July 31st - Justin Schettini, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

My goal has been met, my dream has been realized.  The voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly, called my name (he didn't butcher it as bad as I thought he would) as I came down the finish chute and as I crossed the line he declared that I had become an Ironman.

I had seen the emotion of the finish line as a spectator last year, and as a spectator got choked up for those that realized their goal as they crossed the finish.  As the clocked ticked closer to midnight the crowd grew larger, louder and increasingly shared in the emotion of the final finishers as well as those that fell short of the official cutoff.  I will say that the feeling that I experienced crossing the line myself was immeasurably greater than anything I had expected.  As the run miles (slowly) ticked by and the finish became closer I knew in the back of my mind that I was going to finish, and finish well.  However, I would not let myself believe it and I did all I could to suppress the emotion until I descended the final hill towards the finish chute on the Olympic Oval.  Once I saw Kelly and her tears of joy, my own started to flow.  Having my family at the event to share in this accomplishment was critical to finishing the event.  I don't know how people finish these events without family or friends there to cheer them on an offer encouragement.  I will post some photos of me looking like a whipped dog at the finish as soon as I get them from Kelly's phone and Nathan's camera.  Until then here is a pic of a couple of stickers that I can't wait to display:

While finishing any Iron distance event is an accomplishment, the first one will always be special.  As sappy as it sounds, it is a very personal journey in which you learn more about yourself physically, mentally and emotionally than you can imagine.  To overcome a major injury makes it that much more special and emotionally fulfilling.  Most people think triathletes are crazy for swimming, biking and running any distance in a single day.  When they find out what the distances are for Ironman their suspicions are confirmed, and when they find out that I went against the wishes of my surgeon they think I should be committed to an institution.  I learned more about what my body and mind can handle from this experience than probably anything else in my life, and because of that I was able to protect my reconstructed knee during training and on race day.  I did not feel a single twinge of pain throughout the entire event.  Yes, there is some swelling and soreness in these days following the event but even my good knee is showing the same signs.  I am still enjoying the incredible feeling of accomplishment while I rest and recover.  It will still be another week and a half or so until I shift my focus to preparing for Ironman Florida in November which will be an entirely different emotional experience because I will be participating in that event with two of my very close friends that helped introduce me to the sport and prepare me for Lake Placid.

Here is a brief breakdown of how the days leading up to Ironman Lake Placid and the race itself played out:

Friday 7/26 - Arrive in Lake Placid:  The town was already packed with athletes and their families and there was a party atmosphere in the air.  I checked in to the race, got a pretty nice Ironman book bag (that I refused to use until the race was over - didn't want to jinx myself), and then checked into the ridiculously over-priced Comfort Inn.

Saturday 7/27 - Our wedding anniversary, 11 years!: Spent the morning sorting through my gear and getting my bike stickered for bike check in.  Checked the bike in later that afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing and going over my nutrition and run plans.  Went to bed early and actually slept pretty well until 2am.

Sunday 7/28 - RACE DAY:  Up early to eat, shower and get my head right.  Headed to body marking and transition at 5am for one last bike prep and on the swim start at 6:15.  After a short swim warm up I lined up on the shore ready to get the longest workout of my life under way.

Swim: Although I have done quite a few swims in open water, this one freaked me out.  My heart rate spiked, I couldn't catch my breath and I swallowed more Mirror Lake water than I care to think about.  I was seriously panicked for the first few hundred yards and swam with my head up.  Thoughts of missing the swim cutoff definitely crossed my mind.  I was able to calm myself and settle into a good rhythm for the remainder of the swim.  At one point, Andy Potts the eventual race winner, was swimming right next to me on his second lap.  I finished the swim in 1:28:22, which is pretty good for me.

Bike:  My transition was pretty slow (12+ minutes), but that was because I walked most of the nearly quarter mile from the swim exit to the transition tent.  My plan on the bike was to ride the first lap conservatively and save energy for the second lap and the run.  The bike was mostly uneventful except for the ludicrous speeds attained on the 7 mile descent from Lake Placid to Keane.  My hands and butt cheeks were cramped on the first lap from being on the brakes.  The course is the most scenic I have ever ridden and the hills over the last 11 miles are brutal.  Lap number two was definitely more difficult and even though I was able to descend faster this time around I had a pretty good scare when a wind gust blew me across 2 lanes and almost into oncoming vehicle traffic.  The "3 Bears" climbs this time around were especially tough.  My nutrition plan held together well and I followed it the best I could.  I found myself stopping at aid stations for a quick stretch, a pee break and to top off my bottles pretty frequently.  This race was about finishing so I wasn't worried about losing time to much.  My bike split was 7:33:02 with an average of 14.4mph.

Run:  Transition #2 was a bit better at 5:43.  As I headed out on the run I felt much better than I thought I would and I knew that my nutrition and hydration plan was working.  I had to remind myself to stick to my 6 minute run / 4 minute walk intervals because I was feeling so good.  I was able to follow this plan for about 18 miles, and as I started to get tired I adjusted to 5 minutes running to 5 minutes walking.  I did make the mistake of not drinking enough at the run aid stations so I was starting to feel a bit dehydrated for the last 6 miles or so.  I adjusted to a ratio of 2 minutes / 2 minutes to carry me through the last miles and had to resist the urge to run when I was in town among the enormous crowds.  This carried me to a 5:16:36 marathon and a total Ironman Lake Placid finish time of 14:36:40.

Now for the most important part of this post, and really this whole journey.  As I said before, Ironman is a very personal journey, and while the training and racing hours involve spending a lot of time alone, there is no way to get through it without a solid support crew of friends and family.  A simple thank you is not enough to express my gratitude to the following people who made this possible:

Eddie Kirk, Ironman Florida finisher - Thanks for keeping me in check, reminding me to rest and for reminding me of the real reason we do this.  I'm looking forward to continuing our training rides/runs and can't wait for IMFL 2013 brother.

Shaun Dailey, Ironman Florida finisher - Thanks for the tips and sharing your personal Ironman journey with me. It helped and inspired more than you know.  Let's get after it with Eddie for IMFL 2013...love you buddy!

Ben Madden, Ironman Lake Placid / Arizona finisher; Xterra racer - Thanks for the advice and helping me get into the sport.  I'm ready for us to do a race together and I think that HITS race sounds like a great idea.

Darrell Hynson, Multiple Ironman finisher, 2x Kona finisher - Thanks for the swimming tips those first few days in the pool.  You might not realize how close I was to giving up.  The sage advice you have given me has been invaluable and I hope that I can learn even more from you soon.

Nathan and Cindy Hempel, bro-in-law & sis-in-law; personal paparazzi and cheering section - Thanks so much for coming all that way, paying all that money and standing around for hours to see me for all of 30 seconds.  Cindy, the signs were awesome and I did laugh when I saw them.  Nathan I can't wait to see the pics you were able to take.

Vince and Christine Schettini - Dad and Chris, thanks for putting up with me.  I know that feels like an endurance sport in itself.  I'm so glad that you could share this with me and I hope that the memories you have of this event are as awesome as mine.  Love you guys!

Amanda Schettini, NY training partner; sis - Skipper, thanks for sharing in this with me.  Also, thanks for the punishing training ride we did just 4 days before the event!  I know I keep bugging you to sign up for that Greene County Tri, but I know that you will love it!  Can't wait to ride/run with you again soon.

Kelly Schettini, IRONWIFE - Living with me is never easy.  Thank you for keeping me on track with my training plan, and for picking up the slack when I was putting in long hours training.  Your encouragement when I was feeling discouraged about my knee or perceived lack of progress got me through some pretty rough patches.  Thank you, and I love you more than you know.  Now it's your turn!

July 16th - 21st - A little hiatus

I have been in Minneapolis visiting my college roommate for the last five days.  It was a much needed mini-vacation before the big event, which is a just a week away.  The nervousness is beginning already.

While I was up there I made sure to offset the great food experiences we had with a few workouts, just to make sure I stayed active.  Of course, the alcohol ban was lifted temporarily as well, but I was pretty well behaved and nursed just a few drinks. Since we went to some of the best and highest rated bars and restaurants in Minneapolis I just had to partake.

Since I am in my taper, my workouts are pretty easy and not very long.  Just to keep it simple, here is what I did while I was away:

Wednesday - 1 hour treadmill run, 6 miles
Thursday - 45 minute run around Lake of the Isles, 4+ miles
Friday - Pool swim, 1000 yards and easy mountain bike ride, 10 miles
Saturday - 32 minute run around Lake of the Isles, 4 miles - this was a my first continuous run in which I did not run/walk.  This may have been a little ambitious because I am a bit sore today.

Tomorrow I will have my last PT session before the race and will be focusing on packing and getting everything ready for the trip.

July 15th - Back on schedule

Today I was able to get back to my regularly scheduled programming.  I had a good short swim this morning of 1500 yards.  My pace was pretty good, as I am trying to keep my intensity elevated but my duration shortened. 

The swim was the only major workout planned for today.  After the swim I headed upstairs for a leg workout.  I am still in knee rehab mode when it comes to strength work so although I increased the weight a bit last week, I am still focusing on low weight and high reps.

I may have to skip my ride tomorrow because I have to help a friend move some furniture and then drop my truck off to have some work done before the trek to NY, so I decided to do a core workout today as well.  If I can squeeze in a ride, either outside or on the trainer, I will.

One of the last things on my list of things to do before race day was to take my bike in one more time to have my new cable tightened.  I did that today and also had them look into a creaking sound that I hear when I go over bumpy pavement.  They tightened a few bolts, but the creak is still there.  I think everything should be OK though.  I did have to tighten one of my aerobar armrests, so I hope that I have that taken care of.  I will be doing a few more rides so I will know before race day if it needs any more attention.  I was also able to clean the chain and cassette and replace my rear tube.  After looking at the front tire and realizing it had some cracks in the rubber I decided to order a new one.  I will put a new tube in that as well when it arrives.

Leg workout:
Extensions - 3x15 (15lbs)
Curls - 3x15 (10lbs)
Calf raises - 3x15 each leg
Squats - 3x15
Lunges - 3x15 each leg

Core:
1 set of 100's
12x25

July 14th - Back to normal. Kind of.

After the training camp that wasn't this weekend, today was a day for me to get back in to my normal routine, while still observing my taper.  Since I skipped yesterday's brick workout, I modified my workout for today to make sure that I got in a run and a ride.

This morning Kelly and I did an hour run.  I noticed that there was a little bit of pain in my knee but it seemed to go away as we continued.  My run/walk ratio is working well and I am hoping that I will be able to stick to it after riding 112 miles.

After church I decided on a 1 hour trainer ride.  This crazy weather was going back and forth between sunny and impending doom, so I thought it would be better to do my work inside while watching the 2012 Ironman World Championships on YouTube for inspiration.    Soon I will have to make some last minute tweaks to my bike.  I am going to put a new tube in each tire, clean and lube it one more time and take it to the Trek store to have my new cable tightened one last time.

One of the things we did talk about while camping was getting all of my gear needs and nutrition plan written down so I can study it and know exactly what I will do on race day.  The last thing I need to do is to lay out the schedule that I will follow in the days leading up to the race so that I will know where I need to be and when I will be need to be there.

Here is what Kelly calls the happy folder of Ironman fun:

July 13th - "Training" camp part 2

Today we were supposed to do another training session at the campsite.  Of course that didn't really happen.  Shaun and I did go out for a 1 mile run at his pace just to see what kind of shape he is in.  He has some time before Ironman Florida but he realizes that he needs to get to work. 

I was thinking about doing a ride when I got home but the weather wasn't cooperating yet again, and Kel and I were getting ready to go to the Toad the Wet Sprocket concert.  Another day of rest isn't a bad thing.

July 12th - "Training" Camp

A couple of friends and I went down to West Point Lake with the purpose of doing a training camp.  I wasn't able to get there until about 5pm so I got in exactly zero training today.  That's OK though because it was a regularly scheduled rest day and if I am not serious about tapering and resting until the big day I could be in for a struggle to get through the race.  Even though the trip was supposed to be about training, it was more about spending time with some friends that have already completed an Ironman event and learning from them.  Both Shaun and Eddie taught me some things that I will need to think about and do to prepare for the race as well as do during the race.

July 11th - Doesn't feel like resting

Since I am in the taper portion of my training, I should be reducing the intensity and duration of my workouts.  I am doing a good job with the intensity part, not so much with the duration. 

I was supposed to do an easy swim of 1800 yards, but ended up going 2300 yards.  I added the extra yardage because I took some very long periods of rest talking with a friend that was at the pool.

Our weather is typical for a GA summer and I was going back and forth between an hour and a half road ride and an hour long trainer ride.  In the end the road ride won, and I headed to the other side of the county to do a late afternoon ride with Eddie.  We rode for about and hour and 45 minutes when all was said and done, and we covered about 28 miles.  The roads out his way are very hilly and are really good preparation for Lake Placid.

Tomorrow was supposed to be a rest day, but instead we are going to make an impromptu training camp trip to West Point Lake.  There we will camp and do some training swims, rides and runs.  I might even lift the alcohol ban for a day and have a beer or 3 with the boys. 

July 10th - That's more like it

Today was a better representation of what my taper should be.  Kelly and I did an hour and a half run this morning.  This might have been a little long so I think I might have to cut back the time on my upcoming run workouts.  We kept a pretty good pace and ended up covering about 8 miles.  This was a little bit slower than usual but as I start my recovery for the race it seemed about right.  Also, I was pretty sore from my experience with the spin class yesterday so I am sure that contributed to my slower run pace today.

This afternoon we were finally able to get out and swim in Lake Peachtree.  We had some rain early in the afternoon, but it didn't last very long.  The water looked quite a bit cleaner than I expected after all the rain we have had in the last few weeks, and fortunately we didn't have to deal with any of the leeches I have been hearing about. I didn't time or measure the swim, but if I had to guess I would say we swam for about 30 minutes and ended up going just a bit under a mile.  This swim was pretty important for me because I have not been in open water since our trip to Lake Wedowee and I wanted to guage my comfort level in the open water.  I felt very comfortable today which was good and set my mind at ease.

After the swim we had hoped to get in a short ride of about 25 miles.  As soon as we headed out the sky got dark and we heard quite a bit of thunder, so we decided to cut it short.  We only rode for about 20 minutes and did a paltry 8 miles.

I have a short pool swim scheduled for tomorrow and if the weather holds I may try to do 25 to 30 mile easy ride, since we had to abort that mission today.

July 9th - Im supposed to be tapering

My PT appointments have dropped to once every other week, and I had an appointment today.  I actually had to cut my swim about 300 yards short so I could there on time.  I swam 1500 yards today at a comfortably increased pace.  I am feeling pretty good about the swim at this point.  Kelly and I are planning on swimming in the lake tomorrow afternoon so we will see how that goes.  And of course that is if the weather cooperates. 

My PT session today went really well again.  She did some more ART on my knee and she told me that there should be an ART tent at the event in case I feel like I need it.  Most of the work today focused on core strength and bike/run range of motion at the hip joint.

I had also planned an hour and a half ride for this afternoon with a friend of mine.  He decided to mix things up a bit and suggest that we go to Atlanta Fitness and do a Group RPM Spin class.  Even though neither of us has ever done a spin class, he talked me into it.  I'm pretty sure the ladies that are regulars in the class put us to shame and make us look like idiots, but it was an awesome workout and after the hour was up I was completely beat.  It was similar to riding the trainer, but having a leader tell us when to increase the resistance and when to stand up on the pedals made it that much better as well as made it harder to slack off.

The last thing on my plan for the day was a core workout.  Since I did some core work at PT, I cut my at home work a couple of sets short:

Core 10x25

July 8th - Last long run

We almost had a full day with no rain.  It didn't start raining until 8pm so I had plenty of time to get in my last long run on my training plan.  I went out for a 2.5 hour run and decided to try intervals of 6 minutes running to 4 minutes walking.  This seemed to work really well and I was able to cover 14 miles.  It looks like this is the ratio I will use in Lake Placid and of course I will modify it if necessary as the race goes on.  I felt really good on today's run, even though it was extremely hot today.  The weather in Lake Placid should be better than here in Georgia, although there is always a pretty good chance of rain at the race.  If anything it will at least be cooler.

I was also supposed to do a core workout today, but since I was tired from the run and it was finally not raining, I decided to cut the back grass and change the oil in my truck instead.  I also made a new mounting system to carry the bikes in the back of the truck for the drive home. 

Tomorrow I have a PT session, and I will do an easy swim and hopefully an easy ride outside if the weather hold.  I will also try to squeeze in the core work that I missed today.

July 7th - Change in plans...again

Today did not turn out the way I planned so I had to shuffle my training schedule again.  Yesterday's brick workout wiped me out pretty good, so the long run I had planned for this morning was originally postponed until the afternoon. 

After church this morning the forecast was pretty much the same it has been for the last week and when we finally left it was already raining.  At that point I decided that the only workout I was going to get in was a swim, so I headed to the Y.  Since I am starting my taper, I only swam 1800 yards, but since the pool was filling up with kids I pushed the pace a little bit.  After that I went upstairs and did my leg strength routine, which I have neglected a bit in the past few weeks.

Tomorrow I will try to find a dry window in the weather to do my last long run of 2.5 hours and hopefully follow that up with a core workout.

Today's leg workout:
Extensions - 3x15 (15lbs)
Curls - 3x15 (10lbs)
Calf raises - 3x15 each leg
Squats - 3x15
Lunges - 3x15 each leg

July 6th - That was tough

We finally got a small break in the rain so I was able to get outside and do one of my last big workouts before the race.  And by break in the rain, I mean it finally wasn't raining that hard, not that it actually stopped raining.

Kelly and I went out for a 3 hour ride this morning that wasn't without a few rain showers along the way.  It was almost enough to send us back inside on the trainers, but as we started to head back to the house from a few miles out the rain let up enough that we decided to stick it out.  We ended up riding just over 50 miles.

After that I went out on a 2 hour run.  This was a bit tougher than I expected today.  It was extremely humid as well as pretty hot.  That is when it wasn't raining.  I tried a new ratio of 7min / 3min for my run today, but I don't think it worked out as well as I hoped because I felt like I was struggling for most of my run.  About halfway through, I adjusted it to 6min / 4min and that seemed to work better.  Tomorrow I have my last long run of 2.5 hours so I will see how that new ratio works.  Hopefully this rain is on its way out as I get into my taper.

July 5th - Oh good, more rain

Today was a rest day and it was a good thing because it is STILL raining.  Its been raining here since Sunday and all of my workouts this week have been forced inside.  I am really hoping to get outside tomorrow for my brick workout.  I have a 3 hour ride followed by a 2 hour run scheduled.  This will be my last big brick workout and Sunday will be my last long run before Lake Placid.

Since I was off and it was raining I thought today would be a good day to get both of our bikes cleaned.  After even a few rides the chain, cassette and derailleurs get full of grease.  I will probably have to clean mine one more time before the race as well as put new tubes in both tires just to be safe.  I want to minimize the possibility of anything going wrong with my bike. 

July 4th - Happy birthday 'Merica

As I get ready to taper as I head into the last 3 plus weeks before the race, I did my last long swim in the pool this morning.  I found another workout in Triathlete magazine that I liked, so I modified it a bit to add some yardage.  The main focus of my 3000 yard swim today was form and technique.  I made a few changes that I have read about and seen in swim videos and noticed an increase in speed and that I did a better job of conserving energy.  My swims up until the race will all be focused on maintaining these new gains.

The rain has still not stopped and is forecast to continue throughout the day.  We will also be heading to a friends house to grill out for the 4th so after I do my at home PT work I will skip my 90 minute ride and call it a day.

July 3rd - Non-stop rain

It has been raining here pretty much non-stop for 3 days.  My next project might be to build an ark for Kel, the animals and me. 

Today was a run day, and since the weather was hit and miss in the morning I ended up going to the Y to do my favorite thing in the whole world...run for an hour and half on the treadmill. (Please read that sentence sarcastically.)  I decided to try a new ratio on the run to see how my knee would respond.  I want to try to figure out how long it is going to take me to run a mile in the race because the aid stations are about a mile apart, and it would be better for my overall pace to hit those aid stations during the recovery walk portion of my intervals.  I tried a 7min/3min ratio and it seemed to work pretty well.  I will still have to see how it works out on the road and possibly try out one or two more options.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am not concerned with how fast I complete the race, just that I actually complete the race.

The weather never got better throughout the day so my scheduled 90 minute ride became a one hour trainer ride with Kelly.  Whenever I ride on the trainer I use it to simulate hills and do hard intervals anytime a set of commercials comes on the TV.

Tomorrow will be my last long pool swim of 3000 yards.  I have a 90 minute ride on my schedule, but because of the forecast and the fact that it is the 4th of July holiday and there is grilling to be done, that ride will most likely be canceled.  

July 2nd - Back on the trainer

It was back to 2 workouts for the day today.  I did another 3000 yard swim this morning but this time I used a workout I found in Triathlete magazine to help break up the monotony a bit.  As my distance in the pool increases it gets more difficult to beat the boredom of swimming laps while staring at a black line on the bottom of the pool.

The weather report for today was a little hit or miss so I decided to do my bike session inside on the trainer.  Trainer workouts are good because I have to constantly work to turn the pedals and I don't get any kind of rest.  I rode for 2 and half hours which actually gives me the same benefit as riding outside for twice as long (at least this is what I have been told by people who know a lot more about cycling than I do).

Tomorrow will be a pretty tough day.  I have a run planned for the morning, and Kelly and I are planning on doing a lake swim followed by a short, hard ride in Peachtree City.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate, because they are forecasting another typical Georgia summer day with probable pop-up thunderstorms in the afternoon.

July 1st - Slacking on my PT work

I almost didn't realize it, but it hit me today that it has been a few days since I have done any of my at home PT work.  My knee has been feeling really good and I have already dropped down to one at home PT session per day.  Full flexion and extension are still a bit of an issue but I am seeing slow but sure improvement. 

Since IMLP is only 4 weeks away it is almost time to taper.  I will have one more hard week and then I will start to really decrease the intensity and duration of my workouts.  In order to save my knee a bit as well I have also decided to reduce Monday to a swim only day.  Weekends are usually two days of hard workouts with a brick on Saturday and a long run on Sunday that giving my legs a rest on Monday seems like a good idea.

I did a 3000 yard swim this morning and it went very well.  I started with a 1000 yard straight swim with my kicking set and a few drills, and followed that up i with a 1000 yard pull buoy set.  I finished up with 10x50 on 15 seconds rest, 3x100 on 1 minute rest and a 200 cool down. 

I finished up the day with some core work, which I have also been neglecting:

Core 14x25

I made one more trip to the Trek store, for a couple of reasons.  Kelly's bike was in for a tune up and a new front derailleur and I needed one last check on a couple of things.  I ended up needing the front hub tightened and a new rear derailleur cable.  My noble steed should be good to go for Lake Placid.  The only thing left to do maintenance-wise is to give it one last cleaning, degreasing and lubing.