I have found the best card/board/tabletop game in this universe.

That’s a pretty bold thing for a dude to declare. I know. But it’s true. Consider–is this game:

Better than Monopoly? Of course, Monopoly is an awful game.

Better than Scrabble? Yes, Scrabble is too intense and there never seem to be enough “U” tiles when I’m holding the Q.

Better than Diplomacy? Name one full game of Diplomacy you ever played that lasted less than 4 days.

Better than Stratego? I always get way too nervous when I play that game.

Better than Acquire?  Yes, though Acquire is a fun game, it’s slightly complex rules are a detractor from the enjoyment of the game.

Better than Settlers of Catan??????????? Yes. And Settlers is an awesome game. I have nothing bad to say about Settlers, except that it’s not as good as:

BOHNANZA.

That is the name of the game. BOHNANZA. It’s a German-style card game for 3-7 players. The only things you need to play are the special deck of cards and at least 3 people (there is a two person version but I haven’t played it, and supposedly it’s slightly mediocre).

The basic premise of the game is as follows:

Imagine you’re a bean farmer (“bohn” means “bean” in German). You live in a bean farming town with a bunch of other bean farmers (aka the other people playing the game). On your farm, you have three bean fields in which you can plant beans.

You can only plant one kind of bean in each field. For example, you can plant Coffee Beans in a field, but once you’ve planted the Coffee Beans in that field, you can’t plant Red Beans in that same field. You’d have to use one of your other fields for Red Beans.

Once you’ve accumulated a number of beans in a given field, you can “harvest” the beans. If you have a certain quantity of the beans when you “harvest” them, you can earn GOLD for them. The quantity of beans needed and gold earned depends on (a) the quantity of beans you harvested and (b) the rarity of the bean. For example, you’d need to harvest FOUR Coffee Beans (the most common bean in the game) to earn a single gold piece, but if you harvest TWO Cocoa Beans (the rarest bean in the game) you earn TWO gold pieces. You can harvest at any time, even if it’s not your turn.

There are a few twists, though: you are REQUIRED to plant one bean from your hand of bean cards at the beginning of your turn. Even if you have beans in all your fields!  (If this is the case, you had better do some harvesting…)  Also, your hand of bean cards must stay in the order in which the cards were dealt–no moving your cards around to plant the bean you want! Lastly, each turn involves a “trading” period in which players can offer you cards from their hand for some cards you just drew from the deck. So, there’s a significant strategy component as you manipulate the cards in your hand and the the beans in your fields, as well as trade with your opponents for desirable cards.

These are not the complete rules–there are some more intriguing details that I didn’t mention. But suffice it to say, this game is stunning in its simplicity, durability, entertainment value and elegance. Here’s why:

• Unlike games like Monopoly, everyone is still “in the game” until the end.  Resources accumulate over time, rather than having a “zero-sum” resource situation like Monopoly (which basically just transfers money from one player to another).  This is a major element of German-style games, and Bohnanza implements this perfectly.
• The game is simple to learn.  If you’re a new player, and are having the game explained to you by an experienced player, you could probably internalize all of the rules in 15 minutes, and have a good grasp of the strategy after just one game.
• The social interactions in this game are perfectly designed.  The trading between players is a constant back-and-forth, with players shifting between states of advantage and vulnerability at all times.  The restrictions the game places on planting, harvesting and playing cards out of your hand ensure no one player has a chance to dominate the others in a trading situation.
• The game rewards fair play and making good trades with your opponents.  Not only is the game much more fun when trades occur frequently, you usually are able to earn more gold if you trade more, even if your opponent gets a slightly better deal in the short-term.
• Gameplay is relatively short.  Usually, one game can be played in about an hour, including setup (which is minimal).  Even Settlers can take longer than this at times.
• No two games are ever the same.  The early game is always different due to the completely random initial draw.
• The game can be played with a flexible number of people.  4 is generally considered slightly optimal, but 3-7 can play comfortably, and even more can probably be accommodated.
• Bohnanza is relatively cheap. to buy  It costs between $15 and $20, which is expensive for what basically amounts to a deck of cards, but compared to other games (like Settlers) it’s a bargain.

If you haven’t played this game, I strongly suggest you go give it a try.  If you like games such as Settlers and Acquire I know you’ll love Bohnanza.  Thanks to Lana’s physics friend Justin for introducing me to this game.  I’ll be teaching it to everyone I can during the holidays.

A few months ago, I won a raffle for a free Kiwami Amphibian tri-suit. It’s Kiwami’s top-of-the-line short course suit. Due to a printing error, Kiwami was kind enough to send me TWO suits, which basically sums up how awesome their customer service is. The least I can do is write up a review of this product for all the Internet to see.

To start, this suit is TIGHT. I’m right in between their size small and medium (I’m 5′8″, male, 145lbs), and they suggested I go with the small as they tend to stretch a bit with use. When I put it on for the first time, it took me a while to get it positioned on my body correctly. Not as long as putting on a wetsuit, but longer than a normal one piece tri-suit. My “massive” pecs and lats spill out of the top of the suit, and there is no “jiggle” whatsoever in the spare tire region of my midsection. NICE.

The crotch area on this suit is designed differently than most other tri-suits. There is no chamois padding. Instead of taking the traditional “let’s lock everything in place” approach to genital engineering, the Amphibian offers freedom to move through careful positioning of the seams. It’s a slightly weird feeling going for your first run in the suit and experiencing the freedom the Amphibian has to offer.

The suit has a small zipper placed in the back to conform to ITU regulations. I cannot zip it up myself, I have to have someone else zip me in. I can, however, easily unzip it with the attached pull-cord-thingy. Unzipped, the suit holds its shape decently and allows for a bit more ventilation.

Inseam length is perfect for me. It’s shorter than most cycling shorts, but not so short to look funny. Of course, inseam length is mostly a personal preference, but if you’re a short dude like me you’ll probably be pleased. The silicone leg grippers are nice.

The suit is very, very, VERY light. It almost feels like paper when you’re holding it. Kiwami advertises the dry weight at 100g, and I’d believe it. My underwear weighs more than this suit. Now, usually suit weight is not super important to one’s performance, but if you’re a speed demon like me (HA!) every last gram is important.

Okay, now for a sport-specific review of the suit.

SWIMMING

This suit is FAST in the water. The fabric actively repels water and sometimes little bubbles form, which may provide some buoyancy. I’m not sure how much faster I am in this suit compared to a speedo, but I felt slippery in the water. For non-wetsuit swims, I’d certainly have a small edge over those wearing just a tri-suit, and I’d probably be on relatively even footing with those wearing a swim skin. The cut in the shoulders does not hinder my range of motion in the slightest.

The suit simply does not retain water. I did a swim and then immediately went out for a run, and after 2 minutes of running, the suit was completely dry. This thing is just ridiculous. Not having 400g of water on your body when you start the bike can probably make at least a small difference in both your speed and your core temperature (especially if it’s cool outside).

CYCLING

The suit doesn’t flap around in the wind at all, which is awesome. However, the lack of any pockets and a chamois pad mean that this suit is really only suited for short rides. I would personally not want to race in this suit at anything over Olympic distance–maybe Half Ironman if I worked my way up to it.

However, keep in mind that this suit is explicitly NOT designed for long course–if you want a long course suit, Kiwami’s Kaiman is much better suited for the task. So the above criticisms are admittedly misplaced. The Amphibian is just fine for short course cycling, which is exactly what it was designed to do. You don’t need pockets or a chamois pad when you’re only riding for an hour or less.

RUNNING

I love the feel of this suit while running. It’s compressive, yet allows for freedom of movement, particularly in the crotch area. There are no chafe spots, as all of the seams are placed in non-critical areas. I’m told that the suit is also very flattering, which is important for us age group athletes.

I chose the Nero/Savoia/Bianco color combo. The black (I guess that’s the “Nero” part) is flattering, but it does get a bit warm at times on the run. However, this is not a big deal, especially considering the duration of the races in which you’ll use this suit.

SUMMARY

The Amphibian is an amazing suit for short-course racing. It’s a serious piece of equipment designed for a specific purpose. Use it for anything else (long course racing, weightlifting, tea parties) and you will probably be disappointed. But if you’re a short course athlete looking for every last bit of speed, the Amphibian is absolutely, unquestionably the suit you want.

I love living in Florida.  It’s the middle of November and it’s still warm enough for multisport racing.  In fact, the weather this morning was perfect for a duathlon, with temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s during the racing hours.

The advertised distances were 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run.  I hadn’t done any short course racing in a while, so I was looking forward to seeing how fast I could go.  I was also looking forward to testing out my new Blackwell One Hundred wheel, a super-fast, super-deep, super-badass race wheel.

As I racked my bike, one lady asked me, “wow are you a pro?”  She must have seen my bike and spazzy tri-suit and thought I was an elite athlete.  I loled and said, “no–I just pay a lot of money to look like one!”  She approved of this comment.

There were about 150 racers at the start today.  The RD started the men in the first wave, and the women in the second.  At the gun, I was not surprised to see that my fellow Y-chromosone athletes did not get the memo on pacing.  I was passed by at least half of the men’s field, including three boys under the age of 10.  I finished the first run in 12:18.  There’s no way it was 2 miles–I’m guessing it was closer to 1.8 miles, which would have put me at just under 7 minute pace.  Fine, good conservative start.

T1 was flawless.  I had been practicing.  Shoes off, helmet on, grab bike and GO.  Shoes were clipped into the pedals already.  Got those on my feet no problem heading out of transition.

I played the bike cool for a number of reasons.  One was that the course was actually kind of tricky.  It wasn’t hilly, but there were subtle elevation changes and lots of windy roads.  Two was that there was a LOT of congestion.  The course was a “T” shape–basically we went up the bottom of the “T”, did TWO LOOPS of the top of the “T” and then back to transition.  Two loops in 10 miles makes for a lot of bike traffic to negotiate. This was the only “slop” in an otherwise very-well-run race by <a href="http://www.drcsports.com">DRC Sports.

The first loop was relatively clean.  I spent most of my time passing the guys who went too hard on the first run.  At one point, I was going about 28 on a slight downgrade and passed a dude who was going about 22.  He was clearly working hard and I guess I emotionally obliterated him with my monstrous pass.  I heard “aw come on, you gotta be kidding!” as I blew by him.  I hit the end of the first loop in 6th place.

The second loop was an adventure to say the least.  I was now not only passing the back of the men’s field, but the entire women’s field as well.  I literally passed almost the entire women’s field on the second loop.  It was one “on your left” after another.  Fortunately, there were times I was going almost twice their speed so the passes were quick and painless.  There were a few minor traffic incidents, and one close call when I went to pass a chatting twosome at the same time as someone else was passing in the opposite direction, but all was good.

I rolled into T2 in 7th place, having been passed in the last mile by another guy who was coming through the field.  My time was a conservative but strong 29:19 for what my computer said was 10.6 miles.  If T1 was flawless, T2 was even better.  Helmet off, shoes on, get out of there.  I entered T2 in 7th place, 5 seconds down, and left T2 in 6th place by about 20 seconds!  (Who says transition times don’t mean anything!)

The second run was a huge pain cave.  For the entire first 3/4 mile, I could hear 7th place gaining on me.  I kept my pace steady and tried to control the side stitch that was developing in my left side.  Just before the turnaround, he passed me and opened up a gap of about 30 meters.  With a mile to go, I began to push the pace a bit and noticed that the gap was not increasing!  Though this was encouraging, I was starting to hurt.

With 3/4 of a mile to go, I decided that it was time to try and close the gap.  I knew from my pre-race warmup that the last 200 yards were on a narrow, windy path and there would not be room for a sprint, so I figured my best shot was to get in front of him with about 800m to go and execute a long burn to the finish.  I also knew that I had decent middle-distance speed thanks to the track work I’ve been doing recently, so if I was going to beat this guy I was going to do it at around 800 meters.

With the 1/2 mile to go sign within sight, I got behind him.  He knew I was there.  I waited until after he looked behind his shoulder, and then I sprinted.  I gave the initial sprint more effort than I knew I could sustain for the whole 800m, but I wanted to make sure that he couldn’t follow.

At 400 meters to the finish, I looked back and there was a sizable gap between us.  I beat him to the line by 8 seconds for 6th place overall.  Total race time was 52:49.  The second run time was 10:09.  Since there’s no way I can run 5:05 pace for 1 mile (much less 2 miles) I figure the distance was closer to 1.6 miles, which would put my second run pace at 6:20–a more reasonable figure.

It felt really good to actually *race* as opposed to slogging through the “survivathlon” that is an Ironman or ultra-distance event.  It was a huge rush to blow past that guy and kick it in to the finish.  I’m happy with my fitness and my speed is improving.  I’m going to continue to work on my speed (especially my run speed) during the winter season so that I can hit the ground running for the early 2010 races.

Stats:
Run 1 (1.8ish miles): 12:18 (6:50 pace) Rank: 26/156
T1: 0:33
Bike (10.6ish miles): 29:19 (21.70mph) Rank: 7/156
T2: 0:30
Run 2 (1.6ish miles): 10:09 (6:20 pace) Rank: 9/156
Total: 52:49 Rank: 6/156 (2/4 age group)

Instead of making a thousand Twitter posts, I’m going to consolidate it all here.

• I made my Dad a training plan for the 5k we’re going to run together on Thanksgiving morning.  That’s gonna be a blast!  My training is off to a great start–if I keep it up and stay focused I should be able to run 20:XX, which would reinforce the notion in my head that I’m currently better equipped for short course racing than long course.
• I found a sweet deal on the running shoe I like today.  So I bought 3 pairs.  With my pathetic excuse for running volume that should last me like 8 years.
• I am switching my work schedule from (currently) 8-5 to (starting Monday) 10-7.  This will allow me to get my workouts done in the morning, which is way better considering the available daylight and the effect of training on my metabolism throughout the course of the day.  I’m super excited about this.
• I think it would be fun to be a guide for a blind athlete doing a cycling race or triathlon.  I mean, I already have the tandem bike and if they’re my height or shorter it would be easy to fit them.  But I’m not sure how to go about doing that.  Maybe there are organizations that specialize in organizing this kind of thing?  I suppose I could just post on Craigslist “Looking for blind man to take for a ride,” or something to that effect.
• I bought a really awesome headlight for my bikes.  Primarily the tandem, but it’s usable on all the bikes.  It’s the Cygolite MiliOn, rated at 150 lumens, and for its size it’s more powerful than a car headlight!  Lana and I took it for our first spin tonight and it was almost blindingly bright.  Very safe, and entirely worth the expense.  I feel a lot better about doing winter cycling with that light in my arsenal.
• I am going to a Halloween party on Saturday night, thrown by one of Lana’s physics friends, but I’m not sure what my costume should be.  I was considering going as Rick Astley since I know all of his music and dance moves, but I don’t have the outfit.   Any suggestions?  I would prefer something culturally relevant, contemporarily appropriate and cheap.  NC-17 is OK because I’m super good looking.  Oh and I can’t be Michael Jackson–that costume is already taken.
• New job is going really well.  I’m enjoying the work I do, and I haven’t accidentally deleted any databases yet.  I like having my OWN OFFICE, and everyone in the small company seems really nice!  There are two Publix’s within a mile radius from the office, and two more within another three miles.

I decided on pretty much a whim to sign up for the Great Floridian Aquabike race, which is the swim and bike legs of the Great Floridian full-distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike).  I figured that I might as well put the fitness I built up from doing Ironman to good use!

I knew I was not in top shape, with only 6 weeks passed since Ironman, and my training in that time having been sporadic at best.  Also, I didn’t swim more than about 4,000 yards in that 6 week period–ouch!  But I figured I’d give it a try anyway.  I mean, there’s not even any running–how hard could it be?

So I drove down to Clermont and gave it a shot.  I didn’t pre-ride the bike course, figuring that even though Clermont has a reputation for being “hilly,” I figured, it’s Florida–how hilly can it be??

On Saturday morning, the full-distance racers (about 400?) started at 7:30, and then the relay and aquabikers started 10 minutes later.  There were only about 20 of us in the second wave, so there was basically zero contact during the swim.  I came out of the water in 1:20, which was 2 minutes slower than my swim at Ironman.  I attributed this to (a) my lack of swim training in the time between the two races and the fact that there was no one to draft off.

Onto the bike.  It started pretty much ho-hum.  I settled into a smooth rhythm, maybe a high Z1/low Z2 pace.  My spedometer ceased to function after about mile 15, so I was riding only with a cadence sensor.  I was rolling a high cadence (95+), which I have found works well for me at least on shorter rides.

There were some rollers, but nothing major.  At mile 28 or so, we tackled “Sugarloaf Mountain,” the highest point in peninsular Florida at 312 feet above sea level.  We climbed about 250 of those feet at about 15-18%.  A moderate challenge, but not too bad–my 34/23 low gearing was sufficient for a standing ascent of the “mountain” at about 45-55 rpm.

I split the first 59 miles in a comfortable 3:20.  In this first half, I had some minor issues (stomach cramps, bladder cramps and mild reaction to the sand in the air) but not anything OMG-worthy.  At the special needs station, I grabbed my second bottle of nutrition, poured 3 bottles of water on myself (it was getting hot) and got going.

I decided that, since I’m not running after the bike, it was time to push the pace a bit.  The next 20 miles were relatively flat, and I was passing folks left and right due to my good aero position.  I actually felt really strong at this point!

Unfortunately, in the span of about 15 minutes around mile 80, everything went completely to shit:

1. I ran out of nutrition.  The 1600 calories I’d put in my two bottles was not enough, considering the temperature and the effort level I was putting out.
2. I ran out of salt.  The two bottles had about 2.2 grams of salt.  I thought that would be sufficient, but it was not.
3. The temperature continued to rise.  Temps were now in the high 80s with the heat index in the mid 90s.
4. My new aero position, which is lower and more aggressive than the aero position I used at Ironman, became unsustainable due to pains in my neck, shoulders and back.
5. I developed a cramp in my left foot which prevented me from applying any real pressure to the left pedal.

This “perfect storm” of awfulness sent me from(on flat ground) a comfortable 22mph to about 14mph.  I was bonking, I couldn’t pedal properly, I couldn’t hold my aero position, I had a headache from hyponatremia (lack of salt), and I was getting heatstroke (I was no longer sweating, I was getting goosebumps and my skin was turning beet red).

I immediately went into “survival” mode.  I limped along for a while, and then the storm got worse–the last 20 miles were all hills!  No exaggeration, it was one 100 foot roller after another.  Those last 20 miles took literally almost 2 hours, it was awful.  (Oddly, I didn’t get passed more than a handful of times–everyone else must have been having problems due to the heat/terrain like me.)

After a depressing, agnonizing, humiliating 6:29 on the bike (4 minutes slower than Ironman) and a total time just under 8 hours, I rolled into the transition area.  I sat in the lake for a few minutes, and then ate 3 cookies, a hamburger, a hot dog, 2 pieces of pizza and 2 bottles of Gatorade.  I guess I was hungry!

Because of my disappointing performance here and at Ironman Wisconsin, I think I’m going to set aside long course racing for a while until I figure some things out about my racing self.  Primarily, I need to figure out how to take in enough calories and salt to sustain a 6+ hour effort.  I also need to develop my body’s tolerance to a continuous, steady-state effort for a long period of time.

I think that, over time, I’ll be better prepared for the rigors of long course racing.  I’ll develop a better nutrition plan for these long races.  I’ll also strengthen my body to the point where these long efforts don’t create physical problems, such as muscle cramps.

However, for now, I think that the most productive (and enjoyable) way for me to approach triathlon is to get better at short course racing.  That’s sprint distance, Olympic distance, and maybe the occasional Half Ironman.

Doing short course racing should be nice because (a) I get to go FAST on the bike, which is awesome, (b) I have a pretty high tolerance for “good pain” (aka lactic acid buildup) and (c) I don’t have to do a huge ridiculous taper for each race.  I could race every weekend if I wanted to!  Additionally, short course racing doesn’t have the financial commitment that comes with the longer races, which are often expensive, elaborate ordeals.

Anyway, I’m going to do a sprint race in a few weekends with one of the athletes I coach.  After that, I’ll do a turkey trot 5k and then it will be time for the off-season, which in Florida is still quite nice training weather

Let me just say this for the record. I still cannot get over the fact that I am going to be marrying the hottest, smartest, most awesomest woman ever.  I seriously did not think that when I was the fat kid in high school I’d be this lucky.

So this Saturday I’m doing the Great Floridian triathlon down in Clermont.  It’s a full distance (Ironman distance) race, but since I did Ironman Wisconsin 6 weeks ago, I signed up for just the “Aquabike,” which is the swim and bike legs of an Ironman triathlon.  2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, that’s it.  The absence of a run makes this race SIGNIFICANTLY less stressful than a full blown Ironman, and possibly even less stressful than a half Ironman (though the Aquabike will take longer than a HIM).  Basically, running sucks.

My training since Ironman Wisconsin has been haphazard at best, and nonexistent at worst.  I’m just gonna go out and do the race to see what my body is currently capable of right now.  I’m also going to play around with some pacing, cadence and nutrition things and see how those work.

My plan is to go easy on the swim, and basically treat the race as an 112 mile bike time trial.  I’ve tweaked my aero position since Ironman Wisconsin–getting lower in front and pulling the hands up slightly–so I should be gaining a few minutes of free speed from that, provided I can hold the position for 5+ hours.  Additionally, I’m going to roll with a significantly higher cadence than at Wisconsin (my MOO cadence was in the 80-85 range, I’m going to do the GFT at 93+rpm).  I think the higher cadence will be easier on my knees and large leg muscles, which gave me trouble during the Ironman run.

All in all, this should be a good time.  The absence of a running leg is a real stress-reliever, as I’m not really in a running “groove” these days.  Cycling is fun, but swimming and running seem more like chores (“dangit, I have to go for a swim”) than rewards (“now that I’m off work, I get to go for a bike ride!  Yaay!”)

Oh yeah–there are only a handful of people signed up for this race, so I have a legitimate chance at winning my age group!!!!  (Last time I checked, I was the only one signed up in my age group!!!!)

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/martinmccrory/SouthernTandemRally2009?feat=directlink

Lana and I took our tandem bicycle down to The Villages, Florida this weekend to attend a rally for tandem bicycle riders.  Having only been riding TWOgether for about 9 months and about 1,000 total miles, this was our first rally AND our first big group ride on the tandem AND our first major cycling event attending on the tandem!  It was a blast.

We both skipped out of work/school early on Friday, slapped the tandem on our car rack (the tandem is only slightly wider than our car with the wheels still on the bike) and headed down from Gainesville to The Villages, an “interesting” retirement community in central Florida.  We arrived shortly before 6pm and, after registering, decided that we had enough time to sneak in a short ride.  We rode about 15 easy miles around the streets of The Villages and returned in time to grab some ice cream.

On Saturday, when we arrived at the arrival/departure location, we noticed that we seemed a bit younger than most of the pairs there.  That didn’t seem to matter much, though, as veryone we talked with was very nice and welcoming!

And BOY were there some sweet bikes, as well!  Carbon fiber, titanium, couplers, Dura-Ace, sick wheels, belt drives, recumbents, triplets, folding bikes–it was all on display.  Never before had we seen such “tandem bling” all in one place before!

The Saturday ride was fun, if a bit chatoic.  The organizers decided to throw some little rollers into the route, which served to break up any large packs of riders.  After the rest stop at 17 miles, we decided to take the shorter (38) mile route back home.  Unfortunately, no one else decided to follow us, so we rode to lunch by ourselves!

At lunch, we got lots of compliments on our matching “USA Cycling” jerseys, and a lot of positive comments about the fact that it’s great we’re getting into tandem cycling at such a young age.  Tandem riders really are the nicest cyclists around!

That night, the organizers hosted a happy hour and dinner for the riders.  The happy hour was scheduled to start at 6, with the dinner scheduled to start at 6:30.  Lana and I didn’t want to drink, so we decided to show up just for the dinner.  However, we forgot that the “target demographic” of this event (aka “distinguished” people) are much more punctual than us.  Not only had EVERYONE else arrived by the time we entered the banquet hall at 6:37, they were halfway through the salad course!  Lesson learned: arrive at all future tandem rally events 10 minutes early.

At the dinner, we met more riders and confirmed that we were, in fact, the youngest couple there BY FAR.  We had hoped to win a door prize for this accomplishment, but sadly they skipped us and went straight to the “oldest couple” prize (the couple that won has a combined age of 155 years!!  Wow!!)

On Sunday, we took advantage of the flat start to get organized in a nice fast group at the front.  Us and 3-4 other tandem teams spent the whole 41 miles doing a fun, hard rotation.  It was really fun to work together with other strong tandem teams to put out some amazing speed.  (A brief moment of embarrassment occurred when Lana and I dropped our timing chain while taking a hard pull around a corner, but we got it back on without too much delay!)  I’m pretty sure our group was the first one to finish, which was a nice “feather in the cap” kind of feeling.

All in all, our first tandem rally was a very positive experience.  We got to meet lots of tandem couples from around Florida and other places in the South, see a bunch of VERY COOL looking bikes and get in some great tandem riding!  We’re looking forward to attending more tandem rallies in the future!

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/martinmccrory/SouthernTandemRally2009?feat=directlink

September 2009 has been simply unreal.  Here’s what happened in my life during the month of September, in chronological order:

1. I completed my first Ironman (September 13)
2. I went to California, learned about triathlon coaching, and met legendary triathlete Chris McCormack (September 18-20)
3. I earned and started my first full-time salaried job (September 22)
4. Lana and I got engaged (September 24)

.

“I completed my first Ironman (September 13)” – See my previous blog post on the subject.

“I went to California, learned about triathlon coaching, and met legendary triathlete Chris McCormack (September 18-20)” – this was a fun trip.  Just a few days after finishing Ironman, I got on a plane and went to Santa Monica, California to attend a USA Triathlon coaching clinic.  It was my first time to Californa outside of an airport–very cool place.

I spent three days in seminars learning from some of the best USA Triathlon coaches, including Bobby McGee, Bob Seebohar, Ian Murray, John Crawley and Hector Torres.  I learned more than I could possibly ever process in the amount of time in which I learned it, and all of the information was interesting and practical.

On top of the great experience at the clinic, it just so happened that legendary triathlete Chris McCormack was in town for the weekend.  He stopped by a Santa Monica bike shop (which happened to be two blocks from my hotel) and did a Q&A and an autograph session!  I got to shake his hand, chat with him and have him sign my Ironman finisher’s t-shirt!  What a stroke of good luck that he was there at the same time I was!

“I earned and started my first full-time salaried job (September 22)” – The Tuesday after completing Ironman, I was woken up by a phone call from a company at which I had interviewed about two weeks prior offering me a full-time job with a great salary and great benefits as well!  Of course I accepted.

The company is a small (15 employees in 3 offices around the country) company that provides exam services for occupational assessment, primarily in the construction industry.  For example, if you are a plumber and you need to get certified to do business in the state of Colorado, you call up the company that provides the lisencing in CO, which contracts the company for which I work to design, administer and grade the exam.

My job is to do IT work–tech support, database management, programming, server maintenance, etc.  There’s a lot to do, as most of the company’s systems are completely automated, so I’m looking forward to contributing.  Since it’s such a small company, I’m sure I’ll be able to make a relatively immediate impact on things.

(Note: everyone has read about the person who blogs too much about their job and then get fired because of it.  So, you probably won’t see me write much more about my job on this blog in the future.  However, if you want to chat about it offline, on messanger or on the phone, that’s fine!)

“Lana and I got engaged (September 24)” - Lana and I have been dating for over 6 years (since January 11, 2003), so it was about time.

Actually, I had picked out the ring I wanted to get for Lana over two years ago.  However, I knew that at the time I didn’t really have the money to pay for it.  So I sat on it for a while.  I decided that I would wait until I had a bit more financial stability to pull the trigger.

Then, earlier this month, I got the call offering me a full-time job.  I immediately realized that I now had the financial stability I needed to pull this off.  So, little more than an hour after accepting the job offer, I went online and ordered the ring!  (Yes, I ordered online.  Cheaper and no huge diamond store markup.  Deal with it!)

The ring arrived on the afternoon of the 24th.  I popped the question in the evening, after giving her some matching bicycle jerseys (to use when we ride the tandem bike) as a decoy.  No special circumstances, I just asked her to marry me.  She said yes thankfully!

Afterward, we went on a tandem bike ride together.  We wore the jerseys and she spent the whole time admiring her ring!  I had to do most of the pedaling.

(Note: Despite the simple arrangements, I had actually thought about how to propose to Lana extensively.  After deliberating many different ways to propose, some more dramatic than others, I settled on just keeping it simple.  I think Lana appreciated not having an overly elaborate proposal.  Plus, I think I caught her a little by surprise!)

So, life is pretty good right now.  Here’s to the good times that surely will continue for us for a long time!

I could write a book about this experience. I will try to keep it short enough so that people outside of my immediate family may still be interested in reading this.

Core stats:

Swim (2.4 miles): 1:18:01 (2:03/100m)
T1: 8:20
Bike: (112 miles): 6:25:44 (17.42mph)
T2: 4:10
Run (26.2 miles): 5:25:09 (12:24/mile)

Total: 13:21:20

Thursday:

Travel day. I did a short workout in the morning, and got on the plane to Chicago in the afternoon. I was not charged for my bike case, which saved me $175! (Nice!)

The flight was uneventful, and my mom picked me up at O’Hare and took me home to Aurora, where I spent the night.

Friday:

Mom and I drove up to Madison. I registered, picked up my transition bags, went on a small adventure to pick up some equipment that I couldn’t bring with me on the plane (had to go to a bike shop in town), got some lunch and checked in to the hotel. We stayed at the Grandstay Residential Suites, an extended stay hotel. Our room had two double beds, a pull-out couch and a full kitchen (which was great for preparing pre-race meals)!

At the hotel, I assembled my bike (which was undamaged in flight), put together the bags containing all of the stuff I’ll need in the two transition areas (swim-to-bike and bike-to-run), took a nap and sat in the pool’s hot tub for a while.

Later that evening, I went to the athlete meeting back at the race site. All of the athletes looked fit, ready and anxious.

I also met up with my friend Jeff, who was also doing his first Ironman! We traded stories about how awesome we are and how we were just ready to get going.

Saturday:

I got up early, and Dad (who had arrived late last night with my younger brother Sterling) and I went to the race site to get in one last workout. I did a short swim on the race course, followed by a short bike and run. About 60 total minutes of working out.

I dropped off my transition bags and headed back to the hotel. Mom and Dad picked Lana up from the Madison airport, and then we all headed out to see my Mom’s cousin who lives in a Madison suburb.

After having a nice early dinner with her family, we returned to the hotel for a quiet evening. I managed to get a decent amount of sleep considering it was the night before the big race. Taking some Benadryl helped immensely.

Sunday (race day):

I was up just after 4am. I finished putting together my “special needs” bags, which are bags of clothes/nutrition/spare equipment/etc that are available halfway through each of the bike and run courses. Dad was up early as well and took me to the race site. We arrived shortly after 5am and got a nice parking spot.

I dropped off my special needs bags, pumped my tires, did a bunch of last minute preparations, used the bathroom several times and put on my wetsuit. I was ready.

I met up with my Dad, who had gotten a nice spot to watch the swim start right on one of the helixes at the Terrace, and then made my way toward the swim start.

There were so many people! It was organized chaos. 2300 athletes, with 3-4 spectators per athlete, made for difficulty moving around the Terrace to get to the swim start. However, I managed to get in the water with about 10 minutes to spare.

The pros went off at 6:50am, as I was getting into position. I treaded water for a while and tried to relax. I found a nice spot toward the front, but well off to the side, for the swim start.

As I waited, I got a bit emotional about what I was going to do today, but then the clock showed 6:59 and it was time to focus. The clock turned over to 7am and we were off!

Swim (2.4 miles): 1:18:01 (2:03/100m)

With 2300 athletes starting the race, there was absolutely no clear water for the first 30 minutes of the two-loop swim.  Fortunately, there was no excessive contact at any point duringthe swim.  I think everyone in the water knew that we were in this race for the long haul, and it wasn’t worth it to try and get worked up on the swim.

I managed to get into a decent rhythm starting toward the end of the first loop. I was breathing away from the sun and generally doing well.  I concentrated on putting out a really low effort level and simply cruising through the swim. When I got out of the water in 1:18, a slow but acceptable time, I knew I had done just that.

T1: 8:20

Upon exiting the water, I got my wetsuit “stripped” off by a kind volunteer and ran up a parking garage helix to reach the top of the Terrace.

I ran inside one of the convention rooms, grabbed my transition bag, put on my helmet and sunglasses, grabbed my shoes and headed out. I stopped to get some sunscreen and use the toilet, and then ran to my bike, where a volunteer held it while I put my bike shoes on.

All in all, it was a long transition, but smooth and with no problems.

Bike: (112 miles): 6:25:44 (17.42mph)

Getting on the bike, I felt AWESOME. I felt strong, rested and relaxed. The first few miles were a clusterf**k so I just pedaled along and let the big testosterone men pass me. I took it super easy heading out to Verona, and got started with my nutrition.

Once I hit the start of the 40 mile loop (16 miles into the bike), things settled down a bit and I had a chance to hunker down into my aero position. I felt good. I kept my cadence and effort very low. I was averaging about 18mph at this pace, on target for a bike of just over 6 hours. I was getting passed a lot, mostly on the climbs, but used my good aero position to make up a bit of ground on the flats and downhills.

The first little testers were the hills on the top of the loop–Old Sauk, Timber Lane and Midtown Road. I started to feel it just a bit after taking these hills, but I was still feeling great.

I completed the first 56 miles in about 3:07, a conservative pace for me. I grabbed my second bottle of nutrition from my special needs bag (along with a Snickers bar) and settled in again.

By the time I hit the hills again, I was starting to tire. My nutrition was still going well, but my legs were starting to feel the fatigue of the long day. My speed dropped a bit as the wind picked up, and my second 56 miles were slower than the first by about 10 minutes.

I pulled into T2 ready to be done biking, but still with plenty of energy left for the marathon. 6:25 total time on the bike–slower than I had hoped for, but still not bad. I was confident that I’d do well on the run.

T2: 4:10

In the second transition, I put bodyglide on my feet, switched into running socks/shoes, grabbed my hat and was gone. I briefly considered staying inside the beautiful air-conditioned transition room for a while, but I decided to press on of course.

Run (26.2 miles): 5:25:09 (12:24/mile)

As I headed out onto the run course, I felt great. My legs felt strong, and I was keeping up a high cadence. My first 3 miles were all right around 10:00/mile pace. I continued to munch on stuff at every aid station, and was generally able to set aside the feelings of fatigue running through my body.

The weather was slightly warm, but the humidity was low so it was manageable. I stuffed ice in my hat at every aid station, and dumped water on myself at every opportunity.

The course was great. Very entertaining, with spectators all over the course. There were a few hills, but nothing too challenging. I enjoyed getting lapped by the pro women early in my run (they were already on their second lap). We even did a lap around the University of Wisconsin football field!

At mile 5, I started to slow a bit. I took a short bathroom break and decided to start walking the aid stations. No problem, I expected that this would happen. My mile pace started to dip into the 11:00/mile range, but I was still running at a decent pace. I hit the turnaround at mile 6.5 and continued to cruise.

Then, it happened. At mile 11, I stopped to try and stretch my legs a bit. As I stretched, my entire leg cramped up. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced while in an athletic event. If I wasn’t holding onto a dumpster I would have fallen over.

With the help of a kind volunteer, I took a moment to regain my composure and control over my body. I was able to continue, but physically and mentally I was not the same. My legs had simply lost the strength to continue the running motion. I was still cramping (but not as badly as before) and I also began to fight some side stitches.

My pace dropped significantly, and I began increasing the length of my aid station walks. By mile 14 I was walking some of the distance between aid stations. By mile 16 I was walking more than I was running.

I switched to coke, pretzels and chicken broth at the aid stations, in an effort to get more salt into my system. It helped a bit. I still couldn’t run at anything more than a “death shuffle” pace, and I was walking 2 minutes for every 1 minute of running.

Miles 18-23 were the low point in the race for me, never getting faster than 15:00/mile. During this low point, I never questioned why I was doing this or if I would finish the race or anything like that. However, I was very frustrated–I really wanted to run (and felt good aerobically), but my legs wouldn’t let me.

Once I got back on the roads toward the finish, I started to regain a bit more energy. My pace quickened slightly and I regained the motivation to run. The last 1.2 miles were the fastest of the race for me as I crossed the finish line in 13:21:21, “running” a 5:25 marathon.

After the race, I got my finisher shirt and medal, and evacuated the race site as quickly as I could. My nutrition had gone well, so I didn’t need any medical attention, but I was anxious to get back to the hotel. After a shower and some brief bouts of nausea, I was out like a rock.

Reflections

• I can see the allure of these huge events. You’re never alone out on course. There’s always a spectator, volunteer or other racer to push you along.  And the volunteer support was amazing!  There was never any question about where I should go, what I had to do, or anything like that.  Simply awesome.  Thanks, volunteers.
• I fell well short of my time goal. Looking back, though, it seems that my time goal of 11:30 was unrealistic, as that would have put me in 15th place in my age group which is ridiculous. I did finish, though, and except for the run, I was able to follow my pacing and nutrition plan reasonably well.
• I am absolutely doing another Ironman in the future. I’m hooked. This was an incredible experience in every way. However, I have a lot to work on. In particular, I need to do more long (100+ mile) rides and dramatically increase my running volume. I simply didn’t have the strength to run the full 26 miles, so that’s what I need to work toward.  I plan on purchasing a powermeter, so I can pace the bike leg with zero guesswork and arrive at the run start in optimal condition.
• Lastly, to everyone who came to the race or offered their support, kind words or congratulations to me during this whole experience, thank you. I was thinking of all of you at some point during the race. You are awesome.

Ironman Wisconsin starts at 7am tomorrow.

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run.

As I sit here, all I can think about (aside from oversleeping the start, crashing on the bike, and bonking on the run) is how thankful I am to even be at this point, and how, regardless of how the race goes tomorrow, I’ll be happy.

Here’s what I’m thankful for:

• I’m thankful I”ll be sharing the race with my family.  I couldn’t ask for a better support crew.  Though I’ll get myself across the finish line under my own power, no one is really racing Ironman alone.
• I’m thankful that I am even physically able to take the start line.  It’s so easy to get injured or let life get in the way.  Outside of a scare 6 weeks ago when I faceplanted on the bike, training has gone flawlessly.  I’ll take the line in the best physical condition possible, given my experience and training.
• I’m thankful my equipment works, and that there were no major problems this week.  I was able to progress through race week stress-free.  Even the airplane flight was entirely uneventful!
• I’m thankful that the weather looks good.  Maybe a touch hot, but having spent the last 6 weeks in Florida that’s fine with me.
• I’m thankful for caffeine.
• I’m thankful for my wetsuit.  It will get me through the swim tomorrow, haha.
• I’m thankful for the hot tub here at the pool.  That has been nice to enjoy the last two days.
• I’m thankful that the folks running Ironman have got their act together.  Though the entry fee to this race is steep, in my mind it has already paid for itself with a smooth pre-race experience.
• Lastly, I’m thankful for everyone else who has helped me get to this point.  I’ve learned a lot and had fun over the past several years, thanks to you.  Each of you will be in my thoughts at some point as I progress through this race.

Before the race, I’m going to give my cell phone to Lana.  She’s going to be posting twitter/facebook updates throughout the course of the race.  So, keep your eyes open and I’ll see you at the finish line!  (Call me to wish me luck!  My number is posted on Facebook.)