Restarting a broken engine

Okay, long story short.  I re entered he race today for another Deca.  No promises but I just couldn't leave without giving it my all.  Lots of complications from before but I will work through those problems.  I just couldn't let it go.  No promises, all I can do is try.

Just finished my first day, it was a good day but it is calling for rain tommorow and the bike course turn around is the church.  They have 2 services, so the traffic will be Evan scarier than usual.
It very hard to start an engin that has been shut down for repairs for nine days.  The engine iss still not repaired but we must turn it back on and ask for it to perform at top speed.

I never make anything easy in my life.

Licking my wounds

Did not race today, stayed in bed.  Walking is difficult so doing another day seems out of the question.  My feet will need some recovery to get the swelling and inflammation down.  Had lots of time to reflect today, some times that's good sometimes that's bad.  I'm happy with the fact that I know I couldn't go another day today, unhappy with the fact I couldn't go another day today.

The swim was easy to do every day, the first five days of the bike course where pure hell, then they changed the course which was still difficult and challenging but I was getting used to it and did not dread it anymore.  The run is another beast of its own.  They had you going the same wy for the first six days which really put pressure on you feet.  Everyone had blisters all over there baby toe.  I suggested the change it to the other way.  Next day it was changed.  Now they are opting to alernate it every other day.  This race was so unorganized from the beginning.  It's day 12 and slowly improvements are being made.  Too late for the people who came before.  If my feet where not swollen I would be still going.  It's amazing to me that we can push ourselves to that level.

I obviously made some mistakes and could have done better, I should be pleased with 11 Ironmans in a row on a monster of a course, but the truth is, I'm disappointed.
Everyone is very kind and has nice things to say but I will always be my own critic.  My 26year old roommate is still on the course.  His wife and mother in law arrived today, which will uplift his spirits.  We got along really well and became immediate friends.  I'm happy for him but also jealous that he is still going and I am not.

Some of the guys that dropped out earlier are re entering the race at different times and date.  It all started out being how many consecutive date could you compete.  Now some are seeing how many can they finish in 30 days.

Just can't let it go

Okay, by now you most likely figured out that I raced day 11.  Yes I said I was going to quit at 10 but the guilt was eating me up.  I have been slowly walking the marathons which get me home at 3 in the morning.  Swim starts at 7, so not a lot of sleep.  My pad broke on my airbags today.  The screw is broken inside.  Hope they can fix it because I use the bats a lot on this course.

It's my sons 25 birthday tommorow.  Happy birthday MacKenzie.

Miss everyone there and I'm sure you have thought that I've lost my marbles.  Not so much lost them, I'm just rearranging them.got my feet stuck in a speggetti bowl full of ice.  Trying to relieve pressure.

It's time to pull the plug

I would first like to thank all my great friends, office mates and others that have touched my life.  I appreciate all the kind words and the motivation that you sent me.
I am grateful to my wife and family who continually sacrifice our quality time so I can pursue things that they don't understand.  I am truly blessed.

So you most likely gather today was not a stellar day.  My feet are so swollen I had to cut my bike shoes.  I walked the whole marathon in bare feet.  It's 3:20 and I just got done.  My ankle is huge and I have a shint splint on the other.  My body has found a way of getting my attention.  I promised everyone I wouldn't push my limits, I have came dangerously close to ignoring everything and proceeding on.  My son gave me a Quote from the Ontario Lotery, it says... Know your limits and play within it.

I'm hoping to struggle for one more day just to say I got to ten.

I was happy I got to wear my kick ass BDM Millwrighting.  Thanks Jim.

It's hard for me to not to accomplish what I set out to do.  This one feels like the goal post constantly got changed and even though I accepted it I was not willing to conform..  

Lonely days and lonely nights

Day eight is finished.  It was around 12:45 before I was done.  Yesterday's night was also long because I stopped to have a massage after my bike and have my foot taped.  I alo had another on round 10:30.  When I cam out the guy asked I had been.  I must have fallen asleep.  I was over an hour.  That just made the night even longer.

I am know unable to run, I walked the whole thing.  Don't know how much longer I can continue at this pace.  It also poured buckets yesterday.  It just continues.

On a good note, my body has finally decided that it is aware that this is going to continue.  It has stopped fighting back and reluctantly performs.  I'm hoping my foot will improve if I don't run on it for a while.

My brain obviously isn't functioning at full capacity.  It's just in survival mode.  One of the crews sister is. Called, Patty, but I have called her Peggy and Penny and other names.  Focusing is difficult.

Hopefully day nine will have a silver lining.  I'm really looking for one.

And on the 7th day God said ye shall walk

And that's exactly what we had to do.  A marathon is tough but a marathon walk is unrelenting.  My Achilles is pretty well fried at the moment.  I have it taped up and I'm icing it but it still has to be dragged 42 kms either way.

The food has improved and I've managed to sweet talk some of the other crews for extra stuff.  It's never going to be easy but I knew that going in.

It's 1:30 in the morning and I just finished, I have to be awake at 5:55 so it's lights out for me.

Who is that in the mirror

Just got done day six.  I'm trying to hold onto a 16 hour day but that's getting tougher and tougher.  My roommate has decided to sleep on the message table rather than come home.  He has been finishing around 1;30 or so.  By the time he gets home and come back its not a lot of sleep.

I had a shower and looked in the mirror, this skinny rough looking old dude was staring at me.  I'm gonna need a spa day when I get done.

Another person dropped out today, almost half the field have left.  The all have done Ironmans before and other ultra events.  They have never seem one as tough as this.

My Achilles' tendon is swollen and really hurts.  I had to walk much of the marathon today, it takes forever.  One a good note, every time another one drops out there is more food to go around.

Time to go to work

Mornings are tough thing around here, they come far too quick.  I set the alarm so I don't have a mad rush.  Still have to drive to the race site and set everything up.

My roommates wife is coming on Wednesday, he has been emailing her with a list of fattening dream foods.  I never knew how much food meant when there isn't enough or the stuff the have is crap..

Hoping for an uplifting day today.  Need something to keep me focused.

Helen, I plastered your butt paste all over my ass last night.  It is looking quite nasty down there.

Day 5and still alive

It's hard to believe that you can go to bed at 1 and get up at 6 and complete another ironman.  I think we may have had two more drop out today.  These guys do the ultra curcuit all the time and they have never seen a bike course like it.  It trashes your legs..  Wore my new Smith Cycle jerseyesterday, it looked pretty sweet and I noticed people chewing it out.  It happens to be the same colour of my race number.  Loved the picture with my well chosen words of inspiration from everybody.  How things come back to haunt you.

A car came so close tome that it left a smudge of dust on my black shorts.  That was an eye opener.
My brand new bike aero bars broke again.  The screw was sheared off.  Thank god for duct tape, last time it went on my ass, this time on the bike.

Just a weird observation, there toilets are just a whole in the ground,  if I bend down I may not be able to get back up.  They don't even have grab bars.  I risk falling in the whole every time I use the bathroom.

My Spanish roommate didn't make it last night.  He only had one hour sleep the night before and he was suffering.

Okay light out, need sleep.

Day four is done

What can I say, another hard day and the same hilly bike course.  Someone is testing me. We spend an extra 2 or so hours doing the hill repeats everyday, that means you have less time for the marathon which means late nights with little sleep.

My one roommate is Spanish and speaks little English.  He was tring to explain something to me but I couldn't understand.  He pulls down his pants ans his ass is red like a baboon.  One of the competitors  brought there wife and baby.  He asked them if he could use one of their diapers.   It's amazing how determined everyone is even with all the obstacles.  He also didn't finish til 5 am this morning, he got one hour sleep.  Speaking of which I have to go to bed.

Sorry it's short but I'm exhausted.

Time to put on the clown shoes

Pat Bobier ordered an E wide mans shoes by mistake.  She have them to me, they do look unportional but suit my feet just fine now.  Yes, my feet are jacked up, sort of expected it but not so soon.

Found out that one of the few helpers was hit by a car yesterday directing traffic.  Today's bike course was changed to minimize accident.  We are doing a 1 k loop with two bigs hills in it.   This is repeated 90 times.  Somebody said its 5000 feet of climbing.  Everyone's bike time went up an extra hour because of this.  I'm tired of going with the flow this was not in the program I signed up for.  7 people have already dropped out, the one guy has a broken leg from Monday and he still swam, biked and finished the marathon last night.  He dragged him and his leg for the whole 42kms.

I have made friends with a fellow Brit, we run well together and have formed an alliance or friendship.  Super nice guy, his name is Steve Harvey.

There is a stark difference from my last race in Italy.  Food was plemtiful and delicious.  Most of us are complaining about being starved to death.  In the morning they give you a small ass coffee and a croissant.  It's barely unsought to feed a bird.  We are on the course at 7:30 til 12:30, lunch is basically a Miccellinas frozen dinner.  It's small and taste like crap.  It almost feels like we are being used as some experiment to see how far you can push the human body and mind after depriving it of everything that you were told to expect.

It's 1:19 and I'm literally exhausted.  I think that this is going to turn nasty.

There is carnage everywhere you look

Two guys yesterday had accidents on the road, it was stinking hot then it rained.  I went head over my bike with my feet still clipped in and the bike following me.  The fil crew got it all on tape.  Carbon fibre brake pads don't work we'll when it's raining.  My shoulder isvrealmsore but it was more my pride.  The bike course is hear hell.  I would sell my soul for a granny gear on my bike.   My bike has not seen the big ring once.  It is draining, Italian car and small streets are not a good combination.   There are no signs saying bike race, no one at intersection, it's madness.  Today they put two volunteers at the worst intersection.  Oh and by the way, it wine making season.  Do you know how many tractors are on the road.  Yesterday I got off the bike a few times, I had a massage, I had lunch and I had to go to the bathroom two times.  No port a potty at the turn around, you have to go down a hill to the water park, then come back up with your bike.  I tried to stay more focused on the bike today, but its kicking my ass.  My left foot really hurt on the bike today.  i checked the pedal and cleat.  a big part of plastic is misjsing from the cleat, most likely from my fall.  my foot keeps sliding to the right.  thank god i brought another pair.  cant get to them today.  It's all I can due to finish it.  They said they may change the bike course because of its difficulty and it was advertised as a flat course.

Day two begins, it's like 95 degrees and humid.  My clothes are wet from the air.  I bet you I drank 15 bottles on the bike and only pissed out a small teacup all day.  One guy is out and another girl is laying on the ground severely dehydrated.  Others are suffering, it's was a tough day.   There was another bike crash with a car today.

My big toe and the one beside it are already black.  I have a blood blister on the side of my baby toe.  It's larger than the toe.
It 12:21 and I have to.be up early, can't talk anymore.

Let the games begin

Went to the press conference today and got some clarification on some missing details.  They have done a great job reorganizing everything on such short notice.  After the meeting we had a swimsuit fashion layout for a Italian sports magazine.  Don't worry I wasn't in a speedo, actually they wanted you to wear your wetsuit and everyone went individual.  They had cameras lighting and bid umbrellas and other stuff.  They took around 15 minutes with every athlete.  Unfortunately it is 31 degrees today and standing in line in a full wetsuit was crazy.  I decided to borrow another guys wetsuit top then I put on my jammers and that was more comfortable.  When it was my roommates turn I told him they were going to get out the wind machine.  He is 26, tall and has what I have always wanted.  Long flowing hair.   We also got interviewed for a documentary that they are doing on Endurance athletes.  They asked unusual questions but I guess we are an unusual bunch.
I also had to check in with medical, he spoke no English and I was happy I didn't have to bend over.  He did a bunch of guys before me, then he hooked electrodes to my feet and hands.  It measures muscles mass, body fat and a whole lot of other things.  We will get results on Monday, I'm assuming they will use those for a baseline. When I got off the table he did an Incredible Hulk pose and said very good in a broken English.  That put a smile on my face.

We drove the bike course and I got to tell you it is full of rollers and small climbs that must be repeated 30 times each day.  I still don't know how two cars and a bike are going to co exist.  This is going to worry me until I'm too exhausted to care.  It's so weird, everyone spent the summer talking about compact cranks, special gearing and whatnot.  I stayed out of all those  situations and didn't want anything to do with hill training.  I was actually smug about it.  Now I am faced with the exact thing I tried to avoid all year.

I plan on rocking the tuxedo bike shirt tommorow.  It's a tradition for me.  I plan on taking tommorow slow and measure out my efforts over the course of the next 30 days.  I really don't know what to expect over the course of this race.  Remember, I only started running again last month and 10 k has been my distance.  Tommorow I need to do 42k after the 3.8k swim and the 180k bike.  That's going to be a big ask for my body and my ankle.  My goal right now is just to make it to the end tommorow.  I will worry about the rest later.

How do you eat an elephant.....   I bite at a time.

I must learn to embrace change

Typically the only time I like change from a pre designed script is when I am the one doing the change and somehow it benefits me.   This is not the case this time.  Everything has been turned on its head and the only constant theme is that things will continue to change.  I had prepared myself for flat closed circuit course for the bike.  It is now a rolling 6kloop on the crazy roads of Italy.  A couple of rollers over the course of 6kms doesnt sound too bad, know repeat those rollers 30 times over the course of a day, sounds very difficult to a guy who comes from flatland.  I'm always astonished when we are driving in a car and another car comes toward us, how will they both fit, seems impossible but somehow it happens.  Now add a bicycle to that equation, I'm getting real nervous.  I practiced swimming in a lake with a wetsuit, now we are in a pool.  The original race was suppose to be at a 5 star golf course with hot tub, spa and 2 athletes in a delux apartment. I am now in the countryside at sort of a medieval farm sharing space with 6 athletes.  It's very Tuscan like and very Rustic.  It would great in a brochure or a post card.  It has huge wooden doors, arches everywhere, stone floors and im expecting a farm animal to come round the corner at any time.  It's definetly better than the tent I was staying in last time around but it is a far cry from a resort.  I'm sure that after I start the race all this change will be insignificant at that point

We did go out last night for pizza and wine, today we went for lunch in the countryside in the back yard of a restaurant that was surrounded by huge amounts of Rosemary, Sage, Parsley and other herbs.  All appeared on my plate in some form or another.  It's fun talking to the other guys and swapping stories about our adventures.  My friends think I'm crazy but in this crowd I'm considered timid and the non craziness out of us all.  I must remember that all the atmosphere of Italy and the charm of the cobble streets and outside chafes will all disappear after Sunday.  Right now I feel like I'm on vacation and I get to enjoy everything that old world Italy has to offer.  Tommorow they have the opening banquet where they fatten you up prior to impending doom..

My roommate is 26 years old and his name is Himey, he has never done a Deca before and he decided to sign up for the Triple.  And you call me crazy, he actually bought a recumbent bike in order to protect the well being of his junk.  Obviously he wants to have children in the future.
Another guy in myapartment is   Lorenzo, he knows his way around a bike and took pity on me when he seen me scratching my head on how to put my bike back together again.  Matt from the bike shop put something on the stem to protect it.  I didn't realize that it was not a part of the bike and was perplexed why my bars wouldn't go back on.  He speaks no English but he reassembled my bike in record time.

The weather is 27 degrees but it is unbelievably humid and hot.  My t shirt is constantly wet from sweat.  I also forgot to mention there is no air conditioning in my accommodations however I do have a stone fireplace in the living area and in the kitchen.  My wife tried to tell me to take soap, shampoo and essentials with me.  I told her that they would have them in my room. Wrong,  when will I learn just to shut up and listen.

My new motto is that one should learn to embrace change, it all goes back to Ying and Yang

Venue and Accommodations have changed drastically

A few days before leaving I received an email saying that everything was changing and it would be more of a challenge.  We are no longer swimming in the lake, we are no longer staying at a luxury resort, we are no longer in Kansas anymore.  Did I also mention that we are no longer on a flat bike or run course.  Just #%^%*%^# dandy.
I am going to try and send some pictures to my blog.  Unfortunately because I'm in Italy, all the language on the computer has changed to Italian.

Here we go again

Some of you may have followed me in my last adventure 10ironmansin10daysitalianstyleblogspot.com
Your support and comments made my trip a memorable one and helped immensely.

I actually thought that I was done with this type of race but somehow I got caught up in the idea of a new challenge and the lure of a new location in Italy.  If they thought I was crazy before, what are they thinking now.  Before I would try to defend my insanity, now even I have more questions than answers. 
Right now everyone is asking me how I feel and am I ready.  My answer today is much different than what it was a year ago when I signed up for this event.  A lot has happened over the course of a year, I lost both my brother and father to cancer.  My sister has health issues she is dealing with and I have had a lot of heath and personnal obstacles that I have had to deal with.  Am I doing this race to help deal with my issues or am I doing this race to avoid my issues.  That is the real question.  Despite all of this I have decided to do the race.  Am I worried about this adventure  Hell Yes, it scares me to death but I have bought my ticket and its time to put up or shut up.
My biggest fear is disappointing everyone that is watching me.  Everyone says just do your best but I feel the pressure.