Operation Ironman

Running in Central Park

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:33:00 +0000

So this morning I decided to hit Central park for a run despite the snow. The running group I recently joined (The Reservoir Dogs) has a scheduled group run every Saturday morning, and today was no exception. So I decided to join them for some training company. Something I am sorely missing since uprooting out of Westchester, where I had my training peeps.

There was a 6 mile run on the schedule, and about 12 people showed up. This is the second run with them and they appear pretty consistent. They are really a training/social group. They go for their runs, but also hook up afterwards for breakfast or drinks on evening runs. So far I like them.

The funny thing about being in a new group is that you are almost interrogated about your training and racing history. I was running with a guy who is a triathlete, so we had lots of war stories to swap. You know you have done alot when you can relate to almost every story a bunch of people come up with.

One good thing about running in a group, at least for me is I get motivated to run harder than I normally would on my own. Too bad that was not my goal. Cause I ran moderately hard at 8 min miles today when I really wanted an easier run ( Like 9 Min/mile). Oh well.

But I did get to get a background of the wonderful Central Park. For example I finally got to know how Cat Hill got to be named that way. Its cause of this:

Thats Right! Its a Black Panther!! Sitting waiting to pounce on you!! Its been waiting a loong time! Its neat, to have all these little points of interest sitting around to discover. Makes my run a little interesting. The Panther lies in the middle of the hill, on the east side starting on 80th street. I was told its bad luck to run by and not greet the cat.

Possible Olympic sports?

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:58:00 +0000

To be honest, When I watch Curling I cant fathom why this is an Olympic sport. I just dont see it as requiring any level of athletic conditioning. I know we can say that maybe any competition should be considered sport. I saw somewhere that so long as there is an organized world governing body, and a history of world championships then it qualifies.

I wonder is Chess an Olympic sport? Bowling? at least that requires physical skill.

Anyhow I propose a few others that could be exciting:

Underwater ICE Hockey!!

Yep, put on a wetsuit, work your way UNDER the ice, and play upside down with a Puck that floats against the ice.

Or if this seems too cold for you, how about simple underwater hockey

Then of course for an alternative Track and Field event, There is TUNA Throwing!

Off and running

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:49:00 +0000

Howdy folks! I have been away for quite awhile. Mostly letting life settle down, coaching some athletes and just chilling. But the time has come to resume training. I have selected a couple of races to shoot for:

The Scotland run (10K) in April

The Brooklyn 1/2 Marathon in May

One very refreshing thing about registering for these, they were only $18 and $25 respectively!! Compared to triathlons this just felt like It was a give away!

On another note, I ran last night for the first time with a running group I recently joined, "The Reservoir Dogs" ( www.thereservoirdogs.com ) Yes it is a running group and NOT the movie.

It was a nice 5 mile recovery run, and well organized. Best yet I finally saw the Cat for which "Cat" hill is named :) They seem like a great group and look forward to running with them more.

Its nice to be training again

Strength Training

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:06:00 +0000

OK so over the winter I decided that I would focus on running speed and strength. Especially leg strength, which will help me with cycling strength later on. At the moment I dont have my bikes with me so I cannot throw down with a bike on a trainer, but this makes for a good alternative in the meantime. So following this thought process, I decided to take on ....THE TWO HUNDRED SQUAT CHALLENGE!!

Doing the initial test I found that I was fairly weak at these, so I believe its a great area to build up on and improve. Lets see how it goes, so far the first week was easy. However, I know this wont last.

Help Haiti, Help yourself!

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:59:00 +0000

As mentioned in my earlier post I have been mulling ideas for supporting the releif efforts in Haiti. My search has brought me to one charity that I have supported in the past through volunteering locally. Its habitat for humanities, and personally I cant think of a better way to help those in Haiti, who have lost their homes, than by at least providing a safe shelter.

Habitat is addressing shelter solutions for low-income families affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. Habitat’s ability to respond effectively to this disaster will require support from donors, corporate partners and other community organizations.

More information is available on their website

So here is what I propose:

HELP HAITI AND HELP YOURSELF

$30/30 minutes

I am offering a 1/2 hour consultation to anyone who donates $30 or more to Habitat for Humanities' Haiti efforts. All you need to do is forward to me the confirmation of the donation that you receive from Habitat, it should be dated from today January 23, and after. Send the confirmations to my email: javier@opironmultisport.com

I am doing this from now to February 15

So Who am I? This from my Coaching website

(www.opironmultisport.com)
Javier Gomez - Triathlon Coach, USAT Level 1 Certified

Javier has been a Triathlete for a number of years, having raced dozens of triathlons, most recently Ironman Lake Placid. For the past 2 years he has been a coach and has lead the beginners triathlon program for Race with Purpose (www.racewithpurpose.org). Javier also coaches individual clients with a variety of experience levels.

Ideas of what you can achieve with a one hour consultation:
setup a rudimentary plan for the year, get feedback about your training, ideas for workouts, learn how to prioritize your races, get feedback about your current plans and refine them.

These are just some ideas. More to come-

A Time for Action

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:09:00 +0000

So much of my life this past few months has been about recovering and simply dealing with my own personal issues in my life. It has in fact forced me to put aside those things I love to do like triathlons and coaching, simply to be able to garner the energy to make it on a daily basis. It has been a time of inward focus.

But as Winston Churchill once said "Evil wins when good men do nothing".

There is now a true tragedy going on in Haiti, and it is in Biblical proportions. There are so many efforts going on by Governments and organizations that it is so easy to think "someone else will take care of it". But that is dangerous, if we all take that train of thought then the assistance that this country and its people needs will falter.

I started coaching through Race with purpose, an organization that brought athletes and a need to help the world together. This concept really worked for me, who has always volunteered at various things throughout my life. Lately the programs and the organization has been dormant. It seems to me the time as come to shake the cobwebs off, and start taking action.

I have been communicating with Adam, the founder and head coach of RwP, to try and figure how to respond to this. It was nice to see he had his own wheels turning around this problem as well. Lets see where this leads.

Strength Training

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Now that I am fully recovered from my surgery, I am now working to get back into shape and setup my fitness for hard training. I have decided to start with a Strength focussed month to establish a good strength base.

Basically I started last night with crunches and scissor kicks for core, and calf raises, lunges and pushups for strength. This is a light routine for the first week and will buildup over the next few weeks. One indicator though that I direly need this, is that the Lunges truly hurt. I had to pull back on these or risk injury.

I made sure to stretch afterwards because I felt incredibly tight after the workout.

This workout felt good and I feel I will enjoy these workouts due to the short amount of time required.

More Motivation

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Its funny that lately I seem to find much motivation from of all places commercials and Videos. Motivational videos are like Love songs for me, You know how when you are in love or falling out of love, suddenly all songs you hear somehow relate to your situation? Well Motivation is in a similar category.

when I am in need of some I will find motivation in almost anything I see unless its truly bad. But for most other times I may see one and just pass it by. However, there are just a number of well made videos out there that just move me even if I am already in a high, and have the potential to turn me around during a bad or tough time. Since the head game is a huge part of training and racing, this is something that as a coach and athlete I cannot just ignore. So without further ado...

This one from Levi's made me want to go out there and take something on, something BIG.

Then there is the Versus Commercial that just gets me MOVING, The underdog, never count me out!

Might as well add these others:

Michael Jordan - Its my fault

Lots of Quotes in this one, but I liked it

Famous Failures

No Excuses - Love it, cant get up and get that run in?

Any other videos out there I should consider? Lemme know!

Goodbye

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:35:00 +0000

After a year of faithful service, my favorite Bionic collarbone is coming out today. Surgery is in the afternoon. The metal was irritating my skin and causing problems with muscles attached to the bone. I hope they save it for me to keep as a souvenir.

Motivation

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:07:00 +0000

The other night at pal Grants house along with IM Bobby and company we were watching motivational videos on Youtube. I have found the poem below to be particularly motivational during my hardest days. Turns out Nelson Mandela also was an admirer. They said he had it written on the wall during his time in prison.

INVICTUS by William Henley

OUT of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Are Vampires always deppresed?

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:28:00 +0000

I just saw Twighlight:New Moon, The Movie was OK I suppose, but I have to say these folks seem perpetually depressed! I mean what is the lure to being a Vampire, a lifetime of longing depression? Whats with Bella? Does she ever smile?

I like the Vampires in "Lost Boys" better, sure they are murderous beasts but THEY at least seemed to have fun.

Oh and by the way I am firmly on Team Jacob.

Thanksgiving

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:14:00 +0000

WOW I cant believe I have not posted since being back in NY! Guess I have been pretty busy. One of my latest adventures here in NY had NOTHING to do with athletics or training. I had made a Giant mistake ... I made a promise that was almost impossible for me to keep...

I promised to bring Cuban style Croquettes just like my Mom makes.

IDIOT!!!!

I dont know what possessed me!!! I don't cook! I have no cooking equipment! The only actual experience I had in making these things was when I was a kid helping my mom grind the meat with our old manual grinder.

I can only chalk it up to trying to impress. Anyhow the first hurdle I faced was the fact I needed a meat grinder. No meat grinder in sight where I am staying, so out I go in search for a simple meat grinder. My Mom tells me she just bought one for 35 bucks in Miami, and its "ELECTRIC!" she proclaimed on the phone. Not like the manual one I had used growing up.

So obviosly there are options to this!! Since T day is just a few days away I figured I will definitly find this in Manhattan, so why order online? I did look to get a price range and it looked like I could get something between 20-50 bucks! Sweet!!

So off I go, looking and looking and lo and behold....NOTHING!! WTF!!!

I am getting desperate now. Then I realize I never promised I would make the croquettes! I could buy them! Of course! GOYA to the rescue!! There are frozen Cuban style croquettes in just about any store in Westchester, surely the markets in Manhattan will be practically overflowing with them since this is a culturally savy city that I am now living in.

Well I went to Gristedes ( one on almost every other freaken block, whats up with them and Duane Reade? ) Food Emporium, called Whole Foods.....Zilch. Un ...Freaken ....believable!!!

How is it possible that Manhattan, with more spanish folks than just about anywhere does not seem to have a single frozen Goya Croquette?! As a latin man in Manhattan I am offended!

But anyhow, I was back to square one. I need to make these things myself. I felt my old sporting self coming through, I would dig DEEP to find the will to complete this task!

If I can complete and Ironman, then dammit I WILL MAKE HAM CROQUETTES!!

SO I went to Macy's figuring there may be a premium to pay, but they MUST have the equipment.

It didnt take me long to spot through the suffocating masses in macy's the Phrase "Meat Grinder"! Oh JOY!!

I did not even take any time to look at it, saw the picture on the box, the price, and off I went. I could not wait to get the heck out of that store. The crowds were just sooo much!! They were driving me crazy!!

How come it is when the isles are packed, that I always seem to have the family in front of me, that has to stop and look at just about EVERY....SINGLE....RACK.

Grrrrrr

Anyhow I was out! With grinder and headed to the store to get the ingredients. WAHOO!!

So got everything and decide its a good time to rest until the night before Turkey day.

T-1 ( Thats the day before Thanksgiving for you civilians)

I bust out the gear to get the Croquettes prepared so that they only need to be fried ( Thats right you health Freaks!! FRIED!!!) on T day.

I bust out the Grinder and amazingly there is only a feeder tube.....WHAT THE!!!! O...M...G

I look at the box and it says in smaller print words that will forever be burned in my psyche to be associated with disapointment......."Attachment", it is not a meat grinder but a Meat Grinder attachment to a much larger food processor!!!! WTF!!! I was in such a rush to get out and so elated to even see the words "Meat Grinder" that I did not even bother to read the whole package.

I...D...I...O...T..!!!!!

So here I am with 2 lbs of cooked ham, 1 lbs of grilled chicken, onions, garlic and a whole host of ingredients and no way to put it together. I have failed.....

As I sit there in the shock of failure my eyes casually gaze over to the blendor, and I start counting the buttons, Sure has allot of buttons. I get closer and see buttons like "Grind", "puree", and my favorite "Liquefy". Then it dawns on me...I'll blend the meats together!

And thats exactly what I did!! My God it took hours!! Because after you have just an inch thick of meat it just sticks to the side of the blender, so it was a tiny batch at a time. But little by little ( mind you I could finish a Marathon faster than this) I finally got all the cooked meats blended. Then to bread them and shape them.

NOTE: It did occurr to me to throw the combined meats to the ground and stomp them till they were "ground" but I tossed the idea out since I figured I would actually have to eat one of them.

By the time I was done I had spent about 5-6 hours doing something that with the right tool could have been done in about 90 minutes. But happily I will say they came out OK. perhaps a bit chunky sometimes, but not so bad.

So the lesson? Get the right tools? Nope. Make friends with a Chef? Nope.

Its KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT the next time I feel like impressing with any form of cooking skills.

Sao Paulo

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:57:00 +0000

So my journeys have now led from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo Brazil. I have been here before several times and each time I seem to be around for a historic event of nefarious or not so good consequences. There is the Wonderful prison riots that resulted in street gangs attacking the police on the streets of the city. This resulted in several days of marshal law where we could not be out after 8PM. Then just this week I just arrived at my hotel just 10 minutes before the Great Blackout that affected 50% of the country. Awesome I am a witness to Brazilian history haha

Anyhow I was looking online at wikitravel for info on what to see in Sao Paulo, and came across this line regarding customs and specifically when to kiss on the cheek:

"Men kiss women on the cheek and women kiss women as well, but two men will not kiss unless they are gay"

I have to say that was refreshingly honest haha

Buenos Aires

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Well here I am traveling again. I am now in Buenos Aires for a couple of days on business, then I onto Sao Paolo Brazil for a week and a half. At first glance it would seem that this trip is well timed considerring what is happening in my life. For those that do not know me personally, or that I speak to on a regular basis, I am going through a divorce, I dont think I ever said that here, so there you have it. This also explains the lack of posts on my part. Life has not been steady, nor has there been much time for me to focus on triathlon or athletic much recently.

So not much to post. But now as I begin to settle into a life of being separated, (thanks to a great amazing friend who has let me stay in this beautiful apartment in the upper east side of Manhattan) I have found that despite all the change, I am settling in quite nicely. This business travel does not help however. But such is life.

One of the good things about travel is the oportunity to see different things. Even during business travel whose main purpose is work I still get glimpses of a different culture. Today I arrived in Argentina early, so I had the rest of Sunday to settle in and see a little. I went out and started to walk because it was such a nice spring day here. Eventually I came across a park that was full of monuments. At least thats what it looked like to me. There was one monument that had 2 guards stationed in front. It was dedicated to all of the fallen in the Falkands war. Very reminiscent to the Vietnam war memorial. A Black Marble wall with hundreds of names on it.

There were also a number of other standard "general on horseback" statues and such. Beautiful all of them. The city itself is very european in feel. In fact so are the people. When looking at how they dress and act and physically as well I feel as if I am in Spain. Not what most americans would think of as Latin American.

Anyhow its very nice here, after my walk I did a 1 hr run, of course the Garmin was low on battery, so I dont know how far. And now I am having a late lunch. The rest of the day will be for preparing clothes for work and relaxing for a bit. Also start to think of what I am going to do with my coaching business which I plan on building on (slowly) and my focus for next years races. I havedecided to keep short races focussing on speed, but Iam feeling the pull of the marathon lately. May have to throw one of them infor next year also.

Stay tuned

Speed Speed and more SPEED!!

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Well having accomplished my IM goal, and dealing with serious time constraints due to work and circumstances, I have decided that next year my focus will be for Sprint distance races. They are short, fun, and do not require as much training time as Ironman distance races.

Also I have traditionally done relatively well always placing in the top 20% without specifically training for them . So I figure to do better than that once I do train for them. As such this off season I am developing a strength training program to help me develop power, thus more speed. I am also training to PR on a 10K in December.

I think this should give me enough focus for now to keep me going and also give me the room I need to take care of life.

A Time for a Change

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:14:00 +0000

Hi All,

Its been so long since I have posted. Very long. My life has been in real turmoil the past few months, between a merciless job, and some very serious life issues that were screaming to be resolved, I just did not have time for anything such as training or even posting here.

Anyhow little by little things are falling into place. I have seen life can be pretty freaken good, and things are changing. In time I will be able to give more details, but enough to say the changes are deep and substantial. Although sometimes change is very hard, it also offers hope for better days. I am truly looking forward to it.

Cheers to all

Chile 2009

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Well I am back from my business trip in Chile, and I have to say it was interesting. My training sufferred immensely since I was not able to get in the training necessary for the Toughman Half IM due to long days at work.

The weekends however were different. Myself and Co-worker Shellah did quit a bit of exploring in the one full weekend we had and let me tell you exploring in Chile where some towns are not truly Tourist driven can be exciting.

The best of these was our visit to Valparaiso. This is a quirky town that has some real character. It sits on a bay and is dominated by hills that each have beautiful views of the Bay. At the turn of the century (ie 1900) they had built a number of trams (or Furniculares) that they call "ascensores" ie ascenders, to help the local population get up the hills. These same "Ascensores" are still around and it was our mission on this trip to see them. This was a far bigger task than we could have expected. You see each ascensor is known by its name ( yes they each have a name much like my old bike is known as "Dusty") and it is almost expected that you know what you are looking for.

Anyhow more to come on this later on.....I have to go back to working on fixing my damned Kitchen sink. But come back soon... you will learn of the secrets to quality wine making in Chile by playing music to the grapes! and that a GPS device can in fact tell you one thing and point you in another direction! So exciting!

Problem with the Domain name

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:47:00 +0000

Sorry folks, over the last few days it seems my Domain had been on the fritz. It seems I had an old credit card on file with Google, on the 15th the domain expired and they could not renew because the expiration had expired on that card. While in Chile my internet access was limited so I missed the email.

Anyhow its been straightened out and Operation Ironman is back in Business.

IMLP 09 Race Report

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:35:00 +0000

So up until the day before the race I truly did not know if I would be able to race. My Father-in-Law was at the time in truly dire conditions and it was expected he could pass-on at any moment. I had decided that if he passed the day before I would have to go home to be with my Wife. Up until Saturday all seemed good until Saturday afternoon that My Wife called me that they were taking Moel(F-I-Law) off Life support and he would probably pass on soon after. At which point I was planning to leave if the word came. But later that evening I called my wife to get a status and explained I was waiting to see if I had to leave. her response was "Who said you were coming home? I did not ask you to do that?" She told me I have been waiting for 2 years for this, and her dada was in bad shape for the past 3 months, its bad timing but there is nothing to do about that. Besides her dad would want me too. She said "Javier go flatten some hills" then come home as soon as you can.

So with that, I decided to stay and finish this journey. I decided I would dedicate the race to my Awesome wife, Retno, and her dad.

I put it on my arm so I would be reminded why I was doing this whenever I was in the Aero bars.

So that evening had a light meal and went to bed around 9:30 ish. I slept pretty well and got up around 4AM. The Tom and Phil were already up and getting their breakfast together. I had my usual two slices of toast with peanut butter, added a bagel with butter for good measure. Preparing breakfast I saw there were some inspirational notes left around by Guru (that crazy kid!):

This is the kind of thing one should expect when sharing a house with a bunch of creative, fun, slightly deranged and yet awesome folks.

Anyhow the Iron-Sherpas also got up to join us during breakfast at 4AM to see us all off.

Thats Guru in the front, clearly not happy to have been photo's in an unprepared state, yet trying to work in a smile anyhow ( I think she gripped that fork much tighter almost instinctively).

After Breakfast, Chem-lab began ( its that moment that you have 3-4 athletes in one kitchen preparing all sorts of drinks with powders and such you end up with a cloud of powder at one point). For me I was going with Heed and Perpetuom. I knew that the course was going to be well stocked I was not too stressed. My goal was to put in about 300 calories and hour, which according to many USAT coaches is the estimate that is needed to keep the body moving in a long course race. In my special needs I put extra powder in baggies so that I could prepare 2 more bottles during the second loop. With the Perpetuom each bottle had 280 calories. I also had some energy bars and such to make up the difference. My strategy was that on the bike I would stop ad aid stations only for water when the Perpetuom started to feel stagnant or I got tired of it. I also had made the decision to stop at every single aid station during the marathon. As such I would not need to worry about building a surplus of calories for the run.

After breakfast we packed up the gear and headed out with the crew. The house was only a few blocks away from the start which is perfect. dropped everything off and headed to the water.

So now maybe I should say something about my strategy for this race. I did not train for this race as I would have loved. There were so many issues and distractions such as a large workload that required me to get home late and such, that I missed many workouts. However I did make the KEY workouts so I knew I had the base necessary to get through it so long as I played my cards right. My plan was to be conservative the whole way through. In the past I had suffered severe leg cramps on the run and I had discovered that if I pace myself on the bike and not push more than at the level I train I am OK. Nutrition wise I was shooting for 300 calories an hour, which is teh estimate on what is needed to keep moving forward.

By the swim start everyone was gathering in basically 2 places, in the front treading water or in the back hanging out on shore. I lost Phil by this point and I found out later he was in the Front. I was hanging with Tom in the back. For this race we were not eager to get into water combat when we knew we had long days ahead of us. I was a bit excited at the though that the day was finally here.

After waiting awhile, the canon went off and sure enough the pandemonium began, but it was not out of control. I felt I went through the swim nice and relaxed with little trouble at all. I wa snot pushing myself. Sighting was not an issue one bit, they mark the course so clearly that Its hard to go off track by much. As I said the swim went easy I finished in 1 hr 23 mins.

Transition was a non event, saw Guru as I was headed out, she was a traffic cop atthe womens transition it seemed.

On the Bike my goal was to do 15 mph average. This was a pace I had figured out at Rev3 that I could maintain and NOT suffer leg cramps. The first loop was great, Lake Placid is Hilly but not so hilly that there is any one hill that you feel you would rather get off and walk on. They are just long gradual hills. Much of my first loop I spent exchanging places with people named Michelle, Jerry and Lynne. I also had the chain drop 3 times whenever I wanted to shift to the smaller ring. Overall, I was feeling good, in fact after the first loop my average was above 16mph and I started to feel a leg cramp coming on so I dialed it back for the second loop.

By the second loop I had started to exchange my water bottles out with the bottle of Gatorade they were handing out. So I went to special needs where I had put 2 baggies with Perpetuom so that I could add to whatever I received at bottle exchanges. This proved to be tricky. The Gatorade bottles were not large mouth bottles like water bottles so filling it with Powder was not so simple or fast. The result was I got 75% in the bottles, and 25% all over me lol

Having accomplished that I was onto the second loop.

Second time was NOT a charm, this time those long inclines seemed much harder. By mile 90, the miles just seemed to take forever. and I was real glad to get the bike portion over. All in all despite being tired I felt good, my nutrition was just right. So I was actually looking forward to doing a marathon now. kinda sick ain't it?

SO in transition I decided to take it easy, my legs were feeling it and I was still concerned about that Cramp I felt earlier in the bike. I wanted to make sure to give it time to pass. I went to the sunscreen latherer dude who proceded to just practically pourthe stuff on me like I was a cake and he just had to put icing on me it was that thick! No artform or style whatsoever, but it worked! I did not get burned! lol

Once I got started I felt pretty good. I was not going to Rock the run, I was sticking to my plan till the end. The whole run I stayed at a base pace trot, about 10-11 min/mile. I walked the aid stations and took in everything they had every other station. At this relatively slow pace I was passing without exaggerating hundreds. Soo many people that pushed on the bike only to end up walking the marathon. I was able to maintain this pace constant throughout the run. The crowd support was simple awesome. I think this was my favorite part of the race simply because there was much more interaction with the crowds. At this slow pace I moved up almost 700 positions in ranking from the bike to the run, thats how many people I passed that were walking after a pushing on the bike. On the run I saw basically everyone and saw Phil as he was about to enter the stadium, he was just rocking the race on his way to beating the sun ( finishing before nightfall). Tom was looking good also taking his time as he had planned prior to the race start. I saw triBoomer on the road he looked beat but determined (he finished of course after all he IS an Ironman). Turns out he was having stomach issues.

I saw Jackie V out on the run, she was there just to cheer me on and she nearly tackled me as I was getting water haha it turns out she was cheering much of the time from the local bar lol Some people they know what they are doing :)

Finally entering the stadium was simply surreal. They just make you feel that you are a star. In teh stands I saw Christine and Michelle waving at me. Then I heard "Javier Gomez ..You are an IRONMAN!" WOW!! FINALLY!!!

I stumbled into a pile of "catchers" who walked me to everything after. They were great.

Christine ( Guru) and Michelle then escorted me back up to the house. The plan was to get back down to cheer others but somehow the tiredness settled in at that point and I never made it back. Guru and Michelle missed Rambonies finish cuz they were helping me and they figured they would have tiome to get back down. But we underestimated the Rambonie machine. Who knew that in the spot where everyone else "Hits the Wall", Rambonie would choose to Tackle it! He picked it up at that point and finishedbefore they could get back down! Way to GO!

In the end, everyone in the house finished. Which was totally awesome.

My finish time was 14:37, not a time I would say was awesome but its still an IRONMAN finishing time :)

Ironman!

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:04:00 +0000

Well I did it! I finished IMLP 09. It was Awesome. More to come later

IMLP D-1

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:35:00 +0000

Well its the day before the fateful Ironman. Taking the time to walk around and enjoy the Placid area. What a beautiful town. Walking around here is like walking through Athlete Mecca.

Walking around you kinda feel as if you are an Olympian of sorts. I went into a deli for some water and they saw my wrist band and asked me to sign their IMLP poster. It seems the businesses are doing this now. The businesses do try and make you feel special.

Yesterday myself, Phil and Tom went for a swim at Mirror Lake. I saw that many others already had the same idea:

The Lake is beautiful, and the swim course is extremely well marked. I mean there is literally a giant bouey's every 50 meters for the entire distance. Its kinda hard to get lost here.

Then after the swim I went to check in, it is done in teh School next to the Olympic arena. The transition is setup right in front:

Looks like its going to be INSANE!

The day is near!

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Finally! After almost 2 years, 2 cycling accident resulting in broken collarbone and a concussion( and a new nickname ie "crash";) , I am down to the final stretch towards my Ironman. I am now leaving to head up to Lake Placid where I am sharing a house with my buds.

I am excited and a bit nervous, but THATS GOOD!

So Off I go, if you want to follow me on race day I am bib # 1182

Wish me LUCK!

Random Taper Thoughts

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:58:00 +0000

Its funny what happens in my head during a taper. Aside from the usual insecurities that come when you lower the amount of time spent workingv out, there also are effects on my thoughts. Different thoughts come up.

For example earlier today a thought occurred to me about how the "Clowning Industry" must consider it Abject failure that most Children and many adults are afraid of them? I mean really what clown thought up the idea of dressing up with psycho hair, Giant Blood red lips and crazy eyes in order to entertain?

They are supposed to make you feel happy and entertained. Instead they are almost universally hated. Talk about a PR nightmare!

Look at what the dog dragged in

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Well more like chased in. Around my neighborhood we know there is a community of feral ( the "in" way of saying "stray" )cats. So yesterday it seems Simba chased and cornered this kitten, pounced on it once before Retno was able to intervene. We don't know where it came from and wasn't sure if it was injured. So she brought it in. So far looks OK, and tomorrow the Vet. We are guessing its 5-6 weeks old.

11 Days

jg_65@yahoo.com (Javier) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:41:00 +0000

Well here we are 11 days to go. I would like to say that after almost 2 years of preparing (first attempt aborted after
cycle crash) that I am more than ready. No problems at all.

Truth is I am not. Physically at least. Training has been sporatic at best. Between work pressures, A very ill hospitalized Father in Law and other Domestic issues. I have missed a huge percentage of training.

The only reason I figure to have a chance are the recent huge weekends where I put in some good miles and time. That and my plan was original designed not to just finish but to CRUSH. As such I figure I can push through with the training I have done.

So really I have no goal time other than to finish. Also to have sufficient energy so I can get up from crawling about 500 meters from the finish so I can cross the finish with arm high in the air per the traditional Ironman finish line photo.

That is key!