IRONMAN Arizona 2015 Race Report

 Most of my race reports start out with the morning of the race, or the night before, however, this race report will be different, because well, let’s face it… this just isn’t a normal race, this was an IRONMAN.

Flashing back to July 1st, 2014, frantically hitting refresh on my work computer trying to see when IRONMAN would open up Volunteer slots for the 2014 IRONMAN Arizona race. The only way to give me a shot into the 2015 race, as Arizona is a popular race that sells out within minutes of being opened up online, so if I was serious about it, I was going to need to start preparations almost 18 months prior. Finally, the volunteer registration opened and the slots were filling up fast. Stephen and I both got a mid day bike handler position where you hand the bike off to volunteers after the ride and they place it back on the bike rack for you.

In November 2014, Stephen and I headed to Arizona to fulfill out volunteering obligations and sign up for the 2015 IRONMAN Arizona, as volunteers get priority registration before the general public can register. The only triathlon’s I had been a part of before my volunteer shift were small local ones, with a maximum of about 800 competitors, this race had about 3,000 people and 4,000 volunteers, it was crazy to be around that kind of atmosphere and energy. The volunteer shift when good and we were able to secure a wristband that allowed us priority registration when it opened the following day. At 6:00am the next morning, lining up in IRONMAN village, we were 2 of about 2,000+ people ready to pay and commit to racing the 2015 IRONMAN Arizona Race.

---Fast forward one year and several hundred hours of training---

The morning of the race I found myself in a calm place. The hotel was about a mile and a half from the transition, so we decided to walk, in order to avoid traffic and road closures. The rolling start of group of 3,000+ age groupers were scheduled to start at 6:45am, and we arrived to the transition and I was dressed into my wetsuit and in line by 6:40am.

At 6:45am, the sound of the horn rang out and the race was on. Where swimmers lined up was self seeded, you decided how fast you thought you would complete the swim and then lined up near the sign indicating that time. I lined up between the 1:10:00 sign and the 1:20:00 sign. I was hoping to swim somewhere between 1:18:00 and 1:20:00 but I wanted to get in with a faster group. When I climbed down the steps into the water there was no treading water, or warming it, it was just swim. I found my stroke almost immediately and felt good.  My arms never got tired and I was able to make quick work of the beginning portion of the swim. Besides the water being dirty (I was not able to see your hand in front of your face), I had a great swim. The swim course was 1 loop around the lake and I was able to keep a straight line for the majority of the race, never swaying to far from the buoys. There were a couple times when swimmers would come to close, and their arms would grab your waist, or a pair of feet would appear a few inches in front of my face (I did mention you couldn’t see very well in the water). Coming into the final turn and a straight shot to the stairs I had entered I gave it a final push, kicking my legs harder to get the blood flow back into them. My final swim time was 1:11:30, a full 7-8 minutes faster than I had predicted.

A volunteer quickly grabbed my arm as I reached for the stairs and helped me up. I instantly starting ripping my wetsuit off, preparing for the change tent, Getting my wetsuit down to my waist I jumped in front of two other volunteers, wetsuit strippers, and they wasted no time at all and getting the wetsuit off my legs and leaving me free to for a quick run to my transition bag and change tent.

I have mixed emotions of the change tent. It was about 10-15 Degrees warmer, which was nice, but the smell of sweaty bodies still in a hurry was something I could have done without. But, hey, that got me in and out the change tent in a few minutes.

The bike course was roughly a 37-mile loop that needed to be completed 3 times, that plus the bike in and bike out portion equals 112 miles on the bike. The bike portion for IRONMAN Arizona has you go out 17.5 miles at a slight increase, there’s about 700 feet of elevation gain heading out, but at that distance and rate, it’s mostly flat. The way back is along the same route, so it’s considered downhill, but again, mostly flat, but the speeds on the way back were promising. I finished the first lap in about 2 hours, and halfway through the second lap it started to rain. This made an already cold day not only colder, but now everything was wet. The course was slick, which caused for slow turns. I was able to maintain myself and avoid all issues. The second loop was a little slower, coming in about 2 hours 6 minutes. It pretty much rained for the entire remainder of the bike course, the third loop, and the hardest loop, as I had already completed 75 miles on the bike was going to be in the cold rain, but as much as I wanted the ride to be over, I knew that there was only a couple more hours until I was off the bike and onto the final portion of the race. The third and final leg was my slowest leg of the bike, but still much faster then I thought. It took me about 2 hours 10 minutes on the bike, able to maintain a pace above 17 mph. My goal time for the 112 miles on the bike was 6:45, my actual time was 6:19:18, about 25 minutes faster.

Now that I was off the bike I realized how cold it actually was. I got into the again warm but smelly change tent only to not want to leave. A volunteer showed up to wrap me in a Mylar blanket and gave me a bottle of water. I was cold but grateful there was someone there to help me. I took my time in shredding my bike shoes and putting on my race number and run shoes, I was dreading heading back out into the cold, but I had a thought, I was 26.2 miles away from finishing the race, now I just wanted to get it over with. The run course was a 13.1 mile loop that required 2 laps before I got to enter that finisher chute and be immortalized as an IRONMAN for the rest of my life, so off I went. Remembering my training I started off slow, the tendency for triathletes in an IRONMAN is to come flying out of the final transition only too bonk in the run after a few miles.  To get to the finish line that was my plan. I felt like I had a good stride during the run, only stopping to walk the aid stations during the first loop and realizing now I only had 13.1 miles to go and nothing was going to stop me. I had PLENTY of time to finish and wasn’t about to go this far without finishing. Around mile 19 of the run was when I hit the wall. I couldn’t run anymore, my run had already turned into a slow shuffle and now I had to walk. I walked for about the next 3 miles, then was able to find my legs and legged out another mile before the final hill of the run course. Not being stupid, I walked up the hill, and started my run down the hill, and saw the Mile 24 sign.

That’s it 2 miles left, it was renewed strength, I was able to trudge along over the final bridge and to the mile 25 sign. Oh my god, oh my god, 1 mile left, I was slow close, but do you realize how far 1 mile is after 139 miles were all ready completed. There it was, the finish line, the final 100 feet. Suddenly, every pain, every ache, every muscle came alive and I felt just as good as I did at the start of the race. About 20 feet from the finish line, I heard the 6 words that had consumed my life for 17 months, Steven Burkett, you are an IRONMAN!! I had done it. My goal for the run, was 4 hrs 42 minutes, and my time was 4 hours 47 minutes, 5 minutes slower, but it doesn’t matter I completed it.

My official time was 12:33:59. I had done it, I never expected I would have been able to break the 13-hour mark, and here I had done it by almost 30 minutes.

I was greeted at the finish line by a volunteer with another Mylar blanket and then I saw my friends and family waiting for me on the other side of the fence. The race may have been over, but the experience is something that will last a lifetime.

Goleta Beach Triathlon Race Report

RACE PREP:     After the Redondo Beach Sprint Triathlon last month, in which I placed 9th in my age group (M25-29) and 112th overall I was determined to do better then that. Looking around for some other sprint triathlons, there were 2 that caught my eye, Carlsbad Triathlon and Goleta Triathlon, both in July. Well, I think the choice was obvious, Goleta. Show my home town whats up.

Now in all fairness, I was talking some trash on the Goleta Race, talking about how it was a small local race, and that I'd show the locals how it's done by getting on the podium. But then realization started to set in when on Saturday evening, the night before the race, I was sitting with my mom going over my projected splits, based on my training routines, that obtaining a podium finish was all but a foolish dream. Based on the 2014 Results information, I estimated that I would have to finish under 1:04 live up to the smack talk. However, my breakdown quickly made me realize, that I was in trouble. Here's my pre-race prediction:

1/4 Mile Swim -      8:00
              T1 -           2:00

11 Mile Bike -       36:00

               T2 -          2:00

2.5 Mile Run -       20:00

            Total -    1:08:00

So yeah, I needed to write a pretty big check to cover what my mouth was spitting. After some Trash talking from my mom, about no need to stay late for awards.. yada yada yada... I fell asleep on the couch, only to wake at 4:00 to start getting ready.

RACE MORNING:     Getting to the Transition set up at 5:30am to insure a parking spot was easier than I thought, it was one of those mornings where everything fell into place. With a prime spot near the Bike out area, I was determined to have some good transition splits. I opted out of using a wetsuit and instead decided to swim/bike/run in only the tri-kit I was wearing, to save some valuable seconds, because I was going to need second to live up to the dream.

Sound of the horn and we're off, Wave 1, consisting of about 40 athletes in different age groups, and I wanted to get settled into a pace and just survive with some sort of lead pack. At the turn around spot, I had a good line, and was feeling good, I may have gone out a little too fast, but I wasn't going to stop now, no time for rest! Getting out of the water (by my parents estimates about 12th of 13th out of the water) and usually the time where I have a hard time getting into a good run pace to transition, however, since it was a short 1/4 mile swim, I felt good, passing up one of the swimmers while still on the beach running to T1. Officially my swim split was 9:28, already behind schedule!

The Transition to Bike was smoother than I thought, I had strapped my bike shoes to the bike, in order to save time from strapping the shoes on, and then clipping in at the mount line, this way I could do it with a running start and just slide my feet into my shoes once I was out on the bike, again saving valuable seconds, which I desperately needed now. Officially my T1 split was 0:49 seconds, only 9 racers in the sprint triathlon were able to achieve a T1 split under a minute, mine was the 6th fastest.

Since I was in the lead half of the swim group, there wasn't much action for me on the bike, all I could hope to do was not lose any spots on the bike and just maintain momentum. The bike course was flat and quick, where I was able to only get passed by 1 other biker, but I was also able to pass another, so my position was neutral. Officially, my bike split was 32:32, three and a half minutes ahead of my predicted time, and averaging over 20 mph during the bike portion. I had made up some valuable time, however, at what cost to my run.

 I was able to slide my feet out of my shoes and jump off the bike and into a sprint to enter the second transition, and since my bike was near the bike in/out area, I didn't need to run too far to rack it. Since I was already barefoot and the run portion was short, I decided to go sock-less, less time in transition. Bike Racked. Helmet off, Run shoes on, sip of gatorade, and I'm out of T2. Officially my T2 time was 0:36.

While out on the run, my legs felt good, definitely not "fresh" but no where near the point of needing to walk or cramping up so I just pushed on. Seeing that the run was a 2 lap course, I decided to pace the first lap, to see how the legs felt, and then pour it on during the second lap if needed, that's precisely what happened. I was able to push harder and faster than I thought on the run, and was able to maintain sub 7 minute. Within only a couple minutes of being out on the run course, I was able to run down the only racer who passed me on the bike, however, I had no idea where the other racers were, I wasn't sure who was ahead of me and which age group they were in, so I just kept digging. Offically my run split was 16:59.

Official Race time: 1:00:22, I had beat my prediction by almost 8 minutes, and ahead of my prediction for where I needed to be on the podium, but still unsure as There were a few racers ahead of me.

Waiting around for 15-20 minutes until there was a results page posted, I quickly ran over and saw my name, Steven Burkett 3rd M25-29! I had done it, I got on the podium! WINNER, ME, I DID IT!!! Well, now we HAD to stay for awards, which wouldn't be for another hour or so. Waiting around, I got a feeling that maybe they would update the results for any bad chips and I would be bumped from 3rd down to a much disappointing 4th. After some time, I re-checked the results and was delighted to see they had moved me, instead of down, I got bumped up to 2nd place. AWESOME!! I was awarded 2nd in the Mens 25-29 Age group Division.

All roads lead to ironman

With everything going on, both Stephen and I haven't posted much on this blog.. the last post being Stephen's race recap from April. We've completed quite a bit since then... so if you don't like reading.. go no further.

13 days after Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside we had another extreme adventure ahead of us, We again signed up for the Ragnar SoCal Running event, except that this time we decided to do an ultra team. Normal Ragnar, crazy enough, involves 12 people split into two vans and running 200(ish) miles from point A (Huntington Beach, CAa) to point B (San Diego, Ca), but an ultra removes 6 people and 1 van from the equation. Each runner, ran between 30-40 miles in the course of 32 hours, running 6 separate times. No lie, it's run, change, try to sleep, stretch, run, repeat. The spirits were high the whole time we had a blast, with the exception of a couple stress fractures in Stephen's foot, that he still managed to put up 20+ miles on the run, impressive.Discipline will be my key, it will be the reason I will endure the long road ahead of me.. wish me luck.

In May of this year, I ran the Orange County Half Marathon and received legacy status, running either the 1/2 or full marathon for 3 consecutive years. Nothing major to say about the race, I ran it in 1:42, about a 90 seconds off of my PR, but I went out there to pace my friend Troy who was determined to run his first half marathon in under 1:45. At about 11 miles Troy turned the boosters on and went ahead finishing in 1:41, a solid performance for his first half marathon.

The next adventure 6 weeks later was the Born to Run Ultra Marathon Running series, where Stephen was gearing up to run 30 miles on trails, I was fortunate to be able to run the first lap or roughly 10 miles with him, I have no interest in running more than 26.2 miles in 1 sitting, however, there may be a time in my day when I do an ultra marathon, just to say I've done it. I'll let him discuss this race further, if he does a post race report on it.





With a few more training races between now and November, the last 4 months of training is when it get's real, the daily training sessions will be the base and core of what will get me through the ironman. Sometimes there are times when motivation is fleeting or non existent, and I find it hard to get off the couch, or out of bed to go for a run. Oddly, one of the most motivation things I've read was something anonymously posted online, when someone asked how to stay motivated.

"It's a fickle and unreliable little state that isn't worth your time.

Better to cultivate discipline than to rely on motivation. Force yourself to do things, to get out of bed, to go the gym, to work harder and smarter; force yourself to do stuff when you don't feel like doing anything.

Motivation is fleeting, and it's easy to rely on because it requires no concentrated effort to get. Motivation comes to you, you don't even have to chase after it.

Discipline is reliable; motivation is momentary. The real question isn't how to keep yourself motivated, it's how to train yourself to work without it."

Stephen's Ironman Oceanside 70.3 Race Report 2015

Oceanside Ironman 70.3 2015

Registration process
We waited online for registration to open and it seemed like it was about an hour past the opening time for the website actually went live and we were able to register. Reminder for next year to register the morning of opening to make sure to ensure a slot

Checking in
We left Long Beach at about 1130 in the morning got to Oceanside. Parking was really hectic and there was a lot going on in the city of Oceanside. We finally found parking and had to bring our bikes down to the check-in area because we didn't want to leave them on the back of the car. I remember thinking that it would've been nice to have somewhere to leave the bikes in the hotel or in the car rather than walking them through the entire expo. The checking process went smoothly it was fun to walk around and check out all the vendors. I bought a new Bento box (Stealth Pocket 300) from X lab and those guys were really cool to help me put it on my bike. Now I have solved the problem of what to do with all the food during T1.

We can bring the bikes into the merchandise tent so that was a bummer but when Ashley and Jamie found that there were free backpacks for participants we went in and got the coolest backpacks ever for free. Glad we didn't miss that on!

We went to the prerace info session and I remember thinking that it was really hot out and I wish I was drinking more water but didn't have access to water so next time bring a lot of water bottles during the check-in process to make sure that I'm staying hydrated before race day.

The pro panel was really cool we got to grab a picture with Jan Frodeno which was great when he ended up winning the next day. 

Next we dropped off our bikes at bike check in and left the Ironman village. At this time it was around 430 and we were getting pretty anxious to eat dinner.

Pre-Race Dinner
We could not break tradition and had to go to Macaroni grill for dinner. luckily there was one right in Carlsbad.

I got chicken with pesto and pasta. We drink lots of water and a lots of bread. We went back to the hotel checked all of our gear one more time loaded everything into the car and went to sleep. It was very easy to go to sleep because we it started transitioning going to sleep earlier and earlier the week before so wasn't any problem going to sleep at 7:30 or 8 o'clock at night. 

Race morning
Race morning we got up at 2:45 and I took a shower. I ate a bagel with peanut butter. And started sipping on some Gatorade. I put on my tri kit and a long sleeve shirt and we headed to the car.

We made it down to the parking lot. All the parking on the street was free but we couldn't park in any of the Ironman parking lots because we never grabbed an Ironman parking pass. Remember next year to find out where we can get a parking pass. We made it on the first shuttle that started at 4:30 and we were in the transition area by five.

It was colder than I expected and I remember wishing that I had a sweatshirt or a jacket not just a long sleeve shirt. I set up my transition area underneath my bike and started slowly getting ready. Around 6 o'clock I started getting hungry again and I ate a Clif bar. I continued to sip on Gatorade throughout the morning.

I got body Marked and then carelessly put on sunscreen. Something I wish I put more focus on in hindsight. I then put on my website to keep my legs warm and another thing that I forgot to do was put body glide on my neck for chafing. Luckily they had a lady volunteer putting it on our next as we were getting into the water.

The Swim
The water was warm 67° which was absolutely beautiful. As the swim started I stayed towards the back outer corner and found myself in a rhythm pretty early. I remember wishing that I had known how many buoys there was to the next turn that realize than buoys were numbered but I had no idea how many buoys I needed to pass. It just would've been nice for pacing purposes. 

Right before we got in the water of fog rolled in and it made this body of the boules a bit difficult as we were headed out to the turn. As we made it out to the turn the water got a little bit rough and I remember it was difficult to see the second red turn buoy about halfway through the swim.

About three quarters of the way through the swim I remember feeling really really hungry and I wish I'd eaten more.

I stopped my watch just as I got out of the water and I finished the swim portion in 41:20.

T1 
I felt like I was running forever in T1 before I finally made it to my bike. I was literally out of breath by the time I got to my bike. I stripped off the wetsuit and put on my shoes helmet and sunglasses and I was out I put my bicycle gloves on my handlebars and down hindsight I wish I would've just put my gloves on. It didn't save that much time

Again I was so sunburnt for the next week that I really wish I would've put more sunscreen on as I got out of the water.

The Bike
The nutrition plan on the bike was to eat one Clif bar and three bottles of Gatorade that had a full scoop in each bottle. The nutrition on the bike seemed fine and I didn't have any problems while on the bike. I remember thinking that I was going really fast after the first water station, and through San Onofre State Park but it seem to be flat. Now looking at the elevation map it was a slight downhill which made for a nice recovery over the first 90mins or so. 

I knew that I was up against some pretty big hills on the backside of the course so I saved myself for those and I'm glad I did. I needed to pee starting around mile 15 but I didn't pee for about an hour. I finally found a port o potty that no one was using and made a quick pitstop. 

I remember going much faster than everyone else on the uphold but lost a lot of ground on the downs. I think I could have definitely make up a lot of time on the down hills if I was just a little more comfortable. 

I'm just glad I didn't crash. 

Over the last 10 miles or so there's a really strong headwind they are battling the whole way back to Oceanside. I started to get some saddlesore's and I remember the seat feeling really uncomfortable in the last six or 7 miles of the ride.

I got back into t2 and the ride totaled 3:34:16. 

T2 
T2 was quick. I got off my bike I used some Vaseline to aid with the chafing between my legs and I slipped on my running shoes. I remember thinking that I wasn't going to be able to run but as soon as I got my shoes on I felt great. I ran out of transition and completely miss the sunscreen table again. Disaster in the making.

The Run
I came flying out of transition doing sub nine minute miles and I felt like I could take on the world. I was just glad that I was off the bike. I felt like I wanted more nutrition so I sucked down a chocolate gu gel in the beginning of my nutrition disaster was in the making.

The water station support was incredible and as I passed each water station I was taking big gulps of more Gatorade and throwing ice in my pants. The ice in my pants was great. More calories was not. 

The first 2 miles went great and I ran 2 sub 10 minute miles. when I got to mile three I started to feel rumblings in my stomach. I began walking a little bit hoping that my food just needed to digest and everything would be okay. I remember running almost straight through for the next 5 miles and then at mile eight the rumblings began again.

I slowed to a walk hoping that my walking remedy would fix my problem once again but I had no luck. I walk ran walk ran and my average pace was still okay until I got some Isleton.

I have mild 10 and I hit a complete wall. I couldn't run anymore I couldn't eat anything I felt like there was a wild animal inside of my stomach trying to tear out. Every time I picked up the pace from a walk it just got worse.

I thought I was gonna have to walk the next 3 miles. I walked for about a mile and a half looking at my watch. I remember thinking if I could just slowly jog I can salvage a seven hour race but I couldn't. I didn't have the running in me. 

With just about 2 miles left my stomach still felt horrible but things seem to have subsided just a little bit. I started in on a slow walk jog strategy and brought the pace up just a little bit. At this point based off my current pace I was gonna come in just five minutes over my seven hour goal. And I was really really determined to get to the finish line quicker.

As I got to the last mile I was finally back in a run. It took everything for me to keep running as I felt like I was gonna have stomach issues at any moment. I tried drinking the Coca-Cola but I could barely get it down. As I came back off the backside of the race course and back onto the beach I could see the finish line and I knew that I just had to push through eight more minutes. I was just drinking water and throwing water on myself like a fool at that point I must've looked like a zombie but I was trudging through and I pick the pace back up. I knew was gonna be close and the support was incredible. 

My run time was 2:32:23.  

I reach the finish line in 6 hours and 57 minutes 54 Seconds. 

I had done it. I gotten back on the horse and conquered my fear over the last 70.3 miles I had reached the red carpet that I have been waiting for all year. I was so proud of my achievement but what meant the most was that I had close family and friends there that I could share the moment with.

I found myself crossing the finish line with tears streaming down my face. It was an emotional moment for me. But soon this the exhaustion setting and I needed food. I had ran a half marathon with almost no nutrition as my stomach couldn't handle anymore calories. It took me about an hour and a half before I was finally a normal human again. 

This course was incredible. The on course support was more than I could've asked for and the support of my friends and family was more than I could've asked for. Thank you for everyone for supporting me. I look forward to my next adventure!

A Lot To Update

A lot to update since the last post, I mean, the last post was in the beginning of August 2014!!!!

I'll try and keep this one short, however, I would like to post weekly updates of our training, dates, times, splits (if possible) any post race reports, etc... Sometimes when running across random blogs, you never know who may read it and think to themselves, they can do it, so can I!

Since August, let's see a quick recap:

August: Santa Barbara Triathlon
Flat tire right off the start on the bike and got cramped legs about 5 miles into the run, The run was the weak point on this race.

October: Long Beach Marathon
Ran the Long Beach Marathon for the second year in a row, wasn't able to fit in a 20 miler training run, max was 16 miles, substituted long miles for total volume, Shaved 14 minutes off the previous year and set a New PR.

January: Disney's Star Wars Half Marathon
Ran Hard and Fast, set a new PR, by almost 8 minutes off my previous PR set at Disney's Tinkerbell the year prior

February: Surf City Half Marathon
After running the full Marathon last year, I decided to run the Half Marathon this year. I broke the PR I set at the Star WArs Half Marathon by about 36 seconds. New / Current PR now stands at: 1:41:27 (looking to break 1:40 at my next Half Marathon)

February: City of Bell 5k
Up until this race, I had never run a 5k in a race. So I didn't really know what to expect, however, with that being said, I knew I could complete the race in under 23 minutes, as I have training routes that are just around 5k. Even though I think the race wasn't quite at the 3.11 mile (5k) distance, it appeared to only be a flat 3 miles, my official time for that race was 19:59.6  (point 4 in front of 20 minutes).

February: New Bike Day
After a few months of saving up a small portion of my paycheck, I was finally able to afford to a Triathlon Package from Nytro that included a Tri bike, tri suit, wet suit, helmet, and several hundred dollars of other items needed to "survive" a long race.

and now here we are, 1 week away from Ironman Oceanside 70.3. That is a 1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Bike, and a 13.1 Run.

I really enjoy giving myself ambitious goals and try and go out to achieve. Hoping to meet the goal or even surpass the goals I set myself. After a disapointing 7 1/2 Hour 70.3 race in June 2014, I am looking to DESTROY that time and finish under 6 hours this year. Here's a high level overview of how I hope to do:

Swim:    38:43
T1:           5:00
Bike:   3:06:40
T2:           5:00
Run:    1:57:54

FINISH: 5:50:17


My Goal is to give myself a big enough coushin from the Swim / Bike to give myself time on the Run, however, I also know how much I struggle on the run after Biking. I've trailered my training efforts to help me counter that. Twice a week, I do a spin class at the gym for an hour, and then immediately jump on a treadmill for 2 miles to make sure I can still run. I've also done a couple runs after doing long rides on Saturday afternoons. Most Recently I did a 2 mile run (maintaining an 8:13/mile pace) following a 40 mile ride. It took about 3/4 of a mile for me to find my legs and find my stride, but I'm confident.

Hopefully my Next post will be a successful post of the recap from Ironman Oceanside 70.3!!!

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Upcoming Races

3/28/15 - Oceanside Ironman 70.3
5/03/15 - OC Half Marathon
08/22/15 Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon registered
11/15/15 Ironman Arizona registered

Ragnar Relay 7 Week Training Plan

Click the Green Excel Logo on the bottom right corner to download, and customize the plan!

What to expect when you’re not expecting....anything to go wrong.

Plan for the unexpected.

This was not the plan. That is the point. If it were the plan I wasted a lot of money and a ridiculous amount of time for nothing. I ran my first half marathon in 2009, my first marathon in 2013. I was hooked. I started training for my first triathlon this year with Steven.  Even though I grew up with a pool and could “swim” and had a great tan I was in no shape to swim a triathlon.  This required me to take swimming lessons from someone who could give me that extra edge.  I had run a half marathon with my mom and even though this secured my spot in the “favorite son” category lets face it if I can’t run faster than my mom there’s a problem. I was running enough to make Forest proud.  Biking at this level was totally new to me. I wanted to excel. I wanted the best. I spent a lot of money, I trained hard…. really hard. I was proud of myself and thought I was ready. Little did I know the first time I would hear that the ultra light titanium frame I had so proudly invested in was too light for my weight at the speed I was traveling at the time of my crash was on my ride to the ambulance via the SAG (Support and Gear) vehicle. They were amazing. Thank you Roseville Bike and Cycling team.

Purchase quality equipment. 

I’m certain that without my helmet I wouldn’t be writing this today. Not only had I lost consciousness I was unaware that I had lost consciousness.  Between the stories of those that witnessed the accident and the data from my Garmin watch I realize how fortunate I am.
My broken Garmin watch provided valuable data as well as protecting my wrist.  It’s very evident when and where I lost consciousness when looking at all the data.  Luckily I had kept the warranty information and for $99.00 I can replace my broken watch, which will of course be with me on the next ride  

Stay in touch.

As much as we’d like to plan to meet up at the finish line this actually was the first sign that something was wrong. My family was tracking me on Find my Friends (free) and my location hadn’t moved for several minutes.  No, I don’t recommend you chat during the race but have a way to stay in touch if something should go wrong. This was how I was able to let my family know to meet me at the hospital. How would they meet me? How would they get my bike?  These are all important things to preplan.   

Have medical and financial information readily available

I had focused on the race not on anything that could have possibly gone wrong.  My Fiancé was at work 400 miles away. My wallet was in my training buddy's car and I was in an ambulance on the way to a trauma center.  Insurance info….ummm. No joke they came in the room and said Mr. Thomas would you like to pay your deductible today? I had been given morphine and said YES!. My pants were cut in half in the garbage can and my wallet was in someone else’s car that was running a triathlon. Email yourself and someone you trust that will be there your important information. Trust me you won’t want to be figuring this out the day of.  That fancy tracking chip, ask where it can be returned in case you are unable to complete the race.  The despair of not completing the event coupled with the pain of broken bones doesn’t need to be compounded with a fee for an unreturned timing chip. 

Have a backup plan            

I’ll be the first to tell you that if you break any major bones the Emergency room will only release you if you promise not to travel for 24 hours.  Be smart! Have back up lodging; additional spending money and if you car-pooled to an away destination a back up ride home. 

You might also want to pack a change of back up clothing and keep it with whoever might be joining you at a hospital. All of my clothes were cut off. Yes all of that fancy equipment I purchased to be competitive in this race was either lying on the floor or nearby garbage cans.  This is a picture of my sister holding the shirt they gave me to wear home I’m pretty sure it was from a homeless man. They also gave me pink cords to wear but I opted to wear my mom’s shorts out instead. Yes failure to plan a crash on my part ended up in wearing my mom’s shorts and a homeless man’s shirt.  Definitely not what I had trained for, not even close.