You might as well be dead. No limits.

“These are the times I will truly remember fellas…”

New Orleans 70.3 Race Report – April 18, 2010

“These are the times I will truly remember fellas…”

Every race has a story. Here is mine from the New Orleans Half Ironman 70.3 race.

(For non-tri folks, a half ironman consists of a 1.2mile swim, a 56mile bike, and a 13.1mile run.)

There is great anticipation that comes with stepping into the unknown. The 70.3 distance is quite new to me. I did one back in 2006 with no guidance or coaching; just to see what is was like. I tried to ‘race it’ but had no idea what I was doing. No training program, no nutrition strategies, nothing. Coming into NOLA I was curious about my abilities and excited to take on the distance again. But this time I was better prepared. I had more fitness, more confidence, and mental toughness – I was ready to test myself.

A few days before the race, I met with Ahmed, my coach, to go over the race strategy. We talked about each step of the race and how it would unfold. We discussed how I should react in specific situations on the bike. We talked about the psychology of how a competitor thinks during the race. I left the meeting with a solid, sound strategy in hand. I reflected on all of my training in the previous 6 months; I had worked very hard and had confidence in my abilities. And more importantly, I could look myself in the mirror and know I’d given it my all up until this point. The only thing left to do was execute on race day.

Nikki and I drove down on Friday and made the last scheduled pre-race briefing just in the nick of time. I always like to do packet pickup at the earliest possible opportunity. This way, the day before the race I can focus solely on getting in my workouts, resting, and focusing for the race.

Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast and headed out for a swim. I found a little spot down from the official swim start to jump into Lake Pontchartrain. The water temperature was low 70’s. Perfect. Got a short swim in and then hopped on the bike for a test ride. Felt sharp and ready. Mental focus was crystal clear. Spirits were high.

Went to Olive Garden for a late lunch and then back to transition to hang our bikes up for the day. Now it was time to head back to the hotel and rest. Nikki took a long nap and I worked on tri schedules. We got all of our gear ready for race morning and turned out the lights early. With tomorrow would come endless possibilities and great opportunity.

I was up at 3:30am. Starting eating my breakfast at 4am. Wanted a very relaxed pace to the morning. No surprises, just business as usual. We loaded up the car and got to transition by 5:15am. We had 90 minutes to set up transition and put everything in place. While that 90 minutes felt more like 9, I was happy with my preparations and excited to get the day going.

The first professional wave went off at 7am. I had an hour to kill on the beach before my wave went off at 8am. It was relaxing and peaceful watching all of the people before me. It was a beautiful morning and the atmosphere was electric. I was just soaking all of it in. I didn’t get the butterflies until about 7:40am when I went to warm-up in the water and then to line up with my group. It is hard to put into words what it’s like right before the gun goes off. I was ready. “Let’s do this!”

The swim was great. I went at a moderate pace and let some guy sight for me the entire way. He must have looked up 100+ times while I was just relaxing and focusing on him, nothing else. I zoned everything else out and thought about 1 thing: staying on that guy’s hip.

I was out of the water before I knew it and into T1. My wetsuit came off with no problem. I purposely went a little slower in transition to get the heart rate down. I wasn’t in a hurry. The way I saw it I was already out of the water a few minutes ahead of schedule so my plan was going great.

The bike was fun, and hard. I took my chances where I needed to and backed off when it was appropriate. It was all part of the strategy, and I trusted fully in it. I saw some guys tanking towards the end. I was getting stronger. I had hit my nutrition and had executed my pacing almost perfectly. I rode into transition (T2) feeling GREAT about my position.

Racked my bike and took off the helmet. Slipped on the run shoes and had a power gel in hand. Looked across the rack to two of my fellow age groupers, and as I started running I said, “Let’s go catch all those jokers!”

Needless to say I felt fresh. Way too good for having just worked out at a high intensity for 3 hours straight. I think I surprised myself with how good my fitness was in the swim and bike. As I was running mile 1 of the half marathon, I was evaluating my condition. “I nailed everything,” I thought. Cool. Now let’s run.

Problem: All that time I spent feeling great about my fitness and feeling surprised to be in such great shape……all of that thinking was energy lost towards focusing on the task at hand! Because I was thinking of how fresh I felt and how great the swim and the bike were, I wasn’t thinking about what I was currently doing = running!

Result: Mile 1 was too fast, a 6:45 mile. I got caught up in the moment and messed up my pacing. Oops! So I should’ve backed off and raced within my abilities, right? That would be smart, right?!!

Instead, I thought, “6:45? Wow, that felt like a 10minute mile. My fitness is GREAT, I’m gonna smoke this thing!” So I stuck with the pace. Later I would pay the price.

All was good up until Mile 8. I had dropped off more than 2minutes per mile and was feeling overheated. By mile 10 I had completely blown up. Ah, the disappointment in that moment! I can still feel it a bit. But no regrets.

I walked and jogged it into the finish line. Along the way, I appreciated the people that cheered and encouraged me to pick it up to a jog when I was walking. I had a lot of time to think about my decisions in the race and why things had ended up the way they did.

• I was happy to feel that I was 100% responsible for why things went the way they did.
• I was happy to make it to the finish line. I respect the distance a little more now and I will return to perfect it.
• I was happy to see my wife cross the finish line.

And speaking of my wife, the race report wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Nikki. We both trained for this goal together and it was so sweet to see her finish with her hands in the air. I love you and I am so proud of you Nik. Thanks for the encouragement along the way and for all of the support. I couldn’t do any of this without you.

The story wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention Jon, Jeff, and Mike. Three of my clients were there doing their first half Ironman. What a joy it was to celebrate in their victories! I am so proud of each of them. It wouldn’t have been the same experience had they not been there and had we not exchanged race stories over dinner that evening. These are the times I will truly remember fellas, not my race times.

As I write this and think back on my 6-year journey through endurance sports, I perceive that I experience great freedom through physical exploration. Training for and competing in triathlons keeps me ‘in the game.’ Each year that passes I find a deeper appreciation for the sport and the perspectives I have gained from it. Not to mention I am in the best shape of my life and have never felt better.

‘The game’ is different for everyone. For me, it’s about balance and passion. I want to be a great endurance athlete but more than that I want to be a great husband and friend. I want to continue to live a healthy lifestyle and train for triathlon. I want to keep pursuing the things in life I am truly passionate about. That’s my ‘game.’

What’s yours?

Smiling in the Southwest :)

I can't even begin to describe what this trip has done for Nicole and I. Of course it has been fun (you should check facebook, Nik has put up a lot of cool pictures), but that's not really what I'm talking about.

Time to rest. Time to think. Time for a long breakfast. Time to hike. Time to reflect. Time to pray. Time to feel in awe (well, that's all the time). Time to sleep in. Time to be in the moment. Time to forget deadlines. Time to appreciate everything. Time to be cleansed. Time to be refreshed. Time to take walks. Time to truly live out making God the dominating focus of my life.

I don't know why people don't do this more - take trips and get away. But I'm not talking about 1 week; like a real trip, 2 weeks minimum. The perspective you get on life...how can it not be worth it? I can already hear the excuses out there - "Well I can't b/c of this and that." I'm sure there are some valid ones out there (always an exception) but the truth is you can't afford not to!

Fresh ideas about career. Fresh ideas about living. Fresh ideas about life. Renewed centered-ness. Excited about life.

All this, has left us smiling in the Southwest :P

Nikki & David

Encountering the Reckless, Raging Fury

Hi there, it's been a while...I know, I know, don't hate. Just be glad there's an update! (wow, that actually rhymed, cool).

There's this book I've been reading with a friend about the life of Rich Mullins. Just another man I guess...I wasn't even sold on reading the book even after I bought it but then came the "hook" in the foreword by Brennan Manning - "His (Rich's) vivid awareness of his own brokenness made it existentially impossible to sit in judgment on the sins of others."

For someone who has struggled in the past with casting judgment on others (i.e., me), this was definitely intriguing to say the least. I want to feel that; I want to live like that. I want to know what it's like to see others the way God sees them, absent from my own lenses of discrimination, however subconscious it may be.

What I learned today about God's love - His "Reckless, Raging Fury":

"God loves us with an INTENSE love...He pursues us...It's not God loves you if you're good, it's not God loves you if He's having a good day. It's God loves you desperately, passionately--and it's a hard thing to get ahold of...But I think it's time to get past the twentieth-century and get into the way things really are."
I've met people who see Christianity as a place where "weak" people go. Damn right. I'm glad to not be living the lie of a perfect life anymore. That is so exhausting. Being authentic is a much better way to go. But there's still something terribly wrong when I find more "real" people outside of the church than inside. Interesting. God's love is "intense," not this lame, girly, frilly, fickle thing that comes and goes and only resides in 'nice' people.

"Love is our deepest reason for existence."
"The failure to find this love comprises our deepest pain and drives us (often subconsciously) into activities that we think will help us find it."
We live for love, true. I have chased many a "sexy carrot" in my life, that's for sure - http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/images/DonRabbit.pdf
I love that story about Don Rabbit. It reminds me of all the chapters in my life where I think achieving these great things will somehow validate me. Only to find that I choke on it and end up broken and then later, grateful for the experience...

"Continual failure becomes the devil's playground, for in them he whispers things like 'See, you are a sham, a fake, a sinner, and God knows it. You are deluding yourself if you think he really loves you.' If we pay heed to these voices of condemnation, our confidence in God's love is easily destroyed."
See this is why it's easy for intellectuals or others outside the faith to dismiss the gospel - because we lack in living BOLDLY for God. Why wouldn't they think we are "weaker?" We doubt too much and wallow in flimsy faith, hardly making a ripple for Christ in the people we work with or our neighbors, etc. We constantly settle for this stupid Americanized version of being a comfortable Christian, and it's crap. There's more depth out there people. Yes, and it may come with more pain. Oh wait, here's an idea: Rejoice in your pain maybe?! Or you can just complain about it to others and join in with the rest of people in thinking life is about getting to that cozy spot...what a sham.

"...So don't get so hung up about how important you are in the Kingdom of God or how important you are to the growth of the church. It seems that God is always saying, 'I'm not worried so much about how you're doing as much as I'm glad about who you are.' The Scripture also says don't get too hung up in your failures, your weaknesses, or your addictions - it doesn't make you separate from God because he still loves you."
I can rest in this. I may have to read it 1000 times but eventually I will accept this Love that has been freely offered to me. This idea of being loved despite my behavior, or being accepted regardless of my weaknesses - that's something to ponder.

Today, the love of God became deeper and "bigger" to me. And yet I love how the gospel is still so simple at the same time.

I think there's so much more beauty to be experienced in truly coming to terms with God's love. Let us pursue it with more vigor!

God help us all.

David

be like MIKE.

I'm really proud of my brother, Michael. He has shined so far this season with his Hendrix basketball team.

It's really cool to see how patience and hard work finally pay off. Never once did I hear a negative attitude from him when he was getting 10 minutes a game over the last two seasons. Well, the time has come and Michael has made his mark!

His confidence and leadership abilities are emerging and at the point when that happened in high school, his performance was through the roof. Why would it be any different in college?

Way to go Mike. Good luck for the rest of the year and congrats on the game last night. I do believe the article said you have "ice in your veins"!!

Check out the articles written on him so far:

central baptist college
millsaps college
rust college
university of dallas

Seems that JESUS might actually stand a chance this Christmas...

breckenridge

we just got back from amy's wedding in breckenridge, co

amy was of course a gorgeous bride and it was fun to welcome travis to the family



it was so refreshing to get away and hang out in colorado for 4 days...

check out the backdrop of this picture, it's so beautiful (it looks fake, right?!!!)



here we are at the reception