More inspiration from one of my favorite athletes and leaders. Terry Nugent competes (and wins), in arguably the most grueling sport, with peers that train as full-time jobs!
Congrats on your PR and the huge milestone Terry!
Following is Terry's Official TRI RACE REPORT - hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Got it done in Kona this year. Had a PR by over 25 minutes to go sub 10 hours for the first time ever. 9:46 which was good enough for 3rd in the
world in my age group. Needless to say I was quite happy with the results!!
In December of 2010 after a disappointing Kona race my brother Kevin (who raced Kona 10' with me) sent me a custom sweatshirt for my birthday titled "Unfinished Business-Kona 11". He knew that I felt that I had not yet put together an overall good race in Hawaii the previous 4X due to a variety of reasons, most pertaining to the heat and nutrition. I went into last years race in peak condition and felt ready to crack the elusive 10 hr. mark. That didn't happen and it set the stage for 2011. However, I questioned many times over my motivation and passion for triathlon this year as the race approached. I wasn't enjoying the experience and journey in my prep work and quite frankly couldn't wait to just get this race over with. My training over the past two months was uninspiring. I choose to train on my own instead of getting locked into a suffer fest with my normal buddies. Not to take away from that but I knew what I needed to do to get ready even though it wasn't much fun. As most of you know, there is tremendous sacrifice from this sport and for me, if I wasn't working, training, or coaching, I was sleeping. Everything else took a back seat. You know the drill. So, the closer I got to Kona the more I looked at this race with a different eye knowing that it might be some time before I return. I promised myself that I would enjoy the day since I had earned the privilege of being there. My past two races I did not enjoy with the exception of seeing my kids on the course and at the finish line. This time was going to be different even if that meant slowing down to take it all in. The end result of this year was that I was able to take it all in, enjoy the day and take care of the "unfinished business" by having a complete race.
Pre Race Prep work:
One of my biggest fears of racing Kona is the heat and humidity. After my dnf in St. George, my brother and I did extensive research of heat training and the importance of acclimating to the environment that you will be racing in. To me that meant running in the heat of the day, training in Bill Ankele's home made heat chamber (90 deg with 72% humidity!!) Thanks Bill! I also turned my own home gym into a controlled heat room with a space heater and humidifier for my compu trainer rides. Trips to the dry sauna at Greenwood became common as well. When I landed in Kona I never turned on the AC in the car and did pre-race workouts in the heat of the day. All of these small things add up so that mentally and physically you become adapted. I knew that I could do it after having a good run split in the 100 deg heat at Buffalo Springs-which I need to give a shout out to Carlos for pushing me to do that race. I also switched my nutrition drink to Infinite Nutrition which customized my drink mix based on my sweat loss rate, weight etc..(thanks to Grant Bovee for that recommendation!!) Bottom line here is that I felt like I could have a good run even in the hottest of conditions as I had done the prep work for that and had tested my nutrition for it.
Race Day notes:
Day/Night before: 20 min ocean swim, 20 min bike, 10 min easy run with XXX (James Stromberg-my stud friend from Michigan who cracked 10 hours for 1st time!). Wanted to eat earlier this year so finished up dinner by 5:00 p.m. Drank an insure at 8:00 p.m. Chilled the rest of the evening before trying to hit the sack at 9:00 p.m. Had an upset stomach all night and just chalked it up to nerves. Never fell asleep and finally at 2:00 a.m. felt like I needed to throw up which is exactly what happened. Puked my guts out from food poisoning. Kevin had the same issue. We concluded later that it had to come from some bacteria on the cucumbers or carrots in the salad. Needless to say I never went back to sleep as my stomach just felt raw and torn up.
Breakfast plans went by the wayside. Ate half a plain bagel with a few bites of banana only because I knew I needed something. Sipped on Gatorade all morning to get fluids back into me and then 20 minutes before the swim I hit a GU with caffeine.
Swim Start: After the last two races of getting the crap beat out of me at the swim start I knew where I didn't want to line up and that was next to the pier! Started in the middle but actually moved two times further to my left when the area I was in became crowded. Felt very relaxed with low expectations. At the gun I actually waited just a few seconds so the lead guys right ahead of me could move out. I pulled in right behind them and had clean water with minimal bumping. Lesson learned here:if you don't like where you are lined up and feel tight given the amount of swimmers around you, look around for somewhere else to go. As I said earlier, I moved 2X. Yes, it was probably another 100-200 meters further from the straightest line but the cleaner water was well worth it. We still had our draft lines and slowly moved back into mainstream by the turn around. Never went anaerobic and enjoyed the best swim I have had there even though my swim time was slightly off from last year. My buddy from Michigan started by the pier and said he got absolutely thrashed. My decision ended up being the right one.
Bike: Best advice I received was from Dave Scott telling me to take the first 15 miles on the bike easy which I did. The theory behind that is you can become overextended up the Kuakini Hwy as it is uphill. Better to sit back, catch a draft (no race marshalls on that road-just too dangerous) and then wait until you hit the airport to get into the race groove. I did exactly that. Had no calories until 45 min on the bike and sipped some water to begin the hydration phase. Used my concentrated bottle of Infinite (5 scoops) which I had taken a pen and marked out 8 equal lines that I used as a reference point so that every 15 minutes I would drink down to the next line thereby finishing the bottle by the turnaround. I had another bottle at turnaround that I used for the return leg. That worked exactly as planned. Hammered the water at every aid station (every 7 miles) and took approx 12 salt stick capsules during the whole bike. My infinite formula is loaded with Sodium as well (524 mg per serving-2 scoops). Had two gels, a stinger bar and a few bites of a banana. That was it for calories. My original plan said 380 calories per hour but I used significantly less than that after research from St. George and after chatting with the guys from Infinite. I ended up right close to 300 calories an hour using the "less is more" research.
One thing happened on the bike that had never happened before was at about mile 25 I ended up in a peloton of no less than 70 riders and we zipped along like the tour de France for a good 8-10 miles with a race marshall right next to us. Was nothing he could do as the line couldn't spread out. I was near the tail end of that group for fear of a drafting penalty but he couldn't hand out penalties at that time. I finally held back and was glad I did as the next penalty tent another 10 miles up the road was over full of bikers as I suspect the line got drawn out and the race marshall was finally able to write tickets. Had to be at least 15 guys in the tent!
Passed a ton of riders the last 30 miles into town. These were the guys that took it out too hard and couldn't hold their speed into the wind and heat from Waikoloa back to Kona. Lesson is the race is 112 miles, not 80.
Run: Alii drive has to be the hottest and most humid place on the earth to run!! I felt like an ice cube melting in the sun by mile 6 and could see everyone else melting as well. Just plain miserable there as the air just hangs and the humidity from the lush vegetation is insane. No ocean breezes either as the course if blocked by the endless rows condos and townhomes along the ocean. I couldn't wait to get up to the Queen K to run. Saw my good friend Carlos and Sue on this part of the course and they,as always,provided great inspiration. For those who don't know them, they are two world class triathletes from Az who happened to get in a bike wreck two weeks out from Kona. Carlos didn't run until the day of the race and Sue ended up with over 160 stitches on her forearm that looked like she had been bitten by a Tiger Shark. They get the "Most Inspirational" award in Kona this year. Most others wouldn't have toed the line having gone through what they did!
One of my Kona goals every year is to actually run up Palani and not walk that darn thing. Well this year I was able to do that. At the top of Palani my brother gave me my first race report-that I was 5th off the bike and the lead guys weren't that far ahead of me. His timing was good as it provided additional motivation and I was feeling better after getting off Alii drive.
Stayed with water, coke and an occasional Ironman Perform drink. Did just two gu's during the run course and had two salt tabs at special needs and a cup of chicken broth at mile 21 for the added sodium. Never had gastro issues or cramping during the run which is unusual for me as mile 22-23 has always been my nemesis for that. Not to be this year and I will chalk that up to the sodium, potassium, and amino acid intake from the bike and the amount of fluids I hammered on the run. My first sip of coke was at mile 5 as I felt like I needed the calories to rescue me from Alii drive. Didn't do coke again until about mile 10 and then about every few miles until the finish.
Lesson on the run: after getting off Alii drive, I went by feel for water intake and calorie intake. I soaked myself at every aid station and put ice into my arm coolers, chest and back. This strategy worked as well and one that I will do again.
Alii Drive-still the best finishing line is all of sports. Words cant describe the emotions finally getting there to run the last quarter mile of a day that started right in Kailua bay. The best way to describe it is to watch the finishers at the final hour. It is simply an amazing experience to go through! I ended up with a weight loss of 11 lbs and 2 iv's later I was ready to roll. Weigh in is now mandatory on race morning after body marking which makes sense given the number of people who suffer huge weight loss because of the conditions. We all went back to the finish line until the midnight cut-off. The street were filled with thousands of onlookers cheering for the last finishers. One guy came in with a minute to spare and the very last racer just missed it by 4 seconds despite the crowd and Mike Reilly raising the roof with cheers to get her there in time. She was not an official finisher by 4 seconds-no exceptions. Everyone felt terrible but the cut off time is there for a reason.
Shout outs: Wayde, Christian, Steve, Scott, Coop, Jeff-The Ironcamp crew and training partners. Can't do this sport without their help. They provide motivation and support to no end as well as the occasional ass kicking to keep things real!
Carlos-opening up your home for the intense heat training sessions and for the class guy you are!!
Sue-A true Warrior! Not much else to say about that!
Kevin, Charlene & Jason-the support team in Kona. They are wired just like we are. Kevin ran 18 miles on the Queen K drinking from leftover water bottles on race day. Jason swam the whole course in just over 50 minutes Friday before the race. The 16 year old college bound swimmer is that fast. Makes me sick. Would love to draft off him some day if only for the first 25 meters!
Nick-always checking in to see how things are going. True friend!
Bill-Heat chamber!!
Tim Hola-for the motivation and Powerbar products. One of the nicest (and fastest) guys you will ever meet.
Dave Scott-getting me ready as he always does. Telling me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. For always raising the bar!
Sonja-words of wisdom at swim start. 1900 racers in the water and we end up next to each other
Grant-for friendship, Infinite and Tyr 5. Thanks buddy!
XXX-pushing the envelope and realizing sub 10. You know the rest.
Paulo (Enrique)-keeping things light! Good luck in Fla and thanks for always making me laugh!
Terry Nugent, CIMASenior Vice President - Investments
Advisory & Brokerage Services
UBS Financial Services, Inc.
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