I think it’s an interesting story. Or at least it could be if I tell it right. So, here goes.

Despite my silence  on my blog, I have been very busy in 2010. My new role at work as a project lead is challenging; I’m managing two projects. I’m finishing up my Master’s degree in Educational Technology from SDSU. And I’m fueling my passion for endurance sports by training about 12-15 hours per week. My primary goal this year is to have my peak performances at the long course triathlon distance, or Ironman 70.3. In the midst of all this business, I’ve competed in three races since January, a 5K and two half marathons. In two of these races, I barely missed my personal goals by a margin of about 16 seconds. So I’d say that my running is doing very well. At our recent track time trial, I ran a 6:20 pace over a 2-mile distance.

Even swimming, my nemesis, has improved. I’ve been swimming about 4.5 to 5 miles weekly in the pool for the last three months on my own and as part of a Master’s Swim group with the Escondido Swim Club. My swim pace has steadily dropped. It was about 1:55/100 yards when I first started. And now, I can swim a little faster than 1:38/100 yards. I’ve had my fastest 1.2-mile swim to date at 41:38. The only unknown left to conquer is to find out if I can relax while racing in the ocean and just let the miles of swimming that I’ve been doing take over.

Even though I’m relatively new to serious athletic training, I’ve found my cycling to be my strongest discipline of the three sports. I don’t really have anything to make that determination other than a couple of informal time trial results at Fiesta Island. My fastest prior to this writing was 31 minutes over 20K, which is three large loops around the island, or 12 miles.

Two days ago, one week before my big race (Ironman 70.3 California), I participated in the first time trial of the season with Breakaway Training. Despite being only one week away from the race, Coach Luke said to go for it. My goal: finish the 12 miles in under 30 minutes, which meant that I needed to average greater than 24 mph.

My buddy, Eric and I, started off together. Just as an aside, before the start of the trial, Eric was moaning on and on about how tired he’s been and not feeling well. Just so you know, Eric, I’m on to you buddy! Anyways, I “warmed up” my legs for a hundred yards or so, then Matt took off. And so the chase began. I followed him with the lead group of about five or six others) close behind. For a second or two, I reached speeds of about 29-30 mph to give chase, overtaking the lead for a short time around the first turn where it’s easy to go fast on a slight downhill. The lead group (Matt, Eric, Dave P, Kent, Gary, and one other dude) set the pace, and I followed behind.

I’m not sure if the lead group was forming a paceline. As you know, there’s no drafting in triathlon, but our coaches said drafting was okay for this informal “race”. In any case, I didn’t participate in any rotating off the front, but hung in the back, conserving energy. We rode anywhere from 25-27 mph at any given time. Whenever I thought the group was going too slowly (under 24 mph), I sped up and took the lead. I’m not sure if they liked that or not; the lead group never let me stay too far ahead and always brought me back into the fold.

I like to think that most of the guys (other than the other middle-aged 40-yr old+ athletes) didn’t like some new guy on the block up in the front, especially some 44-year old with gray hair and all, like me. Ha! Most likely, nobody in the group thought about that. I like saying it, though. By the middle of the second lap, I noticed that my buddy Eric had taken a strong position in the lead group.

Although I wasn’t really sure if Eric was truly on his second lap, I decided to surge forward and pass the whole group when we reached the back side of the island. There was a slight headwind, and our group speed had dropped to about 22-23 mph. I was a little agitated by the slow down, so I yelled out: Let’s go. We’re under 24!” Again the lead group brought me to the back of the fold as we came around for our last lap.

Given the few glances at my speedometer over the course of the trial, I knew that I would easily finish in under half an hour. I was sustaining speeds of over 25 mph for the race. My strategy for the last lap was to hang in the back of the group to conserve energy, and then sprint to the finish when it was in sight. I estimate that the sprint would be about 1.25 km long, maybe 45 seconds to 1 minute. At the back of the group, it was effortless. I love that feeling where your legs are pedaling in almost a free spin. Whenever I look at my speedometer at that point, I’m always amazed by how fast I’m going with such little effort.

At the back of the island there were a couple of cars that were riding to far to the right, which slowed us down to about 22 mph. We had to pass them on the left, which was kind of weird. After navigating around another couple of cars, our speed had dropped to about 21 mph. All of a sudden, I saw Eric take off. Matt and a couple of others gave chase. Dave P and I were in the back of the group. I knew in a few moments, the finish would be visible in the distance.

With the finish line in sight, the group spread out. The sprint was on. Dave P and I maneuvered to the left of the road. I glanced down at my watch. 27.3 mph. I looked at the space. I looked at Dave. For a second I hesitated because I was on the edge of the road, very close to the sand. Neither Dave nor I wanted to yield. In that moment of hesitation, Dave took the space and my bike had no choice, but to go in the sand.

In slow motion, I could feel the bike wobble. And then wham! My front wheel turned left at 90 degrees. I yelled, “Oh sh…!”

BAM! My eyes were closed at impact. My face hit the sand. Really, really hard. When I opened my eyes, I knew that my head and face had hit the ground. I sat up for a little bit, and saw my right cleat was still clipped in. I clipped out of the pedal and looked ahead. I saw Dave P looking back at me. Then I laid down on the ground and closed my eyes for a second. I didn’t know what to do. At first I wanted to get back up on my bike and finish, but when I tried to sit up, the pain in my head and chin were overwhelming. For a second I worried that nobody would stop to help me. I had a load of sand in my mouth. I could taste the blood. I wondered if any of my teeth had been knocked out.

Then I heard Dave P’s voice. He had come back to help. I know I had my eyes open, but I didn’t really focus on anything. I heard Dave talking to me. I can’t really remember what he said other than telling me to lie down whenever I would try to sit up. Other voices gathered around. I saw a car stop to help. Dave told some guy to call 911. All I could think about was not letting Maria know that I was hurt because I didn’t want her to miss her cooking class in the afternoon. I had bought her this class as a birthday gift. If I ended up in the emergency room, I knew she would miss the class. I didn’t want her to worry, so as we waited for the paramedics to arrive, I began scheming how I wasn’t going to tell Maria I was hurt until after the class was finished.

I guess a large group had gathered around. I heard some of my fellow Breakaway athletes talking to me. I don’t really remember what I saw and I have no idea why my eyes didn’t focus on anything. I did tell Dave that I was too aggressive. I even managed to say “Stupid Dave. I didn’t want to give in.”

I must have looked like a mess. I think Dave was trying to get me to lie still and stop talking. I don’t know how he remained calm, but it helped me stay as relaxed as I could be possibly be at that moment. My head and chin hurt like hell. Then I heard Adam’s voice. I looked up and saw him. He offered me his water bottle so I could rinse my mouth. I took a swig from the bottle. I think Dave told me to rinse and spit, not sure. But when I did, I spit out a huge amount of bloody water. The crowd around me gasped.

The paramedics arrived in 5 minutes in a fire truck (?). I noticed the paramedics took over, and I no longer heard Dave’s voice. They started asking me a bunch of questions. What happened? How old was I? What medications am I taking? Am I allergic to any medications? Was someone taking my pulse? I couldn’t tell. They told me to respond by saying yes or no, and not to move my head.

I heard Eric’s voice. I think he asked me if I needed my phone. I told him my keys were in my Bento box, and to bring my phone. I had to remember where they were in the car. “They’re in the front in the seat compartment. You have to lift it up.” I forgot to tell him to bring my wallet. Then I remembered my bike. “What about my bike?” The paramedics told me they were going to take care of my bike. Or at least that’s what I thought they said. In my mind I was thinking: “How stupid is that? How are you going to take care of my bike?” And then, I heard Eric or maybe it was Coach Luke tell me they were going to put my bike on the back of my car? Or was it that they were going to put my bike in the back of their car. I was confused and dazed for sure.

The lead paramedic told me they were going to put me on a backboard and put a neck brace on me. “Are you serious?” I think I also told them that I didn’t want that. But they said they had to do it for precautionary reasons until the doctors could determine if I had injured my back or neck. They began taping my legs, arms, and head down to the backboard. God, I hated that brace around my neck. It made me feel worse!

I could hear another big vehicle pull up. I’m assuming it was an ambulance. All I could think about was the $100 copay I would owe for emergency room treatments. As the paramedics were lifting me and sliding me into the ambulance, I was thinking about how I never wanted to ride in an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, John, the lead paramedic, was asking me the same questions again. Then he called in to the hospital to give them my stats, my condition, my medications, allergies, etc. 20 minutes is a helluva long time when you’re wearing a stupid neck brace. I was pulling on it for almost the entire time. That stupid thing was pressing on my chin!

On the way to the hospital, I checked my Garmin. Can you believe it? I wanted to know my race stats:

11.76 miles, 25.3 mph, 27:50.65

I smiled, then turned off my watch.

Later I would learn that I was awarded “Hero of the Day” and given a finishing time of 28:44, the same time as the lead group. How did “not feeling so good today” Eric do? He finished first. I told Eric later: “You’re lucky I crashed. I was coming for you.”

I won’t bore you with the details of the ER. Just check out the pictures.

Today is LIVESTRONG day. 13 years ago today, Lance Armstrong, was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. And today I reached my fundraising goal of $3000 in my LIVESTRONG Challenge, Austin campaign.

Thank you to ALL my teammates who donated. The last two weeks have shown strong giving in response to my Twitter and Facebook campaign during which I challenged folks to give specific dollar amounts to reach my goal. When I started the campaign I was a little less than $1500 away from my goal.

I am especially grateful for all the generous folks that I have either known for many years or just met. Thanks to my coaches at Breakaway Training for sharing my campaign with the entire team. Breakaway Training donations represent close to 15% of all my donations to date.

You can still help with donations, of course. Donate online to fight cancer.

Now it’s time to focus on the ride. I can’t wait. Austin, here I come.

Team Tuma: Murray Webb and Gerry de Ocampo

My bike riding has increased considerably in the last month as I prepare for the LIVESTRONG Challenge next month in Austin, Texas. As part of my triathlon training, which is basically multi-sport cross training, my rides have become increasingly longer each week. I started distance training in earnest four weeks ago with a two-hour ride. The subsequent weeks have basically been one hour longer in length.

Today, my Breakaway buddy, Eric, and I rode 84 miles over 4:36. We were supposed to ride for five hours, but Eric was too tired, still recuperating from his business travel jet lag and lack of sleep.

The ride today is a significant milestone for me: I felt strong over the whole 84 miles and could have kept going. This is my first bike ride ever where I did not feel tired or have my legs bonk out. I’m pretty stoked. I would say that I am definitely ready for the LIVESTRONG Challenge just four weeks away.

Next week, my bike ride will be a little shorter as part of a recovery week. The following week I have my last sprint triathlon of the summer season. I hope to break the one-hour barrier during that race.

And for my last long ride before the Austin trip, I plan to ride 120 miles with my Team Tuma teammate, Murray Webb. 120 miles! I don’t know what I was thinking when I committed to that. We are going to do the route for the Tour de Poway Century ride (about 102 miles plus an additional 20 miles).

On the fundraising front, I’ve modified my fundraising goal to $3000. I’m pleased to report that I’m in the final stretch of the fundraising effort with only $450 remaining as of today. I started a Facebook and Twitter campaign encouraging people to give a small donation.

Can you help me with a small donation to reach my LIVESTRONG goal? The Lance Armstrong Foundation helps cancer patients and their families. I’m looking for:

• 5 people to give a one-time donation of $100
• 11 people to give a one-time donation of $50
• 22 people to give a one-time donation of $25

Please donate. You can help save lives.

In preparation for my LIVESTRONG ride in Austin, Texas next month I’ve been doing some long rides for the last three weeks, starting out with two hours, three and a half hours, and today with four hours.

Two hours, no problem. Rode to the coast at Carlsbad with Murray.

Three and a half hours, legs bonked out at 60 miles, but rode on for 10 more.

Today’s four hour ride, legs bonked out at 70 miles, rode for 8 more, and then ran for half an hour afterwards for three miles.

The last two rides have been fun, riding at a challenging pace with my buddy from Breakaway Training, Eric Heiser. I decided to do my long rides with Eric since he’s training for Ironman Arizona in November. I like the rides because we push hard. With my legs tiring at mile 70, 10 miles later than the previous water, the ride was an improvement over last week. At this rate, I will most definitely be ready for Austin in October.

Surprisingly, I got a flat tire near the end of the ride today. The culprit was a sharp metal shard that looked like a nail. It punctured my rear tire and deflated the tube almost instantaneously. The tire change went relatively quickly. It was definitely the quickest tire change for me.

Two negative things about the flat repair:

1. CO₂ cartridge adapter did not work (glad Eric was there to let me use his).
2. Inner tube valve on brand new inner tube had a loose screw, which is a defect.

I need to replace the tube later so that I don’t have to worry about the valve. And guess where I bought those two pieces of garbage? Yup, yet two more reasons not to buy your bikes or bike stuff there.

Yesterday, I figured if I said let’s leave by 6:30 AM, then for sure we’d be out the door by 7:00 AM. Murray was never late for any of his personal training sessions with me at LA|FITNESS, but I’ve learned that if we need to be somewhere at a certain time, I need to plan for at least half an hour of “Murray” time.

We did leave by 7:00 for our two-hour bike ride to the coast in Carlsbad. It was a fairly comfortable ride for me, averaging a slower speed than what I usually ride. We rode at about 17 mph for 34 miles. Both of us had two hours on the bike as our planned workout.

Murray had a 10-mile run planned afterwards, and I figured it would be no big deal to join him. I was scheduled for a 20-minute brick run afterwards, but running 10 miles would be significantly longer than 20 minutes. I’m pleased to say that I did complete all 10 miles even though the temperature had risen to 105 degrees. The last two miles were pretty painful, nevertheless, I trudged on, refusing to walk. I think my average pace was about a 12-minute mile.

This milestone was a good wake up call for me. I know I have a long ways to go if I want to get close to my goal of going under 5:30 for my first half Ironman in March, 2010 @ California 70.3. By then I want to be at a level of fitness where I can handle that final half marathon run with no problem and still complete the run in under 1:40.

I have more than seven months to prepare.

3. Three sports. Multi-sport. This is triathlon training.

Swimming: I’ve probably had the three best days of swimming in the last five months that I’ve been training as a triathlete. Last Wednesday’s pool workout was my longest yardage at 2400 yards, but I felt fantastic afterwards. Friday’s cove swim was my fastest time ever for a 1-mile swim in the open ocean at 36 minutes with breaks at the buoys. While that’s not super fast, it does mean that I’m very capable of completing the half Ironman swim distance. The water at the cove was unusually calm and warm. Today’s open water swim at La Jolla Shores was also very good for me (2000 yards). We swam and ran afterwards. Not a single ounce of fatigue.

Running: Saturday I ran 14 miles. Today I ran a little over five miles. I recovered well and felt fantastic today.

Cycling: After the solid swim-run workout this morning, I went for an easy 22-mile bike ride in the afternoon. In the past I would have been exhausted and my legs would have been fatigued. Today, no problem after the ride.

All in all, this has been the best week of training in my young life as a triathlete!

Last week I learned that the wife of a very close friend has ** cancer **. Even though I haven’t been a big part of Dennis and Vivien’s lives since my college days with Dennis, I feel the weight of this sad news very deeply. Dennis is more than a brother to me. He played a big part of my life while I was at UCLA, helping me grow in my new faith as a Christian. For those short years at UCLA over 20 years ago I learned a lot from Dennis about life and living it as a Christian. Needless to say, Dennis is one of two mentors in my life; he’s more like a dad and brother than a friend.

So I grieve with Dennis and Vivien today as I have learned that her cancer is in Stage 4.

• Follow their journey.
• Please pray for healing and comfort for Vivien, Dennis, and their family of six kids.
• Join my LIVESTRONG team and donate to a great cause. Any amount is worthy for helping to find a cure.

In honor of Vivien for the rest of the summer triathlon season, I am dedicating all my hours of training, all my races, and the LIVESTRONG Challenge in October to Team Tuma. I hope to meet my fundraising goals for the ride as well as raise some additional funds to get a special jersey designed for Team Tuma.

With the launch of this web site earlier this morning, this had shaped up to be a late night going to bed at 1:30 AM, but I was pretty excited to try the Breakaway Training Saturday ride for the second time, even with only five hours or so of sleep. Armed this time with the course’s turn-by-turn directions mapped on my Garmin 705 GPS I knew that I would not be getting lost this time.

According to Coach Luke, it was supposed to be a slower, easier ride this morning, but of course, I didn’t believe that. Starting in the Vons parking lot in La Jolla, the first 20 miles of the course are relatively flat, followed by a steep climb up the way to Rancho Santa Fe Road. It then turns into Elfin Forest into Escondido and heads back to the coast via Del Dios Highway. The way back to La Jolla culmintates up “the hill” on Torrey Pines Road, so basically this course is 40 miles of mostly rolling hills. It’s a tough ride.

When I rode it for the first time last weekend, I got dropped at the start of the first and steepest climb. By the time I made it up to Rancho Santa Fe, the rest of the fast group (mostly professional triathletes) were long gone. Then I forgot the road that you take to get to the Elfin Forest, and so I was lost for awhile. I ended up finishing the ride by myself. Thankfully, I used my iPhone to look up the ride on the Breakaway web site.

This time around my goal was to hang with the regular folks and not get lost while the pros do their thing. I’m happy to report that for the first half, I kept up with the humans, even on the climbs. At the start of the climbing, I took off with the pros. Coach Felipe instructed Chris not to stand up on the climbs, which would “slow” the pace down. The funny thing though is that Chris’ sitting down pace is faster than my pace standing up and attacking. So the pros took off and I never saw them after that.

With the pros gone, I focused on my main climbing goal for the ride, and attacked the hill with the intent of not getting dropped among the regular folks. I made it up the first climb successfully without getting dropped at Rancho Santa Fe, that is, I could still see most of my group ahead of me in my sights. Fortunately, before Elfin Forest, there is a speedy downhill before the steep climb up San Elijo.  And as we entered the Elfin Forest, I was near the head of the “regular” pack. In fact, of the regular folks, I arrived first at the regroup stop after leaving the Elfin Forest.I would have arrived second, but Eric had to take a pit stop behind one of the Elfin trees which allowed me to speed ahead. At the regroup at this small Assembly of God church, I guess it’s a rite of passage for cyclists to go to the bathroom behind the church office. I don’t think that’s very nice and I’m not sure if I’ll be doing that again on the next ride. I would prefer that we stop at the Chevron gas station prior to entering the Elfin Forest, but I think people want to keep riding through the Elfin Forest to the stop at the church because the church marks the halfway point of the course.

In any case after the regroup, I remembered that my bike ride this week was supposed to be a “recovery” ride after last weekend’s race in Zone 2. So I guess attacking the rolling hills was not part of this week’s training plan. For the second half of the ride, I rode slower in Zone 2 and didn’t attack for the remainder of the course. Overall, I was pleased with my performance on the first half of the ride, and still carried out my training plan of riding in the slower Zone 2 for the rest of the ride.

On another note, I’m trying this electronic log (http://workoutlog.com) to record all my workouts (weights, swim, bike, and run). It’s free for 15 days, and then I’ll decide if I want to continue before I pay for the subscription. So far, I like it, especially the fact that you can record all the workouts in one spot. Currently, I record my weightlifting on a paperback log and my runs on Running Ahead (http://runningahead.com). I haven’t recorded my swims or bike rides until now. So we’ll see how I like it in a couple of weeks.

***** Adapted from “About Me” originally posted on October 11, 2008 in the IntoFitness section of whatsbruin.net *****

In the summer of 2007 I decided to step on a scale just for the heck of it. The number I saw shocked me out of my sedentary life of obesity that was leading me down the road of cardiovascular disease and an early death. On August 30, 2007 I purchased a personal training membership at LA|FITNESS and have never looked back.

About 14 months into fitness

Before - circa June 2006

My name is Gerry, and I have been overweight most of my life, except for maybe 16 years (ages 0-6, 14-24). Those years were when I was a young child and when I was a competitive tennis player. But even during those lean years, food and overeating, as well as a yo-yo pattern of gaining and losing weight, were the physical issues that plagued me for as far back as I can remember.

At the age of 34 in May of 2000, I was denied a lower premium on my life insurance policy so I decided to get a physical to find out why. The routine physical showed no sign of disease; however, the blood work forecasted a grim future:

• Glucose = 92 {normal 70-110}
• Triglycerides = 1084 {normal < 200}
• Cholesterol = 257 {normal 100-200}
• HDL = 21 {normal = 35-60}
• Other cholesterol ratios were too high to be calculated.

My doctor said:

Gerry, if you don’t make a change in your life, you will contract Type II diabetes, and will most likely have to be on high blood pressure medication for the rest of your life. This will lead to cardiovascular disease and wide array of medications. You will die of either a heart attack, stroke, or complications from diabetes.

The fear of that conversation produced a change in my diet and exercise for about a month. My subsequent blood work improved over the next five months. But eventually the fear wore off, and I went back to my old habits of overeating and not being active. My doctor suggested follow up blood work and regular physicals, and had scheduled another round of blood tests for me, but after seven years, I still had not gone back for those tests or physicals.

Before - circa July 2007

In July of 2007 at the age of 41, my father-in-law underwent heart surgery. While we were visiting him in the hospital I noticed that the other cardiac patients were of varying ages. One in particular was in his 30s and extremely obese. Upon my return from that visit, I vowed never to end up in the cardiac ward. I was tired of that nagging pain in my knees as I walked up the stairs. I was weary of the pain in my ankles as I walked the short distance from my bed to the bathroom every morning.

So that’s when I decided to weigh myself.

My stats that summer were:

• Weight = 250+ pounds
• BMI = 37
• Body fat = 33.4%
• Waist = 44 inches
• Pants = size 44 (tight)

The brand new LA|FITNESS gym in my neighborhood was having its Grand Opening event. I wanted to get a free t-shirt, which was the only reason I planned on going on August 30, 2007. But during the evening ofAugust 29th, I had a very vivid dream that I was working with a personal trainer, and I was really fit and buff. I took the dream to be an omen, and the next day I listened to a sales pitch about the benefits of personal training. I bought a membership because I knew I needed to lose almost 80 pounds… and yes, I did get my free XL t-shirt, which barely fit.

I met with my trainer, Evan, for the first time on September 10, 2007. I was kind of nervous and scared, but also very determined and excited to change my life. I could barely lift any weight, was only able to do five “girl” push-ups, and was out of breath all the time at the gym.

I started out lifting weights just once or twice a week, but I also attended an intense spin class about 4-6 times per week where I usually burned about 800 kcal per hour. I cut my caloric intake down to about 1600-1800 calories per day. Over time, I dropped weight, decreased body fat, and built muscle.

After six months in April of 2008, I decided to take up cycling on the road, and purchased my first road bike. After a couple of months of riding, I wanted to train for a 100-mile ride during the Tour de Poway in October with a goal of finishing the race in under six hours. I thought that would be a great goal for someone who had only ridden a bike for a couple of months.

These used to fit snugly on me

In July of 2008, I reached my fitness goals. Now, at the age of 43, I’m in better shape than most 20-yearolds with the fitness level of an athlete. Oh yeah, I finally did get a physical and see the doctor. He was ecstatic.

In July 2008 my stats were:

• Weight = 175 pounds
• BMI = 26
• Body fat = 7.1%
• Waist = 31 inches
• Pants = size 32 (loose)

My last blood test in 2008 yielded:

• Glucose = 92 {normal 70-110}
• Triglycerides = 90 {normal < 200}
• Cholesterol = 144 {normal 100-200}
• HDL = 44 {normal = 35-60}

I lift weights in the gym three days a week. And although I don’t do spin class as much anymore, when I’m training for long rides, I typically ride my bike anywhere from 60 – 150 miles per week. I finished my first Century at the Tour de Poway in 5 hours, 56 minutes, riding through the pain of muscle cramps in my right quad the last 10 miles.

Representing the Bruins in spin class

[Updated May 26, 2009] Having been encouraged by my new trainer, Murray, and inspired by Joe Thorn, I started running in October 2008. I’m training for the “Triple Crown” in San Diego, which is special designation given to someone who completes three half-marathons in one calendar year: the Carlsbad Half (January 2009), the La Jolla Half (April 2009), and the America’s Finest City Half (August 2009). You get a medal for completing each one,and then a special commemorative medal for doing the Triple Crown. As part of my training, I’ve raced in several 5ks and 10ks. I added swimming to my workout regimen in February 2009 and decided to train for triathlons.

Striking a pose

It just goes to show you that it’s never too late. Take control of your life. Hit the road on a bike, get on yourfeet, or pump iron in the gym. If I can do it, so can you.

Only five months of actual time in the saddle, not including the time in the gym’s spin class – not a real bike.

Four months of training with Trek.

One year of lifting weights and dropping almost 80 pounds.

All leading up to one day on October 5, 2008, the Tour de Poway.

6 hours of unbearable agony, LOL.

100 miles all over North County San Diego.

I don’t even remember falling fully asleep the night before. I must have been too excited and wound up for the race. So who knows how many hours of sleep I actually got. Note to self: next year, take some Melatonin to help relax and get drowsy.

Woke up at about 4:00 AM to eat my usual:

• 2 cups Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds, 5 ounces of water, 4 ounces of fat-free milk
• 2 packets of Quaker Oats instant oatmeal
• 2 scoops of BSN True Mass protein drink with 10 ounces of fat-free milk

With my bike and other gear already in the car, all that remained to prepare were my bottles and race food:

• 24-ounce mixture of water and 2 scoops of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem (2 bottles)
• 24-ounce mixture of water and 2 scoops of Hammer Nutrition HEED (1 bottle)
• 24 ounces of water
• 6 Clif bars (planned to eat 4 of them)
• Extra 2 scoops of Perpetuem
• Extra 2 scoops of HEED

Early morning last-minute stretching

My “team” (wife and son) and I arrived at the staging area at Aubrey and Midland Road at 6:00 AM. After we parked, I attached my front tire, and then checked the air pressure on both tires, filling them up to 120 psi. Did some stretches, and then a little check ride in the parking lot. At 6:45 AM, I brought my bike to the start line and waited with about 2000 other cyclists for the official start to the race.

At 7:00 AM we were off. I almost fell off my bike because we were going so slow at the start while some idiot in front of me stopped in front of me to wait for a friend. After I brushed that off, I headed out with the massive peloton down Midland Road towards our first left turn onto Poway Road. Our first challenge, to negotiate the climb up Highway 67 to Ramona.

Waiting to start

I finished that one and only large climb in the first half hour of the race. My first thought at the top was: “Is that it?” I had done much tougher climbs with the Trek group. Thank goodness for that.

For the next several miles, I rode on the wheel of the bike in front of me, drafting at speeds of 28-31 mph pretty effortlessly.

Around mile 40 as I left the second aid station, my right knee started acting up with a previous injury. The tendon on the right side of my knee cap really started to hurt, especially on the downstroke of my pedaling when my right leg was at its straightest. So I had that goin’ for me, yippee, a nagging pain in my right knee with 60 miles to go.

By mile 60, my energy level was a little low. I decided not to mix my extra HEED electrolyte powder. I figured since the weather was a little cool I didn’t need the drink. I wanted to “save” my calories for the carne asada burrito I was planning to eat in celebration after the race. Note to self: next time, even if the weather is cool, mix the electrolyte drink anyways. If you’re riding for six hours, you will sweat a lot, even in cooler weather.

During the last 10 miles in excruciating pain

With fatigue setting in, I had slowed my pace considerably to an average of about 15-17 mph, and I was unable to sprint fast enough to catch the wheel of riders in front of me to catch a draft. So I was pretty much on my own for the last 40 miles. I wasn’t sure if I was going to meet my goal of finishing under six hours.

With 10 miles remaining at mile 90, I began to cramp in my right quad. It was excruciating; I immediately regretted not mixing that electrolyte drink. At about the 5 hour 20 minute mark, I realized that I need to pick up the pace and go about 18-20 mph if I wanted to finish in under 6 hours. But that nagging right knee and now muscle cramps were hindering me greatly. The pain when I straightened my leg at stop lights was unbearable. Luckily, I didn’t hit that many more lights as I made the final stretch down Ted Williams Parkway to Pomerado Road. And when it came to stop signs, I simply just rode right through them so I wouldn’t have to stop and straighten my right leg. Fully ignoring the pain, I mentally charged forward and increased my speed.

When I made my final right turn on Aubrey, I could see Maria and Tony a little beyond the finish line. I sprinted for it, took my hands off the handlebars, and raised both arms as I crossed the line at 5:56. Yes! I met my goal.