The KodaFit Blog

This post is being written concurrently with a review I did of RaceVine.com As part of that process I got a free RaceVine.com Tech Shirt - See that post for more details on this (Maybe even you could get a free shirt too!).

Anyway, so the guys over at RaceVine, asked if I could send in a picture of me, in the shirt, in front of a Utah landmark. Not being a fan of being in pictures - you can’t tell that from the last couple of posts however - I was a little hesitant, but it is a really nice shirt!!!

So, the quest began to determine what landmark to take said picture in front of. First thing that came to mind was the Rock Arch down in Moab, but that is a long drive to make just for a photo, and the area (which I have yet to visit) probably deserves more that just a drive by - perhaps later in the year!

Next I thought about the State Capitol Building where I work, but that’s just a building, and it looks like a couple of other Capitol buildings (So much so it often get’s cast as the nation’s Capitol building in movies - See Legally Blonde). But that didn’t see right either.

But then the wife suggested the Olympic Cauldron for the 2002 Winter Games, which were held right here in Salt Lake. So yesterday, while heading out for a date away from the kids, we stopped by the Olympic Park and took some pictures. I know which one I like, but I was wondering which picture you thought was best. If you have an opinion, either for or against any of these pictures, please leave a comment, or shoot an email to me at racevinepicture@kodafit.

Picture 1 - Me in front of the Cauldron and the Main Stadium

Picture 2 - Me in front of one of the Olympic Murals which surround the park.

Picture 3 - Me under the sign for the park.

Picture 4 - Me holding up the sign for the park - Ha ha, very funny Mike!!

So… Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to check out RaceVine.com

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There really wasn’t too much more to this race than I included in my preliminary report here.

I actually typed a whole bunch in on the expo, and then deleted it at some point, by mistake - DOH!!  Probably best since the rest of the report got really long and wordy.

The short version is. Expo great, packet pickup smooth, and my kids did a feet shirt for me - kinda like my hand shirt for the St. George Marathon last year.

Saturday started really early, especially since I was up till almost 1am obsessing over my stuff. I think my alarm went off at 3:30am. To freakin’ early if you ask me. Shower, BodyGlide, band-aids - which brings up a funny story. Speaking about your nipples chaffing would seem to be embarrassing, but if you’re a runner, it’s really not a big deal. I’m fine up to 6 or 7 miles, or if I’m wearing a compression shirt, but after that I have problems. To counteract those problems, on long races I put those little round band-aids on, and the problem is solved. Unfortunately, my kids have come to know those band-aids as nipple band-aids, and have no problem pointing them out on strangers as they walk by. “Hey Look Dad! That ladies has a nipple band-aid on her face!”. And of course being kids, they do it in a nice LOUD VOICE as well.

Ran a little late getting my pre-race drink together, but then hitched a ride with a neighbor up to Ogden and then caught a bus up to the start. The ride wasn’t bad, except they had the route closed off already, so we had to take an alternate route, and the lead bus took a wrong turn, which 4 or 5 following buses followed, and we ended up having to execute and 53 point turn at the dead end road we ended up at.

The start was chilly. Hit the porta potties a few times. Hung out by the fires, sucking down Gu and chatting nervously.

Right before the start I sucked down a 5 hour energy, which has worked well before the run section of the last couple of tri’s I’ve done and got ready to go.

Most of my long runs have been with a neighbor of mine. It was his first race and he was a little nervous, but here we are, right before the cannon went off…

Miles 1 - 3 were rough. They usually are if I’m not warmed up. I help about a 9:30 pace which was a little off where I wanted to be. The plan was a 9:10 pace, giving me my 4 hour goal.

Mile 4 was when the 5 hour energy decided to kick in. It has a lot of stuff in it, but has a fairly good portion of caffeine as well. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means it makes you pee. Mile 4 came, and I needed to go. Now unlike St. George in the rain, it was a beautiful day, and there weren’t runners ducking off the road every 5 minutes to relieve themselves. Fortunately as I got to the porta-loos at mile 5, someone came out, and in I dashed.

Phew!! With that out the way I figured I was ready for a good race. Bladder empty, legs warm, feeling good, let’s get this show on the road. Until mile 8 when I had to go again, and then mile 11 and 12. All that aside, I hit half way feeling good and posting a 2:05 split. NICE MIKE!! The thing I like about Ogden is that miles 18 through 23 or so are downhill. Not too steep, but perfect to let gravity help you out. Last year at the half I was averaging 8:30 minute miles down the canyon - and I was barely able to run a sub 10 mile for any length of time back then. This was going to be a good race.

Mile 14 has the only real hill of the race, and it really isn’t that bad. All the same though, my legs decided to walk. I still had the canyon to make up time, so I figured I’d save my legs, but they weren’t feeling good.

Stopped to pee at mile 15 again, and tried to get as much liquid and gu in as a good in the next couple of miles. I came into the race low on hydration anyway, and I figured the bathroom breaks weren’t helping either.

Got to the top of the canyon feeling pretty crappy, but excited to drop into the cool canyon and just let the legs go.

The thing is, when you hit the canyon in the half marathon, it’s not even 8am yet, and so most of the canyon is in shade. Your legs are also still fresh and it’s a beautiful run.

I hit the canyon, and in a word… SUCKAGE!!

It did not feel good at all. I was barely able to keep a 9:30 pace, it hurt and I could see my 4 hour goal slipping away.

People started passing me, and I stopped a few times to try stretching as well as a walk break or two.

I think I bonked officially around mile 20. The legs felt like lead, and I just wanted to quit. To make matter worse, my MP3 player, which I had turned on around mile 5 to help me focus, ran out of battery power. NOOOOOOOOOO! I pulled out my cell phone to let me wife know I was going to be significantly later than I had told her I would be, but couldn’t get a signal, and somehow the battery had been drained as well. In hind sight, I’m wondering if I was abducted by aliens and had all kinds of tests run on me or something… It felt that bad. She didn’t pick up, so after walking for a half mile and being passed by everyone - even the old guy with the flowing beard, who was jogging along at a very leisurely pace, I sucked it up, and tried to run again.

The next few miles consisted of walking and painful running. When I ran, it was fairly quickly, so my pace stayed around 12 minutes a mile, but it still hurt.

The family were waiting at about mile 23 and a half. I broke into a run when I saw them - gotta try and impress, but it was too late! And I think the look on my face gave it away.

Surprisingly in the this picture though, my grimace almost looks like a smile. My mind at this point is going “Just ask them to drive you home from here!”. Actually scratch the exclamation point, since even that thought kind of trailed away, as I got tired thinking it.

You may notice my young Lily off to the right of the picture too - she’s in a light blue top. Not even so much as a glance! She’d found a friend, whose father is equally as nuts as her, and was having a grand old time playing tag.

There’s quite a bit going on in the next picture… I turned to go, and my wife yelled “Keep going! You’re doing great Mike!! By the time it registered, all I heard was “…Mike!” So I turned to see what they wanted, meanwhile, they were getting ready to go.

That’s my youngest brother and Kynan in on the left. My brother and his newish wife are the first extended family to come cheer me on - Which meant a lot!! Thanks Guys. They came to the indoor tri back in February too, but my lil bro did that along side, me, so it was different. They did however may me some signs, which now hang proudly in my cubicle at work. Sadly I missed the second sign, due to my complete lack of focus at this point.

First Sign Don’t Stop… Keep Going…

Second Sign That’s what she said!

If you’re a fan of the office, you’ll understand - if not, that wasn’t meant to offend anyone!!

Also for the newbies amongst my readership…

Yellow bandanna - keeps the sweat out of the eyes, and gave my family something to look for. Last year they saw the back of my head as I ran by.
Big, fat watch - That’s my Garmin - tracks speed, distance, time, heart-rate, elevation, even serves cold drinks during the race - OK, just kidding on that last bit, but it’s an amazing and invaluable tool!
Strap on my left thigh - Had IT Band problems last year before the half marathon, and it felt like it might act up again in the week before the race. This strap helps alleviate the friction, which causes the pain.
Black socks - these are actually compression sleeves. They help control the pain and swelling associated with Shin Splint’s. I probably didn’t need to wear them, but I’ve been training with them, and didn’t want to change up too much on race day.
Blue ankle strap - That’s my timing chip. You cross lines at the start, finish and during the race, and if you check my previous report, you can see the results you get - pretty cool technology!!

The final stretch went OK. Seeing the fam kinda gave me a boost, and I alternated running 0.2 of a mile and then walking 0.1. The last half mile is along a street. It’s open and exposed, but you can hear the finish line. Knowing it was only a half mile to go, I broke into a run. About half way down I saw a quarter mile to go sign - YES!!! Almost there… I sped it up a little… Come on finish line. But it seemed to take forever.

That was when I passed the 1/4 mile to go sign - WHAT??!? It seems all my pee stops had added a quarter mile onto my Distance, and mentally I was ready to see the 1/4 mile sign when I passed the 1/2 mile to go sign. The mind plays evil tricks on you.

Still I had enough to keep going, and crossed the finish line in 4:36 and some change.

The best part about the finish line, is that a co-worker had volunteered to staff the finish line for the time surrounding my finish, and I got my medal and a huge hug and congrats from her - Not sure how or why she would have wanted to hug a stinky and sweaty shell of a man, but I was EXTREMELY GRATEFUL!!

Kind of felt like some Blue Bunny ice-cream like I did after St. George, but Blue Bunny aren’t a sponsor of this race [BLUE BUNNY PROMOTIONS GUY - If you’re reading this, I would highly recommend sponsoring Ogden, if only for the fact that I’m intending to try and do it every year, and I would really like ice-cream at the finish!!]

Grabbed an orange, some Jamba Juice (Drank it too fast and got a head-freeze - nice and cold, but OWWWWW!!!

Some Great Harvest Bread - the Cinnamon and Raison kind and then went to find my neighbor. He finished strong, just a minute or two after me. Did great for his first marathon, and to make me feel even worse, two days later he was jumping around playing softball, and had already signed up for #2 next weekend. He’s a ROCKSTAR!!

2 days later I still couldn’t walk down stairs.

Wow, for not much to say, I’ve waffled on far to long! Great race, despite the feelings of death on my part. Great supporters, great weather, and all over a great day. I just won’t be downing a 5 hour energy before my next race!

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OK - so I had a big ride planned today, supposed to be practicing my nutrition plan and all of that.  I was up early, which is unusual for a non-work day, had the tri-suit on, BodyGlide in strategic places and all of that.  Gosh Darnit, I was freakin’ excited too.  It was at that point that I took my bike upstairs (She sleeps in my basement office), and that was when I both saw and heard it.  The picture below doesn’t do it justice (Even if you click on it and bring up the full-size version).  The heavens had opened, and left no doubt in my mind that they hated me.  It wasn’t just raining, it was bucketing down!

So with that said, I now have a couple of hours to catch up on some things, including a number of blog posts promised in recent months. First up on my “To Blog” list. Additional pictures from Rage. See the original race report here.

First of all, huge hats off again to my super wife, who handled 5 kids while I was out having fun on the race course. I had previously told her that there was a nice big beach, and I’m sure the kids would pretty much take care of themselves. The night before the race she’d spent some time at the dollar store getting a bunch of fun stuff for them as well - in hind sight, an excellent idea.

With all the photo’s below, as with most other photo’s on this site, you can click them for a larger version of the photo. Also if you want the original photo’s (2MB+) You’re welcome to shoot me a message… Perhaps you have a shrine set up for me, and want a focal point at which to focus your worship… Ha ha ha ha ha! Just kidding!! If you have a shrine set up to me, might I suggest professional help - I’ll even try and raise some money here and this site to get you that help!

Oh, and all these photo’s courtesy of my sweet wife Ann. She has learned my trick, that being photographer means you don’t have to be in any pictures!!

OK, so first up… The beach! This photo is looking towards the finish for the swim. Note the “nice” beach…

Next, a couple of my biggest fans. Here’s Bronwyn (front) and Kynan (back) playing beach. That strange look on Bron’s face is her staring at the delicious rocks - which she started trying to ingest seconds later. You would think we didn’t feed the kid!

And now, my Lily! I think of all the kids, she may have the best tri-athlete potential, but time will tell. A couple of the others are showing promise too!

Brody and Lily, getting water from Lake Mead (Freakin’ cold Lake Mead), to be used in moats etc.

And finally, my Ella - who may possibly be doing her first tri in 2 weeks! If you look at my original race report and link to the Zazoosh photo’s. In the picture of me coming out of the swim, the kid in the background, wading in the lake is Ella as well.

Alright, now some race pics! All my swim pics are on the original race report and these start with T2. I’m thinking at some point, I need to put a glossary together of various Triathlon terms, but for now… T1 and T2 are the two transition periods in a race. T1, is the switch from swimming to biking and T2, is the switch from biking to running. Back in the early days, there used to be full nudity in the transition area’s as athletes changed clothes between disciplines. Fortunately, at least in the case of people who would rather not see me naked, this practice was rendered obsolete by the invention of clothing which could be worn through out a race.

Alright, so here is how you do a really slow T2 - my excuse was that my family were right there, so there was a fair amount of chatting, so high fives, hugs and all of that. The benefit was that I have a photo sequence of how I did it to show you!

Here I am arriving it my rack - grateful my family waved me in, since they all look the same!

Check out my funky grip tape on my aero-bars too! Makes my bike easier to find as I’m staggering around after the swim portion of a race!

Step 1 - Helmet removed! I forgot this in a race exactly 1 year prior to this one, and went running out on the run leg, with helmet securely attached. It was only after Brody asked my wife, which I was running with a helmet on that she realized the problem, and hastily communicated it to me, where after I sheepishly removed said helmet and left it at an aid station. So… HELMET OFF!

Running hat on (helps keep the sweat out the eyes, and the shaved head from burning.

Shoes on (gotta love elastic laces!!) and trying out a 5 hour energy. Worked great at a shorter race last year, worked great at this race. Killed me at the Ogden marathon!

Down the hatch! Let’s get running already!

The family, now knowing they won’t see me for about an hour, retire to the van. The sun was pretty hot, and even after 7 hours (actually 8 since we got lost, maybe 9 after we reviewed the course) they still think it’s a fun place to hang out!

Spot the person not having a fun time!

An hour or so later, they headed back over to the finish line, just in time to spot me cruising in.

And there I go under the arch. Just for the record, I got done in 3:11… The timer was for the half iron distance race which began about an hour before mine.

Mission Accomplished!!!

Nothing feels better than finished a race with nothing left. I even tried a final sprint for this one, but the tank was completely drained!

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