Scott DeFilippis's Blog

Last weekend marked the start of my 2012 race season even though I raced Challenge Wanaka back in January I felt as if that was the end of my 2011 as from NZ I went straight to camp where I spent 3 hard months of training in Australia!

So Saturday’s race at Wildflower was a good opportunity to shake the cob webs as well as get in 1 last big effort before my upcoming Ironman TX on the 19th of May… I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was terribly disappointed to finish 11th and just 1 spot out of the money but as usual Doc was right as he told me before hand that I wasn’t going to make any cash that this was about getting in a hard effort but as I crept my way through the field all day, receiving reports that I was as high as 7th, to finish and find out I came 11th, left me gutted for a few hours!

But all in all it was a fantastic weekend, as the organizers did an incredible job with this event! The way they looked out for all the athletes, not just the pros was such a great sight to see! I sometimes rang on racing in the states because at some events the atmosphere can pail in comparison to over seas but this was not the case here, far from it! I highly recommend the Wildflower experience!

I won’t bore you with the details of how my race went, I will simply state I had my best swim over this distance, rode strong on the flats and uphills, and fought like hell on the run! A bit of a tough course for the “little man” but perfect preparation for Ironman TX! I will admit that I did underestimate the course as well but would embrace the opportunity to go back next year as these types of course make you hard!!

I’m now back on the Jersey Shore with James in tow…My original plan was to stay out in CA until the Ironman TX but James loves the Jersey Shore soooo much that he insisted we base here for the next few weeks while I do some final prep work for TX and he continues to race himself back into shape!

Check back in a few weeks to see if I can take another chunk of time off my marathon time!!!
Thanks for reading!

SD

Ahhh… another training camp has come to an end and I happy to say another level, maybe even 2 levels of fitness have been jumped! After coming off a new personal best at Ironman Florida , “The Doc” and I decided I would best be served going to camp in Gran Canaria for a month where he would be with the Swiss delegation he oversees. After bumming a ride home from Florida with some of the members of my local club, The Sandyhookers, it was a quick turn around but time was of an essence as the quicker I could get into camp, the quicker we could start building me up for my next race which looks to be Challenge Wanaka on January 22nd. So I sprung for the plane ticket as I knew it would be a wise investment towards my future not only as a professional athlete but also as a coach…

This camp was a bit more intimate than any of the other camps I have been to because it was just Brett, The Swiss Athletes, Stephen, Bella, and their new baby boy Charlie…Oh and Dan for 2 weeks. I must say that going to this camp was the best decision I have made all year as it gave me a chance to get some quality time with Brett from athletic standpoint as well some great mentoring as he continues to guide me towards my future as a performance triathlon coach. It was also good fun training with the Swiss Athletes as it gave me a chance to mix up the training with some shorter fun stuff. I will let me races in 2012 do the talking but I believe I am finding a new level of fitness on the swim/bike and just as Doc promised me 2 ½ years ago, my old run form is finally returning!

As you may have read in Doc’s latest “Looking For Clues” article, Gran Canaria is an ideal location for triathletes to train with perfect weather, great swimming pools, fantastic run routes, and some incredibly challenging mountains to ride in! I always go on about how much I love training in Leysin and I do really love it however, Gran Canaria is right up there. Plus there is lots to do in the hours in between training sessions which makes for a nice mental break from time to time…

Most days began at 7:30 with either a run or ride to the pool. As you can imagine much of the rest of the days were filled with us completing the days training with the occasional nap or rest by the pool under the warm Spanish sun. Every once in awhile we had the afternoon off which allowed us to go to the beach or go do touristy stuff like most Europeans that means, sitting in the sun at a café drinking coffee and sharing a cake, which is followed up with a nice walk and maybe some shopping.

In the evenings we would eat at the restaurant inside our resort, sometimes go for Chinese, or cook a steak in our bungalows, then share the meal on the patio which was always complimented with a nice bottle of Spanish wine. After burning my steak the first time, Manu took over the grilling duties as he loves to make the steak! I do the marinade, he does the grilling to perfection! A few nights we had the pleasure of having Brett sit and chat with us telling us some great old stories and opening our minds to what the human body is capable of! These are the nights I will never forget as they are now stored in the memory bank! Sometimes you sit and listen to Brett talk and you can’t help but think how lucky each of us are to have this man helping us along as we pursue our dreams! Quite frankly it is an honor to be coached by him not only on the playing field but also in the game of life!

So lets see some of our followers and online coached athletes make the trip to train with us in 2012 as you strive to achieve the goals you have set forth for yourselves!!!

As for me I am home at The Jersey Shore for a few short weeks during the Christmas Break. I will do my best to maintain the fitness I have gained before heading off to New Zealand where I will be meeting up with former Team TBB Athlete Keegan Williams. I am really looking forward to banging out some miles with Keegan as well as visiting with his wife Tracy and new baby girl! It will also be a trip of a lifetime for me as I have heard so many wonderful things about NZ, in fact when I told one of my best friends, Mike, that I was going to NZ, he emphatically replied, “Dude….you might not come back”

A huge thanks to Brett for inviting me to this camp! And to the Swiss, thank you for your friendship as it was good fun training and hanging with you all!! And to Stephen I really enjoyed THE LONG RUNS and rides with you this camp, I think we got in some great work together!!!

Below are some photos from the trip..

Ironman Florida has been run and won. I walked away with a smile on my face, a new personal best across the board, swim, bike, run and I hold onto a feeling that I am still rising. With 2 months till my 32nd birthday I am cautiously optimistic that I can win of these damn things as I am now entering the peak age for endurance racing. When I scan the results and look at the splits it is not out of the realm of possibility for me to take off 20-25minutes on that course in those conditions. I am more confident today than ever that I can split 4:25 and 2:38 in such conditions… The most important thing I will take away from this race was that I proved to myself that I could run well after riding 180kms, the confidence got a big boost by finally going under 2:50 for the marathon. To be 100% honest, assuming I could run without severe pain, if I hadn’t of had that bike/run I was going to have to take a long look in the mirror about the next couple of years and my racing plans as even with the obstacles I have overcome this year, I still should have run under 2:50 and I did just that!

As I wrote in my previous blogs I had been fighting a niggle in my knee and just 2 days before the race I nearly called my parents to tell them not to come because I honestly did not think I was going to be able to finish the marathon and my knee pain returned 3 days before the race. Consequently I arrived to the start line the most relaxed I have ever been. My plan was to swim hard, get onto the bike, and attack until I found the second pack, then relax and go as I felt.

It couldn’t have worked out better. I swam comfortably the first 1200ms and sat in the group I was with but as we turned towards the beach to finish our first lap the group slowed way way down so I moved out to the right and went to the front pulling us home and then had open water pretty much the rest of the swim. I felt absolutely fantastic coming out of the water and seeing that time on the clock. 56 and change. Boom!

The first 60km were pretty hard with lots of surging going on as the few riders I was with started catching people in front of us. As we turned into the wind just about half way our group slowed just like in the swim and I was afraid we were starting to lose time to the leaders so I went to the front pulling till the turn around where we got a glimpse of what was going on in the front. At the half way the guys started working well as we pushed on a bit. It was an honest pack with a marshal riding next to us the entire way, everyone was playing by the rules. I tried staying off the back to keep the effort steady but knowing that I am not super fit on the bike at the moment I really tried to ride with in myself and get my calories in.

As we made the turn back towards the beach we picked up the huge tail wind and this is where riding with the group cost us some time because I believe we didn’t take advantage of the wind, I think too many of us were thinking about the upcoming marathon. Would of should of could of, I was happy to come off the bike riding 6 mins faster than last year and was completely collected! I need to thank John Cobb for his amazing saddle and for fitting me just 2 weeks ago as I believe I had my break through run because of the way I am now sitting on the bike. Look for John’s soon to be released video’s on bike fits so you too can get set up like a triathlete should be!!

Coming out of T2 I attacked the run immediately as I didn’t’ know how my knee was going to hold up and over the past few weeks it didn’t hurt while running fast, it was the easy running that bothered it. I opted to wear a watch this time and I was glad as my first mile was 5:40, second 5:50, and then settled into 5:55-6:00 for the next 10km or so. I felt amazing and no doubt the perfect temperature helped with that!! At about 20kms it started to get harder and I could sense my pace was slowing a bit but coming through the half marathon splitting 1:19 a small smile came over my face and the monkey on my back was starting to slip off… I hung tough till mile 15 but had to stop to pee, I had been holding it in for about 2 hours. I was also starting to feel sick. So I stopped and walked the next 2 aid stations taking in drink and collecting myself. That 3rd 10kms was tough, real tough but I moved along. At this point I knew I was in 8th or 9th place but had no idea how far back 6th was (the last paying place)…I put my head down and went as hard as I could the last 8kms. The lack of running I had done over the past few weeks started to take a toll as I had the sledge hammer hitting my quads feeling that is all too familiar in a marathon. But I didn’t care because I knew I was flirting with a sub 8:30 time. Coming towards the finish I had sense of relief that came over me, I finally shook the monkey off and I could physically feel it! I was running on air that last mile. As I came down the finishing shoot I was so happy to see my parents smiling faces for the first time all day and was glad I didn’t make that phone call a few days earlier!

I was relieved to have escaped with no knee pain and it was the best I have felt post race. After changing my clothes we headed straight to the pub where my old man and I shared a beer and I ate a fantastic burger!

I am now mid drive home to New Jersey as I was able to bum a ride with some of the folks from my local club, The Sandyhookers. With a healthy body and a mind full of motivation I am now mapping out the next few months but I am faced with the reality that many Professional Triathletes face,… how far will my money take me?? It’s unfortunate that despite having the best race of my life, finishing 8th place, and going under 8:30 I walked away with $0 in prize money. Maybe I will write a blog about this topic as it is a complete embarrassment for our sport. But what do you do? Do you walk away and say poor me?? What if the 3rd place finisher Justin Daar had of walked a few years ago when he was making a steady rise up the ranks?? He never would have found out that he had an 8:18 Ironman in him…

Its been an expensive fall for me with too much traveling and not enough winning and I have some medical bills that must be paid from my operation, so I am going to pass on going to Ironman Cozumel as even though I had a great day on Saturday Brett and I don’t think I am fit enough to back this race up with another one in 3 weeks. Instead we think it would be better to use that money and go to camp with some of the others that are headed to the Gran Canaria Islands. I wonder if the lad that makes it to the quarter finals at Wimbledon has to worry about being able to afford the trip to his next training camp or tournament???

But, having said that I have to thank each athlete that I coach because without them I would not have been able to continue to train full time this year and I want you to know that you were all on my mind in those middle miles of the marathon. Thank you for your business and it’s an honor to coach each of you. And big congrats to you Eric Chet for just missing sub 10hours but running a 30minute P.B. for the marathon, yep there was no walking from him on Saturday. Eric is signed on for another year as we try and get him that coveted Kona slot. It was great sharing some beers with you as we cheered on the final finishers.

As always thank you reading!
SD

So if you read Part I and hoping to read about all things big in TX…carry on! After the disappointment of my last race at Rev 3 Anderson I was very anxious to get to Austin to begin a big push to Ironman FL! Brandon and I had planned a few easy days to recover from the race but that went out the window since I only made it to 20km of the bike…I had a great first week there and was starting to build a nice block of training.

Brandon took me to all the local joints, the famous Whole Foods, the road side trailer restaurants, Barton Springs, Austin Tri Cyclist (Big thanks to George for building my bike with new Campy Groupset), Mellow Johnie’s, a side note to that, we even got to swim with Mr. Juan Pelota himself. And let me tell you, dude can swim!!!

At the end of the first week we had planned to go see our saddle sponsor, Mr. John Cobb of Cobb Cycling. But first we ventured out to one of the more famous bars in Austin, The Broken Spoke. Now, even though I grew up in New Jersey, I have not lived a shelter life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to see much of the world, and before that I saw much of the country. I have stepped foot in every state of the southern U.S. and while in college at The University of Tennessee I had a few nights in some of the country bars. But the Broken Spoke is on a whole other level!!

At a country bar in TN you are guaranteed 3 things…There will be a mechanical bull, there will be line dancing, and you will see at least 2 fights…The best way to put it is that the country bars in TN are like a scene from the famous movie, “Road House” The Broken Spoke was a bit different, there was a live honky tonk country band, (which I might add is Brandon’s favorite kind of music), the crowd’s ages ranged from 5-85 , and there was line dancing, lots of line dancing! It really was a great time, here are some photos from the night…

The next day Brandon and I were doing a long run along Lake Austin and if you have ever been there you will know about the section where dogs are allowed to run free with no leashes. GREAT IDEA! Just kidding…so here we are running along when a little mut comes running out of the water and straight into Brandon’s leg. It happened so fast I stopped suddenly, jamming my leg. At first I didn’t really notice anything but towards the end of my run my left knee started to hurt. I didn’t think much of it as it didn’t seem to hurt too much after the run.

That afternoon we made the journey to Tyler, TX to see John. I wasn’t planning on having John do much with my position but what I needed help with was the saddle sore that had developed and was growing by the day. After some discussion and John tinkering with my position I am happy to report that my sore is gone and he seems to have helped me open my hips, which we think is part of what has caused me to feel so terrible running off the bike. Time will tell, we’ll see how the legs and hips feel tomorrow when I step off the bike in Ironman FL. Big thanks to John, his staff, and wife for having us visit Tyler and the ranch!!

Just before returning back to Austin, Brandon and I went to the track todo a long set of intervals. My knee hadn’t really been bothering so I gave the workout a go. About mid way through the knee pain became pretty bad, I just about completed the session but ever since I have been struggling to keep the pain at bay and have been forced to miss a few key sessions on the bike and run. So here I sit just about 12 hours from the start of my first Ironman since June and I don’t know how the body will handle the distance. I pretty much have the pain under control and have even been able to ride 4.5 hours and run 1.5 hours this past week but I won’t know for sure until I put race pressure on the leg for a few hours…After Saturday I plan to return home to NJ. I haven’t been home in 6 weeks and a few weeks ago my Grandfather suffered a stroke. I am very close with him and it was tough not being there for him so I have decided to make the journey home with some of the folks from local club back home, The Sandyhookers. I am registered for Ironman Cozumel as well so I am hoping my knee comes out of Saturday o.k. and I will be able to get in a few weeks of work before heading to Mexico for the last race of the Northern Hemisphere’s season…I am confident enough that with my go fast position and my new go fast wheels from our new sponsor, Campganolo, I should come off the bike in position to make some moves on the run…Fingers crossed! Thanks for reading!!

SD

Wow its been a while since my last blog!!! And its been hectic to say the least, maybe too hectic?? In summary I returned home from Swiss camp, won my first race back (which was a 1st), then flatted out of my next 2 races…Yep pretty stupid!! Syracuse 70.3 was totally my fault as I was so cold out of the water I left my CO2 in T1, but flatting out of Rev 3 South Carolina I had all necessary tools but the front tire was too shredded for repair, thus forcing me out for the second race in a row. Up till this point I had not gotten a flat in any race and rarely do I flat in training, funny enough I got 2 flats while training in TX…I digress…

So, in between races I ventured out to CA for one of my best friends wedding, Scott Jones…Oh there is a funny little story here as well…Morning of the big day us lads are getting dressed in the grooms suite when Scott’s little brother Matt looks at one of the suits and says, “Oh cool your suit is a darker grey than mine??” Uhhhh, no it’s not…”Oh sh#t!!!!!!!!” Guess what? I got the wrong suit….Now before you go thinking what an idiot I am for ordering the wrong suit….I pressed click and pay on the link I was sent from our good man Scott Jones (the groom) so either somehow I did in fact screw that process up, Scott sent the wrong link or Macy’s sent the wrong color suit…It was a pretty stressful few moments but I was like, “listen man I don’t need to be in the wedding, its cool I’ll just bow out” But our other good friend Chase is like, “Dude I’ll just photo shop the pictures, it’ll be all good!” Scott insisted no matter I was in the wedding!!

So while I hopped in the shower, the boys got on the horn and tracked down a suit. After quickly drying off, Chase and I hopped in the car, he in his light grey suit, me in my dark grey suit, (which fit me perfectly by the way)…We raced to the Macy’s we were greeted by the nice sales woman we spoke to on the phone. She had the suit waiting for me, but the big question was whether or not it would fit. Well…the pants fit. The Taylor met with us and didn’t think there was enough time to make the necessary adjustments so I just went with it…The jacket was a bit big but not too bad…So now I got 2 new cool Tommy Hilfiger suits to wear:)

Off to the wedding we went…oh wait no first we had to take photos. Yeah so the bride and groom (Ria and Scott) decided they wanted to take photos before the ceremony. So Chase and I raced back to the hotel just in time to catch our Limo to the beach, which was fully stocked with Beer and Champagne, boy did I need a drink!!!

We all had a blast taking photos along the gorgeous Pacific Ocean while we sipped our drinks and shared in laughter what was to be one of the most memorable nights of our lives!!! Boy oh boy did the night not disappoint, just before the ceremony the six groomsmen stood behind the scenes where we did our what is becoming customary, shot of Jamison Whiskey, before sending our mate down the aisle. It truly was yet another special moment that will not be forgotten anytime soon by any of us…The only thing that would have made this moment completely over the top would have been if we could have convinced the good Irish Priest to join in the shot…I really thought we had him convinced there for a moment…

Never have I been to a wedding where pretty much the entire guest list was on the dance floor from the moment they finished their last bite of dinner until the last drip of alcohol was drunk. It was for lack of a better term, “A sh#t show”!!

I did manage to get in some good training while out in CA especially in the days after the wedding but was really looking forward to heading to Austin to get in some solid work with Brandon before finally heading back to Panama City Beach, FL where I once again am spending a Halloween relaxing, pondering the upcoming IM Florida.

Check back in a few days for my report on training in Austin with the Marsh’s and how I am feeling coming into my first Ironman since June. Here’s a little teaser photo for your viewing pleasure…

It’s pretty ironic that before I left for training camp this summer my sister gave me the book, “The Adversity Advantage”, She said it’s all about suffering and embracing life’s obstacles, you will love it she said. So, as I departed for Leysin back in May I began reading it. Little did I know that a few weeks later I would be faced with an unexpected adversity that would send my season into a tailspin and force me to completely reshape how I would have to approach the months ahead.

Just over 2 weeks ago I suffered the worst crash of my career while out on a training ride. Going some 40mph down our mountain road in Leysin my wheel failed on me, slicing my tire and tube, sending me flying over the handle bars. With no time to react my left shoulder and head took the brunt of the fall. If not for the amazing helmet provided by our helmet sponsor, Louis Garneau, I might be sitting here with a broken neck or possibly something even worse! Not only did the helmet protect my head but it stabilized my spine as my body crashed and slid down the road.

I remember every detail about the fall. I quickly sprung to my feet and after trying to raise my left arm I could feel the crunch that was my broken collar bone. I can remember being pretty calm but also in a rush to it x-rayed. Huge thanks to George, Christian, and James for sitting me down and calling coach Brett to come and take me to the hospital.

The next 5 hours was an exercise in how incredibly efficient our world is today. I had an X-Ray taken, which was emailed to my Dr. at home, Dr. Geraldo Goldberger, which was followed up with several emails, and 2 skype calls. Once Brett, Gerry, and I decided surgery was the way to go, I quickly got on another skype call to my airline trying to change my return ticket to the states to the following morning. I crashed just past 11 a.m. and by 4p.m. I had a flight booked and was scheduled for surgery 48 hours later.

The flight home was as you can imagine not the most comfortable trip I have ever taken! With road rash, a bruised left hip, and elbow, throw in a broken collar bone and the time could not go by fast enough! More than anything I was full of anger as the most important 6 weeks of my year lie ahead of me and they were now pretty much wiped off the calendar.

What a two weeks it has been! Operated on a Wednesday, I was back on the trainer riding by Monday with my sights set on swimming and riding outside by 4 weeks after the operation. The next question that had to be answered was do I go back to Leysin and when?? Well, part of why this has been such a bummer is because for my brother’s 40th birthday, which is on the 27th of July, my family was to fly Rob and his wife Christy over to Switzerland to visit with me, see a few stages of the Tour de France, and come see us race at The Alpe d’ Huez Triathlon. So after my first post op visit with Gerry he said I could go back to Switzerland after 1 more X-ray in 6 days time.

I am happy to report I am in route back to Leysin. My second X-Ray showed that the healing has begun, and I am on schedule to resume normal training in just 13 more days. I am quite amazed with how quickly the body can recover from such an event. I notice progress on a daily basis, the pain is nearly gone, my range of motion is improving, and I can go 100% on the trainer, really flog myself!

I am happy that I will get to go see a stage or two of the tour with Rob and Christy but disappointed that I won’t be able to ride my bike with him as I was really looking forward to taking him around some of our regular training routes as he has never seen mountains like this in his life. I am also terribly disappointed to have to miss Team TBB’s annual tour de france that we go on each year as this is my favorite week of the entire year! It is what it is and I am happy that I will still be able to get in a solid 3 weeks of training here before I return to the States to resume racing.

I think some of my family and friends were worried how this would affect me mentally. Would I be scared to get back on the bike? Would the spirit that drives me to train be gone? Not even! In fact this whole ordeal has rejuvenated me sending my motivation through the roof. You see, 4 years ago, same time of the year as now, I was faced with an adversity of overcoming the separation with my wife. At 27 years old I was in a downward spiral, fighting for my life mentally, and completely lost! But I pulled myself out of the pub and started training for Ironman. I was an angry man who had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. The only thing I knew was that I was going to take my pain and anger out on my training.

Well…as I sat on my back porch riding the trainer for the first time after the operation the anger I had inside of me four years ago had returned. The difference this time is I know where I am going because I can now taste the top of the mountain, I am so very close! I will have to repeat a few steps but the path will be familiar! Four years ago I was fighting for life, now I am fighting for my career! Two similar feelings of anger but one had no clear path and was lonely. This new anger has a clear path and has the support of family, friends, and teammates!!!

I need to thank Dr. Gerry Goldeberger of
Advanced Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Dr. Gerry has been a personal sponsor of mine the past two seasons and luck was on my side after suffering this crash, my personal sponsor is one of the leading orthopedic shoulder specialists in the world!! If you ever are in need of an Orthopedic Dr. call him!! You won’t be disappointed! I also need to say a huge huge thank you to Louis Garneau our helmet and shoe sponsor! Thank you for saving my career and possibly my life! Of course thank you to our leader Brett for scooping me up off the side of the road and taking me to the Dr. The road back has begun!

And lastly big thanks of course, to my two families. My family at home for your continued support, I am blessed to have such an incredible support staff back home. And my second family or at least it felt like family the night of my crash, my Team TBB teammates! I am not sure if it was Brett and Alex’s intention to create such an environment when they started the team or maybe it’s just that good people attract each other? Well, the night of my crash…nearly every athlete that was in the village came to see me and those that couldn’t make it sent heart felt notes to me! The Germans brought fruit, Timmy Don brought a cake, and the Swiss boys brought me beer…Although Reto would only allow me to half a beer, hehehe Thanks guys! We have incredible group of people here! Each one of us is very lucky to be here! Thanks for reading!

SD

For the first time in my career I stepped off the bike and was in the game! I wasn’t just participating in Ironman France, I was finally in the thick of things having arrived into T2 with the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th placed athletes. I had played every move up until this point perfectly! I fumbled quite a bit getting my shoes on and once out of the transition I realized that my fellow competitors were gone up the road. I didn’t think it would matter because I truly believed and felt this was going to be my day to run like so many know I am capable of, I quickly started to rethink think my run strategy at just 5km in when the heat of the day was already taking its toll on me. By 10km I had lost a place falling back to 11th when I started to cramp in my legs thus forcing me to walk the transitions and take in as much fluid as I could. At some points I would come around and find my rhythm and think, “well, if I can keep this up I will run 3hours, and that should put me top 8!” Soon after I put in a surge, the nausea would return with cramping in the hamstrings. I played every game I could think of both mentally and nutritionally but theses were only temporary solutions, like putting a band aide on a bullet wound.

Bananas would help for a bit as well as spending a few seconds standing under the cold showers on course but all in all from kms 10-42 it was the toughest running I have done in my life! After crossing the finish line I spent a good hour and a half vomiting in the bushes while fighting cramps all over my legs before finally being taken to the medical tent to get an IV, thank God for that as I don’t think I would have been able to ride my bike back to my home stays house!

Thinking back I don’t have any regrets nor are there any excuses. For what ever reason, and it is not mental, I melted on the run today! I swam and rode my heart out, at 2 hours into the bike I swallowed a bee, which stung the inside of my throat on the way down…I didn’t care as today was to be my day….But after 3 hours and 25minutes of torture on the run I lay in agony not of victory but defeat!! There needs to be a discussion about why I seem to crumble when the temperature rises into the 90s but this is not an excuse as others ran wonderfully out there!

Two years and 4 months ago when I first met Brett Sutton and he agreed to give me shot on the team, he said that it was going to take 3 years to make me a real Ironman athlete. He asked if I was willing to put that amount of time in…Well, here I am closer than ever before but I thought today I would be writing to say that I beat his time prediction but you know what? We don’t call him the “Doc” for no reason as he is usually right 99% of the time. And I am coming to grips with the hard truth that it will in fact take the entire 3 years until I have successfully put together the Ironman that we have been working so very hard towards!

Over this 28 month period, many people have come into my life that would have never if it were not for Team TBB and our growing network of fans and athletes. Some are disappointed tonight not in me but for me as they have followed my progress and some too believed today was to be my coming out party!! I have received some wonderful messages and I thank you guys for your thoughts and positive energy! It is coming my friends I know it, just going to have to be a bit more patient that I like to be…. Thank you so very much for following me as the climb up the mountain is getting steeper and steeper as I get closer to the top……
My home stay host, Pierre, asked me last night if I will return to Nice for a 4th time next year?? I responded, with, “Yes! I must come back to Nice, even though it puts me through so much pain, I will figure this race out!” He said I was crazy Thank you to Pierre and his family for having me once again this year! I very much enjoy my time with you all and for the second year in a row I arrive to your home post race defeated but you treat me like family and that is nice to come home to when you are shattered like I was this evening!!

Last weekend I traveled up the road towards Zurich to race in the Rapperswil 70.3.  The hopes were to have a strong swim/bike in preparation for the upcoming Ironman France.  I think I accomplished both with my 14th place finish.  Even though I didn’t think too much about the run until I got off the bike I was a bit disappointed with my 1:18 split as I am in much much better shape than that.  But overall it was the perfect prep race for the course in Nice!!

My swim was fairly average, I was pleased to swim with a group, and there were times where I felt the pace was too easy so I think a good sign that maybe quite possibly my swim is finally starting to show some improvement…..27:44 swim split.

Onto the bike it was as hard as I could from the start!  I didn’t care much about what was to come next I just wanted to push for 2 + hours and that was what I did.  The course was up and down with some pretty steep parts at times  which made for some tough ascents but fun descents.  All the locals came out to cheer on the climbs and in the small villages we road through so it was never really boring at all!!  Bike 2:17  I was most pleased with my bike effort for the day as it was the first time I have gone flat out like that on the bike for the 70.3 distance.  I believe another sign of improvement and a much much better ride than I had in St. George!!

Off the bike and onto the run it was very much an up and down half marathon…There were times where I felt fantastic and other times where I needed to be sick in the bushes.   Even though it was not my swiftest run I did negative split it and was getting stronger as I went!  It was a hot day in Rapperswil so again perfect prep for Nice.

I returned Sunday night and it was straight back into training the next morning!! Now here I am less than 2 weeks from my next Ironman and once again feeling in top form, just as I did before St. George!  I do believe however with these 2 races now under my belt that come next weekend the racing cob webs are gone and I stand a very good chance of having my best finish in an Ironman to date!!!

I need to thank Manuel and his family for having me stay at their home for a night!! Your home is nice and cozy!  I always say that I never sleep as well anywhere in the world as I do in Switzerland and your home did not disappoint!  Also  thank you to Celine for giving me a lift back to Leysin and congrats to her and Manuel for finishing their first 70.3 race!!   I am so glad I was able to travel to this section of Switzerland as it is such beautiful part of this country.  I very much look forward to racing more in Europe this summer as racing in the states pales in comparison when it comes to spectator support on the course and sheer appreciation for the efforts that each athlete is putting out!!!  More to come in the weeks ahead!  Thank you for reading!!

SD

Ironman St. George: Going The Distance

Before the gun went off on Saturday morning, never in my wildest dreams did I think the outcome of the day would be turn out as it did…Ironman hurts and this one was no exception to the rule.  This time around, the swim hurt, the bike hurt, and then to come into the bike to run transition to find out how far behind the leaders I was hurt doubly hard!  As I sat and changed into my run shoes, I thought, Sh#t, game over!”.  I will spare you the details of the ups and downs I had during the swim and bike because  frankly, who really cares to read the details of how someone got their arse kicked as I did??  I contemplated dropping out but I knew I would be in deep sh#t with The Doc if I did not do the run! Then I thought about the athletes I coach and the message it would send to them if I quit!  So I began the run and started to think about the upcoming Ironman France and the fact that even if I ran slowly I would come out fitter from doing the run rather than calling it a day and feeling sorry for myself because it didn’t go to plan.  I also took into consideration that it was well into the 90s by the time I started to run and that would be how hot it will be in Nice so even more reason to carry on, for the training!



I jogged/walked the first 5kms while taking in fluids.  At 10kms I was playing tricks with my mind in order to keep going when suddenly Declan , a good friend of Team TBB and also our housemate for the weekend came jogging past me, encouraging me on.  I watched him run away up a hill and thought, “If I can hook up with Declan I might start to come right”.   I took in some coke and started to chase.  It took a few minutes but I caught up and told him I would try my best to keep pace and help him as he was attempting to gain his coveted “Kona Slot”.  So we carried on together and a few kms later I started to feel a bit better, my hips and back hurt quite a bit but I was able to handle the pace.  As we made the turn out onto the second loop there was no turning back now so I pushed Declan along, he was super tough out there as the last 10 miles were very hard on him.  Coming into the last few kms we passed one of my athletes Jill who was finishing her first loop of the run.  She was in good spirits and seemed to be going great!   I was very happy for her as she has had her fare share of dramas in the weeks leading up to the race.  She was holding onto 3^rd place in her age group and was also in position to gain a slot to Kona.

Coming into the finish I was pleased for Declan as he nailed it with a 4^th place in the age group!  I walked away feeling a bit sore but not overly tired!  I guess the run worked the bike out of me?  I don’t know why I felt so terrible out there while riding, it had been 6 months since my last race and it did cross my mind that I might feel a bit stale but I was confident it wouldn’t affect me!  This was my 7^th completed Ironman and with each one I continue to learn and gain strength.  I have a similar feeling of disappointment as I did last year when I did this race and struggled then tool!  I know I am heaps stronger than I was 12 months ago and I think my improved swim and bike splits comparative to last year prove that but now is not the time to dwell as the season has begun and it is time to look towards the next one as its just 8 weeks away!  Huge huge congrats to Jill and Declan for both qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman!!!  As for me, its a few short weeks home here at the Jersey Shore, then off to Switzerland for much of the summer…

It sometimes blows my mind how quickly time fly’s and the older I get the faster and faster the ride seems to go!!  This past month flew by like a night’s sleep that was way too short!  I find myself on an air plane once again feeling like I just woke up from that short sleep and the dream I was having has been interrupted but I must wake up and carry on with the day’s task.  My trip to Asia has been cut short by 2 weeks due to the massive flooding that occurred in the South of Thailand.  I was to race the inaugural Koh Samui Triathlon on April 24th before heading back to the U.S. to compete in my first Iron Distance race of the season in St. George, Utah.  Instead I am heading back to California where I will finish preparing for Ironman St. George.

It’s been a bit of an up and down training camp for me as once I adjusted to the time change and heat, the floods came, then I was hit with a stomach bug, but finally in my last week the sun came out, my strength returned, and I was able to finally enjoy my time in Thailand!  I don’t think I realized I wasn’t’ ready to leave till it was too late and I was on my way to the Krabi, Airport.  As we pulled away from our temporary home at The Tahwantai Hotel, I wasn’t ready to wake up!! Yes it was a hard camp, sometimes it was border line torture but that’s pretty much why I love our first camp of the year, the suffering that goes on reveals so much about the person you are!  It tests not only your physical capabilities but it also brings out your true character as a human being.  Your patience is tested as you struggle to deal with the slowed culture we are immersed in for weeks at a time; the small little bugs get on your nerves, especially when they are in your bed, the wet bathroom floor, the same meals repeated day after day, the crap movies that are repeated on the movie channel, the nasty smell that the palm tree farms let off….  See we don’t stay in some posh hotel on the beach, nope; we are in the jungle hanging with the locals.  The same locals that we visited last year that seemed as if they were fighting off tears as we pulled away…  All these things begin to get on your nerves after a while, combined with the hours upon hours of training in the hot humid weather.  The complaining begins and you start to day dream about the months ahead when we have the luxury of training in the Swiss Alps.  Day in and day out you feel like all you are doing is suffering.  But that’s what we love isn’t it? To suffer…That’s what Ironman is, suffering!! It’s an entire day of it!  We are drawn to this sport because we like to feel the pain; we like to work through tough times, to be tested!  It makes us feel alive!!!  But is it real suffering?  It’s mostly self-inflicted pain. Why do we choose to give it to ourselves like we do?  Because it gives us perspective!   And that’s what I love about training in a hard place like Thailand, it give’s me even more perspective and come race day, when the pain creeps in all I have to do is think back to all the” so called” suffering I went through in heat camp!

See I call it “so called” suffering because it isn’t real world hurt!  Yes, it can be painful at times but the real suffering is out in the villages we ride through and this year in particular we were exposed to some of the most painful suffering there is.  People’s lives were destroyed!   When the rains came for nearly a week straight and we were complaining about missing a swim session or having to ride the trainers rather than being out on the roads or the night us lads played poker under a dry roof before returning to our dry air conditioned rooms to find the water that was pouring into our bathrooms.  All the while, people were drowning just up the road.  Many peoples homes with all their belongings were washed away and while I sit here and write they are still cleaning up the mess….While I was pissed about having to walk down stairs to get another roll of toilet paper because mine was soaked, AGAIN….Fifteen people were killed, people that would have been very happy to spend the rest of their lives calling the Tahiwaintai their home!  They would never complain once about the mosquito’s biting their face while they slept!  How’s that for perspective?

So once again I return to the western world, the land of endless choices!  We have some many choices sometimes you can’t even make a choice!  But part of me is sad because this year camp was too short for me, just four weeks, last year it was ten, and maybe that was a touch too long from a performance standpoint but not from gaining a perspective standpoint!  I don’t think I have gotten my fare dose of exposure to real world suffering this year. When I go to a third world country I feel guilty because I am so fortunate to be living the life I have been given?  Is that why I yearn to go back each February when I start to become complaisant or discussed with the gluttony of the developed world?  I have just been woken up in the middle of the dream and now I must go back to the real world….Or am I the one dreaming, and those left behind in the Thai jungle are the ones really living?  Maybe the ride isn’t so fast for them???

Here are some of my favorite photos from camp…