When I decided to return to Ironman after a 6-year hiatus it surprised many people close to me (as well as myself)! I swore I was done with the long-distance events. I had a wonderful career racing Ironman that started as a 24-year old amateur and then as a Pro on the Zoot Ultra Team. When I hung up my Ironman shoes in 2010 I was nervous because I had been racing Ironman for 10 years! It was scary to leave the long distance behind, wondering what I would do! Well, that wasn’t a problem. I learned how to surf, a sport I find an incredible amount of joy in, I raced shorter races for fun, and I started Iron Fit Endurance my coaching business and my passion!
I never looked back or even contemplated another Ironman…until last year! I decided that I would try to get back to Hawaii as a 40-year old, so I signed up for Ironman Florida to see if I could qualify again. I believed and still believe that I have an ability to race close to the times that I did when I retired and I didn’t want to look back and have any regrets. So, here I am, two weeks out! Part of me wondered if I would actually get here, but I did! I have mixed feelings: excitement, nervousness (what if I can’t come close to what I used to do?), happiness that I decided to do it (I try to live my life with “no regrets”), fear of the distance (it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these!), familiarity in the training, and feelings of accomplishment that I prepared myself well and I am going for it!
Many people have impacted on my journey in a positive way…
George: He supports and gets behind anything I decide to do without so much of a hesitation. He is always there to bounce training ideas around with and to hear about what I did in my latest workout. Here we are 9 years ago on a cycling trip in Girona, Spain and most recently on a surf trip in Panama:
My parents: They will be making the journey down to Florida with George to watch and support me. Of the 15 Ironman events I have competed in my parents have been to 13! Here they are at the Mighty Hamptons from 3 years ago...one of the countless races they have been to:
The athletes that I coach: I get encouraging texts and e-mails letting me know what positive impact I have made on them. Each one goes in the “Ironman bank…things I will think of during the race. Scott Janicola, Jose Hernandez and Michael Mancini have all come out to ride with me on my long rides even though their race seasons have come to an end. Scott also lent me his Normatec Recovery Boots to use in my prep for the race!
Mike Monastero: Co-owner of Babylon Bike Shop and in my opinion, the best bike fitter around. Since we worked together as athlete/coach for many races in the past he recently offered some advice on my taper going into Florida based on what worked best for me countless times before. I am grateful to have him to bounce ideas off of and for his support after all these years. This was a picture I found of George and Mike at the Bear Mountain Race about 8 years ago.
Bill Romas and Nancy Cattabiani: Bill is not only a friend, but has been my massage therapist for the past 15 years…he’s the BEST! Nancy is my dear friend who will be competing in Ironman next year after a hiatus of her own. Thanks to these two special people for their endless support. Below is a picture of Bill and Nancy from Ironman Cozumel 2009 which we all competed in.
Thanks also to Dr. Larry Lembo Chiropractor and A.R.T. therapist who has been working on my body and getting it ready to race! It has needed the work, especially these last few weeks!
Thank you everyone who has been a part of this wonderful experience my 16th time around!
Enough about me…here are some recent race results for Iron Fit Endurance!
Hilary Topper, who will be doing the NYC Marathon competed in the Bronx 10 Miler with her daughter Zoey! They both had great races!
Linda Meerovici competed in the Tunnel to Towers. She placed 1st in her age group and was the 2nd EMS finisher!
Jackie competed in the Ocean to Sound relay with Team RWB…she fell and twisted her ankle during her running leg, but got back up and finished!
Laura Giardino competed in a 5K to celebrate her birthday!
Ironman Maryland:
What a crazy day! The swim was cancelled, the bike shortened, the run flooded, but they still persevered!
Shayne Lewis was in the ER the night before the race with a 102 degree fever! His mom and friend/mentor Bob Spina (a Long Island triathlon legend in his own right) were ready to convince him that he couldn’t race, but somehow Shayne woke up the next morning ready to go! Shayne didn’t have the best of luck during the race. He had a blow out on the bike and waited for support. That took some time and some wind out of his sails, but he still forged ahead and completed the event! here is Shayne at the finish with his mom and with Bob:
Irene Lam also had bad luck. She fell on the bike, but got back on a finished. Her bike spilt was incredible anyway, but her ribs were not. She also forged ahead and finished the race. The next week she got the ribs x-rayed only to find out that she fractured 3 ribs! Talk about determination!
Mike Scanlon had a great day. Mike has been through a lot and wasn’t sure if he would ever get back to Ironman racing again. Well he did and he had a great day out there! He is one of those athletes that executes the long-distance races flawlessly and enjoys every step of the way!
Shelley Bache was there to complete her first Ironman. She was disappointed in the cancelled swim and shortened bike, so what did she do? She did the extra 12 miles on the bike to make it 112. Then she ran the marathon and walked an additional 2 miles to make up for the swim. “I wanted to do 140.6”, she told me. I was amazed! Shelley signed up for Ironman North Carolina 3 weeks later (this weekend) to get in that full distance and was again disappointed to hear there will be a shortened course there as well! Good luck to Shelley anyway. Here are some great shots from the event:
Mighty Montauk
The folks that raced Mighty Montauk did NOT have an easy day! Cold water, chilly air and wind! Michael Mancini and Maureen Lundquist both finished their first half distance in these tough conditions while Rich Holden finished an incredible triathlon season with a great race in Montauk. I was really proud of all of them. Here are some great pictures of Maureen and Michael!
The following weekend Laura Giardino won her age group at the Cedar Beach Duathlon!
Frank Fiorello has been busy as usual. Here are some great shots from the Captiva Island triathlon and Lake George:
Ironman Louisville was also the weekend of October 9th. Husband and wife Geoff and Heather Fig headed there with brother-in-law Pete Blieberg. Pete had a heartbreaking accident before the race tearing his ACL. He trained so hard for this event and I was devastated for him that he would not make it to the start line! Geoff and Heather competed in the event, though they both had a hard time getting psyched after learning that Pete would not be competing. They all trained together for this event which would have been Pete’s first Ironman.
IMLOU has a 16-hour cutoff time unlike every other Ironman that has a 17-hour cutoff. They explained that, due to the time trial swim, if your chip says that you finished over 16-hours you can cross finish line and get a medal though your results will show a DNF. Heather finished under the cutoff. Geoff was on the course, at mile 21 of the run with another athlete when a volunteer came up to them and told them to get in the van and get off the course. “We have time to make it” they told the volunteer. “We are not getting off the course”, to which the volunteer replied “if you don’t get in the van I will call the cops to get you off the course”. They were stunned and they were angry, but eventually got in the van only to find that the finish line was open well after they would have gotten there! Geoff’s kids were waiting at the finish line for him only to find that he was taken off the course. The man Geoff was on the course with had just overcome cancer and this was to be his first Ironman. I am so upset for them and I can’t imagine why these people were pulled off the course at mile 21 well before the cutoff time. It has certainly been an interesting fall for long distance racing...
I hope everyone enjoys their off season, taking some time to do different activities as a mental and physical break. I like to take a few weeks to “not be on a schedule”. However, it is important not to take too much time “off”. Try some different activities, don't "force" any workouts, stay away from "intervals" but remember to stay active! Once you get back to the off season training you should feel refreshed but not “out of shape”. I will be looking forward to some down time as well, but first I have a race to do! J