Lakeview Park Summer Triathlon Race Recap

5:15 am came early on race day morning.

The night before, Anna and I had gone out with friends until after eleven. I was fairly responsible and only had 3-4 beers over the course of the evening and mixed in some water. After going over my transition bag and getting the kids resettled in bed for the night, it was well after midnight by the time my head hit the pillow. Not necessarily the best pre-race night, but it was only a sprint race, so what was there to worry about.

It was a normal race morning with part of a Cliff Bar, some banana baby food for breakfast, and couple trips to bathroom. Picked up PK on time and was off to the race, which was just a couple towns over. I snuck a peak at the lake before I left for the race and it was like glass. I was still a little tired and my stomach was a little upset.

We got to the race about 7:05 and the parking was packed already, considering registration and transition opened at 7:00. We ended up parking at the back, made our way over to transition, and got decent spots on the racks. I had a fairly easy time getting registered and body-marked for the race.

Looking at my watch, I could tell I was running slightly behind. It was a little bit after 7:30 and I was just setting up transition. While getting set up, I changed routine and decided to eat a gel about fifteen minutes before the start. I think this may have been a mistake.

We got down to the water about 5 minutes before the race (not ideal), but we were able to get in the lake and swim a few strokes before the start of the race.
When this race was originally set up, the 35-39 age group was going out on its own. But on race day, the age groups were combined and everyone 39 and under was in the first wave off the beach. On this small course, this was way too many people.

The plan was to sprint to the first buoy, get ahead of the pack and have a relatively clear swim down the backstretch. Unfortunately, I did not commit as much as I should have and I got pinched in the first turn; then pushed into a break wall. I swam most of the backstretch dodging sunken boulders and wondering, as always, why the hell I was doing this to myself. Much to my surprise, I came out of the water number one for my age group, even though the swim felt less than impressive.

However, as I exited the water I realized I had a problem. The zipper on my wetsuit was stuck and I could not get it unstuck as I ran to transition. Officially, I was now panicking a little – yanking and grabbing at my neck. I was finally able to free the zipper, but I had lost decent amount of time. During this zipper fiasco, I watched a number of guys run out of transition ahead of me.


(I am in the guy in center struggling with his wetsuit)


On the bike, I was feeling some burn in my legs and I strangely had some cotton mouth. Maybe from the gel?...I don’t know. The whole bike/cotton mouth continually returned, except for about the last 3 miles. I had a solid bike – able to maintain a 23.5 mph average through the course and the one climb was strong. There were some good bikers on course ahead of me, but I felt like I was improving my position. Coming into T2 there weren’t many bikes racked yet, which gave me a boost. I came off the bike in 4th place for my age group.

I threw on my racing flats and I was out of T2. The run felt good and so did my Achilles. It took me a while to catch my breath out of T2, and my legs were a little tired as it was my third straight day of running. Overall, I ran a good pace at 6:58/miles and was able to run a solid course.

After it was all said done, I finished in 1:09, which was good enough for 4th in the age group and 15th/200(approx) overall.

It was a little disappointing that I came out of the water in 1st and virtually lost 3 spots in transition. But it was good to get out and race and push my legs a bit.

Editor’s Note: Team MoZo did not represent at this race. Instead (at about the time Scott was finishing the race) we were at the bakery, buying donuts in our pajamas. Morgan’s first question when he got home…“Did you get a medal?”…because we are all about setting high expectations. None of this “participation” crap.

Late Week Training and the Tour

I finished off the week with a 10 mile run. It is good to be back in the double digits. I felt good and my ankle felt strong.


I also got an open water swim in with PK this morning. The lake was like glass just a slight ripple and the water temp was in the mid 60’s. The conditions made for a good 1.5 mile swim. I wanted to swim longer, but I did not want to over swim today.


I followed the swim with a 4 mile run in my racing flats. I thought these shoes may have played a part in my injured Achilles, but the shoes felt good today and my Achilles does not feel the worse for wear. I’ll see how the Achilles feels when I race in the shoes tomorrow morning.


Forgot to mention in my last post that I am sucked in to the Tour de France and it’s only the first week. I will admit that I really have only become a fan since I have started riding in last few years, but now I DVR every stage and watch the races from start to finish.

This week's story has been tale of crashes and tole it has taken on the Americans. Along with the surprising slow start of Contador. I am a Andy Schleck and George Hincapie fan so I am excited to see the battles in the mountain stages. Contador and Schleck are both beasts in the mountains, so it should make for a good battle, especially with Contador having to come from behind. It is simply amazing to watch these athletes work.


I will check in later with race reports from both the Tour and my own.

Weeks in Review

First things first, the boot is off and I am running again.

Week of June 20:

Doctor’s appointment was on Monday and I was cleared to run. Truth to be told, I ran twice before the appointment. I was able to get in two runs this week and each were a little over 7 miles with no pain or swelling. I have switched running shoes to Asics Gel Nimbus, and so far I am happy. Two other high points were a 65 mile ride and 2.5 mile swim.

I was also able to get my in wetsuit on and do an open water swim . I had forgotten how much work open water is…so it was good to get out in the lake and get a solid 45minute swim under my belt.

Week of June 27:

I was able to run 3 times this week and all the runs were between 7-8 miles. I am also still putting in solid long swims. A side effect of the injury has been that my swim stroke has improved and relaxed. The high point of this week was a 75 mile ride, which I will officially say is long time on a bike. I did this ride on my road bike as opposed to my TT bike, and I kept the pace at about 19-21mph.

Also , I had a chance to get another open water swim. It was much smoother this time, but no matter the number of times I practice, I think it will always freak me out a bit.

Week of July 4th:

I was able to run 8 miles on the 4th, which I was psyched about as my legs were shot from the 75 miles the day before. Tuesday I really suffered in the pool, but I swam 2.4 miles. I think the overindulgence of every type of food on the 4th and too many days without break were starting to catch up with me.

Overall: A month ago I had written off the Ironman/Full distance triathlon, but now two weeks after my last appointment I am thinking I may make a run for it. It all depends on how my run shapes up as I progress. I will definitely run the Half at Cedar Point and I have already spoken to registration about upgrading about a month out to the Full. As a side note, I am running a sprint tri this weekend and looking forward to some racing.

REPORT FROM THE 4077

The road to recovery is probably much easier if you are a patient that listens to your doctors.

My doctor’s suggestion: I should be swimming and follow the instructions of my last blog entry.

Unofficial report: I have been swimming since the 4th day after my Achilles was booted. I could not resist. It was like a drug addict going cold turkey. I was feaning and swimming was a must. The good news is, the pain is gone.

In fact, about a week after the boot, I could actually see my Achilles again and I was walking down the stairs pain free.

Last week, I got back on my bike for the first time in three weeks. I was freaked out the whole time, thinking that I was going to reinjure myself. With every tweak or twinge, my mind was racing. I was able to ride 30 miles and get off the bike without pain.

So fast forward to this week, where I have been swimming and biking more regularly. I was ready to go out on Saturday and test myself with a longer ride. I wanted to ride at least 50 miles. I woke without pain in my ankle and the weather was great.
The ride was going swell for the first twenty-four miles. I had made my way out to Vermillion and was feeling strong and relatively fast.

On mile 25 I descended a hill and started climbing an overpass. As I approached the top I saw an expansion joint, but I had no time to react and before I knew it I was flying upside down through the air with my bike over my head still connected to my feet. That is worst feeling in the world – knowing you are just along for the ride.
Then came the pavement with my hip first and then my elbow and then my head. Then came the sliding down the concrete.

After the initial agony, I cursed out the sport and said I was done with the whole thing. Yes, I looked like a crazy person yelling at my bike on the side of the road.

In classic Scott fashion, I did not have any ID with me, had left my cell phone at home, and was now laying on the road in Vermillion. I gathered myself and got my bike together. It initially appeared I had been battered worse than my bike, so I decided to keep riding further west for a couple miles.

I then tried to shift my small ring of gears and noticed that I had snapped the shifter when I hit the pavement. Mind you, it was snapped clean off and it was solid alloy. I must have hit harder than I thought.

So after about 28 miles, I turned around and headed home. Looking down, I noticed my elbow and my knee were now bleeding from the road rash. I also knew my hip was a road rash mess.

I made it home on two gears and in good time. So 55 miles later, except for the crash, it was a great ride and I had no pain in my Achilles.

Although, I have begun to question whether someone is trying to tell me something or least whether there are such things as signs?

Editor’s Note: He somehow neglected to mention that he went out on another ride yesterday evening. Since he had immediately taken his race bike to the bike hospital, he was on his road bike. That left our bedroom a bike-free zone. I took a little time out of my busy schedule to appreciate the beauty.

From The Med Tent

Top 10 Things You Can Do While Wearing an Air Cast

10. Write to your pen pal in Singapore
9. Pose for a life-size statue carved from marble
8. Play Frankenstein for your girls.
7. Lay on you back in the front yard, yelling "Why, God? Why?"
6. Learn to knit
5. Fold 100 origami cranes
4. Build a scaled replica of the Millennium Falcon out of toothpicks and chewed gum
3. Yell obscenities at runners and cyclists from the front porch
2. Pretend you are Brendan Frazer in the movie With Honors
1. Finally finish that kitten puzzle you've been working on

As you can see I chose the second choice of tri season or a doctor and the winner was not me. The diagnosis was acute tendonitis and possibly a minor tear in my Achilles. The upside… it makes me much more satisfied with my marathon time, considering the injury. However, this will undoubtedly hamper my ability to race in the Ironman this season, which is obviously disappointing, but only a setback.

Officially, I am immobilized in an air cast for the next 4 weeks and I am not allowed to run, bike or swim, at all. Did you hear that? I just spontaneously combusted. The doctor said I could start to swim after 10 to 14 days and then in 4 weeks we would start wean me back to training, unless there is still pain and then we will be doing an MRI.

Unofficially, I got back in the pool today and had a good swim workout with little to no pain. The good news is that with the drugs and cast for the past four days the swelling has been substantially reduced and I can actually see my Achilles tendon again. There is still some pain when the cast is off and when I get up in the morning, but it seems like it is going the right direction. Maybe in a couple weeks I can ease my way back on a trainer and bike. Then hopefully, after my next visit, slowly rehab the run. Until then I will probably grow gills and spend as much time in the pool as I can.

I also have a new race schedule planned that I will put up in couple weeks. The schedule will still most likely include a half-ironman – maybe two, depending how everything proceeds.

2011 Cleveland Marathon

Scott / Anna

4:30 Alarm goes off. My head is not in the race. Ankle is still store with my first step out of bed. I tell myself to remember the mantra from my last blog. Oh, and I take two Advil. More to come later on that topic. Off to the Shower.

4:30 Definition of insanity. Since at some point in the wee hours Zoe has joined us, I switch to Scott’s side of the bed to get some breathing room. I find that he has already set the alarm for me. Where is the trust?

4:45 Out of the Shower. Body Glide time for all those special parts that may chafe. Running close on time and the great debate begins as it has gotten considerable colder since I went to bed. Long sleeves or Tri top?

5:00 Downstairs for breakfast. My traditional breakfast of banana babyfood, Cliff Bar, part of banana and some sports drink. Start doing a little stretching.

5:00 to 5:30 Many trips to the restroom to rid myself unnecessary weight.

5:30 PK comes to my house to go to the race together. It is seriously cool outside and there is some even more serious fog. Cut through the flats and we are in the parking lot in no time.

6:00 Long Sleeves or Tri Top and arm warmers? I get out of my car and am immediately cold, so I make the gut reaction to wear a long sleeve running top. First mistake.

6:15 PK and I walk down to Browns Stadium for the start. BTW, props to the Browns for opening the stadium for the use of the facilities and shelter from the weather. Nerves are starting to kick in looking around at the crowd and the fact my dang Achilles is still sore. One more stop in the bathroom and even with all the bathrooms open there are still lines. Much nicer than port-a-potties.

6:15 Alarm goes off. Ugh…if I have any plans of getting in the shower, I cannot hit snooze. If I have any plans of people standing next to me…I have to shower. Morgan wakes up just as I turn the water off so at least I get to skip that argument.

6:40 PK and I make our way to the start line. The corrals were a little tight, but worked out fine. We find the 3:20 pace leader who happened to be the same person (Jay) from last year, which I was psyched about. Great pace leader. I didn’t recognize his co-pace leader. More to come later on that topic, also. Stretching is in full force now.

6:55 National Anthem and “Cleveland Rocks” song – which Cleveland can let go at any time and find a replacement – n o disrespect to Drew Carey.

7:00 The gun goes off and the chaos of 19,000 people leaving the start line begins. PK and I are immediately separated. My good pace leader has disappeared and the great salmon swim begins to catch back up. This is also when I realize the course I said I was not a fan of was going to make itself known. I catch back up with the pace group by about Mile 1, after steadily climbing hills for a mile. I am beginning to settle down, but my Achilles is in major pain. Fitness-wise I am loaded with energy and now completely focused on running. That first mile was a sub 7 pace to catch back with the group.

7:05 We leave our house. On time. I have made a deal with Zoe that she can stay in her pajamas until we get to our first spectator spot. I have packed a thermal sack with water, Capri Suns and a Zero. I have packed a bag with Zoe’s clothes, children’s books, coloring paper, markers, How to Ditch Your Fairy, the Lady Gaga edition of Bazaar Magazine, bags of goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, granola bars, wipes, two large blue recycling bags and the camera. I throw two lawn chairs and the umbrella stroller in the trunk to join the blanket. I cannot even begin to tell you how impressive this is.

Mile 2 Concept of time of day has disappeared. I am feeling great (except for my Achilles) and feel like running a little faster than my pace group. I surge ahead and I am running at 7:10 per mile. PK catches up and is running lights out with me. Cruising into the Edgewater area. Love the crowds in this area of town

7:15 Pull out of McDonald’s with two McGriddles, a Bacon, Egg and Cheese bagel, three hashbrowns, two apple juice and one orange drink (their orange juice is too pulpy…blechhh).

10K I am still ahead of my pace group and running strong. PK has dropped off the pace. His knee will not hold out. Knowing I am in for the long haul on a bad wheel, I decide to cut back my pace and rejoin my pace group, which happens a little after mile 7.

7:30 Get off and West 25th and head to Scranton, pulling ahead of the aide station and race turn, so it is no longer between me and downtown (again, I’m surprising myself with impressive skillz). Park in front of a questionable house, but less than a block away from the police officer, so we’re able to eat our breakfast and get Zoe changed. Less the 10 minutes later the pros are heading our way (Jesus, that is fast.) Barely a light mist at this point. Morgan pushes Zoe’s stroller and I grab the chairs and bag to find our spot on the corner of Mile 9.

Mile 7-9 Running well with the group. However, the thought the Advil was doing nothing had crept in, and my adrenaline was working on other things. This is also when the bad pace guy takes over the flag carrying duties and the good pacer takes a port-a-pot stop. Almost immediately bad pacer jacks the pace up to 7:10 miles, which is 28 seconds faster then his designated pace and the group is being decimated. I am hanging but the added pressure is not helping and now I am getting pissed. In the back of my head, I think he going to slow down, so that his partner can catch up. No dice. Ten miles and we are now consistently running 7:10. My ankle is now throbbing and the thought of calling it a day at the half is going through my head. Note to the bad pace leader: the word pace is defined. You may want to look it up.

8:00-8:45 You don’t realize how fast people are actually running until you are trying to pick out faces. I knew no less than 10 people running the half marathon and was on the look out. I didn’t even realize it was Scott until he was practically in front of me, thus the picture from behind. I can confirm the bad pacer at this spot, because I noticed he was practically on top of the 3:10 group. We waited. Morgan’s best quote of the day. “It’s hard to look for Uncle Phil, because there are so many bald guys.” (I swear I didn’t teach her this, and I don’t think he’s bald.) As we finally give up to drive down town, I look up and catch Gregg rounding the turn, who despite allegations of being completely un-prepared, manages to call out hellos to the girls without any effort whatsoever.

Mile 13.1 I have made it here and laid down BQ half time. Maybe my best half time. Achilles is still killing, but the mantra from last blog kicks in and I keep running. Heck, I am halfway interested to see how things turn out. Then the head winds kick in and so does my grudge match with the marathon.

9:00 Me, queen of no sense of direction, gets the family downtown through the plight-dredged streets of Cleveland. The parking garage I had planned on was closed, but I easily made a correction. On the walk there, I force the girls to take a pee break at the Hyatt (I know a really nice public restroom in the basement there from my E&Y days). We casually make our way along the half-mile finish course where I finally spot another friend, or rather she spots me and waves (Go, Shannon!). The precipitation is getting a little heavier now and the temperature has dropped drastically. I should have worn a coat instead of sweatshirt, but the girls are actually dressed okay and we have the blanket. Nobody is even complaining about the walk.

Mile 16 My pace has dropped off a little. The dehydration of taking 6-8 Advil a day for the last two weeks has also started and now I’m fighting cotton mouth and some muscle issues. The good pace leader and I have rejoined forces around mile 15 and were still cruising a little ahead of the 3:20 pace. (Editor’s note: Scott is being modest here, because he told me later that he and his fancy watch helped out a big group of people and he became the un-official pace setter and cheer leader for a big gaggle of them for quite sometime before coming back upon the official guy.)

9:15ish Closing in on the Rock Hall and see Coach Patty (Morgan’s soccer coach) who has finished the half and walking back to her car. Grab a spot to sit for a while and wrap the blanket around the girls, but know for certain we cannot stay here for an entire hour (if he is actually keeping pace, which I believe is next to impossible with that ankle). It is too cold and the wind to brutal. Yet if we walk toward the stadium, it is a mad house and by the time we get settled there, we’ll have to come back if we want a chance to see him. Decisions, decisions.

Mile 19 This is where my race began…or shall I say…fell a part. I was starting to hit the wall. My Achilles was not going to let me stay with the 3:20 guys much longer, and I am starting to cramp from dehydration. Thank science for gels, because they were a lifesaver at times on this run. By mile 20 I had hit the wall on many fronts of cramping and pain, but I had still managed to get there in about 2 hours 33 minutes. My new goal based on my grudge match was just coming in under 3:30.

9:45 Find shelter (and a bench) up against the Rock Hall. In fact, it completely cuts off the wind and the now-steady drizzle. The girls are in great spirits and take out the coloring supplies. A half-er in shorts and a tank top makes her way to the shelter, waiting for her ride and I offer our blanket, because her shivering is making me cold. (Again …definition of insanity.) I enjoy some pop and fruit snacks and read a very small amount of my book.

Mile 22 Life is sucking. I have had to walk for about 30 feet and mentally I was fighting on every level. Back to the mantra and a new one which was “just keep running.” Just keep looking for the city and just keep running.

Mile 24 Fighting my way over the wall. Had some periodic walking, but still was managing under 8:00 minute miles when I was running. The grudge match goal was in reach.

10:15 Head down to the curb. The drizzle is back to mist and the girls pull out the garbage bags to sit on, letting me wrap myself in a blanket. Morgan and Zoe start up the chant, “Go, Daddy, Go!” for about ten minutes, which must have made the people wonder exactly how many daddies they had.

Mile 25 The realization that I had pushed my way to the finish had begun to set in, and I was happy about that. Plus, I knew I was going to see my girls soon, and that would make whatever portion of the race was left much easier.

Mile 26 I see Anna, Morgan and Zoe cheering at the Rock Hall. I run over and give them all high fives and cheer for them, since they have sucked it up in the rain and wind for hours now and cruise into the finish. I stop my watch at 3:28 and change, but closer to 3:29. I am satisfied with the time considering the conditions, my Achilles and all the other factors. After that stuff, I was only about six minutes slower then my pace last year.

10:30ish I think Scott shocked the girls by coming over for high fives, which made them very giddy. Well worth the wait. Started to walk towards the finish line and probably kept going a little longer than I should have before turning around. There was just too much madness to be able to try to find him and now it is legitimately raining and I sense a breaking point for the girl’s patience. Zoe is looking soaked at this point. So when we get back to the car, I let her change back into her pajamas and she is ecstatic.

11:00 I am so cold I am now shivering uncontrollably and can not find the girls in the rain and wind. I decide to call it quits and hope they do the same. I head to the med tent for a foil blanket and walk to the car. Call Anna and she has done the same.

11:30 I am heading home to let the stiffness set it in and EAT.

11:30 Heading home along the path of the race course and talking to Scott on the phone to get the scoop on the ankle situation (I know. Shame on me). There are literally hundreds of shirts littering the road after being discarded by the racers. Scott had a good suggestion that some organization should follow along after the race and pick them up to sell or give to clothes banks.

Overall: Another good race put on by Rite Aid and the sponsors. Huge props to Anna and the kids for supporting Dad through the journey. Props to the volunteers and all the spectators who braved the weather. This was a mental battle with the marathon and I got through it.

Sorry, I missed everyone else. Way to go Colleen, Kim, Beth, Lindsey, Meghan and John. I honestly don’t know how you do it. My legs cramp up when I take the stairs to the cafeteria.

Tri season next...and maybe a trip to the doctor.

Troy Is Falling

I think it was Hannibal on the A-Team that used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” This, after having endured many minor detours on the way to the end of that plan. Well…sitting on the precipice of the Marathon start Sunday morning… I hope that is what I am saying Sunday afternoon. The problem is I have been suffering through one of the detours for about three weeks now and there is no way around the fact that it will affect the race.

In the days just after the Oxford race, I started to have pain in my left achilles, which I first thought nothing about and attributed it purely to fatigue. Now three weeks later with an ice pack on it as I type this blog, the thought that it may be more than fatigue has sunk in completely – along with some swelling.

I have maintained my run training schedule throughout, with one additional 20 mile run about two weeks ago, but the last two weeks I have been in serious taper mode for run training and the pain has not subsided. In fact, on Monday I told someone it felt like spikes being driven up my achilles into my calf. What is more frustrating is that fitness-wise I feel great.

Ultimately, I have made the decision to still race because I have worked too hard to not give it a go at this point. It will most likely not be a PR, unless there is a small miracle between now and Sunday morning, but you never know. Advil, ice packs and heat are actually helping substantially.

Really, the only word to describe the whole thing is frustration, because it was only two weeks ago I was thinking that Boston was completely feasible. Now, sitting a few days out, that reality is slipping away.

I keep telling myself the goal has always been the Ironman this year, and that I have run the marathon before. So if this one doesn’t go as planned, it’s no big deal. This close to the event that perspective is a hard pill to swallow, especially looking back over the winter runs.

With that said, I am sticking with the mantra I told Anna about week ago, which is not as poetic as “I love it when a plan comes together”, but just as effective.

“*uck it, I am running.”

Editor’s Note: Looking forward to a day that I don’t wake up to the smell of IcyHot in the morning and am not asked “Does this look swollen to you?” As this will probably be the last post pre-marathon…Good Luck Team Mozo!