When I did my first big triathlon back in the summer of 1997 I think only 6 people close to me knew about it, including my parents.  This was the beginning of my amazing support system in the sport of triathlon.  This past weekend as I competed in the Half Ironman in St Croix, I was blown away by how much this support system has grown.  I’m truly blessed, and I know this endurance family is the reason for all the success I have had so far.  Those same 6 people are still the core of my support, but now the family has grown beyond my wildest imagination.  Here is a small glimpse into the family from my perspective followed by a recap of the race.

On Monday before the race, Dean called me up to have Jen and Bull and I over for dinner.  We have a tradition going now that he always has us over before the big races for dinner followed by his amazing Banana’s Foster!  Just the beginning of my Carb Load I guess.  Thanks Man!

Another absolute must before a big race for me is to see Jess for a massage.  Even though I screwed up and scheduled one with her for Wednesday, (the day we were leaving), she totally rearranged her schedule to get me in on Tuesday AM.  Jess is so good that most people have to book with her a month in advance, but she knew how important it was to me.  Thanks Jess!

BJ sent me one of the best quotes ever a couple days before the race.  We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.  - Aristotle  Perfect!  I needed that bad.  Thanks man!

Two weeks before the race I was just finishing a treadmill workout at the Boulder Center for Sports medicine, and Sean, the bike fitting expert there, came over.  He had a cancellation that day and spent the next hour with me doing a full on 3D bike fit totally on the house.  The same week Paul did a bike LT test for me and Neal spent a huge chunk of his time talking race strategy with me.  Thanks guys!

My parents, who haven’t missed a big race since that first one back in 1997, came down Tuesday night to go to the race with us.  What blows me away about them coming to this race was that they had a big competition with their students in Cheyenne on Tuesday morning.  This meant that when we finally made it back to Denver on Monday morning around 1:00AM they had to jump right in the car and drive to Cheyenne.  I could write a book on everything they do on race week for me, but this shows the great lengths they go to. 

My amazing wife Jen handled all of the travel arrangements.  She packed for all of us.  She made all the special meals that keep me running at my best.  She was my councilor as always through the tension of race week…….she put up with this building tension.  I can’t possibly say enough here.  This is just a snowflake falling on the tip of the iceberg.  Thanks babe!

Lisa always makes sure that we get together somehow before the big races.  We met at Colorado multisport the night before we left.  Lisa was picking up her sweet new Kuota!  I talked her into an aero helmet too, but she insisted that I take the new hard case for the helmet with me for my helmet and she gave the coolest card.  Thanks Lisa!

I had endless e-mails and phone calls and text messages and cards from team HEP.  Mike, and Kristina, and Ryan, and Prinzel, and Leanne, and Amy, and……..it’s a never ending list…….thanks so much guys!

Barry Siff was at the race to cover the action for 4 different tri magazines.  He was out there cheering for me all day and as soon as I finished he was instantly in the med tent to congratulate me and take pictures.  Later that night he had already sent me the pictures.  Thanks Barry! 

Okay, I know I probably went overboard here, but I’m so grateful for my support system.  I love my endurance family!  Now about the race…….

The wind was blowing at about 20 knots at the beginning of the swim.  To say the water was rough is a definite under statement.  Many times I could hardly spot the buoys because the waves were so high.  Luckily I found some good feet to follow and held on to a high Z3 to low Z4 feel.  All engines were firing well and I came out with a good group.  Heading into T1 the bike racks were still pretty full.  That’s what I like to see!  I fumbled a bit getting my arm coolers on there, but I think they definitely paid off in the end. 

The bike course in St Croix is by far the hardest course I have ever done.  It was even harder this time as the rain clouds moved in.  By 8 miles as we zipped through the very skinny streets of St. Croix the road had become very slick.  My back wheel slid out and I have no idea how I didn’t go down!  I definitely learned my lesson there.  Finally we exited town and started hitting some of the big hills.  All of the riders around me were attacking like we were doing a sprint triathlon!  I went with them the best I could.  Just before we hit the Beast, we had covered 30km in 48 minutes!  Whoa!!!!!  We are going way too hard here.  Finally on the beast, which was brutal, I let them go.  I knew I was riding too hard and I didn’t want to risk too much on the descent.  Instantly they put about 2 miles on me and I was suddenly riding all alone.  Then came the down pour.  The skies opened up and I was riding through puddles deeper than my 1080 rim.  ”Stay calm…..stay calm……ease up…….good pedal form”  I talked to myself out load.  Finally the rain died down and I reached the last 30km of the course.  This is where you really earn it in St. Croix.  There isn’t a single stretch of road in this last section that doesn’t have crazy hills or winding descents.  Holding a rhythm is incredibly hard.  Finally about mile 50 or so, the riders that got away from me came back into sight and I managed to get by them.  I have to admit though, as I went into T2 I was very scared about how hard I had just gone on the bike.  It was by far the biggest effort I have ever given in a half Ironman.  Come on running legs!

When I through on my shoes I glanced down my age group rack and only saw one bike.  Okay……I’ve got one to catch!  Following Neal’s strategy that has paid off so many time in the past I really held back for the first 5k.  “Patience…..patience…….patience”  I worked really hard to get my nutrition in and find a groove.  At 5k I was finding a good rhythm.  At mile 4 I finally passed someone, and I was pretty sure he had a 30 on his leg!  “Okay……I’m in the lead!  Stay calm….hold pace……not too hard yet!”  Finally, I hit the turn around back in town and headed out for the second loop.  About one minute after the turn around I saw the 2nd and 3rd place guys in my age group heading toward the turn around and they looked pretty good.  Without even thinking I raised my pace.  It actually kind of caught me by surprise!  “Okay….this is the pace now.  Hold on!”  My family is hugely important at this point in a race.  My Dad always makes sure he get’s to the 1mile left point.  My Mom heads out about a quarter mile from the finish and Jen and Gray are right at the finish.  Finally!……I see my day at 1 to go.  My form is totally breaking down and the pedal is on the floor.  I started counting steps here.  300 steps at a time and then start over.  There was Jen and Gray at the finish, but cruelly there is  one last turn through town.  At this point I was looking behind me every 10 steps.  There was my mom!  The streets were packed with locals all giving me high fives and the sound of the crowd was amazing!  An extra big high five to mom, a quick point to the sky for Rocky, and then the line and Jen and Gray. 

Until next time, shop at trisports.com using my discount code chowie-s, eat more powerbar, and tell your endurance family you love them.