It's always too early to quit. -- Norman Vincent Peale
No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one. -- Jessica Savitch
It has been anything BUT a recovery month since we came back from Ironman Florida. The weekend following IMFL, I ran the Susan G Komen Race For The Cure in Austin. This was a commitment I made back in May when we shaved my head. I expected to be in such bad shape that I would walk the whole thing, but I ran most of it. The walking I did was at two points in the race where I was so caught up in people traffic that I would have run over somebody if I had tried to run (yeah, isn’t THAT hard to believe? – me running over somebody on a run!) It was a decent run, the legs cooperating a lot better than I would have expected. Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t push hard enough at IMFL, since I could walk and run as well as I was afterward.
The following weekend, I headed out to Tempe Arizona to meet up with the IronHeart Racing team for the first time. First and foremost, we were there to support a teammate participating in this year’s race. I met Jim O. at IMKS 70.3 in June, and he is the one who introduced me to the IronHeart group. Second to that, we as a group would be registering for IMAZ 2012 as our documentary event – from registration to finish line. Out of the group, I was the only one who actually volunteered at IMAZ 2011 so that I could be in the volunteer line early the next morning to register for next year’s race. The rest of the group had to wait until all the volunteers were registered before the onsite non-volunteers could sign up for 2012, but since I was the only one who had to catch a flight out that day, they were in no big hurry.
While out in Tempe, our IronHeart team was able to meet and interview Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, and a number of professional triathletes. Leanda Cave, who actually ended up winning IMAZ 2011, was a very gracious, supportive lady. Tim O’Donnell was on the interview list, as was his girlfriend Mirinda Carfrae. The team had dinner together a couple of times, and it was during one of those nights that my teammates Jeremy and Scott noticed Mirinda sitting at the other end of the patio. Team founder Dave walked right up to her and had an interview set up in about 3 minutes!Race day, we were at the swim start to see how that would work. You have to climb into the reservoir and then swim out about 200 yards to the swim start buoys. The water temp was 61 degrees, so I am hoping that swim out to the start will help me acclimate to the frigid swim. We noticed a number of people were walking along the sloping wall and getting closer to the start line before getting into the water. I haven’t decided which makes more sense yet. Once the gun went off and people were quite a ways down the long leg out, we went over to get a good spot to watch the swim exit. The pros started coming out of the water at about 45 minutes (yeah, HALF my swim time!). We were able to see Brittany, our BT friend and Team RedWhiteBlue racer, as well as Jim O, come out of the water. The IronHeart folks had secured a number of press passes so they could have the cameras in the midst of the action, so I got some pics of the whole crew as Jim made his way through the swim exit. We watched both Brittany and Jim exit transition on the bike, and then wandered toward the run aid station where we would help with setup. Our plan was to hang around after setup, and watch some of the pros come by. I got a number of decent pics of the pros, as well as some shots of Brittany, so I was happy about that. After that, we headed off to get some lunch and then I had to do my solo interview. Even now, it is still an emotional time when I have to talk about the heart attack, the bypass and all the great support I have received throughout.
Unfortunately, Jim didn’t make it past the bike cutoff time, so his race came to a premature end. His family did meet us for dinner and then we all went to the finish line for the last 2 hours. That is the most emotional time of the race – so many are struggling to finish before the midnight deadline (the group I thought I would be in at Florida) so lots of folks show up to provide encouragement and support; even the pro winners traditionally come back for this. We were able to see Bryan, one of the characters in the “You Are An Ironman” book who we met and from whom were able to get an autograph the day before.
Monday early we were up and out to the registration line. The IronHeart team was doing some additional filming with the crowd sitting in line, so we got a chance to talk to a number of folks who also have a story of their own.
After registering and talking to the team it was time to head for the airport and the trip home.
Since then, it has been a bit sporadic – I ran the Turkey Trot at Thanksgiving which is a 5-mile run in downtown Austin; I ran the Lights of Love 5K for the Ronald McDonald House; the Jingle Bell 5K which is a fundraiser for MADD; and the Round Rock Rotary Reindeer 5K, which supports the Playground For All Disabilities. This project is being built in my town and should open this coming year.
Throw in a bit more running, some swims at the rec center, and a couple of bike rides and that pretty well sums up my December. It is time to get serious about it, though, with the 3M Half-Marathon coming up at the end of January. I also signed up for the Run For Chocolate 15K in Dallas in February – after all, if there is ANYTHING that can make running more palatable, it has to be chocolate!
Well, that’s not quite ALL my December – I am very excited for my daughter, who became engaged on the 10th. They are planning an August or September 2012 wedding – although I DID say that it better not impact my race schedule! JUST KIDDING!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
"Patrick Hight - YOU are an Ironman!"
Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs
Patrick Hight, you ARE an Ironman! -- I waited a year to hear those words!
Well, I have to say… it has been a great adventure, getting to this point. This year-long journey from registration to finish line has been so unbelievable. It was time to write what I hoped would be the final, successful chapter in the Ironman Florida 2011 story…
After some last-minute packing Tuesday, I loaded the truck with both wetsuits and swim stuff, beach towels and water bottles, then loaded the suitcase, camera bag, toolboxes and work stand in case I needed to make any adjustments to the bike pre-race. The two bikes on the truck and I was off. The plan was to stop overnight in Biloxi, and have a short 4-hour trip into Panama City Beach on Wednesday.
I headed out toward Houston, stopping in Elgin for a potato-egg taco breakfast, picked up lunch in Houston, and motored on down the road to Biloxi. Once in the hotel with the bikes safely locked away in my room, I grabbed a sandwich from the café in the lobby and then headed out for a short walk. I crossed the street to wander along the beach. It still amazes me that this area hit by the hurricanes was still so devastated … there used to be a bed-and-breakfast about 4 blocks down the road where I spent a couple of days about 10 years ago. It was completely washed away, and no evidence left behind. But then you also get gorgeous sunsets from the same places. This is a great place to stop on the way to Florida!
After a 30-minute run on the sidewalk along the beach Wednesday morning, it was time for a shower and loading my bikes and bags back into the truck. Grabbing a muffin on the way out of the lobby, I was excited that in just a few hours, I would be rolling into Panama City Beach for my Ironman race! I drove through Mobile, passing the U.S.S. Alabama battleship park, and on past Pensacola to the freeway going into Panama City Beach.
I drove in and parked in my condo parking lot with everything locked up, and walked from there down to Athlete Check-in. Boy, you want to talk about tingles running up your back! I was a bit nervous and giddy at the same time!
When I got back to the condo I unloaded the truck, and shortly afterward, KathyG, one of the Beginner Triathlete (BT) folks I had met when Briana was doing her Ironman, called me to ask if I would be interested in a short ride. She had re-assembled her bike after her flight, and needed to do a road test. I was more than ready to get on the bike after all that driving, so I changed clothes and rode down to their condo entrance to meet her. We rode down to the park which is the turnaround for the run laps. KathyG adjusted her computers and we rode back up Thomas Drive to the condos. It felt really good to get out on the bike, and I was getting more comfortable with the disc cover. This would be the first big race with the cover on the race wheels.
I met KathyG and her husband Kevin out at Pier Park for dinner, and then called it a night. I sat out on the balcony of the condo for a while listening to the water on the beach. I was really tempted to sleep with the patio door open but thought better of it, not knowing what that change would do to my breathing overnight.
Thursday: This morning was the first of two practice swims. A number of the BT folks were planning to meet behind the Boardwalk for a relatively short swim, one lap of the course at most. This time of year, the beach is cold on your feet, the air is cool, and the water is actually warmer. I had decided to bring both wetsuits and do a practice swim in each of them before deciding which to wear for Saturday. Today’s swim is in the sleeveless. The water was not glassy smooth, but neither was it rough at all. As a group, we swam out to the first buoy. The race crew does not put the big buoys out in the water prior to race day morning, but the anchor ropes and mini buoys are there. If you stop for a second, you are able to find these tiny little white specks bobbing around. Stopping just long enough to make sure the group was all accounted for, most of us swam all the way to the corner buoy, where we would be making the left turn come race day. MikeH was one of the first swimmers out there. It was good to see my training partner so strong. I knew from our swims in Lake Pflugerville that Mike would be out front.
There are a number of marine life you need to keep an eye out for in this locale. There are jellyfish floating along in the current, most of them white and fairly small. There are stingray which were gliding along the ocean bottom whenever I saw them. One swimmer claimed to have seen a dolphin, and there are schools of fish in abundance, most of them fairly small. Since the purpose of this swim was to get accustomed to the waters, I slowed down on the leg of the swim back to the beach so I could look down into the waters at all the “residents” we were disturbing. They are such fantastic creatures!
After the swim, I went back to the condo, showered and hit the couch for a short nap. The athlete dinner is tonight, and a number of the BT folks were planning on attending. Mike had texted me about meeting him and some friends of his at Sweet Basil’s, a small Italian restaurant. When I got to the Boardwalk lobby, I didn’t recognize any faces. The lines to get into the dinner were just starting to form, so I tried to stand where I could be seen. A few minutes later, KathyG, GMillar and a couple others showed up. We got in line, and the staff had the people moving along pretty smoothly, so it didn’t take long to get to the buffet line. Sure enough, the food was as expected – pasta, with chicken and without, pasta salad, green salad, fruit and brownies. But the company was good – I met a few more of the BT folks, so I could put faces to names.
After a bit of discussion, I left to go meet Mike at Sweet Basil’s, even though I probably would not eat anything. When I got there, Mike introduced me to the folks at table – and I was happy to be able to meet Jessica Jacobs, the pro triathlete and last year’s women’s Ironman Florida Champion. She had also won Ironman Wisconsin. Mike had met her five or six years ago through another friend of his. I had met Chris McCormack at a presentation in Austin after he won Kona, and Chrissie Wellington had put my medal around my neck at Ironman Kansas 70.3 after her win there, but this was the first time I could actually sit down with one of these pros. Jessica is a great athlete without any airs about her; she is a military veteran whose husband is currently deployed, and a proud mother. I was extremely excited, but tried to not be so obvious about it. I could not have asked for a better way to kick off my Ironman week!
Swim practice number two Friday morning. YUK! Walking down to the Boardwalk from my condo, I could tell the winds had picked up since yesterday, and that was confirmed when I walked out onto the beach. We were watching some rollers. Looking out into the water, you could barely make out the white mini-buoys. My feeling was that as ugly as this looked, it could look this way on Saturday, so I had better get used to it. Once again, the water was still warmer than standing on the beach, so that was nice. You had to time your movements going out so that you were not caught at the top of the waves and pushed back toward the beach. The waters were so rough that you had to stop swimming and look through the waves to find the white buoys. After a short swim and once out of the water, I found my shoes and headed up to shower the sand off the wetsuit. As cold as it was, I decided I would pull off the sleeves and wrap up with a towel, but keep the wetsuit on until I got back to the condo.
I showered and shortly headed up to Spinnaker to have lunch with Mike before we headed out to the airport to pick up Mike’s family and Briana, who were flying in on the same flight. Sweet potato fries - yum! We dropped Mike and his family at their condo, and headed over to the expo so Briana could walk around a bit and soak up a bit of the atmosphere that is Ironman. Her finish last year here at this race is still vivid in both our minds, and I know she was wishing the same for me. It was great to have her here to share in this experience.
After walking through the Ironman store, we headed out for dinner at Basil’s. As we ate, Briana and I talked through the race, from making sure I had everything in my transition and special needs bags to pacing myself through the bike and the run. At that point I told her that if the water was as rough on Saturday as it had been this morning, I would be lucky to make it out of the water on time, and yes, I am a bit nervous about that.
Saturday: Finally! Race day is here. Nervous? Me? Ummm, YEAH! The pre-race for me consists of the usual PB&J bagel and hot chocolate. After making sure I had all the rest of the stuff for special needs in the bike and run, and my bottles, we headed off to walk from my condo to special-needs bag drop-off, then to T1 to drop off bottles, etc. Checked the tires and then wandered into the Boardwalk lobby area to wait until it got a bit closer to start time. About 15 minutes before heading out to the beach, I started climbing into the wetsuit. So -- the race-day stuff below pretty well follows the race report template you find on the BT forum. Some discussion about that portion of the event, and then the usual “what changes would you make” kind of thing…
Swim: I was worried about the wave action in the water after Friday morning’s practice swim. I was pretty certain if it was as bad, I would be extremely lucky to get out of the water before the cutoff. KathyG and I were high-fiving each other when we got out there and saw how light the waves were. I started about mid-pack, and about 150 feet over to the right from the buoys, after looking at the currents. All through the first lap my biggest concern was keeping a little open space in front of me so I wouldn’t keep getting kicked. I did have a lightweight woman who thought she could swim over me… she couldn’t get over the floating whale! A little nudge straightened her out onto a better path. Once around, then you exit the water and cross the timing mat, and make a left turn and head back into the water. The second lap was much more open since so many people were ahead of me, but I did have one guy who kept swimming a zigzag pattern in front of me the entire lap! I was planning a 1:45 swim, and I was very pleased that when I got out of the water, nobody was standing there to pull my timing chip off. The first lap was 43:55 and my second lap was right at 50 minutes. Dropped down for the wetsuit peelers, and then it was off to transition. I saw Briana with a smile on her face as I was going into the stripper area, and nobody was trying to take my timing chip off my ankle, so I was a happy man!
Would I have done anything different? I don’t know that I would change anything. I felt like I positioned myself as well as could be expected spatially, and knowing I am not a fast swimmer, I didn’t see any sense in forcing people to swim over me or into me by being more to the front of the pack.
Transition was a busy place, so I sat down right next to the pile of bags already left by the departing racers. I felt pretty good at this point. I dried my feet, changed into dry clothes and loaded up the chamois butter; filled my pockets with the Infinit baggies and I was out the door.
It seems like a really LONG run to get to the bike, but having volunteers standing there in the aisle with your bike ready and with lots of spectators yelling with encouraging enthusiasm, all makes for a really great bike start. Once I got on the bike, I was trying to get my Garmin reset (which I should have done last night!) but for some reason it didn’t want to budge, so I said “heck with it. I will let it beep every mile and I will use that as the reminder to drink”. That worked out really well, as it turned. The first few miles it is just a matter of us getting in tune with the ride after the swim, but there were for some reason a lot of riders jockeying for position right off the bat. I got myself into a fairly smooth pedal stroke, not pushing too hard but passing more than the number of those passing me. I was grinning ear-to-ear when we got to the overpass and I was passing riders going UP the climb. I went by 8-9 riders, saying something to each one of them as I did so. Actually, I tried to say something to every person I passed, and almost every one that passed me. (I think I talked to more people in this event than I have EVER talked to people before!) I got to see Mike’s family and Briana at about mile 40, and that was a great mental lift.
I felt really good getting off the bike. I know now I held back on the bike a bit, but I also knew I had another 26.2 miles before I could call this “done”… something I had never done up to this point. Changed socks and shoes, talked to a couple of the riders who finished the bike with me, and headed for the porta-potty before the run.
I started out with the 4/1 plan as Briana and I had worked on. I did that for 4-5 cycles and then realized the heart rate was staying up a little bit. Dr. V had told me that whenever it felt that way, I would need to back off. So I switched to a 1/:30, 1/:30, 1/1 so the 5 minute timeframe on the Garmin would fit, and I think that worked really well. The nutrition plan for the run worked out pretty well. When I got back up into town on the second lap and the air was cooling, I decided to take a cup of the chicken broth and drink half of one with some water to chase it, and see how that worked with my stomach. That was awesome, so the broth became the alternate with the grapes from every other aid station. It all worked out really well, so I was excited about how well the run was going!
I was taken aback by all the positive support all the way around the course. This may be the most publicly supported event I have been in so far. Even though it was dark at the bottom of the park on the 2nd lap, the volunteers kept the noise up so you could hear them from the first park aid station to the second, and that was pretty cool. I was whipped by a dominatrix as I passed by the loud groups in the neighborhood toward the end of the laps, I got to high-five Santa Claus and I had fun with all the LSU supporters, so it definitely made the time – and miles – pass by in a great way. I came across a lot of the BT folks along the run who recognized the Cardiac jersey, so I want to thank all of them for the support. It made a BIG difference! I saw KathyG 3 times on the run course and Sue once, and that was great. I did see Mike’s family and Briana just before and again just after the turnaround, so another mental lift. I finally for the first time asked what the time was, and when Briana told me it was “only” 6:20, I realized I could possibly finish around 10:00pm, rather than the 11:30 I had expected, so I was floating on a cloud after that.
Briana was at the back of the finisher’s area waiting for me, and it was great to be sharing this moment with her, now knowing what she experienced last year. She has been patient with me and my lousy running this entire past year, while all the time working on her own marathon training. After the finishers’ photo, Briana walked me back past the food tent: one slice of pizza and the cold, fresh Coke Briana had brought for me, and then we walked to the massage tent. Briana and I talked to Mike and his family at the massage tent, and that was when I found out Mike had had an asthma attack on the run and his inhaler had failed… what a story! Finally, the massage. After that, we walked back to my condo, me and my very gracious babysitter! Thank goodness for my knowledgeable Sherpa! Briana had already picked up my bike and transition bags, so there was one more thing I didn’t have to worry about.
I learned a lot on this journey, about myself and about my training. I think the biggest factors contributing to a successful event for me were: 1) people said it many times, but - Have a plan A, and a plan B, and a plan C. I think it is so important to remain flexible; I had to adapt the run plan to suit the heart rate (and my cardiologist!) 2) if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it! And PLAN to enjoy it! There were so many people who really looked like they were not enjoying the race, and I really felt bad for them… I guess it is because I recognize what I have gone through to get here, and maybe too many people don’t think about it that way. I recognize it is different for those folks trying to podium or qualify for Kona, but really? 3) the people – there are so MANY people to thank. While I previously thought I would be fine going to IMFL on my own, I know now I could not have managed myself through this without Briana there. You absolutely have to have people around you that “get it”, who know what they need to do and when to stay out of the way, who know what YOU need to get it done; my family - my biggest supporter, my wonderful daughter, has been there yelling for me the whole trip, from the first ride on the bike to posting so much support on FaceBook. My mother and my siblings, most of whom are still trying to figure out what would make an old fart like their brother want to do something like an Ironman; my cycling coach - Jeffro, I cannot tell you how much the picture of you in the Cardiac Iron jersey race day did for me! Thanks for a great year of riding and support; my friends at home, my TNT teammates, all the Blue Moose team, for the swims and the bike rides; my new friends on the AHA Social Network Advisory group, and my new team, IronHeart Racing; the volunteers – from the sweet bike handler who handed my bike to me ever so lovingly, to the guys in transition who essentially were my smiling babysitters the whole time, to all the run aid station support, and even the police officers wishing you a great race as you thank them, these people absolutely made my day what it was; the spectators – it was truly inspiring to see Mike’s family and Briana when I did, but there were so MANY people out there supporting every athlete that went by (not just their own athlete); and finally, the “home support team” –the outpouring of support totally knocked my socks off! I cannot begin to adequately express my thanks and appreciation for all of this.
Every first-time Ironman Finisher should get some of the finisher gear at the Ironman store, so I got up early, had a bite and went up to the expo to wait in line until the store opened. I was 8th in line, so I was in and out of there fairly quickly. Briana had finished packing while I was shopping, so I picked her up and we headed for the airport. I was very glad Briana had decided to come down for my race, and I was sad to see her leaving. After watching Briana climb the ramp, I headed back into town. Parking at my condo, I walked back down to the expo so I could locate my special needs bags, and take a look at my finisher’s photos. Let’s just say…I really should learn how to smile! By the time I was done it was time for KathyG’s 50th-birthday lunch at Mellow Mushroom, and that was a great opportunity to see some of my fellow BT racers. Kathy and Sue told us they had both registered for IMFL 2012. By this time, even the online registration had closed, after being open only 16 minutes!
Mike texted me that his group was going to go over and ride the sling-shot ride, and then eat dinner at HammerHead’s. I thought it was just going to be Mike’s family, but as it turned out, Richard and his wife Tiffany were there, as was Jessica and a handful of her friends, most of which had also been at dinner Thursday night. After a few folks did the ride, we walked next door to have dinner. I was blessed to have Mike’s younger daughter Bailey walk around behind me and start rubbing and chopping on my shoulders while we were waiting for the food. That felt awesome! This little munchkin was hitting spots missed on the massage the day before. I wanted to keep her!
I met KathyG and Kevin at the athlete party. It was pretty loud and very lightly attended, so we left to have a drink at Pineapple Willy’s, where we could actually carry on a conversation and hear each other. I was ready for the evening to come to a close after that, so I headed for my condo.
Monday morning, I loaded up the truck for the return trip, and then it was time to meet Mike out by the airport after he dropped off his family, and head toward home. New Orleans was my planned stop on the return trip. Mike and I had talked about him stopping with me, but this morning he had found out on a conference call that there were things going on at his office that he needed to get home and handle. Oh well – his loss! After checking into the hotel and once again hauling bikes and bags into my room, it was time for some Cajun food. I naturally headed over to Mother’s for red beans and rice, and a local brew...um, carb replenishment, yeah. I was pleasantly surprised at how close the restaurant was to my hotel. Once my stomach was satiated, I wanted to do some walking and loosen up the legs after the drive. Nothing better for that than the French Quarter, so went that direction and walked around a bit, mostly people-watching. With that, I was ready to call it a day, so I walked back to the hotel. Tuesday morning, it was time for breakfast of course at Café Du Monde, for beignets and café au lait. I walked a bit along the riverfront and then back to the hotel, where I loaded up the bikes and baggage. As an afterthought, I decided to drive the 70.3 New Orleans bike course just in case I ever thought about doing this race during training for Ironman Arizona - you never know - , and then headed home.
What an awesome adventure!
Well, that is that! On to the next challenge... more on that later.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Taper, and last minute details
We are now at the last week before Ironman Florida. This is the period referred to as “taper.” The workouts are shorter, intended to just keep you loose. There is no expectation of trying to improve any athletic abilities at this point, but it is a time when you let the body rest for the most part. I look at this as the time when most importantly, you do your best to keep from getting hurt or sick – you tend to stay away from people, like sitting at the back of the conference room for a meeting so people don’t breathe too much in your direction. One triathlete told us that going into an Ironman, the week before the event she somehow managed to kick a carton of sodas and broke her toe!
This past weekend, I spent the time doing a couple short swims, small bike and run workouts, getting things organized for the trip, and pretty much just chilling. One thing I finished is the ribbons I will carry with me on the run… everybody I know that has had to deal with a cardiac issue this past year. Each one of these people has an inspirational story of survival, and I hope to honor them by finishing this race and having “them” with me at the finish. It is really an involved process packing for an event like this – I am just very glad that I am driving, rather than having to try to figure out how to pack all this stuff for an airplane trip. Fortunately, I went through this a bit with Briana last year, so I had an idea of what to expect. It is a matter of having lists for everything, separate bags to pack for each component of the race, some redundancy when it comes to the Special Needs bags, and putting it all together in such a way that come race day, it is more a mechanical process than a stressful one. Still, it is an effort to consider.
Some people will think I am anal-retentive or paranoid, or that I worry too much – I am taking not only the tri bike but the road bike as well. But for me, and particularly since I have the advantage of driving, I would hate to make the trip after this year-long journey only to find something wrong with the bike when I got there. Kinda like playing the safe odds – I am not much of a gambler, and if there is something I can do to swing things in my favor, I will do it.
The weather forecast looks pretty good… low of 51 and afternoon high of 74. Winds might be a little gusty at times, but overall a good day. Probably the last time I will look at the weather – after all, that would be one thing I cannot do anything about. You pack your bags like you need everything, and end up taking out only what you need.
Sitting in church yesterday, as I listened to the sermon, I reflected a bit on the journey. When I had the heart attack in April 2004, my daughter went to this church. The trip to the hospital was on a Friday evening, and the following Sunday Amanda brought two people from the church to the hospital, one the mother of her then-boyfriend and the other a young Jeremiah, who was the youth director at the time. We had an interesting discussion about surviving medical issues such as mine, and how God fits into those events. Even then I wondered what He had in store for me. For me it is interesting to look back at how this past year has evolved, and the plans He has in store for the next year. With the involvement with IronHeart Racing and a number of opportunities still up in the air, even the idea of a second Ironman is exciting. It has been, and I think will be this next year, more about the journey than the destination. What a trip!
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