Back To Training...

Since Coeur D'Alene I have been forcing my-self to go out and not focus on the training. I was able to completely rest for 6 days post Ironman and have been doing a lot of unstructured biking and swimming because they are low impact and i'm not 100% as of yet. Which is something i learned today: earlier today my dad and i headed out for a run he could only come for 30 min and we were jamming. I kept upping the pace and chasing down people who were further down the trail. I loved every second of it but have realized that i need to really take things easy for the next week. My right calf had totally locked up at the end of the marathon and it still gets tight easily. I have started rolling out again with my Trigger Point stuff which has helped. With all of these injury prevention products and recovery products you really see how much they help when you stop using them for a while. Because my legs were so tight last night and boy did it hurt. My plan is to focus more on running for the rest of the year once i feel i am fully recovered. Thats all the ranting for now, I will send an update in the next week or so. Big things coming up: 8/7 wind tunnel!!!!! and 8/8 Coeur D'Alene Olympic Triathlon (my only DNF ever so i have some serious unfinished business!)

Happy Training/Racing

I am an Ironman….Coeur D’Alene Race Report

First let me just thank any one and everyone that supported me in the past year during my training. I also would like to thank my sponsors for their support.

My trip up to Coeur D’Alene began on Saturday 6/13. My mom and I loaded up the car with my bike and our two dogs. Our trip up the country was very scenic. We arrived in Coeur D’Alene on 6/14 just in time to have a quick dinner in our new home. During my final taper week I was able to do some exploring on the roads that lined the lake, as well as get in a few swims to test the waters.

The final days leading up to the race were a roller coaster of emotions. I had some great moments: interviewing Paul Huddle, participating in the 1^st ever Coeur D’Alene underpants run (I’ll post pictures later), spending some time in our new boat, and hanging out with the Trigger Point Therapy crew. And there were times that I would rather forget about: totally freaking out the day before the race, developing two minor injuries two days out from the race, a few restless nights, and finally our boat not starting race morning which resulted in a hair-raising race in the car, after which I realized that I may be a good rally car driver.

All of this was tuned out race morning as my mindset became focused on the “here and now”, a little tip Paula Newby-Fraser gave me to help manage such a long day. After going through all the last minute checks for the bike and gear I slipped on my Blue Seventy Helix and headed down to the beach. The weather was not on our side for the swim as we had strong winds, which created rough conditions on the swim as well as cold air temperature, but we lucked out in that the water in the lake was in the 60’s. I was able to find my dad and we gave each other some words of encouragement before the gun went off.

The start of the swim at an Ironman event is one of a kind; just to see close to 2,000 people hitting the water at once was amazing. Although it may have been visually appealing having to fight with that many people made the swim a bit difficult as I was never able to find a rhythm because I was constantly having to change direction and push away from other swimmers. At the end of the first lap of the swim I was feeling very fresh with a time of 36 or so minutes, I knew that I was pacing my self well. The second lap was much like the first but I was glad to be coming out of the water at the end of the 2.4-mile swim. Upon exiting the water it was a quick jog to transition and I geared up for a long, cold bike ride.

The air temp was still in the 50’s when I started riding so I had decided to throw on an extra layer along with arm warmers and full finger gloves. Before the race I chatted with Paul Huddle and he stressed that the bike needed to feel easy so I kept it one gear easier than usual. Much of the bike ride went according to plan although I did not plan on having to hit the porter-johns 5 times during the ride. I was able to have a few quick chats with some of my fellow competitors although it seemed that all we talked about was the headwinds and the cold. I came off the bike averaging 17mph, which was right in my target range, and I felt pretty fresh. But things took a huge turn for the worse once I hit transition.

I was in high spirits coming in to T2, but those were quickly squashed when I entered the change tent. As I was putting on my shoes and preparing to head out on the marathon one of the medical staff asked me how I was feeling and as I stood up I got very dizzy. He told me that this was a serious problem and that I needed to take the first few miles easy and eat a lot because I had burned a majority of my caloric stores. He ended his advice with its better to go slow than die. These last words almost scared me to death, during the first 4 miles I was convinced that I was just going to drop dead so I made a point to eat everything I could. The run wasn’t too bad until mile 15 when the fatigue and cold rain started to beat me down. I had started to employ a strategy of walking at every aide station so that I could eat and give my self a mental and physical break. When things got tough I tried to find someone to run with to help distract my mind from the pain. I ended up running with a few great people one of them, Hilary, who was doing her second Ironman after taking a 10-year hiatus after having a few children. Hilary was in good spirits and we paced off of each other and kept one another distracted from the pain. My feet felt like they were going to snap in half at mile 20 but I found that if I ran on the dirt rather than the paved road that I could keep going. When I got to mile 21 I told my self that I could run the final miles in my sleep and that the last mile didn’t even count because it would be a celebration mile.

With 4 miles to go I was hurting pretty bad and was barley able to run, I was just biding my time until I found that motivation to surge into the finish. This came with 3 miles to go, I passed a house that was throwing a party and they were playing some song that really got me moving. I picked up my pace and started rockin towards the finish. No longer was I stopping at aide stations and with each person I passed I went a little faster. At the 24-mile maker I stated to get a little emotional because I realized that I had done it and that all that hard work and dedication in the last year was going to pay off. As I rounded the final corner I could see the finish line about a half-mile away and I could barley keep my emotions in check. In the final quarter mile I passed my mom who was jumping up and down with a sign cheering for me. At this point I started to sprint because I was on cloud nine high-fiving people as I passed. In the finishing shoot I let out the loudest yell I have ever uttered and without thinking shot my arms up in excitement when over the PA I heard “Hunter Reed: YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”

Crossing that finish line is probably the most rewarding experience I can think of, to know that I actually did it. After celebrating with my mom for a bit and having the best piece of pizza I have ever had I went back up the road to watch my dad finish, which he said was the greatest fathers day present he has ever been given. My race was: the best, worst, most painful, nauseating, amazing 13:13 of my life and if given the chance I would do it again, in fact ill do it next year! My dad and I signed up for Ironman Coeur D’Alene 2010, why…..because we’re crazy or we just love a good challenge.

As I fly back to San Diego I will have some time to finally relax for a few weeks before I start training again for my next race (Coeur D’Alene Olympic Triathlon), and might just take advantage of the fact that I turned 21 last month. That’s all for now I will post race pics and splits later in the week. And if you see a young guy hobbling around like an 85 year old at the expo for the San Diego International Triathlon this weekend that’s probably me.

And I will leave you with this quote I heard on an Ironman Video……

“Swim 2.4 miles…….Bike 112 miles……Run 26.2 miles…..Brag for the rest of your life”

Happy Training/Racing!!!

First Posting!

http://triathlon.competitor.com/features/ironman-coeur-d’alene-water-temperature/

Last Week In San Diego Before IRONMAN

These last weeks have been very busy and eventful. I have been really enjoying the time back in San Diego; especially the long rides down PCH with old friends. Ironman CDA is fast approaching and will be here before I know it. I leave for Coeur D’alene on Saturday and will be driving up with my mom and the dogs. We should be arriving on Monday, which will give me time for a short swim before dinner. The nerves are starting to build as the days fade away. There are a lot of last minute items that need to be checked off the list before I head out, my bike is in the shop right now for a full make over.  I hope to post at least 2 more times before race day but you can follow my daily training and triathlon related updates on my twitter account (trihuntertri) or just check out the scrolling updates on the top of this page.

RACE NUMBER 297

Huge Congratulations to Alexis on finishing her first marathon 2 weeks ago, and big ups to Chris Berg for a great showing in Hawaii!

 

Happy Training/Racing

New Job... Old Stomping Grounds

Post Florida 70.3 has been very busy. The night after my race I was a bit too tired to go out for my 21^st, so I had decided to throw a bash after Ironman CdA. I have started getting back into my regular training program after easing back into things post Florida. Today marks my first week working for Triathlete (Competitor Group Inc.) and it has been a blast. I love being immersed in the sport: chances are if you are a pro or in some sort of a triathlon club you have received an email from me some point in the last week. I don’t think it has hit me yet that Ironman Couer D’alene is right around the corner because I have been in anticipation of racing since last summer and its finally here.

            Its been great catching up with some old training buddies and being back in the san diego sun, I was able to crank out a ride up PCH to San Onofre last weekend and will do the same this Saturday.

            A lot is going on this weekend: Alexis will be competing in her first marathon (San Diego Rock N’ Roll), Chris Berg will be kickin A*s and taking names at Honu Half Ironman, and my brother will be graduating form high-school. Best of luck to everyone! Oh and I finally BOOKED A DATE FOR THE WIND TUNNEL 8/

7!!!!! That’s all for now: check out the pics of me goofing around on my training rides this last week.

Happy Training/Racing!

PS if you will be at the Rock N Roll Marathon Expo this friday come swing by the Trigger Point Therapy Booth and say hi.

Race Report

Florida Ironman 70.3 is now in the books and the title reads: Hardest Race Ever! My day began at 4:10 am, had to be up at least 2hrs before the start of my race so that i could eat. After eating my PB&J my dad and i jumped in the car and headed down to Disney World. We got to the race site while it was still dark. After cleaning off the morning dew from my P3 I got my transition area ready to go. With everything set i grabbed my goggles, cap, and Blue Seventy Point Zero 3 and headed over to body marking. During marking the lady asked me how old my race age was and i said 21 (well as of tonight!). I then walked over to the edge of the lake and relaxed and did some stretching. As the waves went off i had one last chat with my dad before hitting the water. My swim seemed to go pretty well no one kicking me in the face, or dunking me under, and i maintained good form. I made my way through the swim and exited the water in 38min, this worried me because that is a slow swim for me in a non-wetsuit race. I later would find out from many people i chatted with after the race that the course was a bit long and they were all 3min off of their target times. I quickly made my way through transition which was one of the longest runs to my bike i've had to do and was off cranking through Disney. The bike seemed to go as planed although i knocked off my speed sensor 1.5 hours into the ride. The course was pretty flat with little wind for the first 40 miles. In the last 16 miles there were strong winds which put the hurt on all of us as we tried to make it into T2. I maintained my position for most of the bike, i dont think i was passed up by anyone in my AG during the whole 56 miles, but i was able to pick a few guys off in the last 1o miles of the ride. Coming into T2 i knew i was in for a world of hurt on the run as it was already in the high 80's with zero wind inside the park. The run course was 3 loops with about 6 miles of trails. As i ran out of transition my legs were feeling great and i think i hit the run course at 3:12 (which was just a bit off of my target as i planed on running a 1:40 which would have brought me in under 5hrs. But i quickly realized that these 13.1 miles of running would be more about survival as the heat was so intense that it completely zapped me of all my energy with in the first few miles. I never was able to get into a good rhythm i had my moments when i was running like i wanted to but there were periods of grueling heat. At every aide station i grabbed ice cold sponges, water, and ice and cooled my body down. I brought 2 flasks of concentrated NUUN with some carbo-pro that i sipped on in the first 2 laps until i ran out. This kept the cramping away for the first 10miles. My first 1.5 laps of the run was a lot of fun as i got to "run" (watch them blow past me) with the Pro men and women. I gave Paul Amey a shout and had a really quick chat with Andrew Hodges (a former UVA Alum). So it looks like my run took me a little over 2hrs which was about 25 slower than i planed on running. I dont have the official results in yet but i estimate that i finished 5:13 which was good enough for 12th place of 85 guys in my age group. But i will update this information when i get it. So i cant complain with my finish given the conditions, although i would have liked to have done better on the run aspect of the race i couldn't ask for a better way to kick off my summer and celebrate my 21st birthday. Now its time to ease back into training for Ironman Couer d'Alene and then hit it hard for a few weeks before beginning my taper for race day! This is shaping up to be a great summer, i will start work at Competitor on 5/20 which looks like it is going to be a blast! My dad posted at time of 5:33 a new PR but 3 min shy of his target time of sub-5:30. I had a great time hanging out with all the people of TP Therapy Crew and really appreciate their support, along with all the other support of my other amazing sponsors! Thats all for now look for an update once things get rolling over at Competitor and i get back in the swing of training.

Happy Racing/Training!!!

Pictures and Exact Race Splits To Follow.

Final Race Splits:

Swim: 38:13 (Div Place 20)

Bike: 2:32:43 (Div Place 8)

Run: 1:57:27 (Div Place 17)

Final Time: 5:13:39

Overall 12 of 62

Summer......Orlando 70.3

So school just wrapped up last week and its great to be finished with school work for a few months. I spent the weekend in Staunton Va with my Grandmother, got to see some great countryside via bike. I am now chilling in the Richmond Airport getting ready to fly down to orlando for my first big race of 09: Ironman 70.3 Orlando!!! I will be in Orlando Monday-Sunday so i will have plenty of time to acclimate to the heat and humidity while i finish up my taper. I am super stoked to do this race as it should result in a fast time as the course is pretty flat. My 09 kit just came in last week at it looks pretty sick: i will be posting some pics later this week. Thats all for now i, will be sending another update mid-week and you can follow my daily updates Via Twitter. Oh and the day after my race will be my 21st birthday so it will be a much deserved celebration after the race.

So i have been off-line for a bit so here is a quick update! The last week i have been training and tapering for the big race tomorrow! It looks like it is going to be a fast/hot race. Heading over to the TP Therapy tent again today to hang out and spread the good news! I am feeling really good and getting stoked to get things started. Got to have a chat with Paul Amey at the Ironman Village yesterday, looks like he may head back down to San Diego for a bit this summer so it will be nice to see him back in the shop again. That seems to be it for now, i am soooo stoked to race! You can follow me on Ironman.com i am race number 373. Not sure what number my dad is rocking but you can find him as well i think we are the only two Reed's. Thats all for now: i hope to post a race report sometime tomorrow. Best of luck to all racing this weekend.

Happy Training/Racing!