Conquering the Ironman Longhorn 70.3

From the moment I arrived in Austin, I knew this was going to be an amazing experience. I met up with Mike Ferranti and James Fitzgerald at the airport and they all piled into my rental, along with my three bags of luggage and huge bike box.

When we got to the Driskill hotel there was just enough time to drop off our bags in the room and get right to a pre-race meeting where 30+ from Team Titans were in attendance. What a great group of people from all over the country. All of the details of this weekend were coordinated by Justin and Jason Abernathy of Sureclick.com

The principals from Boulder Coaching Simon Lessing and Darren de Reuck, were our guests and coaches for the weekend. Simon is a five-time world champion Triathlete and Darren is a former professional runner. Their thoughts, ideas and insights into all aspects of pre-race training over the past few months--whether it was nutrition on the course or just knowing what to expect--were so very helpful.

Friday night consisted of a quick, early dinner and getting to bed around 8:30pm for a great night’s sleep.

On Saturday morning we all met at 9am for a quick swim, run and bike along with some bonding, networking and great interaction at the race site. Then it was time to see what the water was like, check out the run course and check to make sure our Nikes were in top condition. We got our bikes set up in T1, dropped off our running gear in the T2, and then checked out the vendors inside the indoor stadium where we would finish the race.

I visited the Koalla Massage tent and got my IT band stretched out and taped for race day. A special tape from Kinesio Tex is designed to keep the IT from contracting and it worked long enough for me to be able to finish the race. That evening, another early dinner with 40 racers and over 100 family members and supporters at the Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Austin. It was so great having so many wonderful supporters around the whole weekend. After dinner it was right to bed for me.

On Sunday morning I woke at 4am, had my three bottles of Ensure along with a bagel and a banana. By 6am we were loading the car for the quick drive over to the arena where we would board buses to take us to the lake. It’s very dark in Austin at 6am. Final set up for bikes took place in the dark with the help of major lighting. Around 7am, we were all led out of transition to the waterfront where we enjoyed seeing a parachuter waving a huge flag to the sound of the Star Spangled Banner.

At 7:30am, the first wave of pros took to the water and the race was under way. My wave was 15th and not for another hour and ten minutes, so I relaxed on the grass as the waves went off one by one every five minutes. Seeing the pros coming out of the water with such a fast swim time was inspiring and such a humbling experience. Here I am in the best shape I have ever been in my life and these people are just machines.

Race recap: My wave started around 8:35am and I was calm and relaxed after sitting on the grass enjoying the energy all around me for a while. The swim was not my personal best, but I knew I wanted to come out of the water strong and I just did not push it at any point of the 1.2 miles in front of me. I came out of the water 39 minutes later and felt like I was 100% physically. There were wetsuit strippers all around me waiting to help get our wetsuits off, and although I truly thought I was functioning at full capacity, I probably wasn’t, since I asked some random guy to strip me rather than one of the beautiful women ready to do so.

I ran into T1 with all the confidence in the world, my wet suit and accoutrements put away. I then put on my bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses and ran to the area where we could mount our bikes and start riding. I was 100 feet into the ride when I remembered to put on my race number and GPS device that were dangling from my bike by a thread. Off I went for 56 very comfortable miles. I felt strong on the ride and had a great nutrition plan that helped me execute very well. I had two bottles filled with Perperteum, at 900 calories in each, along with an extra bottle of water that I knew I would replace along the ride a few times. I could have used a bit more electrolytes so I’ll have to adjust for that next time.

At one hour into the ride, I had covered a little more than 20 miles. My goal was 18 mph and I had an average of 20.4 MPH for the entire ride. I came in with a bike time of 2:45 and knew I had time to spare on my run to make my goal of a six hour race. My legs felt great, and I only have to thank my bike fit guy for this, Jay Courant of 53 Eleven in Arlington, MA.

My first mile of the run was over in just 8 minutes and I felt great, except for having to go to the bathroom, which made me start to clinch. I found a restroom on the course around 1.7 miles, and I stopped there for about five minutes. My mom, who was watching this online, said later she was concerned that something had happened when I didn’t move for five minutes. She wondered, “Why isn’t he moving?” “Did he fall and hurt himself?” I was fine, but the time stopped made my legs and IT band start to tighten and it was a grueling run walk for the rest of the remaining 12 miles..

At the 5 or 6 mile mark, I thought there was no way in hell I was going to make my time of sub 6 and I started to get a bit discouraged, however, all along the race course there were Team Titans supporters, and I could see other Team Titan racers. So, I dug deep to find my happy spot and worked through the pain. A sign on the road even said, “Pain is the feeling of fear leaving the body.” If that’s so, a lot of fear must have been leaving my body at that point.

Around the 7 mile mark with five more to go, I had 55 minutes to make my sub 6 and I started to think it might happen. How bad was I going to feel if I came in just over 6 hours? That five minute crap was going to haunt me! I dug in like I had never before, took all the water and Gatorade I could, dunked my entire head into a huge barrel of ice water and did whatever I could to finish strong and beat my goal. My gratitude to the Abernathy Brothers who I passed with two miles to go who said, “Go for it!” Thanks to Simon for being there at the last set of hills reminding me to walk fast on the ups and run the flats and down hills. Thanks to the crowd of over 100 Team Titan supporters who flew in from all over the country who were in our tent seconds before the finish line. What an amazing experience running by that tent and hearing all that screaming and yelling—now that’s what I call support.

Making the final turn with the finish line 100 feet away, I thought, “I did it, I am a ½ Ironman and I can do anything I set my mind to.”

Finding Balance

How do you find time to do all of the things that you do? I’m talking about being around for your family, being a good husband, going to work, finding time for your hobbies and advancing yourself professionally? It’s definitely a tall order.

For a long time, I struggled with finding balance between my work and my personal life. I read a book called The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, and I also got a lot out of Cameron Herold’s painted picture philosophy, which basically requires you to “reverse engineer” your goals by first visualizing the end result, and then working backwards towards to achieve that goal.

But what really helped me the most in finding the right balance in my life was training. From first starting out to training for a sprint, an Olympic, two half Iron Man competitions, the Boston Marathon, and now Iron Man Lake Placid, I’ve learned how the discipline of training can help you prioritize your life, and eventually help you achieve a work/life balance that works for you.

The most important thing here is determining what’s important to you. No one can figure that out for you. So, take some time to consider your own personal “painted picture.” Where do you see yourself two or five years out? Then figure out what you need to do to get there.

Here’s an exercise to help you put it all in perspective: come up with a list of “non-negotiables.” These are the things that you are completely committed to in your life right now. I’d cap that list out at four or five items, but that’s really up to you and what your “personal bandwidth” is for commitment. Then come up with a list of priorities related to those non-negotiable commitments. By structuring your priorities within your commitments, you’ll get a clearer sense of what you have to do to make your dreams a reality and feel in control of your destiny.

Pedaling into the Unknown

In January 2009, I weighed 230lbs, wore a size 40 waist, and felt completely out of shape. I’d been on the diet roller coaster for a while, filled with its own unique blend of highs and lows: I’d start by going to the gym and eating healthfully, and then I’d get out of the groove and “forget” to work out. Take that cycle and repeat it a bunch of times, and you’ll understand what my life was like for a long time. Not good.

The actual task of working out was never a problem for me, though. I’ve used a personal trainer many times in the past and was fully versed in the “ways of the gym” (sounds all spiritual, but eh, not so much). If I felt heavy, I’d string a few weeks at the gym together and drop 10 pounds. Still, there wasn’t anything guiding my workouts or serving as a foundation for motivation. All I was doing was reacting to weight gain and putting a temporary fix on the situation.

During the fall of 2008, the same approach of reacting pervaded my work, too. I’d sit at the computer responding to every email as it came in, chasing every issue that needed attention in nanoseconds of it rearing its head, without waiting to see if it fixed itself. I guess I was like so many out there, doing what I liked to do, but not loving it. I wasn’t taking control of the situation at hand. Business in retail after October 2008 had started to fall apart, just like every other part of the economy, so I thought it was even more reasonable to stick by the phones and handle crap as it came in. I was once again reacting to everything instead of making things happen.

During all of this, I continued to go to the gym. One day, a trainer invited me to try a 6 am “spinning” or cycling class on a Monday morning. The following week, as I drove in the dark to the class, I truly thought I’d lost my mind. I wasn’t sure what to expect. As an entrepreneur, you often take risks that feel like a shot in the dark, you drive towards darkness in the figurative sense a lot of the time—so how was this any different? Well, for starters, it wasn’t totally about business this time—it was about me.

I walked into the room where the spinning class was going to take place. Bikes were lined up with towels hanging over the bars and I ambled over to one and set myself up on it as best as I could, without asking for help. I got a weird look from a very cute girl who got on the bike next to me, and was sure that this was going to be a long class. Later I realized that everyone set up their own bikes and towels before class and I’d taken the bike reserved for her boyfriend or husband. I’d already broken the rules!

Class started and I pedaled. And I pedaled some more. I felt my throat get dry, my lungs get heavy, and my brain went into survival mode. Brief questions crossed my mind as I battled every imaginary hill, and they went something like this: Why don’t I have any water? Why are all these people so much more fit than I am? Why am I the only one not pedaling right now? Even though I had all these questions, my brain was focused on the task at hand. All of the other mental clutter floated away. All I could do was pedal.

I made it through my first spinning class. Despite the fact that afterwards I found myself on the couch in my office wondering if I was going to die from exhaustion, I felt good. My head was clear. And I couldn’t wait to try it again.