Let’s be honest, being on IronTEAM wasn’t easy. If it were though, everybody would be doing it. Last week we announced the team’s official races for the 2012 season. Hawaii 70.3, Vineman Full, and Ironman Canada, and since then many of the alumni have had interest in coming back, as well as many new possible participants. There’s this mystique about the team if you’re an outsider – people call us crazy, people don’t know how we do it, people think it’s something they never can do. Well, everyone’s experience is different, but if this thing was bad for you, or so impossible to do, then why would so many people come back, or why does this team have such a high retention rate, or why are people so passionate about it trying to recruit more friends & family to share this experience?

You’ve probably read my Vineman Race Report, and that explained the full experience of the very last day of my IronTEAM training season, but most people don’t know the rest of the story, my thoughts, my journey leading up to it.

WHY?
The actual decision to join the team came about 5 months prior. It was at the Seattle Marathon finish where things felt empty. It was then I felt like I needed a new challenge. I had all the reasons NOT to join the team because I didn’t know how to swim, neither did I own a bike, but from previous TNT experience, I knew the coaches will get you there. I was first set on doing a half Ironman at first, which would have been 6 months of training. The full practiced for 9 months. I figured, well, if I’m going to commit to 6 months, I’d rather just tough it out for 3 more and do 9 and dive down the deep end. Better to do 9 now, than do 6, like it, then do another 9 next year for 15 total? Let’s go big or go home!

Also, I figured, what’s 9 months? Grad school would take more time, coming back season after season as mentor on the marathon team is just as time consuming, and I didn’t mind sacrificing the parties or drinking nights out anyway. Change was needed, and this sounded so interesting & exciting to be learning so many things. Trust me, I was scared because this was ALL new territory. I’ve never done a mini or sprint triathlon to start, neither did I ever spectate one. I’ve seen the Kona Championships on TV, but that was a whole other level beyond my knowledge at the time. I felt I needed to get faster on my run, or even have some base of swimming or cycling, but after thinking about it a lot (I mean, A LOT), just like when I trained for my first marathon, I realized that’s why we train, to get to that goal. Just like school – are you ever prepared on that first day? Do you expect to graduate the following day? No, it takes preparation, great leadership & mentors to get you there. This was definitely one of those where if you put the work in, you will reap the rewards in the end. You just have to decide you want it, trust in the program, then everything will come together eventually.

THE MONEY FACTOR
This sport is definitely expensive. I thought marathons were expensive. Now take that x3 for each sport! That was a big concern for me, as well as many people wanting to do this. Actually, the biggest roadblock for most. The bike part will be your biggest investment, and all the accessories that comes with it. Let’s not forget all the food you will be consuming during training and the day to day! I got lucky and took on a freelance project months prior that pretty much paid for my bike ($1200) and all the initial goodies (another $300), but the team has loaner bikes for you until you’ve saved up enough. All the other stuff, I somehow made things work to afford everything – I ate out less, I traveled less, I drank less. All that kinda offset all the tri expenses. During holiday season (also around the time for my birthday), I asked for Tri-bags, compression socks (can’t believe I asked for SOCKS for Christmas), sports store gift cards. Amazon was also a good resource because of no tax & free shipping promos.

SOCIAL LIFE
Oh, if it’s not the money factor, it’s the social life (or lack of it) that people are scared of. It was easier for me compared to some other people on the team because I’m single, no kids, and a relatively easy work schedule. The biggest change for me was sacrificing all the partying I did. Went out pretty often, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, all weekend, didn’t matter. If there was an event, and I wasn’t doing anything, I went. That in itself is pretty expensive. So deciding to join the team was probably a godsend because it saved my liver, and actually saved more money in the long run. I actually still went out quite often in the beginning of the season. So much that I didn’t want to add the coaches on Facebook because they’d see how much I’d be going out the night before practice. Had one crazy New Year’s Eve celebrating, went to a bunch of birthday parties, visited family on off-practice nights/days. I made it work. I found the workarounds, and it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought it would be. If your friends are really your friends, you’ll see them at the end of the season, they’ll be just as supportive throughout the season, and will be close as if it were just yesterday. Honestly, I found myself staying at home most of the time, and sometimes I didn’t mind just staying home to relax on the couch, read, watch a movie.

LEARNING CURVE
The first few months were the most difficult because there was so much to take in and learn. Swimming was the most frustrating to me because I couldn’t even FLOAT. Treading water? Good luck with that. I took private lessons at UCLA with a coach (who I later found out was an actual UCLA swim coach for their team), and that was about once a week for 2 months. I also took about 4 Masters classes at my gym to get in that extra practice. I woke up extra early 2x a week on top of all that in addition to the coached swim to get used to it. I was determined to SWIM. I mean, if I couldn’t do it, there goes my event! I didn’t really “get it” until mid-January.

My biggest fear on the bike was clipping into the pedals. I took spin classes prior so I knew the basics why it’s needed, but to add that to a MOVING bike, that scared the hell out of me. First bike practice was in December, and sure enough, I was the FIRST to fall trying to clip in, and practice didn’t even start yet! Oh and biking with car traffic? That scared me too! I know because I admit to be one of those crazy drivers not giving cyclists enough space. I was afraid of car doors opening, huge trucks just a few feet away, going downhill at crazy speeds. It was all I eventually had to get over, and through time and practice, I was more and more comfortable on the bike, and honestly, I enjoy cycling much more than running now. The thrill of the speed, the sights & sounds of beautiful PCH, all that made it all worth it.

From the marathon team, I was used to “Pace Groups” where you’re grouped with people around the same pace as you. I was also used to intervals, where you split it into x minutes run, 1 minute walk to help regulate your heart rate. There’s none of that here (enforced anyway, but everyone is welcome to do whatever is comfortable). That was my biggest thing I didn’t like about the team at first. It was less social during the runs, and there was a lot of time I was running alone. Looking back at it now, I totally understand why the coaches did this, because that’s the reality of the triathlons, you will most likely be running alone. Sometimes sticking to your comfortable pace doesn’t advance your running skills. We were pushed to see what we were capable of, and sometimes running with different people will make you a better runner. My running form also got better learning the “triathlon” way of running (you’ll learn that later). In reality, it wasn’t until I did all the cross-training, and pushing myself that I got faster on my run.

THE REST OF THE SEASON
After the first 3 months of base training, which I thought was the hardest because of the shift in lifestyle & schedule, things got much better. It was easier and harder at the same time. Easier in the sense that all my little fears & concerns were out of the way so I could focus on technique, but harder because the volume was increasing by a lot. After 6 months, they threw down the gauntlet and things got even more challenging. By that point though, we were all physically capable of doing it, it was just a matter of getting experience points for it. I was already used to not going out on Fridays, and blocking off all Saturday and Sunday morning for practices. Major highlights included a camping weekend with the team (even through it was raining, cold, and possibly the WORST conditions I’ve ever experienced), biking to San Diego, training weekends in Santa Rosa, swimming from Hermosa Pier to Manhattan Pier, 8-hour practices (yes, sounds intimidating, but actually pretty fun). Trust me, the coaches are really, really good. I always felt supported and all my questions answered. They were really good at transforming people into Ironmen! Seriously could not have done it without their leadership. Everyone bonded from so many practices and long practices that the thought of distances didn’t really matter, and what really mattered was just being with the team, everyone supporting each other. We really became a VERY close knit of friends. The journey became the destination.

9 months ago I started training with the IronTEAM, and I didn’t really know what to expect other than I wanted to a new challenge while still helping other people in the process. I had some conversations with IronTEAM alumni, but just snippets, never in too much detail (or what I could understand at the time), and I never read anyone’s race reports. I could have easily walked away and not even tried because I didn’t know how to swim, I didn’t have a bike, plus I wasn’t really that fast on the run. Little did I know what kind of ride I was about to take, and 10 Days ago I finished something I once thought was impossible! I had to gather all my thoughts & feelings (and also unpack everything & reset) before I decided to write this. First and foremost, this race was dedicated to our TNT Honored Teammates Laura & Anabel, a close friend recently diagnosed with a form of Leukemia, and all affected by blood cancers who I have crossed paths with my past 5 years in TNT.

THE DAYS BEFORE
I carpooled with a teammate, Chris M, on Wednesday afternoon after work from Burbank while the majority of the team were already resting in our hotel. After the traditional In N Out burger on the way there, we arrived in Santa Rosa at 12:30am. It was really important that we get there on Wednesday because starting that Thursday, there was a pretty strict timeline with some early morning low intensity workouts (yes, swim, bike & run), getting our race packets, TNT dinners, and of course, prepping everything for the race (bottles, special needs bags, bike transport, making sure everything was packed). In between, we were required to keep hydrating with water, or diluted sports drink in preparation for possibly some really intense heat on raceday.

PRE-RACE

Slept at 9:30pm, woke up at 3:30am, and that photo was taken around 4:45am. I don’t know how I even had the energy that early in the morning, but I was pumped! I didn’t really have trouble sleeping, except the fact I had to wake up a few times to go pee because of all that hydrating! It was so exciting to see everyone ready in their TNT tri-gear and IronTEAM jackets. It was such a cool sight – all of the LA IronTEAM all jumpy, talking, laughing, having fun in the lobby, braiding hairs, writing names on arms, taking pictures – we were pumped! The NorCAL IronTEAMs had a different strategy, very quiet, all had their gamefaces on, and very focused. Hey whatever works, right?

As for me? Wasn’t really nervous. Just the normal pre-race excitement I get like the marathons I’ve done. I felt our coaches prepared us well, and I trusted that. They taught us that it’s all about what we do to adapt to a certain situation if anything goes wrong. I knew my nutrition strategy was tried & true in the prior practices, and I’ve already done all the distances. We’ve conquered much steeper hills on the bike & run, we’ve practiced in rough ocean waters, practiced in rough wind & rain during a camping training weekend in central CA, and we’ve already swam, biked, and ran the whole course. We even drove the full bike course the day before. I knew that this was all about the journey, not the destination. I learned from being disqualified at my first triathlon, Desert Tri (International distance), that I should pay attention to the road and signs more. My second triathlon, Wildflower (Half Iron), I overdid it on the bike, and didn’t leave energy for the run, so I learned to conserve. Vineman Full was only my third triathlon, so I knew I still had a lot to learn and add to my young triathlete career, so I didn’t set super high expectations for myself this time around.

I knew I wasn’t going to podium (getting 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in my age group anyway, so being in last place gets the same medal as anyone else, so my main goal was to finish & just have FUN! Of course, triathlons have much stricter time cutoffs than marathons, so to calm my senses a bit, I calculated my finish time based on training sessions. My comfortable pace prediction was: 1:50 swim + 0:10 transition 1 + 7:20 bike + 0:10 transition 2 + 5:30 run = 15:00 hours. 16:30 was the limit, so I still had 1:30 left room for error.

SWIM

By the time we got to Johnson’s Beach, there was a long line just enter the transition area, and this got me a little worried because we only had 45 minutes to set everything up and maybe warm up. Ater setting up transition, I decided to get in the Port-O-Potty line, which took FOREVER. Sure, most people will just pee in their wetsuit, but the problem was, I needed to go #2! Clock was ticking, and I wasn’t even in my wetsuit yet! Someone noticed that no one got out of Port-o-Potty #1 of 3, knocked a few times, then was able to unlock it. It was empty the whole time! After I did my business (which helped A LOT! There’s nothing more uncomfortable than having to hold that sh*t in for hours on the bike!), I raced to my transition and suited up faster than I’ve ever done all season! You have to realize, I was in the first wave (start time 6:30am), and you see that photo above? That was taken at 6:28am!

Jumped in the water, heart was beating fast from the excitement (I was thinking, “WOW, this is REALLY happening!!”). I remember seeing teammates Patrick, Adam, & John W, which calmed my senses a little. I took a few moments to calm my breathing, then I didn’t even have time to crawl to the back of the pack, so by the time the horn went off, I was in the middle of the pack! If you don’t know, here’s a quick video of what it felt like:

It was really helpful we swam in the Russian River on Thursday & Friday because the first new hundred yards were the most intense part of the race. Although I was being punched and kicked, surprisingly, it didn’t phase me, and I kept on swimming! Luckily, the water was a nice 70ish degrees. The swim course is a 2 loop deal totaling 2.4 miles, going upstream for 0.6 miles, then downstream for 0.6 miles. Again, I get punched in the head, and I think I saw a few Twitter birds circling around me. I took a few moments to get back into my rhythm, then that first lap felt like it went by in an instant. A few hundred yards in preparation for the second half, I took a Gu pack. Second lap, I could definitely feel the fatigue set in, then the Gu kick in, so aside from the bottleneck at the turnaround where most people ended up walking, I felt I finished pretty strong (especially since it was downstream too!), and I was cheering at the swim chute just as if I already finished the whole race! Just 9 months ago I couldn’t even do a lap in the pool, and I did what?!?

TRANSITION 1
I finished 12 minutes faster than I expected, so I was so stoked about that. It was awesome to see my family waiting there for me at the chute along with my friends, so that definitely gave me a burst of energy. Unfortunately (or, actually fortunately), I was one of the last ones of my age group to finish the swim, so it was so easy to find my bike! My bike was all lonely in its own transition rack, with the rest of the other racks already disassembled. Volunteers were already cleaning up trash around me! One was really nice and gave me a towel to stand on while I organize everything. At Vineman training weekend I forgot to apply sunscreen after the swim, so that was one mistake I wasn’t going to repeat. I took my sweet ol time in transition to do that. Helmet, check. Gloves, check, Sunglasses, check. Oh yeah… bike, check. So I walked my bike on the ghetto carpets they had placed over the Johnson Beach gravel towards the entrance to the bike and was greeted by my awesome friends cheering me on. They were yelling “Ring the bell, ring the bell!”, and once I did my little *DING, DING* on that infamous bike bell of mine, a roar of cheers from the sidelines, and weird looks from strangers, then that eventual smile once they realize it was my bike that did that!

BIKE

The first part of the bike was an immediate hill, and was known as the most entertaining part of the course for spectators because people will TRY to get on the bike and ride up that hill to save mere seconds of their time. Oh not me, I’m NOT going to fall and risk injury. So I walked my bike up, waited for people to pass me until it was clear. Our IronTEAM Photo Captain was there with the good ol “Hurry up! There’s no one there!” to assure me I can go. The bike course was 112 miles, 2 loops, with a Special Needs stop in the middle to swap out bottles and other nutrition. The first loop was overcast and perfect weather. My goal for the first loop was to survey the course and see where I can push/conserve my energy the second loop. With so many people zigzagging trying to overtake each other, I was mainly focused on that first loop. It seriously zipped by and didn’t really remember much. At mile 29 though, it was such a surprise to see my family standing there cheering me on (I was thinking, “Wait, how did they get there and how did they know?”), but it was such a rush! Not too long after, I hit the railroad tracks and my rear bottle popped off. Maybe I should’ve noticed the 4-5 bottles on the ground as a warning to that bump. Oops! I stopped to get it because it was too early in the game to lose any nutrition. I had my Garmin watch beep every 15 minutes to remind me to drink/eat. My drink of choice was Accelerade + Carbo Pro + Elete (electroltye add on), and my solids were Clif Bars. The amount of carbs, electrolytes, calories were calculated precisely for each other, but I’m not going to get into that now. Another piece of the puzzle that helped me on the bike was my Sponsor-A-Mile list that I clipped on near my aerobars to give me motivation mile by mile. I’d take a glance to see where I was at, then I’d imagine that person being there helping me through.

56 miles in, I noticed I was only a little over 3 hours, WAY ahead of schedule! It was at the Special Needs station that I saw my teammate Adam, which gave me a bit of relief because I was actually catching up to the rest of my age group (same wave start). Since I familiarized myself with the course again, the second loop was time to push it a little more, but it was a race against the sun. By then, I think I drank TOO much because yup, you guessed it, I needed to pee. Didn’t want to pull over or wait for an aid station, so yeah, you know what happened. Overcast was peeling away and in came in the sun! It wasn’t terribly as bad as expected as we were expecting 85-90 degrees out there. When it did start getting hot, I took water bottles from the aid station to cool myself off.

Another surprise came in at mile 63. I saw this one girl all by herself by her car with a hat & shades on. I was totally checking her out, and even did a double-take. By the second time I looked over, she yells “MARVIN!!!!”. I realize it’s my longtime TNT friend from SF who came to be a part of the cheer squad! OOPS! That was awkward. I thought she was going to be at mile 69, and it was only 63! So she jumped in her car and met me at a turn and flashed her… signs. HILARIOUS! One sign had a penis and had “Doing an Ironman takes BALLS”, and another said “Marvin is the shit!” with a piece of turd on there. By mile 69 (not going to mention why they picked that mile, but you get the picture), a group of my friends were surrounding their truck with even more signs. It took a few seconds to realize I knew them, so we stared each other, until a crazy loud burst of cheers! A-mazing! That totally gave me energy to finish up the 40+ miles. During the rest of the bike, I enjoyed the scenery of the Santa Rosa Vineyards. I was so tempted to stop at a vineyard and do some tasting! I’d pass by other TNT IronTEAMers from other chapters and gave each other cheers & support. I remember an IronTEAMer with a pinwheel attached to her helmet – genius! Some of our teammates who did Vineman 70.3 two weeks prior came out to cheer us on at the top “Chalk Hill”, the most dreaded hill of the course (I didn’t think so), so that helped a bunch. They were dressed in multiple costumes, wearing tu-tus and banana suits. So fun!

The last few hours, the people I was pacing with stuck together, and pushed each other through. Once I entered Santa Rosa suburbia, I was so excited! It was then that I realized that I AM going to finish! There’s no stopping me now! A few small turns and I was at Windsor High School! Shortly after entering the lot, it was the dismount line, and a HUGE sigh of relief happened. Why? Luckily, no flats, no mechanical problems! Finish time: 6:40 vs an expected 7:20, which came out to a 16.8 mph average. Already 40 minutes ahead of schedule!

TRANSITION 2
Bike, RACKED. My roommate Carlos and I had this conversation multiple times. When he first did Vineman a few years ago, when he racked his bike at T2, he knew right there and then he’s an Ironman. That’s exactly what happened and how I felt at T2. Coming from a marathon background, there was NO question that I was going to finish.

RUN

After I put on my run gear and sunscreen, I checked my watch, and I had 8 hours to finish the marathon! EIGHT! My marathon PR was 4:58, and on my marathons I ran “for fun” averaged at 5:30, so I went out on the run with the goal of just having fun with it. There was no more pressure! I just had to watch my hydration and make sure I don’t overdo it because I wanted a strong finish. First few steps out of T2, I was actually RUNNING! Wow! A month ago at Vineman training weekend where we did the full 2.4 swim then 112 bike, we did a 30 minute run and oh man, my legs were HEAVY. Not this time around! I had a pretty good pace, and again, I saw my friends & family with signs near the entrance/exit of the high school which gave me that added boost! (Seriously, they SAVED me multiple times.. they were awesome!)

So we’ve seen the run course before. It was a 26.2 mile, 3 out & back course. Nothing new, but what surprised me was the amount of aid stations – 30 of them! Fully stocked with Gatorade, water, ice, bananas, pretzels, Gu, Clif Bars, fruit, RC Cola and much more. It was a buffet! “Nothing new on raceday!” was ingrained in my head, so I only took the liquids with an occasional banana. I already packed enough Gu & salt pills that I’m used to having on my run. This part gets a little tricky for some people because sometimes people’s stomachs act up when you consume new stuff.

The out & back nature of the course was a blessing because I got to see most of my teammates several times. We cheered each other on, gave high fives, and just even a smile would do the trick! Teammates who weren’t racing were decked out in costumes and signs at the top of the largest hill of the run (THANKS guys!), which made that super fun & entertaining. My friends were camping out near the entrance of the high school, so things got crazy then, so I always looked forward to that on each loop. Oh there goes that “Balls” poster again! My run strategy? Well, I tried intervals, but it never aligned with the hills, so I modified it to walking up the large uphills, then run the rest. I kept in mind who I was running for, plus the Sponsor-A-Mile list the whole time. I also tried to make sure I didn’t over do it because the most we’ve ever practiced was about 9 hours, so anything more was unknown territory!

THE FINISH

Once I made that left into Windsor High School, I could hear the announcer & crowds! I was unexpectedly still full of energy. I never hit “The Wall“! I ran the rest of the way to the finish, hearing my friends & family start a “Marvin!” cheer, which spread to other people, then the announcer did as well! I originally wanted to do some dance, or some slow walk to the finish, but that finish line tape made me want to RUN! Oh what a rush! Imagine watching the endings of Rudy, Rocky, Friday Night Lights, Karate Kid, Field of Dreams, Remember The Titans… take all that energy, put it in a box, and have Chuck Norris riding a unicorn, hand delivering it to you , with huge explosions and double rainbows in the background, with a Michael Bay movie soundtrack playing in the background. It was that EPIC. I’m an IRONMAN! 13:53:57!

After I crossed, I hugged everyone in sight! In the photo above it was my TNT Friends Louise & Traci who gave me the medals, Tom who got my timing chip, Coach Jason making sure I was still coherent & not needing medical attention, then it was my teammates who finished before me. Oh the joy & love all around! Next I saw my family & friends behind the fence & ran over to greet them! Here’s a photo of my Mom & Dad, sister Jenilee and her husband Johnny.

POST-RACE
It will be really hard to imagine what I’m about to tell you. After almost 14 hours, I actually felt fine! I wasn’t limping or crawling. Just a few aches and minor tightness. I’ve felt worse after marathons. What the?!?! Could I have gone faster? Maybe. That wasn’t my goal. I just wanted to finish. Aside from maybe tightening up from the 8 hours on that ride back home to Los Angeles, I felt normal. I was expecting it the day after, or even the day after that. It was a different feeling than marathons. I just felt drained, as if I pulled an all nighter and all I needed was SLEEP. I still need to get a massage because muscles feel out of place, but nothing too major. I believe it was the training, and how well our coaches prepared us. It was a race plan I intended to follow, and that I did. I just made sure I rehydrated and replenished my nutrients the days following. Believe it or not, I showed up to our swim practice the following Tuesday and did an hour and half of swimming!

CLOSING
This experience has been so amazing! I’ll never forget it! That finish line moment, so unbelievable! Sure, the training was very challenging, some workouts made you want to cuss out the coaches for putting you through it, we also made a lot of sacrifices – taking time away from that favorite TV show, nights out with friends, happy hours with coworkers, and even some family time, but… all that will still be there. In the final months to Vineman, no matter what workout was scheduled, I looked forward to seeing my teammates, I looked forward to the next challenge. I actually LOVED it! THIS was an experience of a lifetime. Wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world. Our amazing coaches have molded a TEAM of people to accomplish once impossible dreams. Support staff & teammates have turned into lifelong friends, with a bond that is truly unbreakable. We’re the IronTEAM!

So what’s next? I’m definitely coming back for another round of the IronTEAM, starting again in November. Who wants to join us? Let me know! Races for the TEAM hasn’t been finalized yet, but a TNT event or not, my eyes are personally set on Ironman Canada next August.

Wow, did time really fly! Here’s a picture from our FIRST team meeting in Santa Monica back in November 2010, to last weekend’s finish line photo at Vineman. Go TEAM!

I’ve been asked several times, “You’re practicing for so long, what do you think about?” Usually I’m pretty good with keeping my thoughts in check during training. What’s there to do when you’re out there all by yourself on these 8 hour practices? I try not to think about work, chores, bills, or anything like that, but instead I try to think positive thoughts, creative thoughts, or have some sort of inner dialogue.

On the swim, especially in open water, it’s important to not let my thoughts wander. Sharks? Stingrays? Piranhas? Sharktopus? Oh hell no! Ocean, lake, river, it doesn’t matter what creatures belong where. My mind gets crazy like that. So instead, I keep my thoughts back to my swimming form & technique. On the bike, I try to enjoy the scenery as much as I can (but not too much because I still have to keep my eyes on the road for crazy drivers here in L.A!). On the run, I’ll try to think of a song, enjoy the scenery, think about the art & design of nature, fun memories with my awesome teammates, or even nostalgic memories of past trips I’ve taken. I then do form & technique checks time to time to makes sure I’m not straining anything, or if my cadence is most efficient as possible.

So what Katy Perry song was in my head the WHOLE time during that 5/3 brick last weekend? The winner was, Katy Perry’s “T.G.I.F.”. I mean, really?!? I think it was the last song coming out of my car on Amp Radio that morning. Well, here’s the song for your enjoyment so that this will be stuck in your head too! (actually kinda catchy, especially that Kenny G saxophone solo)

There’s a 9-hole driving range near my work, so some of us decided to check out the driving range for lunch. See? There’s more to me than swim/bike/run!

Earlier today I got an email from Avia Wildflower with an attachment called the Endorphin Report, a 34 page report, which has all the stats you could possibly think of during a race – pace, rank, strength of each stage, who you passed and when, who passed you, your splits, maps, you name it. Bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts… it’s a stat geek’s dream!

Basically shows how much I suck. No, really. Well, I don’t really care because I’m still a beginner triathlete, and that was no easy course. All that mattered to me is that I finished it! Here’s some general stats of my race:

Swim
Time: 00:58:00
Distance: 1.22 miles (1.96 KM, 2143 yards)

T1
Time: 00:06:37

Bike
Time: 04:01:33
Distance: 90.13 KM (56 miles)

T2
Time: 00:04:3

Run
Time: 02:40:27
Distance: 21.1 KM (13.1 miles)

Finish
Time: 7:51:11
Overall Rank: 1503 / 1729 (Top 86.9%)
Rank Among Males: 1151 / 1281 (Top 89.9%)
Rank Among All 30-34 Males: 224 / 245 (Top 91.4%)
Rank In Your Division: 211 / 232 (Top 90.9%)

Read my somewhat embarrassing report here.

Back in March, the team went up to Lake San Antonio for our Wildflower Training Weekend. Remember that it was one tough weekend, rain, wind, cold – probably the worst camping experience I’ve ever had. Conditions were so bad that we had to modify the planned training bike and run routes for safety.

Last weekend the IronTEAM returned to Lake San Antonio with relatively much better conditions (no rain!). I carpooled with my teammate John W, headed out from the valley at 7:30am, and made it just in time to camp to set up our tents and join the team for a preview of the lake. When we got to the lake, we noticed how windy conditions were, so there was a little current in the lake with a little (actually a lot) of choppiness. We swam as a team with a nice easy pace to the first buoy about 100 yards. We hung out for a bit in the water getting some tips from our coaches, then we swam back.

Triathlon expos are much smaller than marathon expos, then again, I’ve only been to two. From what I hear, the Wildflower one was one of the best ones for triathlons. I thought it was ok, not the greatest. There were a few bike vendors, some endurance food vendors, things you’d expect. The food court area had some of the infamous burritos that people were talking highly about (I didn’t think they were that great compared to genuine L.A. Mexican food trucks). I guess I can see how good they can be after a race.

In the afternoon, since Wildflower was an actual event for some TNT participants, there was an Inspiration Dinner inside a huge white tent. Pictured above, was the usual “Red Carpet” intro where the staff and mentors go to cheer on our teammates before the start of the event. The TNT National Director, a TNT Honored Teammate family, and a USAT representative were the speakers for the night. Very inspirational indeed. At the end, Coach Brad gave a speech and gave us some last minute pointers about the course.

There wasn’t much time from after the dinner to bedtime. It was a time to get our gear ready for the morning, a little chit chat, then it was lights out. I was so nervous that I didn’t get much sleep. It was cold, and there wasn’t much cushion from my sleeping bag either. Waking up 2-3x to the restroom was frustrating because I was really needing rest for the big race.

Weeks leading to this past weekend, Email subject titles from the coaches for Wildflower Training Weekend were shortened to WFTW. At first glance I thought it was WTF, and boy oh boy, it really was a WTF weekend. The team took a road trip to central CA to the exact camping site for the Wildflower Triathlon, so we could get a taste of how the course will be, from the elevation, weather, and technicalities. The original plans had to be modified because of continuous rain from Friday all the way to Sunday.

Friday
I took a day off from work so I could leave with my teammates Dash and Traci to get to the campsite in time to set up. I think the only time it DIDN’T rain was the few hours the team was setting up tents for everyone else. Once they were all up, the rain just would not let up. It was tough to really meet everyone in this kind of setting because some people would stay inside their cars, or inside their tents to stay dry. There would be small circles of people crowded under umbrellas, or bunched up wearing swim & rain parkas. It took some time for everyone to get situated. Groups were scattered for dinner, and the fire pit flames were small. After dinner, the coaches gathered everyone to the only somewhat dry spot – the side of the restrooms. They went over some modified logistics due to the weather.

Saturday
It was a crazy early wake up call – 6:30am. There was no alarm or anything to wake everyone up – it was the sound of the rain against the tent, and the cold, cold weather. Movement around the campsite also added to waking up. You can tell no one had a good night’s sleep, but everyone was hungry that’s for sure. It took longer than expected for everyone to get ready for the bike ride, but hey, it was raining! Once we were all situated, the coaches led us down a pretty steep hill to the lake parking lot. They went over the course another time and we were off! Did I mention it was COLD? It was especially cold if you add in the wind factor. Most of the time I had a dilemma to bike harder to heat up my body, but at the same time I went faster which made me colder. No matter what I did though, the rain just didn’t help. I made the mistake again by following some of my teammates through another turn (which we were supposed to follow the yellow lines, but didn’t have any). It resulted in going up a challenging “Beach Hill” again. By the time we were back on track, we were pretty much the back of the pack. We rode outside the property to the SAG stop / turnaround point. Cold, cold, cold! I was miserable! I was so happy when I arrive the campsite, but a 2 mile run loop was still on the schedule. Finished the run without any problems.

After the brick, we had the rest of the day to just bond and hang out. Surprisingly, I didn’t take any midday naps. It’s tough to do that in the wet and cold. The Wildflower fundraisers had the opportunity to ride “Nasty Grade”, the infamous hill of the triathlon bike course. The coaches took it out of our schedule because it was just too dangerous to bike down, so whoever rode the hill were just shuttled back down to camp. Most of the riders said it was tough, but not impossible. There is hope! Me and some teammates went looking for drinks then on the way back, we just drove the “Nasty Grade”. I agree, it didn’t look too bad, but I know it will be a whole different story on the bike, after already riding 45 miles! The rest of the day/night was nothing but good times. Funny conversations inside my friend’s SUV (trying to stay warm), people’s tents, under the tarp, and around the campfire. I really do feel a little bit closer to everyone, because you know, at practice, it’s sometimes difficult to socialize.

Sunday
By Sunday, everyone’s spirits were down because of the crazy winds downpour that kept everyone awake last night. One person even had his tent collapse on him so he had to crash in someone else’s tent. Most of us just wanted to pack up and leave. We had to tear down the tents after breakfast and clean up before our scheduled 12 mile run. So many of us wanted to opt out of it, myself included. It wasn’t until coach Brad said his “Braveheart” speech that got the TEAM together and willing to run. We drove down to the same parking lot from Saturday, and luckily it wasn’t raining. The run was two loops from the Wildflower Olympic course (long course is different, but was too muddy from the rain). Parts were muddy, but all doable. There was one hill that was challenging though. I had some slight complications with my foot, probably because of using trail running shoes, which I was not used to. Because of my foot, coach advised me to stop after one loop. I was lucky I guess because shortly after, more downpour ensued. We all stayed until the last person came back, and that’s what I love about this team, we are so supportive of each other, and the cheers and smiles instantly made me forget how tough this weekend was.

I’ve always thought wearing the whole tri get-up was weird – tight top and shorts, but today it finally came together and now I understand. Now I was one of those people wearing that outfit, and you know what? I wear it proud! Last night I couldn’t really sleep because of my fears of my FIRST triathlon. What was going to happen? I never even did any cheer support for a triathlon. I think the only exposure to it in the past have been through pictures, or maybe the Kona Ironman Championships on TV. I had no idea how the swim start, transition, crowd support, finish line was going to be until today.

We woke up bright and early to get to the brightly lit transition areas. Everything we learned about transition from past practices were applied here, from splitting all my gear to specific sports, positioning of sunscreen, to the alternating positioning of bikes. You can feel the intensity in the transition area as you can see some pretty hard core triathletes with the expensive aero helmets, $8k bikes, nervous beginners (like me), family and friends outside of the transition area, and everyone testing and reviewing all their gear. You also hear everyone talking about past experiences and current feelings, it was fun! Outside of the area were volunteers marking up athletes with their race number on their arm and age on their calf. It’s mainly for the photographers, but I think the age thing is a mental thing to see who passes you up on the bike or run.

The Swim
I had a pretty rushed swim start because I didn’t pay attention to how much time I actually had when I was warming up in the water in my tight super restricting wet suit. I saw my earlier wave already start, which meant mine was next! The horn was blown and we were off! Me and another teammate took our time and just walked to the deeper part of the water while everyone was running. Once I was finally in, I felt the cold cold water, and was able to do a few yards of good strokes until something came over me and panicked. I rested a little while I saw my age group go further and further away. Another challenge was trying to swim straight. I was pretty much swimming in zig zags, and barely halfway to the first buoy, I had to stop and rest hanging on to the life-boat. I wasn’t the only one. There were four of us, and we were chatting it up a bit to calm all of our nerves. You can tell we were all first timers. One person said, “Are you ready? We can do this guys!”, and that marked a pretty good motivation to finish the swim. It was tough for sure, as waves of other age groups just kept passing me by (you can tell by the different colored caps). Rounding the buoys were tough as I was getting hit by other athletes from their strokes. All of a sudden I was pretty much done as I saw the shore in sight. I was excited to finish, as if I already finished the whole triathlon!

T1
Getting out of the water was so weird. It felt like I was about to pass out right there on the sore. I was dizzy, but super excited the hard part is over. Everything from out of the water to the transition area was a blur. Felt like I was drunk, time traveling a few minutes. I remember seeing one of my coaches, Andie, on the sides taking pictures, then I slowly reached for my wetsuit strap to remove the top part. I did a slow jog on barefoot on the transition carpet, then I quickly put on all my bike gear.

Bike
Ahh, the bike, the most comfortable part of the triathlon, in my opinion, especially this course because it’s all flat. I just saw the bike part as a way to dry off from the swim, and as transportation for the run part of it. Throughout the course, I found myself passing others, then them passing me up multiple times. The ride was pretty easy, probably going 16-20mph, but at one point of the course, I missed one important sign! The sign redirecting traffic for a 2nd loop! I just so happened to be in a pack of riders who were already on their second loop (didn’t know at the time), and everything just seemed like any other turn on the course, so I turned with everyone else. There were even a few people I’ve been following since the start of the bike, so I didn’t question it. I noticed I did something wrong when I started to see people from my own age group on the ride, when I knew they were way ahead of me. At that point, there was no turning back since the course was all one way at that point. By the time I got within the lake property, I saw surprised faces from my coaches how fast I came back, my mileage was behind by SIX miles, and the transition area was void of bikes within my age group. DAMN!

T2
Already disappointed at my mistake on the bike, my motivation to go on was low. I wasn’t stopped, so I might as well go out there and finish what I started! Bike to run was pretty quick, it’s just a strip down of helmet, gloves, and shoes to running shoes and race number belt. We were always taught to continue a higher cadence on the run because our legs were used to that bike cadence then stabilize to the golden 90 rpm.

Run
The run was a very familiar territory to me, so I wasn’t worried at all. The course was a double loop around the lake, and it was all flat. This was training anyway, so I needed to get a run workout out of this. Thoughts would sneak in about how my time doesn’t matter at this point, and thoughts of disappointment of missing that bike turn definitely haunted me throughout the 6 miles. Again, I just had to suck it up. Finished strong with my teammate Scott, got a medal, then met up with the rest of the team.

Post-Race
Feeling great that I survived the swim, this event still felt empty to me. I can’t officially call myself a “triathlete” just yet, and now I just have this weird feeling of unfinished business. When the official times were up, the DQ list was on the OTHER side, on a single piece of paper. I wasn’t the only one who made the same mistake. About 15 people had the same reason “Bike Loops”. I wonder what their reaction was? I bet it was the same. In the end though, this race wasn’t my race. It was practice. I survived the swim, and now I have a gauge of where I’m at and what I need to work on. I definitely need to improve my swim technique, improve my bike shifting and maneuvering, and most importantly, to review the course AHEAD of time, and pay attention.

Rewind to about 4 years ago, the night before the Rock N Roll San Diego Full Marathon, my first marathon actually. The jitters and excitement were both nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. Since then, I’ve went through numerous marathons without a sweat, mainly because I really just go out there for fun, without any high expectations. For some reason, those feelings of my first marathon are back, for my first triathlon. Sure, this is what our coaches call a “Training Triathlon,” but in the end, it’s still my “First” triathlon. The triathlon swim experience is still unknown to me. I hear so many horror stories, plus I get warned a lot about the nature of the start. I don’t have any worries about the bike or run because the course is flat anyway. I think what’s bringing back all these nervous feelings is that preparing the night before is so intense – prep all the things you need for the swim, all for the bike, then all for the run. Do I have all the nutrition? Where’s my sunscreen? How about my contacts? I really need to relax!