The Next Big Adventure

Well, onto the next big adventure..........

It's been about 20 years in the making. When I was about 10 years old we were scheduled to go trekking in Nepal......my mom, my brother and I. I think my Mom thought that might be a bit bold for her and two boys aged 8 and 10 so we went to New Zealand instead and lived on a sheep farm.

It was always a dream of my Mom's to get to the Himalayas and trek around and maybe get to the base camp of Mt. Everest. When MS became part of her life that dream kind of got attached to a hitching post in the back of her brain. For the past 15 years we have talked about getting her there but it mostly became fun conversation, I'm not sure if the Intention was really there.

This time last year, Ollie started putting action behind thoughts and words and so here we are, 3 days until take off. Ollie and a small crew left yesterday to do an extended version of the trip which will take them 6 odd days from Kathmandu to Lukla where the rest of us will meet them on November 1st to start the trek to Base Camp.

We are taking Pip up there in a modified rickshaw thing. We are a team of 14 and a total mixed bag. Everyone brings something important to the group and I think everyone is biting at the chomp for the adventure to start.

I probably won't get to bloggin much over there. I'm not sure how easy it will be to access computers on the way up. I will do my best but in honesty it might be nice to take a break so I probably will.

If we do have random access then we will likely be posting info and blogs at the website designated for the trek.....which is.......

www.riseabovebarriers.com

It is a great site put together by fellow teamate Jon who is master of such things. We're all super excited and will definitely be setting up some slide shows and there is even the possibility of a documentary being done on it.

Anyway, until then, I wish you all a super Nepal- High- Five- O

-The Jersey Kit-

Well a week already and how quickly we are on to the next thing. This is just a quick blog to introduce a really exciting project that we've just got under way. I have great partners this year and they've all been great in helping this come to light.

The goal- To raise $1 million for MS by the time my career is done. It's lofty but we have several initiatives coming to light and the first one is under way. We've made a really fun logo this year and it's represented on a great cycling jersey by De Soto. Every icon in the logo tells a story and we are going to add to it every year with new icons. Which means in 2008 you will have to update your wardrobe with the latest version:) A portion of all proceeds are going to MS so you will be supporting a great cause and getting one kick butt bike Jersey.

The link to the purchase page is:
http://www.desotosport.com/products/product.asp?Category=MEssentials&ProdID=JBBJ

This page has the story behind the jersey and a picture of it so you know what you are getting into. It's pretty loud but really fun and it is the highest quality jersey perfect for warm weather riding.

If you purchase one I thank you in advance!

Until next time I wish you a super Victoria High-Five-O

Know Thyself

Well, today was not my finest hour that's for sure. It's rare I bail out of a race but yesterday I found myself in that most unenviable position where you have to make that call. Decisions like that can play havoc on the brain.......at the time they seem like the right thing to do, in hindsight they can haunt you for a bit. It's an easier thing to do if you crash and break your face or something but without some sign of visible trauma it involves many explanations.

I actually started with one of my best swim efforts to date. I was geared up for this one and felt really great. Canon went off and after a few hundred meters I was with the lead group.....after a few more I still was......I kept looking up to see surf legend Laird Hamilton paddling the lead surf board with total amazement that I was still able to see him. At about 1200m a small gap opened and I chased it down for a couple minutes and got back on. Through 3000m I was still there and actually feeling pretty good but shortly after that I popped. I must have been slightly over the effort I could sustain and whammy that was it.....back to the second group and a significant loss of time.

However, I still got out in a good group and with the excitement swelling I made my most critical mistake. I made a conscious decision to try and get myself back to the front group. In Hawaii there is much talk of the winner and top finishers always coming from this group....I figured I had to be close and so every passing cyclist presented an opportunity to match pace and get myself there. What didn't resonate at the time is that most of the guys I was trying to match pace with were sub 4:35 riders on good days.......Torbjorn, Marino Vanhoenacker and several others........guys whose pace I can probably ride for about 20 minutes tops.

After about 50km well above my current ability I popped.......With the swim it must have been about 2 hours well into the red zone and that was it.....I was done.......for the next 40 minutes I hobbled along at a pace that was consistent with one that follows a 2 hour massive effort.....small ring hunched over the bars. When you go over the line it's harder to absorb food and fluid and the legs can only sustain the effort for so long before they turn to jelly. I'd done an effort that takes a day or two to recover from and the tightness in my gluts where a good sign of this......and that was it.

I was ready to go yesterday, everything was in place and I was as fit as I have been but I made a really poor decision......one that seemed right at the time. On the day it can be overwhelming......I tend to beat myself up a bit especially around big events, we don't get many chances to race the big ones at this distance and I screwed this one up. I was a pretty miserable ass for a few hours but eventually you start seeing the light around it so here is what I got out of it:

I had to know- The most valuable thing I learned yesterday was that I just am not a front pack rider in Hawaii. Even if I had made it into that group, the pace they sustain is a notch higher than my current riding ability....which makes trying to get there from a deficit even more ludicrous. But, I had to find out and sometimes it happens the hard way. The important thing is to remember this for the next time around. It also means that at the moment I can't race anyone in Hawaii...I have to make it a solo effort within my own limits and that is how I can achieve the best outcome.

Know Thyself- Take a compilation of what I know I am capable of at this distance and match it up and I still run myself into the top 10. Patrick Vernay was smarter than I was yesterday and it paid off......he finished 10th.....53min swim, 4:49 bike, 2:48 run.....nothing special and never anywhere near the front group....in fact he would have come off the bike hearing his time deficit as "25 minutes down"......and "14 minutes down on the lead group"......but he obviously stuck to his plan and at the end of the day he was in the top 10. So today I learn my most valuable lesson from Patrick Vernay and tip my hat to the man. You have to know what your abilities are and do your best to maximize the return on them.


There were some pretty awesome performances yesterday----here are a few that stand out in my mind:
Samantha McGlone- Wow....first Ironman, tons of hype around her and she performed. Yes you could argue that several top women dropped out but check out the time she posted and she ran 3hrs........probably one of the top 3 times in the history of the event so I don't care who you put in there the result would have been the same.

Chrissie Who?- Don't you love when there is someone nobody talks about who is suddenly leading and running away with it. Kind of reminds me of the 2000 Olympics. Chrissie Wellington from the mother land Great Britain ran a 2:59 and came from basically nowhere to win the womens......I don't even know what she looks like.......I like stories like that.

Mike Neil- Every year the guy gets better here.....8:47 yesterday....no flash, no ra ra....just smart racing. As much as I learned from Patrick Vernay yesterday I learned just as much from Mike......the guy was never anywhere near the front but kept plugging on and posted his best result here.

Chris McCormack- 6 years ago he said he was going to win it and he did. In honesty he should have won it.....he has all the pieces....talent, work ethic, confidence, resources.....in my mind he did something he should have done but you still have to do it....you still have to show up and do it. He probably had the most pressure here and for sure had the most self induced pressure and he pulled it off.....very cool.

Craig Alexander- Kind of like Samantha- half ironman genius but put it together yesterday and ran bloody well.

Patrick Vernay- For reasons previously noted.

Chris Lieto- For trying to win it

Tim Deboom- Because nobody was talking about him....so quickly forgotten, sport is a fikel place.

Leanda Cave- For a super gutsy effort and for being at the front so long.

Torbjorn- For figuring out how to perform in the heat despite looking ridiculous. But for a top 3 I would have worn a snowmobile suit if I thought it would work.


And of course there were many more......................so until next time i bid you a grand hawaii high five-O

The Rules

It's fun to observe the state of mind you are in before a big race. It's a mix of a whole bunch of things from calm and ready to nervous and anxious. I figured this time I would write a blog about it and try to be as real as possible, no flowery emotional stuff, it's just a race and in 48 hours everyone will have forgotten and be on to the next thing until of course a few magazines come out a few weeks from now and remind us for a day or two.

Nerves come and go in waves but i've been able to hone down into a specific head space pretty regularly over the past year and I think for Ironman especially in Hawaii this becomes the real secret. I don't know what tomorrow will bring.....certainly I have hopes and dreams just like Veronica Corningstone but as Forest Gump once said so eloquently.....bla bla bla chocolates and you never know what you are going to get or something like that.

What I can say with certainty is this: I am fit, I am as ready as I have ever been for an Ironman and I have no major or minor health/injury problems that have been present or have potential to present themselves. I have had no major dramas over the past few months, no mental instability, nada nothing, no excuses. I've set myself up to perform well and I plan on doing that. Often it is most of the battle to just get to the start line healthy and fit and giving yourself the best chance at success and I have done that this year.

I think the mental state you get into is probably the single most important factor for any big competition or task in life. Over the years I've come to several important conclusions on what the ideal state is for me....I stress for me because everyone is different.

In the process of getting here we all go through waves of different stuff but inevitably this is where I end up when I'm in a productive space:

Expect nothing------and you can deal with anything-----I have no idea what will happen tomorrow, no amount of visual garbage will determine the outcome.....it will unfold as it will unfold and the more I can observe it without background noise the better I will be able to respond.

Appreciate Everything-----I live in extreme privelage in fact anyone doing this crazy event does. I don't mean this in an emotional bla bla gag gag way, just in a way that you can dread the day or appreciate simply that you are able to do it.

Don't Judge----Judgement during the race serves little if any purpose....you will be where you will be, judging it doesn't suddenly transport you somewhere else.

Use emotion, don't let it use you-----Emotion can swing you wildly all over the place, especially in an event like Ironman where people prepare so much and invest so much in it. It's such a massive task that emotions often take over....anyone who watches the NBC coverage knows what I mean. However, I don't think emotional spikes in either direction are very helpful. For every spike in the "high" direction you have to inevitably recover from it and for everyone in the "low" direction it just causes bad energy which i don't see as very productive. I think the more level you can keep your emotions throughout the day the better off you will be. I think the time for a high spike is in the last 1-2 miles if you need it to get you past some people or to the finish....then you can spend the next few months recovering from it.

Relax into speed----Nothing in Ironman needs to or should happen quickly. Relax into the rythm, relax into the pace, relax and the speed part of it will take care of itself.

Engage-----your brain needs to be constantly engaged with pacing, nutrition and general body awareness.....the worst thing you can do is get caught up in someone else's race plan because you got excited for a few miles.

And of course there is the actual race plan itself....in a nutshell it looks something like this:
Swim- a fast start, get with the main group
Bike- HR 148-158 range with a ceiling of 160 on flats and 165 on hills- 1200-1500ml of fluid per hour---75-85 grams of carbs per hour----700-1000mg sodium per hour
Run- Goal pace---6:20ish---Start out at a 6:45 and build my way there----Sport Drink, Water every aid station----Coke, sport drink, water every second----sodium pill every third aid station----Ice and water to cool core temperature down every aid station.

Pretty simple, nothing special-----solid level day and it will go well.

And so with that I wish you all a good night and thanks for reading along.

This time tomorrow I will be in post season bliss. Yipeeeeee.

Tension

Today we had the pro meeting. Often there is tension at these things, everyone there in the same place for the first time, kind of like a first date. You look around, check out who is there and how people look. Mostly it's about how lean people look which is a real good thing in the heat and for running as long as you don't go overboard which is sometimes the case then you just lose power and get unhealthy. A couple people asked questions, Jimmy Ricitello gave the marshals briefing and we all had to have our picture taken. One photographer, 150 people in line.....a slight oversight. But I got into line near the front on account of my super "line up speed"

Today I saw some real lean tanned people and they were mostly staring back at me from the mirror.....yeah, that's right that's what i said.

Nerves come in waves but mostly I am good, only when i get ahead of the game and into the race in my head. I feel generally very good and at peace with the current situation. It's amazing how quickly the days storm ahead and before you know it you are the day before the race and then you are having a margarita in the VIP tent after.

Today I ate lots of food and was merry. We have another sunset happening and we always have dinner looking out at it from our patio....paradise by the dashboard light.


Tonight I will sleep and tomorrow will wait some more. 48 hours and the season will be done and that is nice, I am looking forward to eating some refined sugars for a day. Maybe some pizza too.

Until next time I send you a hearty "Hawaii 5-O"....Magnum PI style......Higgins

People I Disqualified Today

Norman got DQ'd for having too much of a tan

I disqualified Ferris again for not wearing his helmet

I disqualified Samantha McGlone so she can't beat me

I disqualified Lisa Bentley for smiling too much

I disqualified Mike Neil because he's fit

I disqualified myself for writing this blog

I disqualified Jonny Caron for speaking Frenglish

I disqualified Borat

I disqualified the Bachelor guy out of envy

That's it for today, I'm sure there will be more disqualifications tomorrow.

A slippery banana

I saw Viktor Zmyetsyev yesterday and I spent all night trying to work out how to spell his name. He is the guy who won Couer D'Alene (and Lake Placid in 2006, and world long course champs). I really like Viktor, I only really met him in Couer D'Alene but he's one of those really humble dudes that seems to have great perspective. He's got an incredible resume but you would never know it. I would hazard a guess that if he was from the US he would probably be making a great deal more money but he doesn't really seem to care. He seems grateful for what he gets and somewhat unaware of how good he is.

We chatted briefly yesterday, I don't think he feels very confident here but the guy can swim 50, bike 4:40 and consistently runs under 2:50. If you put all that together he is down in the 8:20's which is consistently top 5-10 here. I told him he just needs to relax and not do anything special and run how he always runs and he will do well. Patience is key here if you are a runner.....many things can happen in the last 6 miles. He punched me in the face after that and asked that i don't give him advice.....I wept.

Jude and I watched the sunset last night from our place.....i read my last blog and realized that the other day I watched the sun rise which was total nonsense. If you were paying attention you would see the flaw. We face west from our place so how could I watch both. I would like to say that on day one I simply observed it getting lighter out but last night we really watched the sunset. It was magic and right at the height of the sunset I caught on fire....literally just burst into flames.....oh the inspiration.

Today I will start to shave my body. It is a non wetsuit swim and whether it is faster or not it feels good. I will need probably 48 hours to shave all the hair I have accumulated.

It was my birthday yesterday and I turned 34. Jude's birthday is today and she turns 34. She is with an older man and I am with a younger woman.....the world is in harmony at this thought.

Today I must have a short ride on my bike. Yesterday I saw Ferris riding without a helmet so I disqualified him.....he was angry but I comforted him by saying....."next year my good man, next year you shall have your revenge upon the man who disqualified you but not this year, this year you may not"

Kona

Hard to believe already a month since arriving for the camp back in September but we got in last night for the final week before the big dance next weekend. A painless trip really.

We are staying at the far end of Alii drive...not ideal from a transport perspective but totally ideal for maintaining some distance from the madness of the pier. Like any race the place is buzzing. It feels really good to be back here having spent time here recently. I feel more like a local....no time wasted finding grocery stores, the pool all that nonsense......easier to quickly settle in.

We have a great place, with ocean views and we our place is built on an old lava flow, pretty spectacular. We sat out watching the sun come up this morning....windows all open, nice breeze, good vibrations.

Nothing special today, good swim at the pier and a good run, a far better version of my first run here back in September.

I feel as ready as I have ever been for Saturday. I know this because there is no fear or anxiety just peace of mind and eager anticipation. When I feel like this it is a good sign that I have confidence in the work i've done and i'm healthy.....sometimes getting to the start with these two things in check is most of the battle. Things unfold naturally and as they should and it's easy to move with it.....no resistance, just peace. I'm not always in this state....Couer D'Alene was a different story, more forced, less confidence, more resistance.

Papayas are back in my belly, life is good.