I Can, I Will

Written in the car on the way back from OKC, so this could get a little long and boring for some.

In the beginning, there was a 40 yr old male who couldn’t swim but wanted to do triathlons and compete in an Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, 26.2 mile run) race. Fast forward 18 months the same male stood in the water ready to put all of his swim practice to the final test before the ultimate goal of competing at Ironman Arizona. But let’s back up before we get to the actual race itself.

Going back a week before this weekend race I preparing for a week of work training in Pittsburgh and I had made arrangements for my bike to go up with my friend Lynn and the rest of my gear was going to go up with my friends who I was rooming with Tim & David. But as faith would have it work was crazy busy for two weeks leading up to race and my training was postponed until December. This was a blessing in disguise and now I could follow my normal pre-race routine.

Friday morning came and we met at Tim’s place to load up and head to Oklahoma. The drive was uneventful and several other friends were either already in Oklahoma City prepping for the race or they were on the road with us and Coach Charles blew by us along the way. After a quick lunch stop and couple more hours drive we arrived in Oklahoma City and headed directly to race site to get checked in. We ran into Bekah & Dan right away and several other friends were at the athletes briefing getting the race low down.

After a quick chat with friends we headed to our hotel to get checked in. Upon arriving, we found this hotel was not up to our standard. Through the goodness of modern technology and iPhones David found us a much nicer hotel closer to the race and near other friends. After dropping off a few in the hotel room we headed back to the race site to drop off our bikes and gear and it was then time for an early dinner.

The alarm clock went off at 3am and it was time to start the pre race ritual. My body was feeling good, I had all of my normal food and my Achilles felt 100% and just before 5am we headed out for the race. We arrived and you could immediately feel the excitement in the air. Heading into transition Dina greeted us with a smile and hug and it felt great to have so many friends from Austin there racing together. After getting transition all set up it was time to chill for a little bit, chat with friends and hang out in the chit chat line J

As 6:30am rolled around it was time to become a human sausage (put on the wet suit) and head down to the water. Finally it hit me, I’m about to swim the Ironman distance in a race and this will tell me if I’m ready for Ironman in about 50+ days.

The shot gun went off and it was time to go, I started swimming and I immediately felt relaxed and knew I was going to be a good day. I rounded the first turn and then the second and thought wow, this a great swim and even started passing people. I finished the first 1.2 miles and looked at my watch: 55+ SCORE!! I was stoked because the last time I swam this distance in a race it took me 1:11. I completed the second loop in about the same time and out of the water there were Dina and Ginger cheering me on the whole way (thank you!!!)

In and out of T1 I was off for 112 miles on the bike. Feeling great after my swim I probably has a smile a mile wide. A few miles out I started seeing friends on the course and we were all having fun and having great races. Loop 1, loop 2 and now this was getting old and I had two more loops. On loop 3 I was really starting to feel it and thank goodness it was time to stop and have my PBJ J Just after I started back Coach Charles came by me and yelled out to him “damn this continuous riding is hard.” What I realized on the ride was how much of a break we get by stopping at traffic lights or at the store to refill on water. During an Ironman none of those breaks are there so it’s time to man up because if it was easy everyone would do it.

Loop 3 was my toughest and just when I was in a low point, zooming in the other direction was Tammy and shortly after her were two people on a moped and one of them was Dina. When she yelled “go Chris” it was a huge lift in my spirits motivated me to finish loop 3 take it out for my last loop. Knowing this was my last loop, it no time to go conservative and my mind took over and I started going faster and faster. Mile after mile went by and soon I could see the dam wall of Lake Hefner. I had just completed 2 of 3 distances of the Ironman within my time goal of 9 hours. During this race I accomplished my goal of getting the confidence going into Ironman Arizona, but I also learned a lot about myself.

Huge credit goes to me for having the guts to get on this Ironman journey and sticking with it. However, it would not be the same without my great T3 teammates on this journey with me and the excellent T3 coaching. And as many of us endurance athletes know nutrition is key part of our success, huge thanks to Meredith Teranova for helping me dial in my nutrition plan. And most of all, thanks goes to Kevin for all of his encouragement and support, thanks for being the best partner in the world.

Much to my surprise on the way home I get a text from friends who stayed for the awards banquet that I got second in my age group.

Wow, to that I will say “I Can, I Will”

To be continued………..

Alex vs. Ironman, guess who won?

Well this weekend was the 4th of July long and Kevin and I had lots of plans and Tropical Storm Alex, threatened to disrupt our plans.

Friday started with a nice swim in Barton Springs and then it was time to watch a World Cup game at Third Base with some friends. Later in the day on Friday rain from the storm was moving into Austin so our plans could get derailed. So going to bed Friday everything was TBD weather depending.

Kevin was set for his scub diving certification but lightning would his certification would be delayed or cancelled. Saturday, arrived with light showers and very wet roads and after a few discussions with my training mates we decided to do our 15 mile run and save the ride until Sunday. Somehow before even leaving the I twisted my knee and it did not feel good enough to run at all let alone run 15 miles. However Ironman training is all about overcoming pain and pushing through it and that what I did. At mile 10 it really started hurting and I had to run walk the next 15 miles. Mission accomplished, it was time to head home with a stop at the store for four bags of ice because I was going to need all the help I could get to recover for Sunday 70 mile ride followed by a 30 min. run.

After spending a couple of hours with friends at a cook out it was time to head home and get ready for Sunday. Sunday turned out to be a great day to ride and the crew put our wheels down from Brushy Creek Park to travel a new route. My knee felt better but not 100% and it seemed everyone was feeling the miles we put on our legs from Saturday's run. No matter what we were determined to get it done and so we did with a smile on our face. The best part of the day was at the finish. In Brush Creek Park there was a children's play area with water fountains and standing in the cool water felt great.

After gathering up our things it was time head home and Sunday also happened to be Sampson's birthday. He was his normal self until he got his special Bully stick so this gives him something to play with for at least a week.

Since a few of us had today off and as if we hadn't done enough training this weekend the gang decided to meet at Barton Springs for a swim and then go for breakfast.

So in the end, Ironman won the battle with Tropical Storm Alex and Kevin is now a certified scuba diver.

Time for bed to rest up and reload for the coming week.

So much has changed in such a little time.....

Well since my last posting got accidentally deleted this one is going be short and brief.

Kevin, Sampson and I are doing great and life is treating us very well. Work is keeping both of us super busy and I just learned that I will have a few training trips this Summer as if I didn't have enough going on.

Kevin is just about ready to start running again since his stress fracture sidelined him almost two months ago and maybe I'll be able to keep up with him on his first comeback runs :-) However, since he had some free time on his hands from not running he's been studying for his diving certification so that he can dive with Laura and Rick while in Honduras for Michael and Gisselle's wedding in August.

I'll keep my swimming to triathlons for now thank you.

Last week I completed my second sprint triathlon and my first without my wetsuit since my first triathlon last August. The race went great, I survived the swim and beat my previous time by 5min.

After getting back into the swing of things this week the talk about a full Ironman race coming to Texas was in full swing. And Wednesday it became official, Ironman Texas May 21, 2011 and registration was set to open Friday 6/25. Well Kevin and I said we were going to our second Ironman together and this one would be close, lots of our friends would be there either racing or cheering so should we do it????

Keep in mind I'm only into my second month Ironman training and it's insane to think about signing up for number two so early in training for number one. Well....................I guess I'm insane :-)

That's right, Kevin and I will both be racing the inaugural Ironman Texas next year and to add more excitement to it our good friends from Toronto and Ft. Lauderdale will be coming to do it with us. We can't wait and it's going to be so much fun.

Well, I'm off for a Hawaii in Austin party tonight, this shoud be interesting since Kevin and I will both be wearing grass skirts.

Much Love and remember,

"There's a lot of things to think about, but nothing to worry about" -Matt Koepke

Vacation is over, let Ironman training begin!!!

Kevin and I spent a great week in Liberia & Flamingo Bay, Costa Rica over Memorial Day weekend and this vacation exceeded our expectations.

The planning for our vacation started late last year and once we decided not to stay in a nice hotel we were super lucky to find an apartment on VRBO.com - http://www.vrbo.com/196417 this slice of paradise is a must if you planning a trip to this area of Costa Rica. Here is a link to the homeowners website http://www.casadeserenidadcostarica.com/. Our Host Babe and her husband Don were wonderful and made us feel like family visiting for a week.

While we were in Costa Rica we did lots of relaxing but we did get out for two great tours in addition to our site seeing of the area. We first did a canopy tour near the Rincon Volcano http://www.guachipelin.com/canyon_canopy_tour.php. This was a great adventure, we got to zip line upside down, repel down into a canyon and then rock climb out and after the tour we had lunch and did a two hour hike in the forest near the volcano. The hike took us up to 30ft waterfalls and at several points there was lava bubbling up from the volcano. Not your average hike in the city.

A couple of days later we decided to go white water rafting, since this was my first time I was a little apprehensive but once we got there I was more than ready to go, http://www.rinconcorobici.com/AdventureTours.php. The family that owns and operates this operation were great and took very good care of us. Once we got to the water we were informed that there were class 3 & 4 rapids and we should be prepared to be thrown out of the raft. They were right and Kevin and I got bounced/thrown out several times and once the raft landed on my head. Not to worry the tour guide instructed us how to get out of this situation.

All in all it was a great trip and we would highly recommend visiting this country.

After arriving back in Austin and taking a day to settle in, I eased back into my training routine and it felt great to get back after it. Today was my first official long ride of the Ironman training season and the schedule called for a 50 mile ride followed by a 30 min run. After speaking to the coaches to have a goal for every ride I decided to make this my ride for high cadence so I would feel good for the run. Mission accomplished and my run was awesome.

This is going to be fun and I'm ready for the first long run tomorrow, 11 miles of glorious fun.

Until next time be safe and keep living life to the fullest.

What will you do when Ironman throws you a curveball?

Well that's the decision I was faced with this morning. However, before we get to what I did when the ball got to me we have to go back a few months.

It was this past Winter when we were training for Lonestar 70.3 and several of my training friends and I had our weekend all planned out and Mother Nature had other plans in mind. I don't remember what we ended up doing that weekend but what I do remember from that weekend are the words John Jobes said "when things don't work out as planned because of weather we'll have to train when we can"

Simple enough right?

Back to this weekend, the plans were:

• Saturday, go for a 40-50 mile ride
• Sunday, swim stroke clinic and then go for a 8 mile run

This weekend roll of Ironman was played by Mother Nature. The storms from Friday night rolled right into Saturday morning and it was very easy to just turn off the alarm clock and go back to sleep because it was raining. Shortly after getting up the rain stopped and the wind picked up. Still easy to blow off the ride because wet roads with wind wasn't safe. The little guy in my head said it's ok, it's just one ride and you can miss it and have no problem. True but would one missed ride turn into two, then three and so on over the next 5+ months.

Throughout this decision process I was exchanging text messages with Eric C. and one of his text messages said, "he and John were going to swim and then ride because he wasn't giving in that easy." That's what I needed to hear. The little Ironman to-be inside was kicked in the rear by those words and I said to myself. "Yes you were going to ride today but I must be flexible and get the training in when I can." So after I changed some plans around for Sunday afternoon my day opened up a little more to allow for ride so it was time to go for a run.

This turned out to be one of the best runs ever!! I saw several friends and training mates at the start and then I took off. My pace was fast, I focused on staying relaxed (thanks Coach Leslie), and watched my crossover (thanks Richard). One thought that kept coming to mind while I ran was, if I would have given in to the weather what would this mean for the rest of the summer when Ironman training gets really tough, was I going to give in? No because while the training plan calls this phase pre-endurance training, I think it's really pre-gut check training and time for us to ask ourselves "how bad do we want it?"

Ironman, I'm ready to take your best pitch, show me what you got because I'm ready to show you what I'm made of!!!

Thanks everyone, you motivate me with the small things to keep going

Tri to see things from a different view

This update is going to be a little bit different than some of the others, hope you can see things from my point of view.

Well after 4 1/2 months of solid training my body and mind started giving me signs that it was time for little break. These signs worked out pretty well with an upcoming business trip so it should be easier to relax and enjoy things which are different from my normal day-to-day activities.

Once, I decided to listen to the calling signs and not try to train through the weekend before leaving it was only natural for me to go out and cheer for a couple of races. This is where I got to see things from a different point of view.

Saturday morning took me out to the Chuy's 5k Trot, where a friend Amy Colquette was participating in her first 5K. I saw a couple of other people I knew but this day was all about supporting Amy because she has always been there to support us in our races. It was great to see her gearing up for her first race because there will only be one first and for many others you could tell they were there to either change their day or possibly change their life by getting healthy. One of the most memorable moments of the day was when man ran by Eric and I and yelled at us, "I'm 77 years old."

Those few words reminded me, it's not about how fast you get finish line but that you're still getting to the starting line.

This morning brought a very early wake up call for volunteer duties at the Rookie triathlon. Never mind the name, this is a super sprint race where a lot of the veteran athletes go and see how fast they can go for this short distance race. But it's the true Rookies at this race that make me realize why I love triathlons. The excitement, nervous energy, and seeing so many familiar faces all make race day very exciting.

The excitement is what lights the fire inside to want to keep doing this sport and I know after a short break and a great vacation to Costa Rica I'll be ready to tackle the next 5+ months of training as I keep my eye on the prize.

Congratulations to all of those who raced this weekend and don't every lose the excitement because I won't.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!

Chris

Don't try to eat the whole elephant at once......

Well, while I eat lunch today I thought it was a good time to talk about the hard cold reality I slapped myself with this morning.

When I logged onto Facebook this morning I notice someone had a link to an application to countdown the days to your next big race and post it to your facebook status.

I proceeded to the application and from the drop down of races I selected Ironman Arizona 2010 and plugged in the race date. Hit submit and bam my status was updated, very innocent right?

NO, NO, NO, my status update now said "Chris Garlington is participating in Ironman Arizona on the stated date. 200 days left" HOLY CRAP!!! There it was in black and white and although I just completed my first 70.3, I'm truly scared of what's to come in the next 200 days.

I have great support system, I'll be training with the best triathlon training group around and a lot of my friends and training mates will be experiencing the same highs and lows I will. So I have to keep faith, trust the training program that has worked for so many others before me and not try to eat the whole elephant at one time. Slice it with a sharp training plan and eat it practice by practice, day by day, and week by week. I know life is going throw road blocks and speed bumps my way over the next 6 months and I'll need to put my big boy undies on face them head on.

To my training mates, you will probably get to see sides of me you didn't know were there but we're like a family and families see the good and the bad. Kevin, you've traveled this road before and I know you will slap me upside the head when I get more crazy than I am normally.

Wow, writing this out made me feel better than I thought it would.

Note to self, be careful of Facebook applications, it may be scary when reality slaps you in the face!!