Post Race Recap: The Big Kahuna, Santa Cruz, CA 2010

Only two weeks after my Ironman, I raced the Big Kahuna 70.3 on September 12, 2010 consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.

Naturally, the first response I receive from everyone is "what are you nuts, a half IM two weeks after your full"? My reply to this is a logical approach, I'm mentally prepared for twice this distance & I worked so hard to get to peak race shape, why not double down. Plus, I have some good friends doing this race so I'll treat it like training with good friends, it just happens to be a race course. Because of this, my mindset going into this race is completely relaxed, no butterfly's & no expectations which is rather unique.

Arriving in Santa Cruz, I feel the beach culture. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing my flip flops (Ironman Logo) and granola bar apparel (Odwalla Logo) and smile as I recognize just how much I embrace this culture. I saved my race registration until the day of the expo in order to see how I feel after Ironman recovery and you bet I'm up for it. So I signed up to go big at the Big Kahuna 70.3

Doing an event at the beach, my experience is the salt water and beach air means I must stay well hydrated. On the 3 ½ hour road trip to the event, I brought my ice chest filled with waters and consumed plenty. It's actually really fun caravanning to a local triathlon with the car packed and bikes on the roof making the statement were off to play.

I always make it a point to have a conversation with fellow participants at the race registration expo. The couple who took our group's picture below was from Australia and arrived in Santa Cruz for a destination race (a race location that doubles down as a vacation). We traded stories on the course, the conditions and some of the plans we had for food/hydration and it was neat to have them comment on my Team Odwalla gear so I passed along a bar I had handy in my jersey pocket. I enjoy being an ambassador for my sponsor and it's pretty cool to not only use the product during my race but pass it along for others to try out for their race too. There is something I like to call a triathlon bubble during an event and it's in this spirit of offering advice, product or help to fellow competitors that creates an experience we all look forward to surrounding ourselves with.


After registration, we took our bikes on a short ride to check our gear and preview the course. The course setting was beautiful, hugging the cliff shoreline and taking in the clean ocean breeze. You could not ask for a more scenic trail and tomorrow, this would be set aside for us. I think that is one reason why I love triathlon so much, on normal days your training turf has to be shared with stop signs, stop lights, etc. and on the day of an event, there is a reservation made for you to re-claim this space from cars and let people dominate it. The feeling of flying through the streets non stop with the beach cliff and ocean to your side is going to be epic and I can't wait.

The night before the race we stayed at my Uncles beach house in La Selva. I'd have to say this is the best carb loading I have ever done as my Aunt was hosting a work party and had prepared a restaurant caliber pizza making station next to the outside wood burning pizza oven. Were talking home made dough, feta cheese, asparagus, olive oil style pizza a la cart so each time the guest created their own style, we sampled each others makings. All of the guests were her peer physical therapist from work so the conversations around their profession related to triathlon came easy making a good social event. That night after the carb load, I fell asleep early in the hen house (guest house) at 6pm in anticipation of the 4am alarm.

The morning of the event, we parked at my friend Justin's hotel and rode our bikes to the event, with our transition back packs on. This is a neat time of day, its just prior to sunrise so the beach streets are empty except for those of us headed to the event. I love this time of day and the anticipation of the main event. My morning routine is solid & adjusted to an AM schedule. Especially, my nutrition which consisted of an Odwalla bar, a yogurt, an orange juice, a banana, a small cup of coffee, 12 oz of water and electrolyte/salt pill supplements. The idea is to get nutrition just right and I think I have found what works for me. After my warm up & dynamic stretching, I put on my wetsuit and head off from the transition area to the ocean.

The ocean start is by age group, youngest to oldest. Being in the 35-39, I have two groups of female athletes to pass in the water before reaching the 30 - 34 year old males as my target so I take a mental note of the color of their swim caps now to help gauge my position in the water against the field later. As the gun goes off for my age group, I feel confident enough to be the first to jump in and soon settle in to roughly the third position as we pass the first marked boats.

As we make our way through the swim course, there aren't too many course markings. I think the swim course director in charge of setting up the buoy's the morning of the race ran into last minute issue's settling for only the farthest out buoys at the turn around points giving up on the other half denoted on the swim course map. As a result, our first waypoint was to swim between the two boats without the next waypoint buoy on the horizon at the start of the swim. I found myself headed toward the pier immediately following the first boats and soon heard a paddle boarder tell me to head left to the buoy. This was clearly a zig zap off the route but the good news was I had a clear path to settle into a pace and bypass the herd. My heart rate and breathing actually felt really good, sometimes after the start it jumps given the stress of a mass start but I found myself very relaxed and settled into the right pace. At the first turn around buoy, I was surrounded by the female age group colored caps so that was my gauge that good progress was being made. At the second buoy on the other side of the pier, I had reached the back of the field from the younger male age group which means I caught the slower swimmers who had that 15 min. head start. After turning around and heading to shore, I felt the current and intentionally sped up my pace for each wave set and recovered with a slower pace in between. This rhythm worked in my favor as I was able to over take those beside me. Its interesting, in the ocean distance is somewhat abstract so I go more by feeling instead of open water sighting like I'm used to in lake swims. My total swim time for 1.2 miles was 30:57 (a fast 23:47 minute mile pace).

The T1 location from the ocean swim finish was longer than most courses. Therefore, I took off my wetsuit in the water first, ran across the beach to the timing mat second, put on a pair of shoes I had stashed on the stairs to the boardwalk then proceeded to literally run past my peers moving along barefoot in wetsuits. My T1 time was 3:41, a fast transition.

The bike course started with a hill immediately after transition and I anticipated the correct gear to avoid a spiking heart rate starting this way. The route then led through the community streets where time was made by settling into an arrow position and taking the corners right. The majority of the ride is an out and back on HWY 1 which hugs the ocean on a rolling coastline. Pedaling my bike as fast as I could downhill and tucking into the aero position against the on coming ocean breeze, I managed to max out at 37 mph on my road bike where as my peers hit 45 on these same stretches on their tri bikes indicating the difference to be gained with a possible equipment upgrade. I did feel like my effort up the hills was at par with any bike on the road and held an average 20.6 mph for a bike split of 2:43. It's definitely tempting to think of going from a road bike to a tri bike to aim for the elite sub 2:30 bogie next year. Going this fast on the course was also thrilling as the weather conditions were extremely wet, enough to cause crashes on the slippery railroad tracks & painted road lines.

The T2 was also fast at 1:11. I made the smart choice to head out with my own hydration given the salt water/beach environment and later appreciated this as the aid stations were rather sparse in both frequency and small Dixie cups offered.

The run hugged the cliff pedestrian path before turning inland through beach community streets followed by an out and back on trails through the park. The views were spectacular, you could not ask for a better course. I always like out and back courses because you get a glimpse of the elites and its motivating to whiteness what's humanly possible. The aid stations volunteers and spectators got a kick out of my Odwalla uniform and the attention sure does put a smile on my face. I return the favor when positive vibes are sent my way, often sharing words on good pace, keep it up or thanks for your help volunteers to those around me. I gave the run my all, leaving nothing on the course and used any remaining training tokes I had saved from my prior Ironman leading to a 8:51 average pace for a 1:55 half marathon. This is good training feedback for me, leading into Q4 marathon season where I can isolate one sport and focus on improving my run.

The final stretch of the run lead us to the beach and under the peer through half a foot of water then through sand and a big aloha themed finish line with hula girls, announcements and cheers. The announcer picked up on my jersey and boasted about how much he loved Odwalla and uses it all the time so the crowd followed suit and gave me a "go Odwalla" as I finished. I finished the day with the total time of 5:14, my new PR for the half ironman distance. I definitely vision a goal of hitting sub 5 on this same course next year and I'm excited to put together a running plan to make this happen.

Good luck to all those reading this post race report & mahalo!

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37504&id=100000042438113&l=13834bbcd3

Post Race Recap: Ironman Louisville Kentucky 2010

In pursuit of life's goals, I raced my first Ironman Louisville, Kentucky on August 29th 2010 consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. They say, getting to the Ironman starting line is a major accomplishment and getting to the finish line changes your life forever.

From the moment I arrived in Louisville, it was truly magical. Magical, because I marked this date on my calendar first then embarked on an epic training journey to get here, surrounding myself with positive like minded people to help me see it come to fruition. This journey has been a transformation; I started triathlon weighing 195 lbs and today weigh 170 lbs, re-discovering the athlete in my former self. Today, I'm in the best shape of my life and completely ready to validate that statement when I hear "you are an Ironman".

The pleasure of being at my first Ironman is worn with my team Odwalla sponsored gear and a huge smile on my face, attracting conversation with just about everyone. People are arriving from all over the world to create this triathlon bubble. Everyone who does an Ironman has an inspiring journey and the positive, goal oriented attitude is shared with all these other people who have worked hard to get here. I picked up triathlon as an individual event but realize you never do it alone. There with you is everyone who ever advised or supported your training. The people met and the fiends made on my training journey are here with me today and I'm thankful for all their support and experience invested in this goal. I know when I need to dig deep, I'll find that mental place within where I have pushed myself in training side by side with a friend and will now use that in my arsenal on race day.

We live in a world of comfort and there are two types of people, those who say I can't and those who say I can. Personally, I have pushed myself to get comfortable being uncomfortable and embrace the challenge. An example of this is forgoing television at night and setting the AM alarm clock, not as a trend but as a routine. It took starting power to become that morning workout person and staying power to stick with the program to see improvements. Similarly, it will take starting power to sign up for an Ironman and staying power to finish. It's that mindset I share today with all the athletes in Louisville which includes one of the largest fields in Ironman history, about 3,000 athletes.

I stayed at the Galt, the events host hotel at the bank of the Ohio River. Immediately after checking into the hotel was athlete check in followed by dinner in a massive banquet ballroom for the athletes. Everything from the flight to shuttle to check in to dinner, etc. is following an agenda to the tee so being a little type A and printing everything out by date & time works in my favor, allowing me to settle down and simply do these necessary agenda items while focusing my energy and thoughts on what's really important, the event, not the overhead.

The morning before the race was a practice swim. The week prior, I changed my mindset to eastern time and alarm to 2 am PST so there was no adjustment to a 5 am routine once in Kentucky because I literally practiced it the week before. Waking up without an alarm, using the restroom, eating, etc. was familiar to me at 5 am EST eliminating one less variable to stress my body with for this race. As some stood in the swim starting line holding a cup of coffee having a difficult time adjusting to this hour, I was stretching, warming up and rehearsing my game face approach. The practice swim was to jump into the Ohio River and swim to the bridge and back. I was one of the first five in, creating a completely clear route all the way out. On the way back, hundreds of athletes were headed in the opposite direction as me which I had to weave through and practice looking up to avoid. Exiting the swim, I was stoked to finally feel the environment and turn on my engine which had been uncomfortably held in during my taper. I was also very exited to discover another variable had been removed, the water a warm 84 degrees and not so clear felt like for like with my home turf, Lake Kawea where I had put in my practice open water swims.

The afternoon before the race was bike check in at the Great Lawn. The transition area to host 3,000 bikes was massive. The orientation was also completely new. Instead of transitioning at your bike rack, the transition is in a tent where you call out your number and the volunteer hands you your designated bike or run bag. Because transitions have nothing to do with fitness and everything to do with executing your plan, I did a walkthrough rehearsal which evidentially paid off as my actual T1/T2 transition times (3:53/3:45) were at par with the pro's, something those in my Visalia Tri Club call free speed.

The night before the race was an early dinner with my mom and wife. It was a time to slow down and enjoy the moment and both their faces were glowing just as I had pictured this vacation to be. Savoring a date at a destination race is truly special.

The morning of the race, at 5 am athlete check in the temperature in Louisiville was 79 degrees. The race begins with a unique time trial swim start that takes the competitors along side Towhead Island before turning back down-stream. Because of the time trial start, a line forms at 5 am and I estimate every 10 minutes will put approximately 300 athletes starting before you. The hotel is almost a mile walk from the swim start with the transition in the middle so it's a continuous flow of athletes walking to the start with a sense of urgency for their place in line. Arriving at the transition to check in my bike and run bags, I opened my pack, rooted through the contents and remembered taking my bottles out to place them in the fridge. Realizing I'm on the clock for my planned position in line, I minimized this impact by borrowing a fellow athlete's phone and calling up to the room having my wife Jamie meet me in her pajama's to deliver my missing water bottles. We later laughed at making her walk in her pajamas in front of all these athletes, ha!

At 7 am, the gun fires and the pro's start. I observe the line they took closer too the island instead of to the right of the buoys and plot my route. For the age group start, every 3 seconds an athlete jumps into the water from the line and there are two lines sending athletes in. The entire bay starts to look like a massive human herd with splashes everywhere.

I positioned myself in line behind the fastest looking swimmer I could find and held his line after we jumped in allowing myself to take advantage of following his bubbles as he looked up to navigate around those we passed. This strategy allowed me to conserve considerable energy for the first 3 buoys which would have otherwise been spent ramping up to an open line.

After the third bouy, my speed for the most part was governed by choosing a lane in a herd of traffic and making decisions when to overtake the person in front of me. Once I passed the island, I was able to get away from people and pick the next bouy and make a line to it instead of just negotiating space in the herd. This portion of the swim was also the only upstream current between the end of the island and turn around. When I reached the turn around bouy I was one third of the way complete. The bouy line back stretched further than the eye could see but in the distance I could see a bridge as a major way point to keep in mind.

After swimming for 30 minutes, the mind becomes acutely aware of feelings, thoughts and senses. I am feeling great. I focused on stroke. I'm paying close attention to not breath in any water on accident. I'm able to sense my proximity to the shoreline and observe my position is closer to the shore as some of the field has gone deep trying to catch the current. Thinking back at the upstream swim to turn around, I did not sense enough current to warrant a change of course into deeper waters. As I settle into my existing route, I fall into a trance, completely clearing my mind of other distractions. As I focus on the present, the bridge is now overhead and I can observe my speed as each breath allows me to see the bridge moving further in the distance behind me.

As I reach the end of the swim, I get a surge of adrenaline as other competitors now bunch up and begin to bump into each other seeking their position going into the gates. Upon exiting the water, I am in a hypersensitive state going from a swimming trance like rhythm to now standing upright bringing a rush of blood to the head. Pulling my earplugs out, I can hear the crowds, taking my goggles off my eyes start to adjust and I stagger off and onward toward transition.

Entering the T1, I call out my number 1708. I sit down in the tent and put on my shoes & helmet, place my goggles & cap back in the bag and I'm off observing this is a faster transition than anyone else in the tentdoing crazy things like drying off or doing anything other than a simple execution of the bare minimum.

The day continues with an impressive bike course that winds past some of the world's most famous Kentucky Derby horse country. For me, the bike course is my strong leg where I'm really in the zone executing. The first portion is picking off the fast swimmers and re-grouping for the most part with fellow competitors I deem as fast on the bike. Although the elevation high is 1,000 feet, the whole course is rolling climbs going up and down for 112 miles of rollers. Half way through the bike course I am making great time averaging 20 mph. At this point, the heat & humidity set in and I start to notice really fit people dropping out, dehydrated on the side of the road. Luckily, I had absolutely executed my nutrition plan taking in Odwalla bars, gew & fluid. Those who were on the side of the road were the fastest swimmers & bikers just in front of me who let lack of nutrition plus humidity lead to a crash. I did sense some dehydration on the bike as my mind second guessed me on the second loop thinking it was a third, finding sites on the side of the road all too familiar.

After completing the second loop on the bike, the line back to town was against the wind where time trial aerodynamics have the advantage. I'm on a road bike so my average pace going back did fall to 17/18 mph, plus this is the portion when I started thinking about preparing the legs in a gear suited for the marathon to follow.

Entering the T2, I call out my number 1708. I sit down in the tent and put on my run shoes, placing my helmet and bike shoes back in the bag and I'm off, a fast transition keeping my routine to the bare minimum.

Heading out on the marathon I knew this not only is the hardest portion but the heat & humidity will change my ideal race into plan b, survival mode. Come to find out, 36% of the pro field who finished the swim did not finish and dropped out during the bike or run leg. Only 5 pro's ran a Boston Qualifying time of sub 3:15. Those 5 with the ability to race in the heat are pure machines, for the remainder, doing the marathon in the heat & humidity was pure survival.

The bible says, run with patients the race that is set before us. In the blistering sun, relentless humidity and radiant heat off the pavement I knew at the start this marathon it was going to be the hardest thing I have ever done and I would have to bull thorough it. My plan was to rest more frequently to cool down so I would walk the aid stations and run in between. As the day went on, every single mile had a really good athlete faster than me dangerously overheated with an ambulance and IV at the side of the course. The thought of dehydration hung over all of us.

And so the day went, I treated myself to walking the rest stops then running in between. Each time I set off after an aid station, the heat came flooding back raising my core temperature, heartbeat and all signs of dehydration setting in. A person suffering dehydration experiences several progressive stages: muscle contractions, a distorted sense of time & distance, heaviness in movement, weariness, illogical decisions and everyone around me was suffering these symptoms. My response to everyone suffering due to the extreme heat and humiditywas don't worry about what you can't control, move forward and take on what's next and for us it was finding a moment of shade or glimpse of that next aid station that drove us to press on. Winning is doing the best you can with what your given and today I am leaving nothing on the course as I move forward through the Louisville city streets acutely aware of each step, wiping burning sweat from my eyes and surviving the elements with a smile.

By the time I reached the last mile, the 25 prior seemed like a remote memory. In the distance, the amplified announcements, the music, the crowds all combine to fire up my adrenaline. I had reached the finishline celebration at Fourth Street Live and achieved a defining part of my life as the announcer said "Joshua Hickey, Visalia CA, YOU ARE ANIRONMAN!". I had instantly transformed from a person surviving to a person now thriving in the transformation of crossing the Ironman finishline for the very first time. Looking beside me, it was magical to see everyone who truly endured something similar. As take away from such an event, this is my favorite quote: "What you get by achieving your goalsis not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

Good luck to all those reading this post race report and embrace the journey in pursuit of life's goals.

Climb to Kaiser 2010

Post Race Recap: 6/26/2010 Climb to Kaiser

The Climb to Kaiser is an epic ride that starts and ends in Clovis, CA. The ride goes from the valley into the Sierra National Forrest with an absolute elevation gain of over 8,000 feet. This is more than any top bike ride in the continental US. Kaiser Pass, the highest point of the ride, is reached via six different climbs but just to mess with you they throw in three small climbs on the way back creating a strange sense of going up hill both ways around Huntington Lake. It took me 12 hours to complete the 155 mile, 13,900 foot of elevation gain climb! Its the phycoligical stuff you contend with spending a twelve hour day on the road.

3:30 am the alarm goes off. We rented a cabin at Shaver so I slept at high elevation and have an hour drive to the start in Clovis. I enjoyed a cup of coffee with my sponsors Odwalla bar to put food in me first thing for fuel. For the drive, I also had an Odwalla superfood drink.

5:30 am the race starts. Along with my friend Kevin we follow the CVC jerseys pulling the peleton and remain toward the front of the pack. We fly through town around 24 - 27 mph. The head of the pack whips it around corners to break up the pack but by popping an interval out at race pace around each corner, you get to recover in the slipstream during each straight away. Kevin asks me if the start seems slower this year, I reply no, your just faster.

Mile 23 we enter the foothills and begin the Wildcat Climb & Burrough Grade. At this point, Kevin sends me off as the pack riding together on the flats breaks up on the hills. The first group consist of about a dozen and I find myself in the second group taking turns leading pulls.

Mile 40 the next two climbs (really one long climb), Tollhouse Grade and Pine Ridge Grade, lead up to Shaver Lake/Hwy 168. During this climb I catch the back wheel of several CVC jerseys and pushed my threashold to eventually max out just in time for the Shaver Lake rest stop. Fortunately this was the point of the ride where my brother Luke meet me to pace with for the climb.

Mile 58 Big Creek Climb (steep & winding) gains 2,000 feet of elevation in less than 4 miles and leads to Huntington Lake. The average grade of this climb is 10 percent, the worst half-mile grade is 15 percent, and the steepest grade is 20 percent!

Mile 72 Huntington Lake Bear Cove (lunch). Up to this point, at each rest stop I have consumed a V8 and refilled my bottles, one with pertepium and the other with heed. However, my brother knows me too well and from going out hard, he notices that I am a little faded "like Davey Jones Locker" so we stop and have a sandwich for lunch which makes me feel much better.

The last major climb winds up Kaiser Pass, Mile 82. This is an out an back so on this road you get to see the fastest rider gracefully hugging the corners on their descent.

Mile 90, completing the loop around Huntington Lake on 168 is a kick in the moral with three final climbs before proceeding on the treacherous mountain roads for a 35 mile descent. As you hug the corners on this route, your in between trucks hauling boats and vivid sierra vista cliffs and mentally must be 100% alert, its a hair raising descent.

Mile 116 Eventually the route leaves Highway 168 and continues on Auberry Road all the way back to the outskirts of Clovis. Back in the Valley it gets hot. The valley in the afternoon is substantially hotter than the cool sierra's so those electolyte pills I consumed at the last rest stop are going to work. I pair up with one other rider to take turns pulling and the interval sets on rollers and flats feel so good to what I am used to that we pass several riders who deem as downhill freaks.

Mile 142 is the Millerton Store providing the infamous popsicle for anyone contending with the heat. Not me, I transitioned through this stop in minimal time.

Mile 155 and I am finished at the Alta Sierra Middle School. As difficult as this climb is, the rest stops made all the difference in the world and its amazing the endurance you can sustain for hours when they keep feeding you. At each rest stop, I was meet by a Fresno Cycling Club volunteer asking what do you need, can I get you ice, soda, hammer strength which was outstanding support. Each of the 300 participants on this ride have a passion for cycling and curiosity to test ones self. After all, life should be an adventure and for me this 12 hour bike ride was of epic.

Train Like the Pros, Race Your Way Into Shape

Sometimes, training only makes you better at training and when races results are in, all the training in the world did not yield your new PR. Instead of trying out the latest and greatest new training regimen, sign up for more B races and race your way into shape. I got this idea from cyclist competing in the Tour de France, many of which use the classics and other European tours to race their way into shape. Accept your first race of the year as starting point then continuously improve each subsequent race. Instead of always tapering like you would for an A – top priority race, treat your B – lower priority races the same on your weekly schedule for a typical training long day. On your training plan, make your long days fall on a Sunday so they can be easily swapped out to either do that long run/ride or race instead. A training race pace can attempt to simulate situations but one needs to race for real to get into the appropriate race rhythm. After all, doing race pace work for intervals does not add up to a five hour half or eleven hour full Ironman where you reach within to throw out what others say and find your own personal race pace inside. This year, 18 weeks prior to Ironman I raced Wildflower 70.3 to get re-acquainted with what a T2 race pace brick should feel like and I will be racing Kaiser to make an investment in 155 miles and 13,500’ of strength training.

My Wildflower Checklist

Camping Items

☐shoulda ☐woulda ☐coulda

Swim Items

☐ Anti-Fog Solution☐ Body Glide☐ Cap☐ Ear Plugs☐ Goggles☐ Wetsuit

Bike Items

☐ Bike☐ CO2 Accessories☐ CO2 Cartridge☐ Cycling Shoes☐ Floor Pump☐ Helmet☐ Spare Tube☐ Sunglasses☐ Tire Levers☐ Water Bottles☐ Bentobox ☐ Rubberbands ☐

Run Clothing Items

☐ Hat☐ Running Shoes☐ Socks ☐ Flip Flops/Sandals☐ Warm Clothing ☐ Head Light/Flash Light☐ Race Number Belt☐ Towel for Transition Area☐ USAT Card☐ Ipod