Ogden Marathon 2010

I ran a personal best on Saturday with a finishing time of 3:41:54, a personal best by 57 seconds. Regardless of it being my personal best, it was my most complete marathon I have ever run because I was consistent across the board and never walked...which is a first.

This was a big accomplishment for me because as I stated in a previous post, I have been in a major funk since the California Ironman 70.3. In march when I did that triathlon I was in the best shape of my life by far. My trend weight was 163 and I even had a daily weigh in under 160. Now I am nearly 10 pounds heavier in less than 2 months...but hey, 1.5 years ago I almost hit 200.

Anyways, without a lot of training over the past couple months I still had to run the marathon because I paid for it and it has been my favorite course. Emily drove me to the bus area at 4:30 in the morning and I met my friend Ben. We loaded up on the bus which took us to the start area. We spent the 1:15 before the race started standing in lines for the bathrooms and crowding next to the bonfires to stay warm. We then lined up for the start and took off. Ben was gone and I knew I wouldn't see him again because he was going for a Boston qualifying time, which would be more than a half-hour faster than I can run.

The first mile I clocked at a 7:30/mile pace which I knew was to quick so I slowed up. My ultimate goal was to finish under 4 hours which would be a 9:09 pace. I then started getting passed by just about everyone but I was able to stay at a 8:10-8:20 pace for the next 7 miles. The first section is down the first canyon with a river flowing right next to the road and tons of campsites with the smell of campfires burning. It is a beautiful course. The next section goes around Pineview Reservoir.

This is the ugly part of the course, which says how awesome the course is because the ugly part is running around a lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. This part is flat and also has some uphill. My pace was steady here at around a 8:30 pace. Again, it was very consistent.

The next part is down Ogden Canyon which is beautiful as well. You are running next to another river with steep canyon walls. I was able to drop my pace to around a 8:20 and even clocked a 8:05. Some parts of this section has a steep downhill which really hurts after 18 miles of running. I thought "18 down, 8 to go...aw, what the crap am I doing." I have always had a moment like this during all my long distance races but I was easily able to overcome those thoughts today. I just kept kicking one foot in front of the other. I stayed on top of my nutrition pretty well and the adoption of an Ibuprofin strategy has worked well my last 2 races.

At the bottom of the canyon you have a 5K to go. I thought that this could be my first race where I never walked. Last year I was about 4 minutes ahead of this years pace but I walked 3-4 times through water stops. This year I pressed forward. It was hard but I averaged about an 8:50 pace and in the end only had one mile where it took me more than 9 minutes (9:05). The last 5K is critical. I ended up 63rd place in my age group (top third) but I had the 6th fastest last 5K time.

The Marathon was testing a new system where they would send a text to your loved one when you had 5K to go. Emily and the kids were waiting for the text, but the system didn't work so I surprised them when they were sitting in the park waiting. Emily felt bad because she didn't get to see me finish. It was the first time she has missed that, but I appreciate her and the kids so much for being there anyways, and also for allowing me to spend time training.

So now I am re-energized. I looked at my first marathon time and now, 6 marathons later, I am almost one-hour faster. I am signed up for St. George and am looking to make it more than an hour in October. I am looking forward to training for the Utah Half (another 1/2 Ironman triathlon distance). The triathlon training may dampen my St. George time but it could help as well...and then at the end of the season, I will try to sign up for my IRONMAN...2.4 mile swim / 112 mile Bike / 26.2 mile run.

26.2 x 6

My 6th marathon will be tomorrow morning and I feel more unprepared than any other marathon I have ever run. It is mostly due to the major funk I have been since the California 70.3. I have seen the anti-depression med commercials on TV and have been thinking that I need some of that. I have been lucky to train more than twice a week lately due to just not feeling all that great. To help cure my depression I have started to watch some more Tri videos which is helping and hopefully next week I can dive back into heavy training for the Utah Half. But that brings me back to tomorrow's marathon. The furthest I have run is 13 miles and although i would like to do well i have to make sure that i don't injure myself. It could get ugly but I need to just be smart. I would be happy with a sub 4-hour finish but we'll have to wait and see.

California IM Video

Here is a video of my California 1/2. It's not the greatest video but you'll certainly get a feel for what it was like.

I am 1/2 Ironman

The Finishers Medal

Wow...A brief summary of my experience is, I am ecstatic with the whole experience.


The not so brief summary:

Pre-Race:
The drive down to California was pretty uneventful although I was concerned the entire time about my bike flying off the rack on top of my car.

Friday:
We arrived at the Oceanside community center where they had the check in area for all the Ironman athletes. I jumped in line and slowly moved into the building. Once I got in they directed the athletes to a table according to their number. Why in the world does it always seem that I end up in the longest line. There were 20 people in the line for athletes with the numbers from 800-1200. I was number 942 so I waited while all the other tables had no one in them. They gave me a bunch of papers that I had to sign that pretty much said if I died or was eaten by a shark, I had no recourse. I happily signed my name, content with the fact that death would definitely be a possibility. I was lucky enough that a bike didn't fly off my car while driving down here, I figured I would be lucky enough to make it through 70.3 alive...not well, but alive.
They sent us from table to table where we would pick up our wristband, so they can identify corpses floating in the ocean or alongside the roads, t-shirt and and race packet. After that we headed to go watch a video. After 5 minutes I thought, "this is a waste of my time" so I left without watching the whole thing. Thankfully I didn't miss anything important. I headed back outside to meet my family who were slightly annoyed that it took so long. We headed to the Ironman tent area where they had things for sale. If I had lots of money I could have bought a lot, but in the end I walked away with only spending $10 on 2 water bottles and I plan on giving those away, but I may not be so generous when I see those people later.

Smiling after chowing down on the
Ultimate Meat Lovers Pizza

That night the family met up with my sister and her family and we went to eat pizza. For some reason I have found that pizza is a great pre-race meal for me. Since I had pepperoni pizza the night before (Thursday) I decided that on Friday night I would add canadian bacon and breakfast bacon to my pizza pie. My boy calls it the ultimate Meat Lovers pizza; anything with breakfast bacon is "ultimate" for him.

When I got home from dinner I headed for the bathtub where I proceeded to shave my legs. (They look really good. At some point when I am out running on the road and am wearing a hat, so that no one can see my receding hairline, some guy may think I am a hot chick with such fine legs). 

Raceday:
I slept really well until about 2:30 in the morning when some doofus rode by our beach house on his skateboard. I thought that since I went to bed at 9:30 I already had 5 hours of sleep and I could get maybe a couple more...I was wrong. I finally had enough and got out of bed at about 4:30 and went to eat breakfast. I went with my usual pre-race breakfast of a protein shake and english muffins with peanut butter. Emily got up as well and started getting ready for the day. I went over my checklist one more time, checked my tire pressure and was ready to head out.

My Bike - Thanks Clark for loaning it to me

I jumped on my bike and Emily got on hers and we headed out for the 2 mile bike to the start area. We owned the road because there were no other cars out at this time in the morning. As we got closer more and more athletes joined us on the road. Emily had to veer off as we approached the staging area and I headed in. With over 2000 athletes the staging area was quite lengthy. I found my rack and then headed to the body marking area. they magic markered (do you like that verb creation?) my arm and leg and then I headed to the porta-pottys. After 30 minutes in line I was relieved to finally go set up my transition stuff.

Emily finally found me, although she had to stay behind 3 guard rails to keep spectators away from the athletes, and more importantly, from the athletes valuables. The Star Spangled Banner was being sung so it was time to get in line for my wave. My wave had the light blue swim caps. The pros were silver and headed out at 6:40. They are pretty fast. We slowly moved closer and closer. I think my wave was #9.

When the wave ahead of us headed out to the starting buoys we headed to the waters edge and the pros rounded the corner as they were finishing the swim. It took them right around 20 minutes. The horn sounded for the wave ahead of us which meant it was time to head out to the start. I waved to Emily and jumped into the water for about a 100 yard swim to the start. I had about 2 minutes to tread water before the horn sounded. Finally they gave the 15 second countdown...the horn...and it was go time. 

THE SWIM:

I tried to start easy and then found my rhythm pretty quickly when the swimmers spread out a little. I was able to spot a buoy ahead of me and then just swim for it but I also relied on other swimmers as well, hopping they were heading in the right direction. Eventually I made the turn but I wasn't quite sure, especially because I was a little surprised how quick it seemed I had got there. I just kept swimming and felt really good. The water temp was good although there were plenty of people complaining that it was too cold. Heading back I started swimming into previous waves. I started passing purple caps and yellow caps. I was OK except that every once in a while I would get boxed in between some slower swimmers.

This is me with my face getting
out of the water afterI slipped

As you swim back and head back into the harbor you can see spectators along side the rocks. This is easily done if you breathe on the right side. This was a hint that I was getting closer, especially as more and more fans appeared. I then swam by a bait shop that I noticed when using the bathroom before the race and I knew that I was only the length of transition to the start, so probably a couple hundred yards. I rounded the final turn and spotted the exit. I went straight for it and swam til my hands could touch the boat ramp. They had helpers would would grab your arms and shoulders to help you stand up and even pull the zipper down on your wetsuit...but I stood up by myself just fine and then a helper tried grabbing my arm to assist and that is when I slipped. (That's me with my face getting out of the water in the picture on the right.) No big deal, I jumped back up and headed to transition 1.

On my way to go get my bike

TRANSITION 1:
I was surprised how long it seemed to run all around the staging area. It was carpeted the whole way but it seemed like forever. We ran through a chute to the back of the area, by the bait shop, and then headed into transition. My spot was halfway in so I kept running, found my spot and started to strip my wetsuit off. I wore my jersey and shorts underneath my wetsuit so I didn't have to worry about putting that on. I put my socks and shoes on, then my helmet. All I had left were my gloves and for some reason I couldn't figure it out. My left pinky wouldn't go where it was supposed to. I swallowed one Motrin tablet (200 strength-so not a lot), grabbed my bike and took off. I ran to the mount area clipped in and was starting my 56 mile journey.




BIKE:
The bike stared off pretty good. There was a small hill right at the start where I had to shift to my lower gear but it was all good. A couple miles in I realized I forgot to put my glasses on in transition. At least I wouldn't be able to see the mountains I had to climb until I reached them. The first 30 miles or so was mostly flat. Every once in a while there were some rolling hills where my speed would drop below 20 mph but I was consistently in the 24 mph area. I felt good in the aero bars and I was passing plenty of people, but with the wave start it should be expected. There were also plenty of people passing me as well, especially the guys with the disc wheels which make that cool sound. There wasn't any wind that I could tell and I was cruising. My heart rate was in the 160s for awhile which was a little high but it slowly crept downward into the 150s. At one point we had to head up a small hill that was part of a trail system (for runners, not bikes). This was a single file, no passing zone so you could only go as fast as the person in front of you. There was a guy about 4 bikes ahead who was really slow so eventually a group of us decided to go ahead and move past him. I guess this admission could get me in trouble or disqualified but if I went any slower I would have had to stop and walk. There was also a flat area where I was going pretty well and a physically challenged athlete (I think that is the PC term) came cruising past me. It was impressive.

Finally after heading up the coast we turned inland toward Camp Pendelton (which will be referred to as the base from here on out.) It was a false flat for quite awhile as we kept heading inland. We officially entered the base and I was wondering where these hill climbs were that people were talking about. I finally saw the first hill. "You gotta be kidding me...this is going to suck!" As I approached I kept reminding myself that I had done the work and training, it'll be difficult but I can get over it. For those familiar with south mountain from the Lehi side, this hill climb reminded me of that...but 35 miles into the race made it very sucky. One guy was off his bike walking and carrying his bike up the hill. There had to have been a mechanical problem because I can't imagine why he would have been carrying his bike...bu the hill was steep and long. Everyone was struggling up. I passed up a handful, but again, I was also passed as well. It was nice to get to the top so I could catch my breath. I thought, "One down, two to go." I didn't count on the constant rollers which seemed more up than down. I saw hill number 2 and again had to tell myself that I had put in the training. This was longer than the first hill climb but not as steep, but not as steep isn't so great when the length was double the first climb. My heart rate was racing, but heck, I was in a race. I finally got to the top and was ready for some downhill and was relieved because I didn't think the third hill was going to be as bad. The downhill started well. I was going at 45 mph which made me a little nervous in the aeros. I saw some wind gusts ahead as dirt was flying across the road. I also noticed some of the other cyclists were swerving badly. I braced, and the crosswind nailed me. It was scary for a second but I was able to compensate and stay upright. (Later in the finish area I heard someone mention that they saw someone wipe out in that area pretty hard). The downhill leveled out but we were still going into a headwind. We finally reached the third hill. It wasn't as steep as either of the other hills but it seemed as long as the second...but into a headwind made it suck real bad. I was talking to a guy near me and he said he loved the hills because he would kill it, but going downhill made him feel slow. He said he saw me pass him 4-5 times on the downhill. He didn't have aeros which was a problem for him but he left me on the climb. I finally reached the top and was glad to be headed back to the coast. We still had about 5 miles to go and I knew that I would be just off my goal time but I felt pretty good considering the hill climbs. I passed Mr. non-aero bars one more time and pushed toward the finish. Riding into the chute area was great except that meant I had 2 hours left.

TRANSITION 2:
I dismounted my bike and ran in my shoes the couple hundred yards to my bike rack. There were only 1-2 other bikes on my rack so I knew I was doing pretty well. I was able to quickly change my shoes and head back out for the run.

The run along the beach

THE RUN:
I felt pretty good at the start of the run until I looked at my heart rate and knew that 169 was no good. I thought, I am in trouble, I can't do 2 hours of this. There were tons of people cheering so I tried to enjoy the moment and ignore things like pain, heart rate and more pain. The saw the winner of the race pass me going the other way as I was less than a half mile into my run. The women pros were going through the halfway point and passing me. They run crazy fast, and after the swim and bike, it is really impressive. I was tired but kept pushing. the run along the coast was great with tons of people cheering. Then we headed up a hill and onto a street between houses, so we weren't right next to the ocean anymore. With houses on both sides it cut the wind and seemed a lot hotter. This area had a lot more inclines as well which seems like huge climbs at this point in the race. There is one big hill that you have to climb but I was able to keep pushing through. It was awesome to see my family who were standing out in the driveway at the beach house we were staying at. It was good support. When I hit mile 3 I thought "only 10 more miles...oh crap." I was moving, not very fast, but still running. I kept plugging away thinking "In one hour I'll be back at this point and that much closer to the finish."

The halfway point sucked because that meant I still had half to go. I did pretty well hydrating. I would drink the water and gatorade, then pour water on my head. Grab sponges, squeeze them out on my head or pin them on the back of my neck by putting them in my collar. The coke was good when I got it. I didn't take a lot of gels because it seemed like I would always be too busy with the other things and would miss them. My energy was running out but I finally hit the last checkpoint which meant I only had 3-4 miles to go...but I knew I was close to being in trouble as far as energy. I had a gel in my jersey and hammered it down but had no water to help it. I was struggling at this point and was in the housing area where it seemed hotter. I passed through a great aid station where I was able to get some more water and gatorade and I knew that the turn to go back to the beach road was only 500 yards away...but I bonked with about 200 yards to the turn (and about 2 miles to the finish) I had run the whole way at this point, never stopping or walking. I couldn't do it any longer and I started walking. I was thinking that these last 2 miles could be ugly because I could no longer keep up my run. I was frustrated because I was at pace to be under 2 hours, but here I was walking.
I hit the turn to go down the hill towards the beach and thought that I should at least run downhill. This actually hurt the muscles really bad with the pounding of the downhill but it got me moving. It kind of woke my body up and from then on I just kept moving. I figured I was moving at a ten minute pace so with 2 miles left I only had 20 minutes to go. They moved by slowly but I eventually moved to mile 12...I could count the minutes on my hand. As each minute passed I would close a finger down from 10, 9,8,7,6...and then I could count the minutes down on one hand. Less than a half mile to go. I crossed the bridge which meant I would shortly turn and only have 2 relatively short straight-aways to go. I felt bad for all those people who were turning at the turn around point, but it felt great that I didn't have to. Only one minute to go. I was on the final straightaway. I was smiling and I heard the announcer say over the load speaker "Look at the smile on 942...Charles Romeril...Give this athlete a cheer as he pushes for the finish." I probably ran the fastest at this point than any other during the half-marathon. It only lasted for a couple hundred yards and I had to slow down...but the finish was in sight.

In the finish Chute

THE FINISH:

I was ecstatic as I crossed the finish. Completely elated. I was hoping for a 5:30.00 finish and thought I was close. My run was a few minutes over my goal and so was my bike but I thought I made up some time in the transitions and had no clue about my swim time. I gladly grabbed my medal and placed it around my neck. They also gave us a cool finishers hat as well.
I wobbled a little through that area and a medical person came up to me and ask if I needed help. I told him I was fine and he didn't seem convinced. I told him I just finished a 1/2 Ironman and just need a second to get my legs under me. I thanked him for his concern and then stumbled to the massage line. After about 10 minutes I made it in. There was a guy who was checking people in and asked me what hurt. I told him that my shoulders hurt and my lower back. Again, major concern. "Dude, I just did a 1/2 Ironman, everything hurts, I'm fatigued, let me go lie down." The therapist who was assigned to me was great but by the time I walked over to her my quads started seizing up. I decided that instead of the should and back I will let her work on the quads and hamstrings. These people are great. They rub people down who are stinky, sweaty and quite disgusting. It was great.

Glad it's over

She's happy she's married to an Ironman (well, 1/2 of one)

I then headed to the food tent. They had cold little Cesare's pizza which was not good, especially compared to the "Ultimate Meat Lovers" pizza from the night before. I threw it away and grabbed a gatorade and water and just wanted to get out of there. I headed back to my bike rack and Emily and my sister Lisa were there...three barriers away of course. It was great to be finished so I slowly started packing all my things, put on a change of clothes and headed towards the exit. The crowds were huge which meant that in order to get through we had to walk on the sand which wasn't any fun. We were finally able to jump on our bikes and ride the 2 miles back to the house. There were tons of people still on the roads...of course that would continue for another 4 hours.
I made it back to the house and felt really good, probably the best I have ever felt after a long-distance event. I was able to wind down and then start eating. I had probably burned close to 10,000 calories which meant I could eat whatever I wanted.


FINAL THOUGHTS:
My official time was 5:24.15. Again, I am ecstatic with my performance and next time I will make sure to put on sunscreen...because I am really hurting 2 days later. I also have some deep muscle soreness in my quads. but overall, I am feeling great and....
I AM 1/2 IRONMAN!!!!

Let's get it started again

My writing has become a little rusty so I am going to attempt to write more. I have been reading a book called Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and I have been following his blog. He emphasizes that people in my line of work need to blog often for a variety of reasons, one of them is to become better writers. I used to be able to hammer out a research paper a week while going to school without any problems, but with how busy I have been at work I haven’t found the time to do much writing lately. I start with this post and hopefully it will build.

Halloween at the office

Aw Hail...

What a day. I competed in the Utah Half, a half Ironman distance triathlon and it was quite the adventure.It is supposed to be 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a half marathon, 13.2 miles, for a total of 70.3 miles.

I woke up around 2:00 and then 3:00 and then 4:00. They say the day before a big race like this you are supposed to hydrate. I excelled at it because I was going to the bathroom all day long and into the night. Finally at 4:00 when I had to go again, I decided I might as well get up. Things went smoothly until we lined up for the swim. All the weather reports said it was going to be a calm morning but right at 6:45 a wind Storm blew in. The race directors couldn't get one of their buoys to stay in place as the wind kept blowing it across the lake. We waited, and waited and waited. Finally after about 45 minutes they decided to start the swim but we were only going to do one lap which would cut the swim short by .5-.6 miles. We took off in a mass start instead of waves because they wanted to get us out of the water sooner than later, due to an impending storm. It made for a crowded swim. The swim went well except for the large waves. When I would turn my head to breathe a wave would hit just right and I would swallow a ton of Utah Lake water (which is some pretty nasty stuff.) It was hard to spot the exit from the water due to the sun shinning right in our eyes, but I finally made it, problem was I couldn't get out of the water. The boat ramp is covered in lake scum so as I stood up to start running out, I slid 8 feet backwards. Everyone was acting like seals trying to slide up the ramp on their belly's. The race director was pulling people out. It had to be a hilarious sight.

Transition one went well except I forgot my race number so I had to turn around and head back and get it.

The bike started off great. I was averaging 22.9 miles per hour. At one point we were supposed to turn and go through a trailer park, but someone had closed the gate. We were clueless as what to do so we kept going straight. A cop came tearing up and got us all heade back on the right course but it probably added an additional half mile so I guess I did do the whole 70.3. The turn mistake created quite the peleton as about 20 bikes all met up at the same place. It was awesome for about a mile until it spread out enough so that people wouldn't have to draft. We then headed west and realized that there was some brutal wind. We had to ride at a 45 degree angle sometimes just to stay on the bike and when we headed North it was like going into a brick wall. I saw my bike pace continually drop by the minute. I have never ridden a bike in that kind of wind, it wasn't very fun. On the way back you could look off to the north and see massive black clouds heading our way. I would watch the faces of other bikers and you could see the look of concern, we were going to get hammered. The last 10 miles we were back in town so buildings would shelter us from the wind a little, but that is when the storm hit us. It started with hail. Riding 20 mph in a tri jersey doens't give much protection. It hurt. I could feel chuncks of hail go into my helmet and slowly melt. We got pelted pretty good and then the rain came. This made it difficult to brake around corners as my hands would slip. My shoes were also filling up with water. Then I had to dodge two people as they decided to make wrong turns in front of me, and another biker who broke out into a litany of cuss words as something on his bike broke. I rode the last 5 miles at a great pace but still ended up with a 19.3 mph pace. Without the wind I am sure I would have been over 20.

Transition two was OK except everything was covered in mud from the rain storm.

As I started the run I met up with my neighbor who was going to do the run to train for a future marathon. It helped to have him there. He was talking and asking me questions but I didn't answer. It's not because I didn't want to, it's because I couldn't. I was spent and had to conserve talking energy to try and finish the dang thing. It was great to have him there because at one point I noticed some nipple chafeing. He had some Body Glide and gave my a chunck. I strategically placed it where I needed it and the hurting sensation went away. This assuredly prevented some massive bleeding and a raw nipple for me. Now, a few hours later, there is only some uncomfortable pain. The run was hard and it kept raining off and on. I was pretty consistent until around mile 9.5. Then at every aid station I would walk and catch my breath for about a minute. It helped but it also pushed me past the 2-hour goal for the run portion.

Overall it was brutally awesome.

So now the question is...can I do a full Ironman? I don't know. I would defianately have to train better and do the race smarter. Ask me in a couple of weeks and I may have an answer.

BTW - you may notice in the picture my freshly shaven legs. Emily seems to be really bothered by it. It may be because she is jealous that they are so sexy and smooth.

Ready for Discovery

Tomorrow will be a day of discovery form me as I venture out on a half ironman triathlon. I am hoping to be under 6 hours but we'll see. the weather should be nice and cool.

It's been awhile...I know, but...

I will organize my thoughts better in a week and a half...but I have caught the Ironman bug. I will be competing in the Utah Half, which is 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. I don't think I really respect the distance and could fail miserably, but this could be my launching point to Ironman Arizona in November of 2010.

I have spent hours watching Youtube videos and reading entries about people's Ironman experiences. Whenever someone says (in a video or writes it) "you are an Ironman," I get chills. Wow, Incredible, I want that.

I recently did an olympic distance tri (.9 swim, 26 bike and 6 run). It felt great except I suffered a panic attack in the first couple hundred yards of the swim. It was bizzare. I could suffer the same fate for the Utah Half, especially because I havn't swam for almost 4 weeks. Luckily a reservoir opened up near my house which is perfect for open water swim practice. I'll be their Saturday.

This journey isn't official yet, I still need the discovery of the Half experience and there is also no gaurantee of making the Arizona Ironman either dueto a mad dash to register in the minutes after it officially opens...BUT, as I have told Emily, "you will be able to say you are married to an Ironman and if I do this I will change my name to Kris "Ironman" Romeril. Stay tuned...

Here we go again

It has been 4 weeks since the Salt Lake Marathon and i run the Ogden one tomorrow. I feel like I am healed from Salt lake but I know that I have lost some fitness...so it could get really interesting during the 2nd half of the race. I am not trying to better my time but Emily has put the pressure on because I have to finish quick enough so that we can make it home, get cleaned up, and then be to the Dave Ramsey show/concert thingy by 12:30. That means I need to be done in 4 hours, assuming it starts on time.