It's been a long time since a posting has been made so I'm breaking the silence to write about the Half Ironman triathlon that my friend Todd (from high school) and I did last weekend in New Orleans.
So.. What is it?
An Ironman 70.3 is a 70.3 mile triathlon starting with a 1.2 mile swim in open water, continues with a 56 mile bike ride and concludes with a 13.1 mile run (half marathon).
Why did I do it?
The short answer is that my friend Todd has been racing them the last couple years and has been kicking butt! Julie and I went to watch him race last year in Napa valley "Vineman" Half Ironman. I thought it was so cool. I had been mountain bike racing and road biking so it totally caught my attention.
Last November at a party Todd convinced me to do the New Orleans race with him. I signed up in December, broadcast it on facebook to make myself accountable and the training began!
Preperation:
The hardest part of the training is keeping motivated day after day. My training was probably light but here is what I did to get ready starting in January through the end of March:
- 19 indoor cycling workouts (basement) for a total of 390 miles
- 9 outdoor bike rides for a total of 290 miles
- 21 treadmill runs for a total of 135 miles
- 11 outdoor runs for a total of 101 miles
- 1 mountain bike ride - 10 miles (too nice a day to pass it up)
- 3 Ski Days
- 2 Yoga Days
- 29 swims for a total of 45 miles
- 2 Days with a bike fitter
- 1 Day with a shoe fitter
- 1 Day with a Swim coach (swimlabs)
New Gear Required:
- "Aero" handlebars for my bike
- A very special kind of wetsuit for the open water swim
- lots of training gear (goggles, swim suits, running shoes, shorts etc..)
- A bike fit to adjust my bike for aero dynamic riding position of traithlons
- A case to check my bike in the air plane
- A Treadmill
- An indoor bike trainer
- Swimming coach session
- An aero helmet
- Lots of GU Gels (gels to get some calories during long exercise)
- A heat lamp to help me stretch when I'm cold
The Trip to New Orleans:
Julie and I paid the trip to New Orleans and the hotel with airline miles. We checked the bike as baggage on the plane. My friend Todd and his wife made the trip and my parents made the trip. No turning back now! It was incredible to have so much support. I have never felt like I needed it more. Made for the most fun weekend ever!!
We all flew out last Friday to beat the snow storm. I arrived first to New Orleans. I unpacked and re-assembled my bike in the hotel room before Julie, mom and dad's flights arrived. I then went to pick them up at the airport. Saturday morningwe had breakfast and my dad drove me to Todd's hotel for pre-race preperation.
Todd and I spent all day saturday getting ready. We drove to lake Ponchartrain (where the swim starts) to test the open water for the swim. Since it was my first time swiming distance in open water, Todd helped teach me how to "sight" my swim. In the pool you have a line of tiles to follow to make sure you go straight. In the lake there is no visibility so you have to look up every few strokes to make sure you're still swimming straight. I found that this is not as easy at is sounds so was glad to have Todd's coaching.
After the swim we did a quick 20 minute warm up on the bike followed by a 10 minute warm up run. Then it was time to head back downtown for a pre-race briefing. After the briefing we headed back to check our bikes in for the race. This took the entire day.
Meanwhile Julie, Liz (Todd's wife) and my parents were having the time of their lives in New Orleans eating oysters, having bloody mary's etc... It is such a fun town and Todd and I were sooooo jealous we couldn't join the party Saturday.
Race Day:
We were up at 4:00 AM to get ready for the 7 AM race. The pros started at 7:00 AM and Todd/My heat started at 7:12. Becuase we were only 12 minutes behind the pros we saw them several times during the race (and Todd passed some of them!). These were some of the best triathletes in the world. It felt like you were showing up to a basketball game and warming up with Michael Jordan - who was about to start in the same event.
Warming up for the 1.2 mile swim:
Transition from swim to bike (Todd finished swim in 32 minutes)
My transition (35 minute swim time)
Smile! (I saw julie cheering me on)
Transitioning from bike to Half Marathon (Ouch - where are my legs!!)
Final Stretch! 70 miles done and 3 blocks left! Best feeling ever!
Results:
- I finshed the race in 5 hours 12 minutes.
- 1.2 mile swim took 35 minutes
- 56 mile bike took 2 hrs, 39 minutes
-Half marathon in an hour and 50 minutes.
I ended up finishing 48/250 for my age group (top 20 percent)
I ended up 220/1672 overall. (top 13 pecent)
My friend Todd is nearly a pro. He finished 7th/250 for our age. Incredible!
For some reason dailyavocado is not letting me upload more photos.. So I'll post a link with more shortly....
Overall I'm really pumped given that this was my first race. It was a fantastic experience and one I'll never forget! Everything about the weekend was perfect - the race was incredible, the town had soo much energy and it was great to spend all of it with my family, Todd and Liz... An unforgetable experience!
More photos to follow!
Joe..
6 comments:
Joey - that was an excellent accomplishment and I am glad that your Mom and I were able to be there in person and watch you cross the finish line. You are in excellent shape and an elite athlete. I look forward to the next one...
Mijito, watching all of you take off for the swim, so incredibly focused, in your "uniform" wet suits and swim caps, listening to the steady, and subdued sound of the strokes, woosh, woosh, woosho.......in a Lake with SO much history, in a City with such rich character and ancient soul, in the company of all those "Loved" ones cheering their special athlete and every one of you on.......brought tears to my eyes. I basically cried every time I saw you, the swim, the bike, when we finally spotted you coming into the chute through the streets flanking the French Quarter on your way to the Finish Line........even thinking about it now makes me very emotional. Thank you for a unique and very special experience. You are, indeed, an Ironman. I Love You !
Hi Joe,
Thanks for sharing the race details. You have worked so hard and are in such great shape! We are very proud of you.
Love, Greg and Amy
Joey... What a stud you are! WOW!! I'm soooo impressed and proud to have you as my nephew.
I love the close up picture of you running....... It looks like a Nike ad right out of a fitness magazine.
Can't wait to get together with you guys and get ALL the details!! We love you very much.
Congratulations Joe! Thanks for sharing the story.
Joe Joe Joe!!!!! Amazing and thanks for making me feel like a couch potato lol. Way to Go!
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