It is nice to be back home. It has been a long focus and lead up to Kona and not getting the result I was after makes it a little more difficult. I was able to spend the rest of the week with my family in Kona, which was great. Spending time that was lost leading up to the race. I got to snorkel, swim, and surf with my son Kaiden.
The race did not turn out the way I hoped. I put in the time and effort for a good race and for some reason it was not the day I expected. That is the challenge with Ironman. You put everything into one day and sometimes your body does not respond the way it supposed to. My fitness was strong and the best it has been in.
I had a good swim and found myself swimming in the front of the lead pack the whole time. I was 2nd and 3rd back the whole swim until the last 500 meters where everyone started to get anxious and fight for position. With other athletes pulling and hitting my feet and trying to cut in, it turned into an aggressive swim. I got a good cramp in my calf from all the taps and pulls on my feet I ended up having to stop and stretch it out. I went from 3rd from the front to coming out of the water in the top 20. I only lost 15 or so seconds, but every bit counts. That put me heading out of transition behind the front of the group where I wanted to be.
I went out a little harder than planned to get to the front and try and get away before leaving town. Once I got onto the highway I knew my legs were not feeling how they normally do. It felt like I had to put a lot of effort into the pedals to get the power output I normally can get with ease and rhythm. It was something I kept thinking would come around. Sometimes in a long race like the Ironman your legs can feel bad or you can be having a bad day and if you stick to it, it can come around and you can start feeling really good again. So I stuck to my plan and tried to hold a pace that would keep me towards the front hoping the legs would start to feel good. Sindballe and I changed positions a couple times as we went up to Hawi and back down, and then I started to feel really bad and he pulled away. From before Kawaihi to the Four Seasons my body and legs were not listening to my pleas to feel better and hang in there. My power dropped significantly and I lost 4 minutes to Sindballe. Norman Stadler was coming close as we came into to town and I was hoping that my legs on the run would feel a lot better than the ride. Sometimes when your legs feel bad on the bike your run can still be good and have rhythm.
So I was hoping for the best as I started the run. I ran with Norman for the first couple miles and I knew it was going to be a tough day as my legs were killing me right from the beginning. I dug deep and pushed myself the best I could. Staying positive and trying to ignore the pain in my legs. I held on well as I was holding 3rd place through the first half of the marathon. Once we got onto the highway my legs were feeling worse as I had to run the rolling hills heading out to the energy lab. Crowie passed me and I was fading quick. Fighting the urge to walk. I shuffled and walked for the next couple miles getting passed by the top 10. Brian Rhodyes ran past me and encouraged me to run with him. I mustered what I could and ran with him through the lab and back towards town. Even running at an 8 minute mile pace was painful as I couldn’t keep up with the casual pace Bryan and I were running. He went ahead as I couldn’t go much faster and had to stop frequently.
My goals changed and I didn’t want to look at this race as a failure. Yes, I didn’t finish where I wanted, but I pushed through, learned a lot that will help me in the future. I got to have my son witness me cross the finish line and show him that winning is not everything, but seeing things through and pushing through the best you can when things get tough. He has been an inspiration and motivation for me this year. My family is my #1 focus, with my supportive and caring wife Karis, Kaiden who is my best friend, and my new 8 week old daughter Kayah who I am excited to see grow and excited to see what everyone is saying about having a daughter.
Thank you to everyone for all your support and encouragement through out the year and on race day. I was humbled to see how many people took energy out of their own race to encourage me even when I did not have the energy to return the favor. Know that I am thankful for your encouragement and that I wish I could have been more encouraging back.
See you next season and looking forward to what next year will bring! Who knows maybe I will be out there again this year?
A special thanks to K-Swiss for the support and belief in me. I continue to strive to do more and look forward to what K-Swiss will do this next year and I hope to surprise a few people as well.
--- Chris
Things have been going very well as I have been preparing for the Ironman World Championship. I will be heading over to Kona Monday and look forward to getting back there.
If You would like to follow y training and daily events leading up to the Ironman this year check out my video blog at http://www.ironmandiary.com
Make you end of the year race your biggest success.
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By taking Base Amino consistently over the final weeks or month leading up to your race you will ensure that your muscles are getting the correct fuel that will help you get to your peak level. If you are racing in the next couple of weeks of months, chances are your season has been long. During a long season it is hard to maintain high performances and peak condition; your body needs more fuel to keep you going. The body has become efficient at using fuel and needs protein, more importantly amino acids in order to fight that overtraining bug that creeps up towards the end of the season. Use Base Amino before every run, swim and bike to ensure your body has those amino acids readily available to be used as energy, so that you body does not loose any muscle mass over the final weeks leading up to your race. Make sure to take Base Amino during exercise lasting longer than one hour and take another serving directly after exercise within that 30 minute window which is so essential to post-exercise recovery.
Hydration is the building block to health. Everything starts from being well hydrated. Your body digests nutrients more efficiently, muscles fire more forcefully and you are able to recover faster. Hydration is cumulative; if you do not drink enough before an event in the week or weeks leading up to a race then your body will not be fully hydrated. It is exponentially important for you to focus on hydration in the week leading up to your race. Combine a gallon of filtered water with one ounce of Base Water to take with you throughout your day in the week leading up to an event. By taking Base Water you will be fully hydrated and recovered come race day.
(my Trek Madone - the ride for the week)
This tour has been very hard, but great training. We have one more day left and it is the Time Trial. I am looking forward to tomorrow, but it is only a 7 mile event. Wish it was closer to 56 or 112 miles. My chances of a win would be much better.
Today was a huge day of racing. 100 miles and 15,000 ft of climbing!!! What a day. I was working for my team most of the day so I had a chance to work hard most of the day. Today was the hardest I have ridden a 100 miles ever. I can feel my fitness increasing and I think the timing is great for my lead to Kona.
(Garmin Chipolte - came straight from the Tour De France- making the pace wicked fast and hard) (Rock Racing- Tyler Hamilton and other Olympic and Tour de France riders keeping the everyone honest) (Stage 1 - not an easy day, but considered easy compared to everything else)
Good training day with a short run after
(Stage 2 - crazy hard and fast pace and attacks all day non stop - 10,000 ft of climbing) (Stage 4 - 2 of the 3 climbs are rated Hors Category (HC) (HARD CLIMBS!! Making this 15,000 ft of climbing difficult)
Great Training Day with a short run after
(thats me 3rd from the front waiting my turn to pull)
It was the hardest bike race I have ever done. 85 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing. 3 very hard climbs and riding with Tour De France riders. The race started out hard from the gun. the first 45 minutes was RIDICULOUS!!! The first 5 miles was so fast as we lead into the first climb that was 3 + miles long with an average of a 10% grade. The climb was just as hard dropping lots of people in the first 10 miles of the race never to be seen again. Down the back side and I ended up getting talked into working to hard and pulling in the front. Then the 2nd big climb that seemed to go forever. When we hit the 3rd and last climb my legs were shot from all the work I did. I paid for it big time and got dropped from the front group and lost over 10 minutes up that climb. At least it was a good training day getting ready for Kona!
Every year for the past 4 years I like to do a stage race before Kona. I find that the added focus on the bike for the week and the speed riding with the pros helps out my prep for the Ironman World Championships. This year I am doing the Tour of Utah (http://www.tourofutah.com) and will be riding with some of the best professional cyclist in the world. Some are here straight from the Tour De France. Check out some SRAM Road Diaries videos. http://www.theroaddiaries.com/?p=163
We have been blessed with another addition to the family. My wife, Karis was a true champ and hero delivering our baby girl Kayah Grace Lieto on 8/8/8 at 1:49pm weighing in at 8lbs 8oz. It has been an incredible couple days with the new arrival and we are very blessed.
