Just how far do we train here anyway?

One of the most significant collective stats that my friend Doron shared with me my after our first ironman was just how much distance we had covered in training. He used a number that I can barely fathom at this point, and wondered if we had been on the same training plan.

This year I want to see how far I end up traveling on my "trip" to ironman. To that end I've been logging my workouts in a personal workout log as well as the one that we are given access to through the teamintraining ironteam.

There's even a nifty map that shows how far I would have gone across the country.

2007/2008 Ironteam - first practice

It's a new year, a new season, and a whole new race. This year Team in Training has decided to field a team of athletes for both the Wildflower long course, a half iron distance, as well as Vineman a full iron course, and have both groups train on the same team.

Wildflower (2008 link not posted at the time of writing) an annual favorite of triathletes is a race to aspire to. Just think, a lake swim, hilly ride, and an awesome run through beautiful central California (Lake San Antonio, CA just up from the 101 freeway from Paso Robles).


Vineman is a full iron distance race in beautiful Sonoma, California. (Think wine country, and you'll get the idea.

At the first practice we took to the pools and as always there's a great mix of people. Some who've been swimming for years with graceful effortless strokes and people who have just now taken up the sport. Have no fear however, my first year we had a guy (some of you out there know him) who couldn't swim a stroke, and still finished the swim well under the cut-off time just from coming to practice and hitting all of his workouts (and a little extra tutoring).

Tomorrow we will have our first team run. Should be fun. We're about 40 strong as a group and that'll give everyone someone else to run with as the season progresses.

On the whole we're a lucky group. We live in an area that affords us the ability to train year-round, have enough loony people to train with, have a group of great coaches, and will raise a significant amount of money to fight cancer and fund patient services. I feel proud to be here.

Thanks for reading, drop me a note if you feel so inclined.
-dean
(link to this blog post: 2007/2008 Ironteam - first practice)

New starts at odd times

Let's take a look at what's going on for me this year in the world of endurance sports. I'm probably not a beginner anymore, though there's still tons to learn. I've completed a handful of half marathons, a half iron distance triathlon, a couple olympic/international distance triathlons, two full iron distance triathlons, and there still seems to be room for more. In the world of triathlon we're coming to the end of the racing season with many locations having held or are nearing their championship event. For me and several friends of mine we're starting true base training in prepartion of another "going long" season.

For me this will be a focused year, trying to get the most out of training and the least amount of skating that I've done. And by skating I mean going through the motions without purpose. Laying this out there today, I'm not going to qualify for the big race in Hawaii, not this year, and probably not this decade. But this year is for reaching down and seeing what I'm capable of doing. Setting new PRs at all my distances and having fun while that happens.

I'm also helping out with Team in Training again this year as a mentor. We'll be going to Vineman in Sonoma, a full iron distance race as well has taking many to Wildflower for the long course, a half iron distance race. I look forward to introducing them to you as the season progresses.

I'm also working with the LA Tri Club to increase the club's presence at local races to support our member athletes from beginners to elites, and to recruit new members.

Oh yeah, then there's working, dating, and sleeping that has to get done between all the training, eating, and recovering that is already planned. So like I said last year, I send my apologies in advance.

-dean

Ahhh... The off-.. err PRE-Season

It's August. I took almost a full month off. That is to say that I took a month off from training for triathlons. I've been to concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, camping, hung out in Hawaii, catching up with friends and family, and every now and then napping. All those things that I apologized for here: ("Apologies in Advance") I seem to have made up for in the last forty or so days.

I've sat on my road bike two or three times for a little less than an hour. I've been running. I even put a goal out in front of me, but my body wasn't ready to get back to it... Until now. It's back to training for me.

I've taken to helping out with the LA Tri Club as the Race Day Support Coordinator. The LA Tri Club has had over 4000 members join in the past six or seven years. I know this because I'm member number three thousand eight hundred something something... If it wasn't written down on a card I probably wouldn't be able to come up with it. Here's the point. When you're training it's nice to have support out there. Whether that be a running partner (Thanks Karen), a riding group, or a group of crazies to charge the surf with at 6am, it's good to know where to find people. LA Tri Club has a massive calendar of member led workouts in addition to a list of clinics and social events throughout the year. If you're a triathlete in the LA/Valley/OC area this is the place to be. The Race Day Support crew that I coordinate is all about bringing that kind of support that we have for workouts, out to the races for our members.

We're looking to support around ten local races throughout the calendar year and we always welcome your help. If you're a member of LA Tri Club come and join us through the club RSVPs. If you're not a member, What are you waiting for?? Join UP! Coming out the race anyway? Come see us at the LA Tri Club tent.

See you at the races!
-dean

A quick recap

It's Ju.. err May. We're so close that it might as well be June. This will be my 45th post of the year. All in all not bad, that's 9-10 posts a month, 2-3 posts per week. It's been a kick for me to write for all of you. Thanks for following us so far and taking any possible learnings from the missteps that I've made thus far in my training.

Here's a little of what I've learned:
- Training = Hard Work
- Ironman training = INSANELY HARD WORK
- Workouts are best done in all conditions to prepare the body and mind for anything.
- Training for the long course is made better/easier when working with others.
- EVERYTHING tastes better after 100 miles on a bike.
- NOTHING feels better after a marathon than a nap.
- When in doubt, Go team
- For some reason this is fun.

2007 Wildflower Recap

Yes I know what you're thinking, a recap? From a guy that didn't even race? Yup! That's me. I was out there supporting my team. Which team is that you may ask? Well that's the Los Angeles Team in Training Ironteam, the very one bound for Ironman Coeur d'Alene in Idaho in June.

The very best news about training with a group of people on their way to an early summer ironman race is that Wildflower is a tune-up race. YEAH! You heard me, a tune-up race! (Again, not that I did it.) We, that is to say the team, had a great day out there. Good race day decisions made by all. Everyone approached the day knowing that they couldn't kill themselves out there, after all there's a race to do in six or seven weeks. hint hint. That having been said, there was no slacking out there. (Just ask someone about the famous naked aid station or the streakers that ran through camp Saturday night after the race.)

To quote coach Paul, "It was a good day. No one drowned." It's funny, he says that after run practice too. And why shouldn't that be the measure of a good day? With so many participants and waves that the start of the race stretched over an hour and half with each wave separated by five minutes it's a great thing that no one drowned. Everyone I saw from our ironteam group emerged from the water on fairly fresh legs bounding up towards transition. Collectively I'm sure that the concensus was "Thank God I'm out of that. Now all I have to do is ride."

The team looked strong with Gregorio, Chris, Heather, Raul, Maria, Trish, and Laurie moving with excellent pacing through the field. The day was long, but everyone came through just fine.

For anyone not having experienced Wildflower, even from the vantage point of a spectator, Wildflower is a spectacle and a sight to be seen. Talk to any group of triathletes and you're bound to hear that Wildflower is the Woodstock of triathlon. With many races today taking place in or near sizable cities or towns, hotels and motels are the common lodging of choice. With Wildflower, taking place in the scenic locale of Lake San Antonio, and the nearest populated area being close to an hour away by car, camping is the way to go. (Or an RV if you're so inclined.)

On Thursday the bulk of races start to arrive. Many carry tents to setup for friends, color tape to rope off sections and get ready to put their flag in the sand for race weekend. Come Friday and you'll still find a spot on the ground to stake your tent. Get there too late and you might not. By the time all is said and done the ground is covered in tents, RVs, parked cars, campfires, and athletes either relaxing before their race or celebrating a finsih. I grew up camping in that same campground and the long hot days of July and August are no where near as crowded as this past weekend was.

Saturday morning starts early with the long course athletes going in first and then the sprint athletes, which includes a youth division. Sunday is all olympic distance athletes. I was fortunate to have been able to volunteer on Saturday. Wildflower is actually run by students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Volunteers are pooled from each of the campus groups and the race was well supported throughout. I actually found myself out of a job before 930am. So I went with Karen, one of my ironteammates, to the swim exit to try and spot our teammates coming out of the water.

Now a moment for this: Triathlon is a hard sport to watch. It really is. Think about it. Football, football (soccer), tennis, baseball, even nascar, these are all sports that occur on closed grounds for the most part where the objective or source of the action occurs in one place, more or less, for the duration of the event. Triathlon, marathon running, cycle road races, these are sports where athletes goal is survival first, then to thrive over distance and time. Where an hour covers several miles of work. For spectators this blows! Of course if the race took place on a track or in a small loop it would be the worst race in the world, but then, to watch a race means that one has to be in one place to spot their athlete for the 30 seconds tops, as they zip by on the bike, a minute or two as they pass on the run, and forget about the swim. Anyone who can spot and honestly keep track of a swimmer from a 2000 person mass start to the finish of the race from shore deserves a finisher's medal too, but dip this one in gold or something. When you see them you were standing or sitting in one point not longer than a couple of feet in a race that lasts 70.3 or 140.6 miles. Maybe they'll be back on the second loop or when they come in to finish, but that's it. Unless you hoof it cross course to see them at another point in the race.

From an athlete's perspective, there's little that I've seen on the course that lifts my spirit than a familiar face and the sound of someone calling my name cheering me on. Not even a cup full of ice at mile 20 of an Ironman marathon lifts my spirits like that. Better still is that familiar face in a bar or restaurant after the race with an ice cold pint. But that's neither here nor there. We could run the race without support. It would be harder and less fun, but it could be done. If you know an endurance athlete and want to support them go to a race. It's hard and trust me the vast majority of the day will blow, you'll do a lot of waiting around, but for a couple of minutes and more miles than you will know you will carry your athlete's spirits.

For some, race season doesn't start until Wildflower race weekend, which comprises of a long course (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run aka half ironman distance), a mountain bike sprint, and an olympic race. For others this is the race for which they've trained the entire year. From the crudest point of view a race is just a race. But Wildflower is battle, bragging rights, and a rite of passage in this tribe of athletes. Completion can be seen in the same vein as winning, a finish, any finish is a victory and something of which to be proud.

So, Go Team! Be proud.

A day on the path

Of the trends in triathlon, one of the best in my opinion is the opportunity for triathletes to train on the grounds of an event site and under the instruction of coaches and event staff. Large triathlons such as the Jamba Juice Wildflower Triathlon plan on hosting several training camps for interested athletes (training camps).

The opportunity for newcomers and experienced athletes alike is tremendous. If you're planning on attending a long course event, for the first time especially, I'd recommend attending a training camp if such a thing is offered by the event organizers.

For Team in Training athletes for whom Wildflower is an opportunity, a training weekend is often one of the options included in the benefits for fundraising athletes.

Ironman California 70.3 2007 : Off to the races

I'm signing off for the weekend. I'll be out at the Ironman California 70.3 doing my best not to die. That's right folks, a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run.

All kidding aside, it'll be a blast. Seven of my teammates from my team in training ironteam will be there and we'll be cheering each other on as we pass through transition and then on through the finishers chute and on to glory.

Stay tuned for a race report on Monday. Thanks for reading.
-dean

Tuesday Swims

I really do enjoy the Tuesday swims with the team. Sure my stomach complains when I get to workouts that it would much rather have my butt in a chair with a sandwich and a drink of some sort, but it is the one time during the work week when I can count on seeing most of my team. Here's what I like about my Team in Training Ironteam:
- Everyone is training for the same event.
- Everyone is raising money to fight cancer.
- Everyone is training to be ready for the same event.
- When the workout is all said and definitely done, we go eat.

Today was no different really. I showed up to practice and it was threatening to rain on us. But once you're there and dressed, there's really no other option than getting in and doing the workout. (There is another option but don't tell that to my grumbling stomach.)

Today we worked on active recovery, or resting in motion. Makes sense, the impulse after a difficult effort is to come to a stop, recover your breath, take in some fluid, and bring the heart rate down. This is what the body would like, trust me. Instead, following a hard effort we reduced pace kept moving. Very effective in making the body more efficient.

Love it.

Race Season : Can you feel it?

Well whether you like it or love it race season is upon us again. Personally I think the Pacific Shorline Marathon (rather the half) on Superbowl Sunday started off my season, but that's just me. Living in Southern California means having access to training weather almost twelve months out of the year. This year we've been hit with a little cold spell. And by cold, I mean there's no reason why a 7 am bike ride should start when it's 37 degrees and I'm standing in view of the Pacific Ocean this close to Mexico.

Kicking off my triathlon season with close to ten of my Team in Training Ironteam teammates will be the Ford Ironman California 70.3 (formally Ralphs California Half). I volunteered at this race last year and it was a tremendous day. A 1.2 mile swim in 54 degree water, a 56 mile bike ride that started off in a light drizzle and ended in sunshine, followed by a beautiful 13.1 mile run. I'm amazed every year by triathletes in general and by those who seek out Ironman or long course triathlons in particular. What can I say?

Our Ironteam had a list of "suggested races" put together by our coaches Paul Ruggiero and Kevin Bradshaw, Ford's Ironman California 70.3 race was/is one of them. I hope that my training comes through. Our Team in Training Ironteam will also be doing the 2007 Wildflower Long Course as a tune up race. Hope to see you out there as well. After that it's on to beautiful Coeur d'Alene Idaho for the Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene. And then it's just naptime. Trust me, it's called naptime.

More importantly this weekend is daylight savings day! I'm sure that's not really what it's called but you know what I mean. One more hour of daylight to train in as the days get longer anyway. Full speed ahead! Good luck to us all.

Out of the woods

After what must have been four weeks I'm finally almost clear of a nasty cough/cold/flu-like plague that took me down and out of training. (Read: WHOOOOOO HOOOOO!) And with that we're five real weeks away from the 2007 Ford California Ironman 70.3 Race, or for those of you who know it from way back, The Ralphs Half-Ironman. Whatever you might call it, it's going to be down in Oceanside on the 31st of March and she's-a-comin'.

A 70.3 race is (duh) half of an Ironman distance 140.6 mile race. It consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile (half marathon) run. It's fun in the sun and if you're interested in it at all you should come on down and race, volunteer, and/or watch as we take this course on.

Quite a few of our Team in Training team will be out in force that day. Look for a quite a few new personal records (PRs) being set and a modest number of first timers completing their first race at this distance. Go Team. Five good weeks of training and we'll be race ready, just watch.

Cool stuff to look at

I have some pictures to show you, I mean if you're in to that sort of thing. Really though, some good stuff from last year, and this year.

Stuff from my time at Ironman Coeur d'Alene last year (http://deanspace.smugmug.com/gallery/2341195)

A little about my team this year (http://deanspace.smugmug.com/gallery/2341292)

I'm just a wee bit of a photo geek. So with any luck at all there will be some more up here soon. Hope you're all having a great week. Enjoy the pics. -dean

Charity in Ironman: A chance for extraordinary things

If you haven't guessed already I'm a fan of ironman. The whole thing. As a business they've taken what must have been a drunken challenge bet between a bunch of military rats in Hawaii, to a place where women and men, able and challenged, professional and age-group, can come to test themselves on a professionally run course where everyone moves the same distance. They've taken a swim, a ride, and a foot race and made it a profitable brand in the world. Kudos.

As a race, the distances for each discipline are challenging. The locations that can accommodate the number of people and each race event are not numerous but the ones that are selected are still some of the most beautiful in the world.

The opportunity availed to normal, ordinary, every-day, guy/girl next-door, people to be great and achieve is incredible. The road to an ironman finish, a first place daylight glory filled sweet victory, to a 16h59m59s nail biting cross, to an 18 hour solo cross of the line with no lights, no crowd, no applause, nothing but the drive to finish what you have started, is long. There are no short cuts. And every story, no matter how gifted an athlete begins, is fraught with challenge and no shortage of sweat, blood, and time spent training.

As an event ironman north america (World triathlon corporation (WTC) or North America Sports as they have been rebranded) and their presenting sponsor, Janus, have created another way for ordinary people to achieve. Clarification required. I DO NOT believe that anyone who would consider ironman as a part of their active life to be anywhere near ordinary, just extraordinary.

The Janus Charity Challenge is a fundraising program wherein, any registered participant may raise money for the qualified charity of their choice. In 2006 participants in Ironman Coeur d'Alene raised a record breaking $1.36 million dollars for charity. This was the result of a mere 49 athletes (8 of which were Los Angeles Team in Training Ironteam participants).

Of the top five fundraising efforts there were four people, as one person took both 2nd and 3rd position on the top fundraising list by raising a combined $390K for two different charities.

The top five can be viewed by clicking here with their respective charities

Janus not only provides the infrastructure to support these fundraising efforts, but also provides supplemental funds to the causes:

1st Place Individual : $10,000 donation

2nd Place Individual : $8,000 donation

3rd Place Individual : $6,000 donation

4th Place Individual : $4,000 donation

5th Place Individual : $2,000 donation

The beneficiaries of the next 30 highest fundraisers who raise a minimum of $750.00 will receive an additional contribution of $750.00 from Janus.

The beneficiaries of the next 15 highest fundraisers who raise a minimum of $500.00 will receive an additional contribution of $100.00 from Janus.

Some people out there have a sour taste in their mouth from the way that the race has become a business, how inflated the rates have become, and the expense caused by the merchandising of the brand. On the other hand, the business gives to each community that hosts them, offers the opportunity for people to work for causes they believe in, and brings an event of massive relative scope to people who might otherwise not have had the opportunity to challenge themselves.

It is a multi-discipline race, which can be ten to twelve months of training, for an exhausing 17 hour day, but whose finish grants the victor bragging rights for life. I've finished my first Ironman. I'm coming back for a second. I look forward to seeing all your smiling faces at the finish line. -dean

On the road again!

Hello World! Cheesy I know, but what else do you start with? I've started this blog to write about triathlon and the road to the ironman, and maybe with hope, help, and a miracle or four, to Kona for the big show.

Less than six months ago I ran my first ironman distance race in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It was the hottest, longest day I can remember wanting to exercise in, and it was glorious.

The new season for the Team in Training IRONTEAM has begun and we’re on the road again. I came back this year to be a mentor to the team, to see if I can’t make this year as good or better for everyone who has come out to support the cause and to challenge themselves with this distance.

These sixteen ironmen & ironwomen will work over then next seven months to train their bodies and minds to conquer 140.6 miles of water and road to cross the finish line in less than seventeen hours. They have also taken on the challenge of raising $8,500~$10,000 dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. Neither of which is anything to be taken lightly.

In the next weeks I hope to introduce you to my team. Stay tuned.
-dean

2006 Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race Report

An extract from my post race YAWHOO!!! email.

Hello EVERYONE!
Before a full month sets in let me get this email out to you. On June 25th, 2006 I successfully completed my first IRONMAN distance triathlon. How was it you might ask? It was a good long day. LONG of course is the word that you should be keying in to right now. Why did it take so long to get this recap? Well, I've been "recovering" (read: sleeping, and eating lots...)

I successfully crossed the finish line after completing all 140.6 miles after dark with a total time of 15 hours 43 minutes.

(Note: I just finished typing this and it goes on for a little while so if you're at work and should really be working, maybe later is better for this... or not) ;)

The Ironman was something that, until a month ago, was inconceivable. Who in their right mind would get voluntarily move that far for that long without a valid excuse, like being chased by a wild hungry animal of some kind? Well, on that day in June there were 2500 of us, walking and talking at six a.m. waiting for the race to start. I'd say that that was at the crack of dawn, but in Idaho in the middle of June 4:30 a.m. is the crack of dawn (who knew?).

The Ironman of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho grants competitors of all skill levels the opportunity to participate in what is known as a mass start. Standing shoulder to shoulder, ten and even twenty deep in some places, in a line stretching thirty or forty yards down a beach 2500 people, surrounded by fellow racers clad in wetsuits, stand poised for the blast of the canon which will start the race (yes, there actually was a canon, I have video to prove it). At the blast of the canon every racer charges the water to make a pair of 1.2 mile loops, at the end of each, you get out of the water and charge back in or head off to the transition area to prep for the bike.

For those people who were watching my times online (THANKS!!) my swim wasn't as fast as I would have liked, and here's why... Cornering at the buoys was like sitting in traffic on the 405 freeway on a Saturday afternoon, everyone seemed to know where they wanted to go, couldn't get there, blamed the person in front of them for stopping so suddenly, and was left at the mercy of the block of people in front of them. Needless to say that took some time. On my second loop a swimmer in front of me stopped and I ran in to him. When I stopped to see how I could get around him he was floundering around with two huge cramps in his legs and no way to get to the safety kayaker. Stopping to help him stretch out and then eventually pushing him through the steady stream of traffic cost me some time too (but you can't just leave someone like that out there can you?). So yeah, not quite like doing laps in a pool or even a solo open water swim at the beach.

After an hour and twenty minutes it was finally time to start the bike. Up until this point all I knew of the weather was that the sun was out and it was time to get out of the water. At this point it was still under 80 degrees outside. Funny note here, there are people in transition to "help" you out of your wetsuit, basically they yell, "Get down on your back!" Whereupon two volunteers strip the wetsuit right off your body. It takes less than 10 seconds.

The bike is a charming 56 mile loop from the town of Coeur d'Alene, along a river, up two good sized hills (ugh... pain), and out past the Idaho/Washington border and then back again (repeat just one more time for the full 112 miles). The first loop was great, a balmy 78 degrees and nothing but joy throughout my body and mind over having survived the melee that is a mass start group swim. Within an hour the temperature shot up to 93. By the time I started my second loop the temperature was well on its way past 100, ending up spiking at 103 (I have a thermometer on my watch) by the time the ride was done. Couple that with humidity at over 60% and you have GREAT conditions to complete what was the longest physical day of my life. Supposedly the rate of people dropping out of this race was the highest that it has ever been for this venue.

At mile 80 of the bike I found a pair of my teammates sitting off the road, off their bikes around some volunteers at an aid station well on their way to dehydration, heat stroke, and some other heat related malady. Only slightly disheartening because they were/are the two best cyclists that we have on our team, if they're getting beat up, what's next for me? We rode the last thirty miles in to transition together.

Nothing like being done... with the bike. Now we just cool down with the marathon. Note to the masses here, I'd never run a marathon (measured or timed) in my life. I'd made it to 22 miles, 24 miles, but never the full 26.2. Thankfully again, the venue won me over. We ran around the lake, and through town. Some of the neighbors, in addition to cheering us on for hours and hours, volunteered to hand out food/water, AND turned on their sprinklers and hoses. Two hours in to my marathon the temps were still over 95 degrees and just starting to come down. With aid stations every mile you can't help but stay hydrated and maintain a fair amount of energy. They had all the usual stuff, Gatorade, gels, water, fruit, pretzels and some surprises. You wouldn't believe it but there's coke on the course and it's great for runners (provided that it's flat), that plus water in equal amounts has sugar, caffeine, and for most people it is familiar and easily digestible. The other life saver on the course was warm chicken broth, sounds strange, but it was really good.

Those last three, the coke/water, and the chicken broth brought me in the finish line (that and all the ice I could shove under my hat). It was dark by the time I hit the home stretch. I had had dreams of finishing in daylight, but the heat of the day threw all that out the window and now finishing was all I could see in my head.

One of the cool things about small towns is that there really aren't any street lights, so winding through the streets on my way in to the finish line there were spectators and volunteers with glow sticks in most places and the simplicity of the road, my shoes, and me plugging away at the last few miles in the dark for the rest. The last turn on the course is a left that dumps you out on the the town's main drag, it's a downhill stretch over a mile long (or that's what it felt like). Coming out of the darkness of the street the finishing stretch is lit up with huge portable stadium lights, bleachers with family/friends/well-wishers of all kinds, and over a loud speaker is the voice of Ironman announcing the return of each successful road warrior with words I've waited two years to hear. My legs lost whatever fatigue was there renewed with adrenaline and hope, hope that I'd see the finish line and not drop on the road in sight of the end. I dropped in to a mad sprint toward the lights. Spectators at the finish line watch the chute, an inflatable archway housing the timing mats and cameras displaying each finisher on a huge screen. One by one over the last seven hours participants, now finishers, have trickled in. Some in fine shape, some in not quite so fine shape. Every one of them is met by a pair of "catchers" who escort the lucid finisher towards the final aid station, stocked with pizza and more gatorade than you can shake a stick at; And those not so fine ones off to the medical tent, for a heating blanket and/or an IV. On my way down the street I pass one person after another as they will their bodies just one more step and then another, collecting high fives from the spectators and cheers, huge cheers, the closer I got to the finish line. With everything I had left I actually crossed the finish line in midair celebrating my first finish as the voice of the Ironman announced over the PA, (pronouncing correctly I add):


"DEAN SAKIHAMA YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!"

When I crossed the finish line I felt fine and as it turns out I knew my name, what day it was, and who the president was so they deemed me well enough (physically) to grab my well earned slice of pizza.

I crossed the finish line in 15:43. I beat out a mass start, hills, heat, humidity, eight months of training, and that part of the brain that most people call sanity which continuously yells, "Just go to the movies next time" to finish the distance. I loved every minute of it, no matter how hard it was, and perhaps because it was hard... Having said that, I can't wait for the next one. Though a few long naps before I have to start training again are probably in order.

My thanks to all of you for supporting me in the ways that family and friends do, talking me through the things that life throws at you, by encouraging me along the way, not writing me off when I stopped talking or writing or falling completely out of touch, and most importantly by being there.

My love to all,
Good night and thanks for reading.
-dean

ps.
Shameless plug, if you have the opportunity to get involved with Team in Training for an endurance event, be it a half or full marathon, a century ride, or a triathlon, I highly recommend it. I've been surrounded with dedicated, positive people, throughout this training period, without whom, I am certain, I would not have been able to finish my race. (Nor would it have been as fulfilling)