Undaunted by hardship! Cherishing the experience - Canadian Birkebeiner 2013

    I have skied the Norwegian Birkebeiner and American Birkebeiner XC ski races each twice now and after surviving those epic events I decided that someday I would finish the final event (Canada) in this epic nordic skiing adventure.   All three events are at least 54 kilometers long over challenging terrain.  In both the Norwegian and Canadian events you get to ski the distance carrying a backpack to simulate the rescue of Prince Haakon Haakonson with up to 12lbs in it.

    So in 2012 I completed the American Birkie under decent conditions in crappy fitness...surely, the Canadian Birkie would be an epic experience since I am in excellent shape.  Or would it?

   We traveled to Edmonton on a short 1.5 hour flight direct from Seattle to Edmonton...it was a very pleasant flight and both Doug and I were surprised on how short the flight was.  Upon arrival we rented our mid-sized car from Budget...where apparently mid-sized vehicle in Canada equals a ginormous, Dodge Ram 3500 king cab pick up truck...it was huge!  Our hotel was nothing to scream about, but the breakfast buffet was phenomenal.  What stood out the most was how amazingly nice everyone was.  Additionally, it was amazing how many people you could see walking where ever they had to go...despite the temps around -15.  Clearly, going outside is simply a part of life in Canada.  Very impressive.

    On Thursday, my buddy Doug and I travelled to the Ukrainian Cultural Center to test the trails, our ski's and fitness...the conditions were -11 and the track was recently set and in absolute post-card perfect conditions.   While talking over our plans to ski on the race course, we discussed with the park ranger and in his very pleasant voice he said "just climb over the fence at 2K so the buffalo stay off the course."  So off we went, and it was amazing!  The course was fast, smooth and in perfect shape...Doug and I were already looking forward to setting personal best times for the distance.  In fact, I was even dreaming of a top 50 finish place...

    Finally, race day was upon us and the worst possible scenario occurred...despite paying big bucks to have our ski's race prepped for a fast day...we could not plan for the epically bad weather.  Suddenly while driving 30 miles north to the race start...I noticed, its snowing out...and getting pretty windy...uh oh!  We had planned for fast, cold temps and snow conditions...anyone that has ever xc skied knows, fresh snow and wind are very difficult conditions...in fact, nearly impossible conditions...unless you have some waxless ski's...which I do own, and they were back in Washington!

    So, our professional wax service was scrambling for the new challenging conditions...and I did not receive my skis until 5 minutes before the race started...not good, that means no testing of skis, no changing wax, time to get in line and hope for the best.  It was very cold with the wind blowing hard and the snow piling up...Since I chose to race in the event wearing a back pack carrying 5.5kg = 12lbs. I took my emergency wind jacket out of my pack and put it on to try and stay warm...it did not work!

    Ok, about the race...I had hoped to break 5 hours, and based on Thursdays ski, was very confident this was going to happen.  How wrong I was...I spent the better part of six hours skiing with a Canadian who has skied in this event 18 straight years...he was very funny, very consistent and loves his Montreal Canadian hockey team.  As I mentioned the conditions were atrocious, my experience was still one to cherish despite several mistakes on my behalf.  Oh how I missed my waxless skis.

    Around the middle of the ski, I remembered why I love nordic skiing so much.  It is about the beauty of the landscape, the people who live this lifestyle who are so openly friendly while being brutally competitive.  Once I adjusted my attitude, I knew I would finish, despite the struggles on the course.  I was especially happy to see number 76 finish after he collapsed with about 700 meters to go...yes, I stopped to provide assistance before going to get true professional medical help for him.

    Throughout this experience, I cherished every kilometer, every up hill and even got to the point where I knew when I would need to stop and scrape my skis AGAIN!  Okay, scraping the skis was not really that special...frustrating, yes, special...no!

    As a coach, I always say don't change what has worked in training close to a race...for once, I wish I did not abide by this advice...sure could have used those waxless skis.

    Finally, as I was walking through the lobby this morning before heading home...an older gentleman approached me and asked me what my new goal was now that I have earned the coveted Haakon Haakonson award.  Well, that stopped me in my tracks.  I am thinking, perhaps the World Loppet series would be a great goal to finish in my lifetime...hmm, wonder what Janet will say when I tell her about this new goal?

    All for now, get outside people and play...if its cold or raining, put on another layer!  Below are a few pictures from this adventure.

IRONMAN Arizona - 2010

I know, I know, me and computer technology generally does not get along.  However, it is time for me to move my coaching business into the 21st century.  As such, my very first blog is not about how I will help you reach your running or triathlon goals, but about my recent experience in completing IRONMAN Arizona, 2010.  So here is my story.

   This past Summer I travelled to the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and staffed the National Jamboree.  I had the opportunity to spend a day with my best bud, Johnny Rosner who promptly took me out for a run and made me suffer so bad, I ended up walking.  I thought, well the next day I would crush him in the pool...guess what, did not happen!  In fact, he lapped me during a 500 and I knew that I was in trouble if I showed up in Arizona without significant improvement in my fitness.

    I went home after Jamboree, and while I know I am a terrific coach for others, I am not a very good coach for myself as I tend to let everyone and everything else take over my limited time.  I decided to call on a terrific friend and coach, Scott Jones for some help as he had previously called on me to help him prepare for his PR @ Boston a couple years ago.  I discussed my goals for IMAZ with him and he decided he could help me get organized, but I was going to have to be selfish with my time.  So I did it, I took a step back from Scouts, took no new athletes on and only worked with my Navy athletes and their programs.  Jonser took the time to help me organize my training and while I altered his schedule a little when needed, it was essentially his program I completed...So, if you need a great coach, other then me, check him out at www.IMJCoaching.com

    As I embarked on my crash program I was blessed with awesome training mates, Greg, Rich and others.  However, I was looking over my log and realized, my friend Dale did roughly 75% of all my workouts with me, no wonder he was kicking my tail so often.  To these mates, thank you very much for the support, advice and training.  The training was great fun and I very much appreciate all your time.

    So, after three dedicated months of discipline placed on top of 40 years of base training, I flew to Arizona on Wednesday, the 17th of November to participate in IRONMAN Arizona, 2010.  Upon arrival, Johnny Rosner arrived and the adventure was underway.  We hooked up with Rich and Justin, two of my athletes from the Kitsap Peninsula and drove the course and immediately we decided this bike course was one to crush.

    The atmosphere around Tempe was electric with excitement and it was a thrill to watch Justin and Rich enjoy the special and sometime over-whelming experience known as IRONMAN.  We swam in an awesome pool at Arizona State University, ran on some spectacular courses, and rode a very smooth and apparently fast bike course...well that is until weather watch 2010 began on Friday...yup, bad weather in Arizona is almost unheard of at this time of year...and of course, IRONMAN was Sunday so no chance the weather would be bad on our day...WRONG!

    The morning broke, with heavy cloud cover, and cool temps.  However, since it was not raining, I was not stressed with this as I am from the PNW...

    The pro's were off at 0650 and I stood in amazement at how somber some people were and how giddy others were as we prepared to jump into the 61 degree Tempe Town Lake...which really was not all that bad.  John and I decided we would line up close to the buoy line and just a few rows back...this decision was both a good and bad news story.  Immediately, got kicked in the nose and realized all of the 1202 first time IRONMAN competitors took the advice of the Race Director from the arrival dinner and lined up there as well...even those swimmers who would take up to 2 hours to finish their swim...we were swimming over people and others were swimming over us.  It was a frenetic and hectic start for certain...at one point during this chaos I thought about calling it an IM career.  Finally settled in and enjoyed a very easy and steady swim, out of the water in 1:13 and out of transition in 1:20...so I was already 7 minutes ahead of goal, just by relaxing.  My first leg of the bike was exactly as planned, if anything a little too quick...then the turn around...whoomp came the wind right in the face, essentially all the way back in your face...ugh, worked pretty hard all the way back and realized I was working too hard and now was 11 minutes ahead of goal pace.  I decided to back off on lengths 3 and 4 so that I could comfortably make my goal of 6:30 on the bike.  As I headed out on length 5, I felt great and the wind shifted a little so I had a little more of a tailwind.  Then it happened...a repair kit/bottle cage suddenly flew off the back of a fellow competitors bike and I had no chance to even get out of my aero position before I slammed into it.  The impact was severe and it snapped my seat post right off and suddenly I was without a bike seat.  I slammed on the brakes, and did not fall.  However, I was stuck without a seat and 24 miles more to go.

    After having an epic, McEnroe level meltdown, a support vehicle came along and we tried to fix the seat, with no success as the carbon fiber post was ripped out.  He suggested calling it a day, and I decided I could ride without the seat for awhile.  He took it to the repair station at mile 94 and I rode my bike there with no seat for 6 miles...after working feverishly trying everything in his tool chest, the mechanic and I decided to try zip ties and duct tape.  Amazingly it worked.  I just could not stand up and just had to keep my weight in one place until getting back to T2.  However, I was now an hour behind my goal pace...serious bummer.

    I was thrilled to get off the bike and my morale was still up.  On the run, felt okay and came upon one of my favorite athletes, Gina S. shortly after the start, she was super supportive and provided awesome support...first 9 miles went by quickly and I was certain I was at least going to finish.  A real thrill came during my second lap when I suddenly heard John's voice behind me and we ran together for several miles(he was on his 3rd lap) before I did the math and told him he could still PR despite the relentless wind.  He was really fit!  Even his wife, agreed with me on this.  Anyway, after a few hundred more yards he dropped me like a bad habit and I went into a dark period on the run.  Somehow, I spotted Robin and Greg P. who had some encouragement and much needed Tums.  This settled my stomach and my legs started to come back to life...when I later spotted Greg again, my brain was fried and I could not figure out what pace I had to run in order to at least break 14 hours...once he did the math, I was very determined to get there under 14 hours.  AMAZINGLY, as soon as I sped up, my legs came to life and I was rolling by people and went into the finish line area all by myself with over 6 minutes to spare.  I thanked God, my Dad, my wife and kids, my training mates, my brother Mike and Sister-in-Law Carol, Jonser and all my other supportive friends and then demonstrated my awesome dance move..."The Sprinkler" for all the IRONMAN world to see.  You can check it out on IRONMANLIVE.com pre-race show and at the finish line.  Finally, this day was great fun and prove that even though I am getting older, I am not slowing down, I am getting smarter.  If you want to do an IRONMAN, I say it is a lot like the golden rule...it means nothing until you realize it's your move.  PURE POWER!