The Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant Goes Through New Orleans

The road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant went through New Orleans this weekend. As many of you know, that follow this blog, Janet decided to go to Galveston and I chose New Orleans for our early season half Ironman. I chose New Orleans because last year in Galveston, I had a really hard time staying upright while biking into a 30 mph head wind. I thought New Orleans would have better weather! God has a sense of humor!

New Orleans Ironman 70.3 was in a word - windy! Crazy, insane windy!! It was also only 67.1! The wind caused the race director, Bill Burke, to have to cancel the swim for the second year in a row. I actually felt bad for the guy since so many people were so upset, but when we got down to the water on Sunday morning, it was obvious that drowning was a risk given the 5 foot and higher waves!

We actually did a run-bike-run triathlon, which was much better than what they did at the Poconos 70.3 last year. At that race, after cancelling the swim, they attempted a time trial start of the bikes starting participants 3 seconds apart. This sounds good in theory, but the roads were very wet and there were crashes all over the place! In New Orleans, they were creative and wanted to keep the relay teams intact, so they made us run 2 miles to start then ride 52 miles (shortened due to road closures) and then run 13.1 miles to finish.

I met my friend Linda, from Arizona, in New Orleans and she was pretty anxious to do her first 70.3. She is attempting Ironman Arizona in November, so she needed a warm up race as well. I made a pact that I would never race without Janet again! Every time I go to a race without Janet, the weather sucks!

The best part of my race was the beginning of the 2 mile run. They started us in pair about 2 seconds apart and I was in the 5^th wave (40 and older women). This wave included all the “old” ladies. I started near the back of the wave and was just completing the first mile when I came upon a woman with an “81” on her calf.  I glanced at her and then realized it was the “Iron Nun”! Sister Madonna Buder is a Catholic nun who has completed over 400 triathlons and is an inspiration to all at The Ironman World Championships every year! (If you haven't read her book, it will inspire you!) I said, “Good Morning Sister!”, just to make sure it was her and then had a short conversation running along with her.  Such a positive person and it was a thrill to meet her. She is still running strong and should be an inspiration to all of us to keep moving! I told her I only hope I am still competing in 40 years!

After the short run to warm up, we jumped on our bikes to brave the wind. Crazy, insane and, at times, dangerous wind! I was trying to maintain 19-20 mph but no such luck. I worked very hard to keep 17.8 mph average into a 25mph+ head wind! It seemed like the wind was in your face no matter what direction you were going in! There were only 4 hills on the entire course, (Louisiana hills also known as overpasses ha ha) and at the top of one of them, a gust practically threw me off my bike. The bike actually felt like it went airborne for a second! I finished the bike in one piece and was happy to start running.

Then someone turned up the heat! The run was a double loop with awesome crowd support and plenty of aid stations! Thankfully lots of water and wet sponges since it was so hot! Very flat with a few small hills but overall a nice rolling course.  The casts of characters were out, just like most races. We had 3 Spidermans, guys in jester suits, and my favorite….guys running in their wetsuits with goggles and all, probably protesting the no swim!

I was happy to wave to Sister Madonna on the run and shamefully happy she was on the other side of the road about 5 miles behind me (who wants to get beaten by an 81 year old!!). I finished strong and with a smile. Legs of jelly from pushing hard on the bike made for a slow run, but overall a good day! No pesky plantar fasciitis showed up, so I think I have cured myself with EPAT finally! I have some work to do before I am ready to tackle the mountains in Quebec, but I earned my post-race beer today! Linda finished not so far behind me with a big smile!

Next up….Buffalo Springs 70.3….

The Long Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant FAANT Girls' Style!

The road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant in Quebec officially starts for the FAANT girls this weekend. It’s finally time to admit that I better get my butt in gear and get training a lot harder. Janet has been in full gear for about 6 weeks or so….I’ve been lazy until the last two. Looking at the calendar, we have only 20 weeks to go and the challenge is mighty! For anyone who wants to laugh at us or is just curious, go to www.ironmanmonttremblant.com and take a look at the elevations on the bike course. We must be out of our minds. We live in almost the flattest state in the union, so we pick the Ironman with the most hills we can find J

Today’s video blog is just a taste of what we have in store for our friends! In two weeks, I am “participating” in the Ironman 70.3 in New Orleans and this should be a good barometer of how poor my fitness is at this point! Janet and I will be racing in the 70.3 in Buffalo Springs (Lubbock, TX) at the end of June! Hopefully by then it won’t hurt so bad!

A 50 mile bike ride (Janet actually continued and did something on the order of 100 miles) on Saturday followed by an hour or so open water swim on Sunday with a short run afterwards sounds like a great Easter weekend! Thanks go out to all our friends from Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers who joined us!

That’s all for now….I hope you enjoy this next adventure with us.

For more, follow us at www.myrundoc.com (Crane) and www.healthystepsdfw.blogspot.com (Dixon). I promise it will be good for a few chuckles along the way.....

The Hottest Hotter than Hell Hundred in History!

Wow! If you ever think about doing the Hotter than Hell Hundred Triple Threat, check the weather forecast! This weekend was absolutely crazy, borderline insane, and if nothing else….HOT!

Janet and I, in our usual fashion, were wandering the office causing trouble, when Janet said, “Hey! Want to do the Triple Threat at the Hotter than Hell Hundred bike ride?” I thought it might be fun, and had missed the ride the last few years due to scheduling conflicts. Janet went on to explain that it was a 12 mile beginner mountain bike ride on Friday night, the 100 mile road bike ride on Saturday, and a tiny little half marathon trail run on Sunday morning. Sounded like a full weekend, but what the heck.

We wrapped up seeing patients on Friday and jumped in the truck, heading for Wichita Falls. We checked into the nicest hotel in the whole city (Yes, they have one Marriott Courtyard) and made our way down to the expo to get our numbers and directions for this madness.

After a little bit of shopping and losing a timing chip, we made it to the mountain bike start with a whole 15 minutes to spare. I had already chickened out (I don’t own a mountain bike, didn’t want to borrow one, and heard way too many crash stories), but Janet was ready to go. A good group of about 10 people from our running peeps, Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers, had also decided to try their hand at this madness; so group psychosis was also occurring. Did I mention the temperature was 103? The head official explained all the loops and turns and a little water crossing right near the end. The gang took off and I decided that perhaps watching the race at the water crossing might be fun.

Fun it was! Not one person made it across the water crossing without dismounting, either by choice or falling face first into the water! I saw one broken front wheel and one flat tire, but mostly just very graceful water landings. Janet came through and was smart and portaged her bike. I ran to the finish to meet the gang and knew immediately we had a problem. Janet had a bruise the size of a small dinner plate on her shoulder and had her not happy face on. Turns out she challenged a tree and the tree won!

We decided to head back to the hotel for ice, Advil, a shower and of course beer. Beer and a good dinner cure all bumps and bruises. We hooked up with our friend Debbie and had a great steak dinner and more than a few beers. Then it was time for bed. 5am comes early!

The alarm went off at 4:30 am and that was the first time I had the thought, “Why do we do this?” We got our bikes and gear together, shoveled down a little breakfast and we were off to meet the peeps. The three of us were awake and ready to take on 100 miles with 10,000 of our closest friends. The temperature at the start was 80. Not bad, with a little breeze. We saw our LGRAW friends, but they decided to start toward the front of the group called “the Scorchers”. That’s the people who ride from 20-25+ mph. We were in “the Keepers”, planning to average 17-20 mph or so. We positioned ourselves at the front of the Keepers, or the back of the Scorchers; however you want to look at it. We all had our bike lights on because it was still dark and that made an impressive sight with all the blinking tail lights, in fact, I felt like if I stared at them long enough I could hypnotize myself into thinking I was still in bed! The cannon went off at 6:15am (they allowed an earlier start this year for those that wanted it or you could start at the official 7am start but given the heat, why would anyone do that?)

Off we went. The first few miles was slow and had a few stops due to the crowd, but by 10 miles or so it started to thin out so you could ride comfortably. The three of us were riding together and then Debbie dropped her sunglasses. (Yes, it was still dark so they were in her side pocket) She went back for them, but only found pieces.

We all skipped the first two aid stations and stopped at 30 miles. So far, so good. Everyone felt good and the heat was not a factor yet. We then stopped at every other aid station until we got to “Hell’s Gate”. This is the official spot (around 60 miles) that you have to get to by noon, or they turn you onto the 100K route and make you go home. We got there about 10 am, so Hell’s gate was still open and we got our picture taken with “Pyro Pete”, a gigantic devil blow up doll!

Hell’s Gate is appropriately named, because the route passed that point is rolling farmland with very little shade, bumpy roads, and it was getting hotter by the second. We started stopping at every aid station and I started putting ice in my jog bra to try to cool down my core. I actually felt alright as long as I kept drinking, but Debbie was starting to look bad and Janet was getting very quiet. I have to admit, between 70 and 90 miles, it felt like someone had opened the oven door and shoved my head in! Or maybe a blast furnace? Even the wind was hot, so it didn’t cool you down at all. We were all feeling the heat, but were still plugging along. We dropped from 18-20 mph to about 16 mph. The carnage all around us was remarkable. The SAG wagons had tons of people and bikes on them, but you still saw the occasional biker under a tree or passed out on the side of the road. My day was complete when I saw an armadillo and a coyote in the same 5 mile stretch! Gotta love Texas in the summertime!

Debbie and I stopped at the 90 mile aid station to try to get more ice, but Janet plugged on. She said there was beer at 98 miles and she really wanted one! We got to the “Unofficial 98 mile aid station” and I thought I was seeing a mirage. There had to be at least two hundred people hanging out and drinking beer, eating chips and sausages, and having a party in an old machine shop on the side of the road! It was hysterical. We found several of our friends just hanging out there, and made many new friends after a few beers. One guy said he finished at 10:30 am then came back to his favorite aid station. Lots of people were completely hammered! Too funny! After a few beers, we collected our friends and decided it was time to make it to the finish line. Two miles of slightly impaired cycling, we were finally finished!

They had a fire hydrant open and spraying everyone at the finish, so we stripped off our shoes and went dancing in the water. So happy to be done!

Back to the hotel for showers and a long deserve nap. It was the local news that let us know it was the hottest Hotter than Hell Hundred on record, topping 109! No wonder I felt like I was in an oven!

After our naps, we joined our friends for beer and BBQ at their campsite. (Yes, a lot of people bring campers and stay the weekend near the trails) Janet and I like camping at the Marriott better!

Then the alarm went off at 6 am this morning! Again, I was thinking, “Why do we do this?”, but I got up and putting on my running gear. Yes, it was time to do a trail half marathon. On the same course as the mountain bike ride on Friday night! Yes, a water crossing and everything! We met our still crazy friends at the start. Everyone had survived so far with just a few bumps and bruises. Janet decided we should walk run the course given our legs hurt from the previous day’s small endeavors, so we walked. And ran up and down these crazy hills and valleys, singing over the river and through the woods. The two of us finished up together laughing to the point of almost crying because we had both reached fully nuts when Janet almost stepped on snake #3 that we saw on the trails just about 400 yards from the finish! That will get your heart rate going!

Happy to have finished, Janet got a really cool cyprus plaque proclaiming that she had survived the Triple Threat….and yes, it was 104 at the finish! What a weekend!

Ps. stay tuned to my Youtube channel, I made a video of the weekend.....