UK photo Blog

Nichole and I make Zac go to the Smoking Box at Heathrow

Stonehenge.Kurt and Michelle Get registered and do some last minute shopping.
Zac doing his Brian Rhodes impression.SherborneHomer, The Cerna Abbas Giant, and me.

Cerne Abbas

Pasta PartyCan a Beef eater be Vegan?
The Palace

More of London to come....

Whoops, a little recovery fun

I went to watch the ballgame. It was the first chance coventry had to celebrate IM with me.
I am a little sauced. All I heard was the clink of the glasses.

Trifolk goes blugrass

After mulling it over for 24 hrs, I decided if it wasn't sold out, I was signing up.
I'm goin' to Louisville.


The reasons are simple.
1. Close to home.
2. Lots of CTC folks going.
3. Rob Reddy gave rave reviews.
4. I got in.

I had been mulling over races for a while. IM Wisconsin, Vineman, Chesapeakeman, IM Florida, Great Floridian, or maybe a 101 event.
101 has canceled all races.
Moo and Fla will sell out in minutes again.
Vineman and Chesapeakeman are non IM events. Maybe later, but I love the Ironman party.

Anyhow, I am excited.

Tomorrow europeon vacation.

Final thoughts on IMUK and a hard fought battle against impulsive decisions

First off, let me thank you all for the well wishes and congratulations. It means alot.

Now onto the wrap up.
Was it all that I imagined?

Yes, and then some. The course was very scenic and challenging. The event was well run. The English people were great. The weather was.

I feel as tho my training, nutrition, taper, equipment management and race day plan were all executed well. I was able to stay in the moment. My mood remained positive. I had no mechanical or physical problems.

My swim was my personal performance highlight. This was huge considering I listed the swim as my biggest limiter last fall.
The bike was not as fast as I would have liked, but I also know how tough the course was. Momentum was never a theme on the bike. I feel I was smart on the bike.
The run was VERY difficult. This was one crazy marathon course. I maintained my sense on humor and stayed positive. I encouraged everyone around me.

My Ironman experiance was magical.

Negatives did excist. Vegan was really hard to do. We mostly had indian dinners(not so bad). At the pasta party I had to be one of those peaple to get my pasta without cheese. At the awards banquet I wasn't so lucky. The veg offering was quiche, bread, cheesecake and a mix of greens.

At first I resigned myself to bread and lettuce. That righteous strength lasted 15 seconds when my body began screaming "ARE YOU FREAKIN' INSANE? HOW MANY CALORIES DID YOU BURN YESTERDAY? DO YOU THINK I AM AMUSED BY THE POTATO, BEANS, OATMEAL AND BANANA? EAT THE QUICHE! EAT THE CHEESE CAKE".
It caused me sadness and remorse. The hunger following Ironman is intense.
On that note, here is something from a london market.

I am a little tender, but my recovery has been very easy. I have run marathons that left me feeling much worse.
Two days After Ironman we spent 7.5 hrs walking around London. I felt fine. I Have done two bike rides, 1 swim, and 1 run since the race. I feel good.

I really have had an amazing Ironman experience. I recommend it to everyone.

I have decided to do Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek Half IM, and the Columbus Marathon.

I was looking at the IMKY registration and found myself within the 3 digit security number from regstering for another Ironman. I got out. That was close. I want to do another, but that would have been financially irresponsible.
My IM success was based on careful planning and execution.

Next blog-UK vacation and world traveler experience.

My race had seen the sun rise and fall.

Coming out of T2 my confidence was soaring. I had dropped the long sleeve jersey but stashed a light windbreaker in my tri top pocket. The weather was perfect for a marathon but it could turn. It had often already.

The first 4 miles sailed by. At the 2nd aid station I stopped to straighten my sock. Better to deal with it early. The first section was a double loop within the castle grounds. This section had short hills and a mixed surface. I was really enjoying the first 9 miles.

Near mile 9 we left the castle grounds and headed into town. I passed Kurt as he was headed through his final mile. Soon after I saw Zac and Nichole out on Cheap Street. They were holding up a sign they had made that read "Go Charlie-Show me something Built to Last"(Dead lyric). I was happy to see them.

After passing through town, we went through the girls school grounds. The wind was becoming strong and was becoming a factor again. After the school you go up a steep stairway to cross the road before heading out of town toward Yeovil.

The wind was really strong now and the air was getting colder. This section had some long rolling hills.The hills lasted12 miles and were taking there toll on everyone. I put on the wind breaker and went into a walk up, rundown approach to the hills.

This section of the race was so hard. The long hills, the wind, the lack of scenery, the drone of the freeway. Every ones mood was at its lowest point. You could feel it from everyone.
Gatorade, power gel, bananas were all so gross. This was the hardest section of a race I had ever done.

The one bright point was crossing the mat at 13.1. When I heard the beep from my chip, I knew it was going to let every one back home and here in blogland know that I was still going.

The sky was incredible. The day was falling and I became aware that my race had seen the sun rise and fall.
As the hell...er...I mean hill section came to a close I realized that my IM journey had become a 5k. Upon descending the stairs and heading back to town I started running strongly once again. I could sense the finish was near. I started repeating the word "IRONMAN". Everyone along the course was cheering me through. I could hear music coming from the castle. The final 5k seemed like 5 minutes. I was crossing the road into the castle grounds. People were shouting out my distance from the finish like like a football play by play touchdown. "200 meters" "100 Meters", "50". I was heading up to the castle and making the final turn toward the finish. I was running as loose and light as I had ever run. I threw my hands in the air and crossed the finish line in 14:35.25.


I was an Ironman. I had a huge smile that would not quit. I hugged and thanked Zac and Nichole. They seemed as excited as I was.
Kurt told me of his 80 marathons, this was the toughest course he had ever seen. Kurt finished in 11:13.20, Congrats.

I saw Michelle in the recovery tent. She finished 15 minutes ahead of me for her 1st. I said "congratulations IRONMAN and gave her a hug.

My post race meal was a baked potato(jacket) and beans. I took a long shower at camp and went to bed.

Well, first I had to right my tent. During the race, the wind had blown my full tent about five yards from its original spot.
The wind during this race was really strong. But not strong enough to stop Iron. WAAAHOOOO!

112 miles of wind rain and hills

Knowing my swim had gone very well, I was excited to move to the bike. The air was chilli, but dry so I grabbed the long sleeve jersey, strapped on the brain bucket, put on my shoes and gloves and went to get my bike. As I searched around, I heard IM announcer Paul Ryder talking about an athlete who came across the atlantic for Ironman. He started talking about the Barista/ Musician from Cleveland Heights, Ohio named Charles headed off on his bike leg.
Hey, thats me!.
I found my Giant and ran to the mount line, jumped on and started peddling.
My plan was to maintain a cadence between 75-90. I also had to start refueling. I knew that my decisions at this early stage would have long term effects on my day. I ignored all of the bikes passing me by and settled into my groove.

The course was 3 loops. Out of T1 we began a steady easy climb. This was a good place to start holding back. Following the early climb, we had a moderate flat for 15 miles. Just before Cerne Abbas we had a relatively short but tough climb following the aid station. Next was another flat down to Dorchester before we turned back.

At Dorchester we began climbing the giant(biggest hill on course). The climb was long, and I found it to be a good time to eat. The climb was well protected from the wind due to the hedges along the roadside. I mostly sat back on my saddle and placed my hands on my arm rests. When we hit an opening in the hedges the wind would push me hard. The views were amazing atop the Giant, and I passed many while climbing.
Following the decent we finished the loop into a very stiff headwind.

During the second loop I really had to work hard as the winds were really strong. My final loop was my strongest despite a light rain. My early conservative approach really seemed to benifit me late in the bike section.
I stopped to pee, and ate alot. No flats. I felt strong and my confidence and mood remained positive as I rode into T2.

In Ironman they grab your bike and return it to the rack for you. After mine was taken, I stopped the volunteer, patted my bike on the seat and thanked my steed for getting me as far as it did. I was headed into T2 of the Ironman. I was getting ready to run my IM marathon, and I was stoked.....

I am an Ironman! IMUK recap

I woke sunday at 3am (10PM Cleveland time) to the sound of rain on the tent. The campground was very muddy and the weather Saturday had sucked. Wind, Rain, Cold. The conditions were aweful. My friends Zac and Nichole came into camp late and got stuck in the mud. My food was in the car, so I had to wake them up. Fortunately Kurt and our new friend from Canada, Michelle had already waken them while making sure I was up. I Sat with Nichole in the car and had a peanut butter and marmalade biscuit, 2 bananas and a Lara bar. I gathered my things and set off to the race site while listening to some Grateful Dead.

As I approached the race site I went into my bag to find my timing chip. As I finished searching the contents I began to panic. I could not find my chip. I was convinced it was in my tent and I was 20 minutes away and an hr till transition closed. I turned toward camp and began a quick walk.
I had one last hope. I may have stuck it in my tri top pocket......I did. I now had to get my heart rate back down and get focused. Whew. That would have sucked.

I got marked, pumped up my tires, added powerade to my areo bottle, hit the portaloo, and pulled on my wet suit.

After a brief start delay due to the mud and parking situtaion we entered the lake for a deep water start. I was smileing a huge nervous smile. I lined up with an athlete from Windsor, Canada. We watched the English go through a series of unison "oye,oye, oye's". The horn sounded and we were off.

I was very relaxed and just swam. everything I had been taught was coming to me. I felt strong and steady. As we made the turn into the 2nd lap I was excited to know that I was not going to get run over by the lead group. I was also psyched to see blue sky peaking out from behind the clouds. At the final turn, I knew it was just 1.2k left and was amazed at the number of swimmers still behind me. As I swam to the exit I noticed my calf had tightened. I began light kicking and warned the volunteers as the helped me through the exit.

In T1 the volunteer helping me noted that I was looking very confident and asked if I had a good Swim.
1:25.24 GREAT SWIM!

OK .... Jet lag.
To be continued........................

I leaving for the UK in a few hrs.

The time has come. I am packed and ready. We fly tomorrow.

I really started getting nervous today. This is for real.

I want to thank you all. The feed back I receive here in blog land is awesome.
The past year of my life has been great. I am glad I have been able to share it with you through this blog.
Thank you all for being a part of this dream.

Hopefully I can post back while in the UK. We will see.
I will be posting some photo's when I return home.
Thank You all.
I have a little race to go do now. Gotta go do ironman.
Charlie

GCT gig recap

I woke at 4am and headed to Mentor headlands to play music, direct parking, direct swimmers out of the water, and see many friends.

The weather was perfect. I had a lot of fun spending the day with all of my CTC friends. Standing on the beach I saw so much CTC red emerge from wet suits. It is amazing to me how many of these folks I think of as friends. Last year I was such the wallflower...or a roadflower. This year, I had amplification. I sang for a while 'bout 4 and a half hours, got tired and started forgetting words....Whoops. I moved out of the way for awards presentations.

Lots of 70.3 debuts. Lots of CTC hardware. Way to go everyone. I had a lot of fun.
__________________

The bike is packed. I saw my folks tonight. I did my laundry. One more day of work, and we are out'a here.

I am really tired now. I will post my final pre IM(unless we have net access in the UK) blog tomorrow.

Race Numbers are up

I am #557.
If you are not familiar with the race tracker system, go to www.IRONMAN.com
They will have a banner for Ironman UK with a link to the athlete tracker. Just search using my bib number.

The Duds

756, the price of winning

Last night Barry Bonds became the all time home run leader.The celebration was light. Not what you would expect from a record of such high esteem. The previous two record holders, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron are nothing short of legends. Each changed the game of baseball and in many ways changed America. Barry Bonds represents a change in baseball and maybe a change in our society that nobody seems to be very proud of.

Barry Bonds under suspicion of steroid use during his career has not been raised to hero status by baseballs leadership. Baseballs greatest player is considered a cheat and a jerk by baseball.

The sad thing is that baseball and its ownership(including former Texas rangers owner and current US president George Bush) ignored steroid use. Any rules regarding 'roids were not enforced. Baseball encouraged the Sosa and McGuire Season HR chase. They did nothing to stop it until congress threatenend Major League Baseballs antitrust exemption.

Bonds has never tested positive. We just assume his guilt because of his body mass increase midway through his career.

My guess is that Barry is extremely driven to excel at his sport. Who can blame him. As athletes of varying ability we all want to be better than we are. We all make sacrifice to better our performance. We experiment with nutrition and supplements. We look for equipment that will help us better our own game. The higher the stakes, the greater the sacrifice.

As I look back over the past 10 month's of Ironman training I have to consider my own sacrifices. What am I willing to do to succeed? What has it cost me? What has it cost others? Is it within the rules of the sport? Is it fair to others. Did I cause harm to another living being for my success.? If I did, did I have another choice?.

For me, the easiest example is my choice to live vegan. Animal meat is rich in protein. But I can no longer justify eating animals for this reason. I have other choices.

In my opinion, causing death to another being should be our last resort. My short term success is not worth another's life.

Longterm health risks further my decision to remove animal products from my diet
(read The China Study)

I am glad to see that the idea of playing fair has become an important issue lately. I would like to think we all want to flay fair.
Even Barry.

So Barry, let's play fair.

"Say No To Corn Dogs!"

Somewhere over the Atlantic

A week from right now I will be in a plane somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. A year ago figured I would be getting set for a GCT 1/2 in preparation for IM MOO. One little error during online application, and my whole life has changed. I am going to Europe to do my Ironman.

After one of my last indoor swims, another athlete said to me, "England? That is a long way to go for a race."
I responded with "Anyway you look at it, Ironman is thousands of miles".

Most of those miles are behind me now.

__________________

My belly is finally right following the little bug I got on vacation. It seemed to take a full week to get out of my system, but I think it is gone. I am very aware of my body right now. Every little thing catches my full attention.

___________________

I am really excited!

Two Weeks

I am two weeks out. I am healthy. I am trained. I have my plane tickets. I will have the bike case on Thursday(Thanks to CTC Prez Andrew Joyce). The campsite is secured. All that is left is to stay healthy, pack, get on a plane, get to Sherborne.

I am very fortunate to be where I am. I know other athletes that were following the IM dream when we started but never made it this far for various reasons.

I believe in my training methods. I have been conservative and deliberate. I never missed or compromised a big session. I made changes and addressed my weaknesses as planned.

I feel strong physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

I know what I need to do. Patience is the key to my success. I need to maintain the same methodical pace I have maintained since November. I most stay within myself.

I am ready. Now I wait...........

___________________________

Last night Cleveland Peace Action held its' Hiroshima/Nagasaki remembrance. I oversaw the event, performed, and hosted the event. The program went well tho attendance was low. At the conclusion of the event, we floated 30 or so lanterns on the lagoon as the sun set. It is very beautiful. This year a few lanterns burst into flames....Whoops.

_____________________________

I saw the Simpson's Movie....Thumbs up!

_____________________________

Yesterday I went to the Cleveland Triathlon Expo to pickup some Yankz shoe laces for my new running shoes. CTC members were a bit sparse (I expected this as many members including myself no longer feel good about the race). The few I saw stopped to talk about tri stuff as we normally do. While I was talking to one fella, I heard the voice of a young women.

"Sir?" she said.
Sir? SIR?! I thought as I looked up and realized that this women was half my age. How sobering.
"How much is the GCT entry next week?" She asked.
"I am not sure. They should have fliers here somewhere." I responded.
""What do you win?" She said.
"I don't, I just have fun and spend lots of money" I said.
I then heard a little laughter and looked further back behind her. I realized that I was standing directly in front of a seated course talk crowd waiting for someone to explain what to expect during the race. I had become the RD's warm up act.....Whoops. I left.

Patriotism

As an athlete visiting and competing abroad, I have to consider that I will be representing my nation. I am a U.S. citizen from birth. How I conduct myself may effect the way people of other nations view the U.S. I respect this duty, and hope to serve as an ambassador that leaves others feeling better about the people we are.

I believe strongly in the constitution. Our bill of rights is as important as any sacred law. The laws that govern our government enable us to govern ourselves fairly. No one is above it.

I believe in democracy. We are responsible for our future and our past. We as a people guide our nations future. Some choices are poor, some are great, but they are ours.

There are times when I have strong criticism of our elected officials. I have questioned the legitimacy of past election results and conduct. I have vocalized my disagreement with foreign and domestic policy.

Currently I am not a big fan of our president and his administration. I have concerns over the direction of the supreme court. I am unimpressed with the congress and its lack of backbone.

I am a fan of local congressional Rep. (D)Dennis Kucinich and Senator (R)George Voinovich. Ohio's Gov. Strickland seems like he going in the right direction.

Ultimately I believe the greatest choices we make are in our personal life. I think these things effect our world more than anything else we do.

As a representative of the US I plan to treat everything with respect. I am proud of the great things this nation has accomplished and ashamed of our mistakes made in fear and arrogance.

Will I fly the flag at the finish line? I doubt it. But I will not disrespect it either. If I am asked to carry the flag during the parade of nations, I will.

I love this country. It is who I am. It is where I am from. I want the best for it.
I am a patriot.