Team 'Ohana--No One Left Behind: The Continuing Adventures

[tiberius]

No churro apology necessary, Corinna! I do appreciate the multi-spectrum supportive comments!

As to what went wrong, it was the longest I'd ever been in constant motion, but it was only 5 hours when I started to get that nauseous feeling, and I have done far longer than that in training many times. I keep going over my notes and nutrition and come up with 3 possibilities. I've ruled out stress and race anxiety because it came upon only well into the race when things were almost perfectly on plan for me. First, it may have just been my day to not feel my best, those things do happen. Second, I made a slight variation in my nutrition scheme where I previously trained on the bike drinking a bottle of water eatery hour while sipping from a bottle of my nutrition and sipping a bottle of water with dissolved electrolytes, and this time I sipped on the bottle of race nutrition but chose to dissolve an hourly amount of electrolytes into the hourly water bottle. The net difference was zero but the details may have mattered. Third, it was a hot and humid day, and while I have been training in the outside weather, it has not been as hot and humid during this spring.

In the end my training got me through the day, so I would rather concentrate on what went right and not worry so much about what went wrong for me on a day that a friend of mine who is a 6 time Ironman finisher and a Kona qualifier at this race described the day as "brutal". (although if I had finished in 11:03 like she did ANY day would have been brutal!)

When it came to the actual finishing I there was no way that I was going to finish other than having a strong and good-looking finish, and as I moved from side to side and high-fiving various people I also ran right by a number of friends and high-fives some of them too I was just too caught up in the moment and all the action and bright lights to notice!

 

[corinnak]

Richard, I think you are smart to focus more on the things that went right and the fact that your training got you through it! Sometimes there's no explanation for things that we can find, too.

The nutrition/water/electrolyte stuff is so complicated, I have no idea. You wouldn't think that a change in reconstitution like that would make any difference, but like I said, I have no clue.

I do have a clue about feeling gross in hot and humid weather when you're not acclimated. My two yuckiest race experiences were in hot, humid, sunny weather when I wasn't acclimated to the summer temps yet. If a 6 time Ironman finisher called the conditions "brutal," it would be surprising if a person did not have some additional challenges due to that!


AFM - I am still planning on the Charlevoix Half Marathon at the end of June, a 10 mile on July 4th and a sprint Tri later in July. I may have to take that 10 mile kind of easy...

"Tommy" is open now and for those who aren't on Facebook (where I posted a good number of photos:

This is what it looked like when I started on Saturday morning:

Here's what it looked like less than one week later:

I wasn't resposible for the lights or the working counter - we have an engineer/sound designer who rigged all that up to work by remote control.

 

[tiberius]

here's what it looked like less than one week later:

wow!!!!!

 

[MouseDogMom]

Richard - Since I'd already said congrats on FB, I was waiting for the race report to comment here. So...

CONGRATULATIONS!

And WOW! What an amazing day. I'm still a little teary-eyed from reading, but so very proud of you for accomplishing all that you did. I'm in awe - now you're an Ironman. That sticker says it all.

Corinna - Another WOW. The Tommy set is just amazing.

Jackie

 

[tiberius]

Richard, I think you are smart to focus more on the things that went right and the fact that your training got you through it! Sometimes there's no explanation for things that we can find, too.

The nutrition/water/electrolyte stuff is so complicated, I have no idea. You wouldn't think that a change in reconstitution like that would make any difference, but like I said, I have no clue.

I went and called the Hammer Nutrition company (very nice people) and did some testing of my own (being a water utility manager gives me access to the equipment and skills for this). I discovered the effective difference of my supposed minor implentation change was that I was drinking a liquid with a moderate acidic pH for the entire bike ride where I had previously been sipping a slightly lower pH drink and then primarily drinking plain water of a presumed near neutral pH. Therefore, I think I found the cause of my race day stomach problems in the slight change of the method of implementing my race day nutrition. I don't know if I should be happy or go bang my head into a wall, but I think I will go with being happy that figured it out, or at least hope that I did.

 

[jbucci]

One more HUGE congrats to Richard. Your report is wonderful and you look fabulous in all of the pictures. You should be so proud of the transformation you have undergone. It almost makes me want to attempt a tri.

Corinna: nice work on the pinball machine-- looks great! Just hearing about Tommy gives me flashbacks to seeing the Who live for their 25th reunion tour-- 3rd row center, awesome show

I hope everyone else is doing well and getting ready for the unofficial start of summer. Things are finally settling down here. I have started to get serious about my diet and have been using the MyFitnessPal app to track caloric intake and exercise. It is actually really helping me lose weight and I am proud to report I am down 10lbs as of today Hopefully I can keep it up and lose the rest over the next few months. It is amazing to me what a few small changes can really do.

For those who were following my saga with school, I am happy to report the school year seems to be turning around for DD and the school actually has a helpful plan in place for next year. She will get help with her writing but has made so much progress with the interventions we have done at home that her reading is now where it is supposed to be. Lots of hard work for all of us (especially her) but nice to see results.

As for running: I did the Superhero Half in NJ 2 weeks ago and had a blast. It was a very pretty double loop course through neighborhoods and a paved bike path in a park. Lots of costumes and fun. I got a free sports massage after the race and the guy (who had been doing these things all morning) commented that I had really strong calves-- was not sure what to make of that. Last weekend we did the Williamsburg Half combined with a trip to Busch Gardens. Another fun race, but a bit humid and hot for my running tastes. Very well don event though for anyone considering it next year. I suffered my first episode of bloody running shirt from my HR monitor strap causing a bit of an unfortunate chaff injury. I had an inspiring experience at the end of the race. I was totally spent from the heat and hills and was walking near the end. This guy (with a giant dragon tattoo on his back) came up to me and encouraged me to start saying we should finish together. I decline but he kept insisting. He ran with me the last .25 miles and pushed me to finish under 2:30 which was pretty awesome.

We have a pretty open schedule for the next few months, so are trying to pick new races. I'd love to do the Providence RnR Half but need to find a sitter. Also considering Virginia Beach on Labor Day weekend.

 

[FFigawi]

I decline but he kept insisting. He ran with me the last .25 miles and pushed me to finish under 2:30 which was pretty awesome.

Congrats on your sub-2:30 finish! That is pretty awesome.

We have a pretty open schedule for the next few months, so are trying to pick new races. I'd love to do the Providence RnR Half but need to find a sitter. Also considering Virginia Beach on Labor Day weekend.

The RnR Virginia Beach was my very first half, run while I was training for my first full. It's a really fun event that gets great support from the community, not to mention some fun bands to see all weekend long as part of the music festival. The one drawback is the heat and humidity. The last few miles of the race are right on the boardwalk, and with the sun beating down and the wind blowing across the sand on you, it's pretty brutal. Then again, once you're done, you can grab your free beer and go stand in the ocean to cool off. That's not something you can do at most other races.

 

[tiberius]

Jen - congratulations for both the sub 2:30 half and the 10 lbs lost! I know both are the result of lots of hard work.

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend and is looking forward to a good summer. So far our summer is dry, hot and more dry. We are operating at above average temperatures and well below average rainfall, but we have to expect that here at times. I know many areas are getting more storms than they can handle at this time, I just wish we had some of that rain here. I spent Memorial Day weekend driving northeast Pennsylvania to drop my daughter off for a temp summer job, she is loving hearing the locals complain about the heat and humidity there-both of which feel like nothing to here there! For the sake of just being able to do it, we drove to the PA/NY border in a rural area. I jogged from NY to PA and back across the bridge over the Delaware River while we were out, just because I could. My two lasting impressions of the area were the beautiful rolling countryside and the local love of soft-serve ice cream--you could hardly move around without being near some ice cream shop.

 

[laughinplace199]

Hello cousins

I haven't been by in a while and wanted to drop in and say hi. This a busy time of year for many of us, but I finally had a moment, so here I am.

Jen - Congrats on the 10 lbs lost and on your sub 2:30 finish. Also, it's great to hear about the progress your DD has made.

Richard - I congratulated you on FB, but I wanted to do it here too, so : Congrats on your race!

Maria - Did Dennis do the Run to Remember? We didn't end up doing it because I didn't get my act together to train properly. Hopefully, next year.

As for me, things are pretty busy here right now. DD is graduating (from 6th grade), so there are a million parties, school functions, etc. going on right now. Also, DH & I are on because DD is salutatorian of her class. Once all of the graduation stuff is over, I'm looking forward to getting into a regular running schedule and training for the marathon.

Have a great week, everyone!

 

[FFigawi]

Julie - congrats on your daughter doing so well! You should be very proud of her.

How is everyone's training going? Our training group just kicked the season off last weekend, and we're all miserable already. Even at 6am, it's been close to 80 degrees and 80% humidity. It's going to be a long slog this summer to get us ready for our fall marathons. I had only planned on doing one before Goofy, but since I just signed up for my second 50-mile race, I think I'm going to add a few more as training runs. I remember from last time having to do 3-4 hour runs on Saturday followed by 2-3 hours on Sunday, so I might as well get a medal if I'm going to be out there that long.

 

[princessbride6205]

JenB - Congrats on your time in the Superhero! That sounds like a fun race. I'll have to look into that one for next year. And I'm glad things are going well with your DD at school now.

I've been continuing with my basic training. On the advice of my physical therapist, I have been sticking with 3 miles, 3x per week. So I didn't end up doing the 10k I had planned for in May. But that's ok, I hadn't registered, and we ended up visiting family for Memorial Day instead, which was great. I have a few more weeks of physical therapy for the hip/IT Band/knee stuff, but I'm allowed to start my half marathon training next week. I've been really diligent about doing my exercises, so hopefully it's all working.

DH ran his first half this weekend in Minneapolis - DD and I went to cheer him on, which was fun. I'll brag a little and say he had an awesome finish time of 2:05. (Though I will admit I'm a little jealous that he doesn't ever cross train or stretch!) Oh, and he's signing up for another half in 3.5 weeks and wants to do the Disney full in January. He's been running casually for over a year, but now he's really caught the running bug!

 

[tiberius]

Sure has been quiet around here as we are setting forth into our busy summer schedules. I am coming off of an eye doctor's appointment earlier and can hardly read the screen but will try to write this post anyway.

JenB and John - My sincerest condolences on what you are each going through with Muppet and Athena. I have been there before (and having a senior dog will be there too soon again myself) and know just how tough it can be to lose these vital canine members of your families. I hope you can take some solace in the outstanding lives you have been able to give them with your family. This last few days every time I have seen Coco's head pop up around me I have gotten a tear in my eye for you and I give Coco an extra big hug.

Nicole - That's great that your DH has the running bug. I am sure Darcy will never pick up that desire over here, but I think that's great that you two can share your running.



AFM - I am still going through my IM recovery period. I have started working out some and even ran over the last weekend. Tonight I will be meeting with my tri group and attempting some 800m repeats. If I can, I will try to push the pace, if not then I will do it easy. Other than that the nest is empty at home for the summer (at least) and Darcy and I are starting to "get to know each other again" without the benefit or pressures of anyone else around...which is a bit strange--nice, but still strange.

Hard to believe it is still 102 degrees out at 5:40pm and I will be running in after 6pm.

 

[FFigawi]

Thanks Richard. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. She's been my best friend for 14 years, a third of my life, and I'm not doing well knowing this is the last night we've got together. It's nice to know friends like you are there for us because it sure does make it more bearable.

 

[tiberius]

You will get through this John.
A friend once told me that this final decision is both the hardest and most loving decision we can ever make for our dogs. It's obvious to understand why it is the hardest. She told me it was the most loving because it comes at a time when our dogs can only rely upon us to relieve their suffering and we ultimately decide to help them over our selfish desire to keep them around.

 

[FFigawi]

Truer words have never been spoken. Please, everyone, go home and give your dogs a cheeseburger tonight in honor of my Rottie Athena. Cheeseburgers are her favorite food and what she received after all of our wins in competition. She got two of them plus a large order of fries for her last dinner tonight.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

John -- I am so sorry Saying goodbye to Worf broke my heart, but you are doing the brave and honorable thing, my friend.

Maria

 

[MouseDogMom]

John - Thinking of you this morning (with tears in my eyes.) Will buy cheeseburgers on the way home for Apawlo and Sienna in Athena's honor. Glad she got to enjoy last night. Hang in there today.

Richard - Absolutely love what your friend said. So perfectly worded.

Jen - Hugs to you too. It's been a tough week all around.

Jackie

 

[laughinplace199]

John -

 

[princessbride6205]

John - I'm sorry for your loss. As I'm sure you know, Athena was an absolutely gorgeous dog.

JenB - I'm sorry about Muppet. I enjoyed looking through all the photos you posted on Facebook. What a cutie!

 

[chimera]

John.... hugs for your loss. With Muppet, Lucy, Tigger and many others, she'll have plenty of companions to enjoy cheeseburgers with .

We have had to make the same decision twice in the past two years and I find the entire process somewhat surreal. Having to make the call on the extent of a pet's life, making the call to the vet, having euthanasia on your calendar as something that has to be done on a given day...all of it is hard to get your brain around, particularly while also trying to grieve. Best I can tell you is that time makes it easier.