DMD–congratulations!! Third in your age group is wonderful. Gertrude: Nice job on your race!! MOWC: Good to hear the WC is fine. He must be disappointed, but it sounds like he’s one who will bounce back and move forward.
Did another 4 mile walk yesterday and plan to do a Restorative Yoga early tonight.
Congratulations dmd. Agree on the wetsuit!
Sabaray- I won’t say I told you so, but… Glad you felt good.
Heading back to Denver. Yesterday in Nashville was the first day in 50 days it went below 70 for a low.
1.2 miles this morning in Crested Butte.
I finally got to talk to WildChild. He said he had just passed 2 guys in his age group and moved into 2nd place (he knew the race was for 2nd place- the lead guy was very strong) and all of a sudden he felt dizzy and horrible. The bike ride was cold with pouring rain. He had so much dirt and rode gunk in his brakes that he couldn’t use them. He thought he would do well in cooler weather, but he wasn’t used to it. His HR was low (almost too low) and he backed off on the bike so he didn’t crater like he did in Kona. He jogged to the medical tent on the course at about 9 miles and collapsed into a guy’s arms. He was wrapped in blankets and doesn’t remember a lot after that but he woke up about 30 minutes later freezing. I forgot to ask him how he got back to the staging area.
He said the race was a nightmare. There was a bad bike pileup on the course with a lot of injuries because an inexperienced rider crossed the centerline into oncoming bike traffic. There were 600 first time Ironman racers and 300 were doing their first triathlon ever!
He spent a lot of time talking to a pro last night and got some good advice. I was suggesting that he email a coach or top pro like Dave Scott (who he’s met). I guess the concensus is that full Ironman is a cr$pshoot and weather can really mess with you. It’s expensive and requires ridiculous training. He said something obnoxious about “if I wanted to back off in the future and do a 9:45, I could, but what’s the point?” (9:45 is beyond stellar). I think he was heading for 9:15 easy before he collapsed. He thinks 70.3 (half ironman) is very challenging and he wants to focus on that. He said he is very tired. They had to get up at 2:30 yesterday morning.
His training buddy from NY fell apart at 70 miles into the bike and couldn’t hold down his nutrition. He walked most of the marathon, but finished. One of the top pros (Matthew Russell) tweeted that he was intentionally kicked in the face during he swim, then had a mechanical on the bike and called it a day. Doesn’t it all sound fun?
Anyway- I’m glad he’s back in the US and regrouping. He said the weather was horrible for all the volunteers and spectators, too.
I’m at the Denver airport. Sorry to leave my beloved Colorado, but anxious to get home to the dogs and cats!
Oh wow, there is nothing in that post that sounds like fun, MOWC. I’m glad that your son was able to talk to a pro last night and get some good advice. It sounds like just a brutal experience.
Have a safe trip home!
I really didn’t think the water was that cold, but I grew up swimming in the Maine ocean water in the summers–where the water is about 60 F. The only way to get in was to lie in the sun until you were hot, then run as fast as you could and dive under the waves! I’d done a test swim of the route two weekends before, wearing just a wet suit vest, and finished that one feeling warm. When I realized Saturday morning that it was going to be over 70 air temp at the start (I think it was 75), I knew I wasn’t going to bother with the vest. I’d say about the half the competitors weren’t wearing wetsuits; some of the ones who did wear them were clearly not very comfortable in the water. (I used to snorkel and scuba in Hawaii winters (mid-70s) wearing just a skin suit, so I may just burn hot.)
Thank you all for the comments. I really do feel good about the tri! I’ve been tracking my performances against the Olympians. My 5K time is a lot MORE than the women’s Olympic record for the 10K, but my sprint tri time was less than the women’s Olympic tri record… My swim/100 yards is about 3x the record, though…
What a relief for you to finally hear the details, horrid as they were, and have him back in the US, MoWC! What a nightmare competition. Safe travels home, to you.
Congrats, dmd!
Sabaray, so glad your training is paying off with easier and faster runs. I’m quite envious of your 50 something degrees too!
C3B, the distances you are able to run on consecutive days are so impressive–just like MoWC’s streak. Thanks for your kind words about my DS. As much as I love having my kids out, I miss having them here, especially after their increasingly short visits home.
It’s too soon for a cool down. It was 99 degrees by early afternoon. Blah. I went out for a lazy but still sweaty run/walk of 5 miles this morning. Maybe it’ll be back down to 90 when my husband and I walk this evening. Ugh, perspiration’s budding just thinking about it.
Wow, what a story MOWC. So glad he’s OK & he had the good sense to head to the medical tent when he did.
I really gave it all I had yesterday at the half marathon - “sprinted” the last half mile (as much as I could sprint after 12.5 miles) when I saw how close I was to a PR. I went to bed at 8:00 PM last night & spent about 4 hours just in pain, sort of like a throbbing fever through my whole body. Then I slept hard with vivid anxiety dreams. I feel much better today - the fever feeling is gone, just some good ol’ DOMS.
It all sounds horrible doesn’t it? So why is it so great? I spent this morning planning my races for the coming year - I think I might do 9 halfs!!
@GertrudeMcFuzz — your race sounds pretty amazing to me. Congrats! I have trouble even imagining doing a half–a 10K seems unbearably long to me. But I do know about the going to bed early and lying there painfully burning up. I really think a full effort revs up your metabolism for hours and hours afterwards.
I’m also starting to think about my events calendar for next year. I’ve agreed to run four different dog events, so those weekends are planned already. I think I’ll do the tri I just did again next year; it was really well run and I did like the on-going reason to cross train. Another weekend down. Then there’s the trail running series in July and maybe the spring one, too…
I’m actually considering doing a 15-mile serious trail race in the Cascade mountains next May… It seems insanely ambitious right now, which is kind of the appeal of it. Talked to my badass daughter about it, and she said “Have you even looked at the elevation profile, mom?” Yes, dear, I did… which is why I’m hesitating.
MOWC that is just agonizing to read! And people choose to do this??! 
Plantmom, I bow to you to have the rigor to walk out of the house for 5 miles of anything with it that hot!
I too, am in awe of the mileage - always will be - that some of you put in in a week. I’ll be honest, I don’t like running enough to have those aspirations! I sometimes have to ask - do you do it because you want to or because you feel you have to? Do you LOVE it? To meet a weekly mile goal in your mind?
Guess we all have our piece of the exercise pie (haha). My piece is smaller and shorter, but I like to have piece everyday of some sort. That, I LOVE - feeling physically active (to a somewhat sweaty degree!) several times a week. I’d also like real pie several times a week, but no can do. 
Glad he’s ok, MOWC!
Yes, as abasket said, it was agonizing to read about WildChild’s race. I cannot even imagine how horrible he must have felt about being so close to finish and not crossing it. He is an iron man no matter what.
@abasket - speaking only for myself - I do the weekly mileage just so I can keep up with my running group and keep doing the races. The daily stuff is a bit of a chore. But the group and the races really pump me up. I’m not sure I fully understand the whole mental dynamic of it. I just know that the group and the races are filled with positive energy & happy people & I want to stay a part of it!
I never WANT to run. I guess I’ll always hear my Dad’s voice telling me that “I’ll bet the Glenwood runner isn’t taking off today”. My Dad’s side of the family is king of the guilt trip. I most confess I used it with my daughter as well.
Great point, Gertrude - most of the runners I know are really happy people! I guess I’m always hoping some of that fairy dust will rub off on me.
I ordered new shoes last week - so I checked the shipping status and they have been sitting at our local FedEx because they aren’t scheduled to be delivered until tomorrow. Really? The FedEx is only in our neighborhood 100 times a day (or so it seems). I liked the Transcends so much I got another pair, this time in a red/pink colorway.
Yesterday I did a combo TRX/Pilates class which was very challenging; tomorrow I will work with my trainer before she goes on vacation and do a short run focusing on cadence.
Gertrude, nine halfs! Wow! I would like to do the Wineglass full if I can get in. However, I’d also like to avoid training for a full during the summer months. I’ll see how things go in October.
After how I felt yesterday I can’t imagine ever doing a full. But I’ve learned to never say never, just not now!
And I agree, I don’t enjoy long runs in the summer. The nine halfs (spell-check really wants me to write “halves”) I have picked out are one per month from October through early June, then nice low mileage all next summer.
Sabaray, do the Transcends give you enough room in the upper toe area? I seem to remember that you needed more space there (as do I). I tried on the newest Ghosts (9, I think), and they felt like they had made that area in that model a little tighter, maybe a result of making the toe area a bit narrower. I have problems with my big toes and the shoe upper, but also need medium arch support. Shoes are such a challenge!
A resounding yes! I have a wide forefront and narrow heel. I also pronate, so I need some stability. My prior shoes would quickly develop holes in the upper - right over my big toe. These have not and there is plenty of room for my toes. I also have a pair of Adrenalines (16) and they feel snugger in the toe area and have also developed the toe ventilation area - which the Transcend (3) has not. They are not inexpensive ($170) but they have been a great shoe for me.
I still feel most comfortable picking out shoes in a running store. I just can’t look at a shoe online and have good success at getting it to be the “right” shoe. Planning on a trip to that running store for a birthday gift to myself next month!
Transcend is a good shoe. Do you order from RoadrunnerSports? The first year of VIP is only $1.99 or something and you get a good discount. I keep up my membership because it lets my family use it, too. I have Ghost 9 and like them, but I don’t have a wide foot. I took Altra Olympus 2 (good for trails and road) and Hoka Vanquish 2 to Colorado. Plus hiking boots and a myriad of other shoes…
Has anyone noticed that one of the updates on the Garmin 235 now tells you when the wrist HR sensor is ready?
Ohio- is your Garmin back to life?
I ordered from Brooks because I got a nice discount for using my AMEX - always good to check those offers they send you!