From couch potato to Ironman training.

Geez, if you asked me a few 3 years ago at this time if I thought I could ever finish a marathon I would tell you; "take a hike".  If you asked, Hey I'm doing a 1/2 Ironman, want to do it with me, I'd say, "your an idiot".  If you said Hey, I bet you can't finish and Ironman, I'd say; "You are absolutely right"!  OK, I probably wouldn't be so crass but you get the idea. 

In the winter of 2010 I was going to the chiropractor 3 times a week for back pain which was the result of a on duty motor vehicle crash a year earlier.  I had gained some weight, and wasn't happy with what I was becoming.  It took a full year for me to do SOMETHING about it.  So, on Dec. 28th, 2011 I ran 1 single mile.  It took over 14 minutes.  Yeah you heard that right, 14 minutes.  Dec, 31st, 2011 I ran 3 WHOLE miles and it took an excruciation 40+ minutes.  That night I went to my buddies house for a New Year's Eve celebration.  4 of us all made a pact that we would run the Marine Corp Marathon on the last Sunday of October. 

The first 3+ months of training where the hardest for a number of reasons.  I had some extra weight to get rid of and I was still struggling with lingering back/neck pains from that 2009 crash.  By June I was off to the races. Times were improving even though I had no idea what I was doing. I was just following Hal Higdon's novice marathon training program.  Just getting out there was making me faster and stronger.  So, I completed the Marine Corp Marathon in 5 hours 10 minutes and 25 seconds.  The last 6 miles is what really ballooned my time but I didn't care, I finished.  

A few weeks after the marathon I started to run again and stay active.  After seeing the Ironman World Championships I thought it would be a good idea for me to take up triathlon. I signed up for a 1/2 Ironman.  That's right nothing like going in head first!  Problem is, I can only swim to save my life, not to be competitive.  I spent 3+ days a week from November through April learning how to swim.  I had some people give me tips and pointers and of course watching youtube helped too.  As soon as the weather got warm I was out on the bike and running again.  the bike I borrowed from a good friend of mine.  After competing in my first sprint tri I was hooked.  

I did a few more and it was time for the big one.  A 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and then a half marathon.  70.3 miles to glory, or something like that.   I have never felt better or worse during an event than at Timberman 70.3 . Even when I felt terrible I knew I was going to finish,   it was awesome.  So, after Timberman I said, if I can do a half Ironman why not do the real thing!  So, I signed up for Ironman Lake Placid (IMLP).  IMLP is the second greatest Ironman event in North America behind only the Holy Grail; Kona.  Actually, I was quite lucky to get in as I hadn't volunteered for IMLP 2013.   I was able to secure one of the few spots that were released on Active.com.

One thing I had learned from the 70.3 was that I couldn't do this by myself.  I really am to "green" to figure out the schedule, nutrition and all the other stuff.  I can follow a plan though. So I hired a triathlon coach and this was probably my best move yet.  Now training for IMLP is going to require a lot of time and sacrifice as well as patience and understanding by my family.  Can't wait to see how this journey progresses, especially with the great people I'll meet along the way!  Although triathlon is really popular the communities are relatively small.  You often see the same competitors on race day from other races. 

What a difference a few healthy years makes.  Until next, time, Keep training

on twitter at @1st_marathon
on Facebook at Averageman to Ironman.

Volunteering as a Swim Buddy

A few weeks back I was asked by a fellow triathlete if I could be a “swim buddy” for  the Title 9 sprintTriathlon that was coming up in Hopkinton, Mass.  I really never heard of this but I looked at my schedule and it fit so I said sure.  Now, I was going to compete in the FirmMan Half Ironman, BUT, I had recently completed Timberman 70.3 and wasn’t sure If I could get enough workouts in to be ready for FirmMan. When my friend Laura asked I thought  1) It was a great excuse NOT to compete in FirmMan and 2) I kinda wanted to see a triathlon from the “other side”.  I told Laura (who was the swim buddy coordinator that I was “in”. 

I received an email a few days prior to the event to make sure I was there for the “swim buddy meeting” by 7:15am.  I thought that it was awesome that I could “sleep in” while going to a triathlon. By sleeping in, I mean that I set my alarm for 5:50am.  Prior to training and competing in these events that would be early but now this is definitely, sleeping in. 

I got up and got ready.  I really hadn’t volunteered before and wasn’t sure what to expect.  I got in my car and took the 40 minute drive to Hopkinton State Park. I did make a stop at Dunkin Donuts to pick up some coffee and food.  I checked in at the volunteer booth, got my free T shirt  and headed to the Swim start where the meeting would be.  

I walked down and changed into my wet suit. I saw Laura and made some small talk with her and some of the other swim buddies.  I later learned that Chrisann from TeamRefuel was a swim buddy.  How cool was that?  She was selected by Team Refuel to train alongside Hines Ward for Ironman Kona.  Now, if you aren’t too familiar with Kona.  It is the Holy Grail for triathletes.  It’s where we all want to compete and very few of us will ever get the opportunity to be there. 

So 7:15am came and Laura gave the 8-12 of us the instructions for the day.  Laura is also an aspiring Ironman.  She is slated to compete in Ironman Florida and has her own blog titled a “Fat Girl’s IronmanJourney”.  She is truly and inspiration to many fellow current and aspiring triathletes. By her own admission she is not fast.  I asked her “so how long do you think it will take you?”. Laura told me that she wanted to finish in 16:59:59.  You have 17 hours to finish an Ironman and be considered an “Ironman”.  Every perspective Ironman wants to hear Mike Reilly say your name at the Finish line followed by “You are an Ironman”.    Laura told us all what we should be doing, where we should be in the water and what to look for in distressed swimmers.  The Newbie swimmers would be in the last three waves.  We all grabbed guard buoys or swim rings.  I grabbed a guard buoy.  The swim buddies also where a distinctive blue swim cap.

So, I was in the water about 150-300 yards from the start.  It is supposed to be a .25 mile swim but I think it is actually much further than that!  The first 5 waves of swimmers went past me with 5 minutes in between starts and no one needed or requested any assistance.  Normally, many new swimmers will have trouble shortly after the start.  It’s the intimidation of the water coupled with the nerves and adrenalin with can make the swim start challenging.   The 6^th or 7^th wave of swimmers came and “Michelle” was in that wave.    Michelle had swum about 150 or so yards and she was having some trouble in the water. She spotted me in my blue cap and life guard buoy and waved at me telling me she needed some help.  I swam over and she grabbed the red guard buoy.  I asked if she was ok which she said yes but she was out of breath and seemed nervous.  I told her not to worry that she was going to get through the swim.  I asked if she wanted me to swim with her and she said yes. 

In triathlon’s you can hold on to a swim buoy or a kayak or whatever else you want to as long as you don’t advance your position.  So Michelle and I had to make it past 4 marker bouy’s before turning for shore.  At first I let her try to compose herself and figure it out.  She got to the first buoy by a combination of swimming on her back as well as free style.   Michelle was not the “quitting” type and kept moving forward.  Midway between the first two buoys Michelle saw that the next wave of swimmers was beginning to overtake her. This was probably her “low point” in the water.  I saw it in her face.  I told her not to worry, and that it was very common for the faster swimmers in the later waves to overtake swimmers in the previous waves.    In order to try to get her in a rhythm and get her mind off of the fear of not finishing I told her;  “OK, this is what your gonna do, You are going to take a stroke and count 1 take another stroke count 2 and then breath.  Your going to do this at least 20 times before we stop again.  Don’t go to fast, don’t crush it. Got 1,2,breath, 1,2,breath.  You are gonna get there. Ready?”

Michelle was off.  I watched her swimming and she was SO MUCH smoother.   We made it past bouy two, then three.  I think it was here where she started to gain more confidence.  At the last buoy she started to make the turn toward shore and stopped.  She said “is it Tim”.  I said “no Its Nate”.  She thanked me and went on her way. 

I am sure she finished her first Triathlon and to tell you the truth I was really “Proud” of her as weird as that may seem.  This was such a rewarding experience to help a fellow triathlete.  If you ever get the chance to be a swim buddy I say go for it.  I also got a great swim workout in too!  Until next time,  Keep Training!

 Nate