and I knew that Scot would have to work hard to keep Daley pushing forward.

Fco and I turned off the road and began our 4.5 mile journey up the backside of Hope Pass.  It was a long long trek up the mountain, but we persevered and made it.  We descended into Hope Pass and grabbed more soup and water and began our 5 mile descent into Twin Lakes.  We were able to run most of the down hills, occasionally stopping or slowing down to catch our breath.  Daley and I had left Twin Lakes at 12:30PM and Fco and I returned at 8:45, which was around the original target.  It was an 8 hour and 15 minute 20 mile tough tough distance that we had covered.  Daley managed to come in at 9:05PM, about five minutes after Fco and I began our night slog through Half Pipe and to Fish Aid station.  We walked the ups and “ran” the flats and downs.  I was getting really sleepy during this segment of the course.  It is my least favorite part of the run and it seems as though it takes forever.  We arrived at Fish around 1:30AM, which was about 15 minutes ahead of plan.  Daley and Scot arrived about 5 minutes thereafter.  I was really impressed that Daley had gotten his second wind and Scot was able to pace him into Fish right on time.  At 76 miles out and 24 miles to the finish, our next leg was 6 mile run and climb up and over power line and a 5 mile descent into Mayqueen Aid Station. 

At Fish Fco handed off the pacing baton to Greg.  He kept me entertained for the first few miles with a head lamp that rivaled the sun, which lit the way up Power Line.  Greg was ever the optimist, frequently telling me that we were almost there (at the top of the last major climb of the race), which I knew wasn’t true having been up this trail over a dozen times before.   It was fine by me, he was keeping me on pace and awake, which was the most important point at this juncture of the race.  After ascending the last climb, we began our descent into Mayqueen, which seemingly took forever.  I thought for sure that Scot and Daley were going to catch us, because Daley looked really good at Fish and I felt terrible.

When we approached the last aid station I was a bit confused about the time.  Although we came in at about 5:50AM for some reason I was thinking that we had 4.5 hours to finish the last 13 miles.  When we’d end up having only 4 hours.  At about 5:55PM Scot came running in telling us that Daley was 5 minutes behind and to get ready as we were going to have to push it to get in under the 30 hours.  All I could think was at that time, there is no fucking way I’ve run 87 miles and not going to get a fucking buckle.  Within minutes Daley arrived, limping in, saying that he couldn’t run anymore because of his hurt foot.  With no sympathy Scot ushered him through the aid station telling him that he couldn’t sit down and keep going.  I got up out of my seat, realizing that we only had 4 hours and not 4.5 and in a mild panic began to run down the road to catch up with Daley.  Well, that didn’t take but about a minute and we all agreed that we’d have to run a minimum of an 18 minute mile into Leadville to finish, but decided that we should try to keep a 16 minute mile pace just to be sure…at least until we were certain that we were close enough to walk it in.

Greg, delivered successfully delivered me to Mayqueen and I picked up Brian as my pacer to get me to the finish line.  Last year was Brian’s first Leadville experience and he successfully got me to the finish line, despite me coming into Mayqueen just 5 minutes under the cutoff.  He didn’t know how to use his watch then, and this year proved to still be a challenge.  I gave him a ton of shit while we meandered around Turquois Lake and he gave it right back saying that he was only doing what a pacer needed to do…and that was to make certain that I keep on pace, took in my calories and kept hydrated.  After more than 24 hours of running everything that comes out of your mouth is like that of a 4 year old child, the brutal truth.  There is no mincing of words, no soft pedaling, just a blunt no patience in your face fuck you truth.   Thankfully Brian knows me very well and understands my shortcomings at this point of the race as well as my ornery unforgiving desire to just get to the finish line in under 30 hours.

Brian and I dropped Scot and Daley about 1 mile into the last leg of the race.  There were a bunch of runners on the trail and we decided to push it hard to put some distance between them and us, as well as bank some minutes and build a “cushion” to insure an under 30 hour finish.  At about 7 miles into the last segment Scot and Daley managed to catch us, which was surprising given Daley foot problem.  I was again impressed with Daley’s tenacity and ability to tuck away the pain and focus on the prize….the elusive Leadville Trail 100 belt buckle.
Crossing the Finish Line with my Three Pacers

We all stuck together from this point on, looking at our watches, calculating the distance and with a measured amount of paranoia pushed on to make certain that we’d secure some hardware.  As we walked briskly down the dirt road towards Leadville, we confirmed that we were only 1.5 miles out and it was only about 9:15AM, leaving us plenty of time to make it in.  We slowed our pace and began to soak it all in.  The sun had begun its climb into the morning sky  as we began to shed our clothes from the night before.   As we approached the section where the dirt road becomes paved we could see the school where we were a day and a half before listening to Ken telling us all that we were tougher and stronger than we thought we could be and to dig deep down into that indomitable well of grit and determination and to commit that we would not quit. 

Joleen came running down the road when she saw us all rounding the corner and yelled to Daley just how proud she was of him.  She gave him a huge hug and kiss, took some pics of everyone and we continued our march to the finish.   When we got to the top of the hill we were able to see the street light at the end of 6th and Harrison along with the finish line.  We could hear the cheers of support from the crowd of family, friends and locals.  It was the home stretch. 
Scot, PT, Greg and Brian Post Finish

We were greeted by Greg and Fco, while Carla had the camera closer to the finish and was snapping pictures…..pictures that capture a priceless moment in time.  It is a time when a group of friends spend 30 hours working as a team to conquer a course that only 4 out of 10 people finish.  We depend on them and they depend on us.  They did what they said they’d do…..therefore we must do the same.   Finishing is never a given.  In fact there are many points throughout the race that you simply want to quit, just fuck it, it’s ok…there’s some rationale that will justify quitting.  In the end you can’t simply quit…..for so many reasons that you could keep a psychologist employed for a lifetime to ponder.

Time for a nap after the Finish
Daley, Joleen and Scot crossed the finish line at 29:42, together.  I crossed at 29:42 and change with my arms stretched acrosse the backs of my three pacers Brian, Fco and Greg while Carla took more great pictures.  After crossing the finish line Marilee gave us a big hug and draped a medal around our necks, followed by a great big hug by Ken, telling us just how proud he was of us.   We went to the medical area where we were once again weighed and asked a series of questions.  Daley went into the medical tent to have them look at his ankle and get an IV of fluids.  I walked over to a shady grassy area and curled up and fell fast asleep. 
BAM!!! A HUGE Accomplishment…..

So many people ask why you run 100 miles.  Everyone has a reason.  There has to be a reason…..personally I have many. 

A special thanks to the crew and pacers.  Depsite the fact that I was a bossy, mouthy unappreciative asshole during the race, I am forever grateful to each and every one of you.  Without your support there is no way on God’s green earth that Daley or I would’ve made it to the finish line.  Carla, it goes without saying, but I will say it nonetheless, you are the best!

Next up….IM Louisville…ugh.



Interval
Time of Day
Chip Time
Chip Pace
Gun Time
Gun Pace
Start
4:00:20AM




May Queen 1 - 13.5 mi.
6:14:25AM
02:14:06
09:56 min/mi
02:14:26
09:58 min/mi
Outward Bound 1 - 24.5 mi.
8:36:17AM
04:35:58
11:16 min/mi
04:36:18
11:17 min/mi
Half Pipe 1 - 31 mi.
9:56:53AM
05:56:34
11:31 min/mi
05:56:55
11:31 min/mi
Twin Lakes 1 - 39.5 mi.
12:01:37PM
08:01:18
12:12 min/mi
08:01:38
12:12 min/mi
Hope Pass 1 - 45.1 mi.
3:02:35PM
11:02:15
14:42 min/mi
11:02:36
14:42 min/mi
Winfield - 50 mi.
4:40:06PM
12:39:47
15:12 min/mi
12:40:08
15:13 min/mi
Hope Pass 2 - 54.9 mi.
6:56:21PM
14:56:02
16:20 min/mi
14:56:22
16:20 min/mi
Twin Lakes 2 - 60.5 mi.
8:49:56PM
16:49:37
16:42 min/mi
16:49:58
16:42 min/mi
Half Pipe 2 - 69 mi.
11:49:05PM
19:48:46
17:14 min/mi
19:49:07
17:15 min/mi
Outward Bound 2 - 75.5 mi.
1:36:01AM
21:35:42
17:10 min/mi
21:36:03
17:10 min/mi
May Queen 2 - 86.5 mi.
5:59:13AM
25:58:54
18:02 min/mi
25:59:14
18:02 min/mi
FINISH LINEFinish
9:42:25AM
29:42:06
17:50 min/mi
29:42:27
17:50 min/mi