Nice Myth: Not the way it happened

My kids came home the other day from Cortland School and said that 102 of the students were going to see what it was like to ride on the Mayflower.  The fifth grade class had drawn a chalk outline of the Mayflower on the playground and they had to pack items for the trans-Atlantic voyage. 62 days, in fact.

Like many of American holidays, Thanksgiving is filled with myths.  We have a penchant for idealizing stories, when, in fact, the real version is much interesting.

The Pilgrims ( called The Separatists at the time) originally set sail from Defthaven, Holland on two ships The Mayflower and the Speedwell.  The Speedwell encountered problems at sea and both ships put in at Plymouth, England.  A total of 102 passengers left Plymouth on September 6, 1620 bound for the New World. Of the 102 passengers only 43 adults were listed as Pilgrims.  The remainder were listed as “Strangers.” These were individuals who were seeking their fortunes in the New World and not part of the separatists who were seeking religious freedom.

The group was sailing for the mouth of the Hudson River, but with winter approaching and provisions running short they had to abandon their original plans.  They anchored at Provincetown Harbor on November 11, 1620.  It was only later that they lead expeditions arriving at Plymouth Harbor. It was purely coincidence that the place they started from and the place they ended up bare the same name. The area had been surveyed and mapped years earlier by John Smith of the Jamestown Colony and was already called Plymouth.

Of the original 102 passengers on the Mayflower, only 53 remained to partake in the First Thanksgiving of 1621 with Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men. While this all sounds very We-Are-The-World, the original plans for the Hudson Bay pilgrim settlement called for enslaving the indigenous people. Squanto, the Indian, didn’t just magically know English.  He spent years in Europe as a slave before being returned to his homeland. The Pilgrims ( and the Strangers as well ) would not have survived were it not for the generosity of the indigenous people. The Thanksgiving meal consisted of five deer provided by the Indians, salt cod, wild birds, corn, squash, and native berries, including cranberries.

What I’m thankful for:

• I have a lot of wonderful people in my life. I have a great family: a wonderful wife and two great children. I have wonderful friends who are genuine and caring. I work with a fantastic group of people who are dedicated to their work and are some of the funniest people on the face of the Earth.
• I am very thankful for good health. In early September I was in the hospital barely able to move. Yet, I rebounded quickly and was able to compete in Ironman Florida.
• I live in a friendly, caring community.  I remember when I graduated from college the best sight was Seymour, Indiana in my rearview mirror.  I vowed never to return. Luckily, I gained some sense along the way and realize now what a great place it is. What we lack in hip, we make up for in our values.
• I am thankful that we have what we need.  Sure, there are things that I’d like, but when I look at it from a global perspective we live better than 95% of the world’s population.
• I am thankful for the freedoms that we enjoy.  The freedom to worship as we please, speak our mind, to freely elect our leaders.  Thankful for those who served that we all can enjoy those freedoms.
• May your Thanksgiving be a happy and healthy one.

Demonstration of the Honda Fit's versatility

If this picture wasn’t so gruesome, it would be a great advertisement  for the Honda Fit. The small car has very versatile configurations that allow the owner to haul just about anything. In this case it’s a huge buck.

Ali, a co-worker from DCS ’s husband is a conservation officer and he had promised to get me a deer this season.  I, however, would be responsible for picking it up and getting it to the processors. I  got the call on Sunday and put the seats down in the car. The front passenger seat even goes all the way forward and then folds backwards allowing very long things to be hauled.

I arrived at Darlage Meat Locker to ge the deer processed only to be told they were full for the day and to arrive before 8:00 AM the next morning. I had to pack ice into the cavity of the deer and keep it wrapped up until the next day.

When I showed up the next morning there were all these big pick-up trucks and mullet-y hunting guys waiting with their deer. They were stunned when I pulled the largest deer of the group out of this sub-compact car.  Yes! Absolutely! I just pretended that I shot it.

The Blogger

November 14, 2009: It’s been one week since Ironman Florida 2009 and I’ve had a chance to process the race and figure out what went right and what went wrong.  That’s an important distinction. Often when we face defeat we only see the mistakes.  If I made it to mile 18 on the run with several hours to go before the cut-off, obviously there were things that went well.

1.) If you are going to even contemplate doing a race-walk during the race, you need to train for that.  This was a costly mistake. My heels were just not used to that pounding.It’s a different set of movements than running.

2.) I need to lose a good 15 pounds. TT gave me some pictures that his wife Kelly had taken in Florida. I was stunned to see how big my gut was. (I’m sure she did that on purpose.)  What’s the purpose in getting the lightest equipment when there are pounds of excess weight on the rider.

3.) I need to swim more. Despite only swimming 3 or 4 times during the training season, I felt pretty comfortable on the swim. Think how much better I could have done with more training.

4.) Carry some wet-wipes and have a change of clothes in the Special Needs Bag. ‘Nuff said.

5.) Practice changing a flat and using the frame pump.

6.) Mentally, I’m still tough as nails. Despite numerous set-backs during the race and in the training, I still can focus and push forward.

7.) I’m ready for another! Not next year, but 2011 is looking good. I plan on doing the Muncie Endurathon and Terre Haute next year.

T1- Ready to ride. Little did I know the surprises ahead.

The Blogger and wife. Nice day at the beach.

Seth: future Ironman

The Blogger on the run.

Open a Can, Dan! Unfortunately, the can of whoop-ass was not what I expected!

Seth and Lilly dancing on the beach.

Reasoner and Thomas children playing on the beach.

Sunbury Brothers prepare to open a huge can...

The mighty TT exits the water.

Seth and Lilly show support.

More beach playing.

The Blogger and Family with triathlete Amanda Forrest, daughter of Henry Forrest, one of the original Ironman triathletes from 1978.

The Blogger's family shows support.

Day after the race party: Ironman war stories being told.

The Blogger and Steve Sunbury compare tans.

Joanne Sunbury, Kelly Reasoner and Eli Reasoner at Day After Party

Tim Trimpe, Joanne and Larry Sunbury enjoy the Day After Party

One of my regular features in this blog is an item called “America Unchained” where I feature a small, independent business in the hopes that we get back to the idea of locally-owned, family businesses that focus on customer service and pride in product.

An independent blog

Since you are here reading this blog post, do me a favor.  Scroll up and down the page.  Now, scroll from side to side. What’s missing?

Advertising! Yeah, I’m not trying to sell you a thing. If you don’t like what I’m saying you have a right to click  “comment”  and speak your peace. Or simply go on to another site.

At this time more than 60% of the content on the internet is non-commercial. Just like this blog, it is content produced by people like you and I. AND that percentage is growing. People are enjoying this non-commercial material.  Think about the hilarious videos you have seen on YouTube and other video outlets that are funnier than anything on commercial TV.  Hi-Def  or not, crap is crap!

Corporate giants would like to change things. When you are spending time on this blog, for instance, you are not spending time on their commercial sites. You are also getting a mind of your own. Because of the two-way nature of the internet as it is, you can have your say and possibly influence the opinions of others. While I see that as a good thing and in line with Thomas Jefferson’s “Marketplace of Ideas”, telecommunication giants, media companies, software companies are threatened by this lack of control and dwindling share of internet content. They want to change the rules and make the internet more one-way.

Support Net Neutrality. CLICK HERE for more information.

Ironman Florida 2009

First off a big congratulations to Steve Sunbury (10:51) , Spencer Sunbury (11:50) and Talmadge Reasoner (14:27). They turned in great performances!  Not only are they outstanding triathletes, but great people as well.

I had a rough day! It started off well enough.  I felt relaxed and confident on the swim. I was even able to enjoy watching the marine life. I saw several jellyfish and a school of small silver fish and a sand shark.   The first lap of the 2.4 mile swim was 49 minutes and the total time was 1:51.  The water was a bit choppy and I took on quite bit of salt water.

I felt good on the swim-to-bike transition.

Open a can, Dan!

I changed quickly and started on the bike leg. I saw Susie and the kids at Transition 1 and the day held promise.  Around mile 8 on the bike my stomach was gurgling and churning from the salt water.  By the time I reached the bridge at around mile 12 I felt a blast of diarrhea coming on.  I was able to make to the first rest stop and the port-a-potty before giving in.  Blam! Whoosh! I felt relieved.  I got back onto the bike and started to make up lost ground. Around mile 14 I felt some flatulence coming on and tried to ease it out. Unfortunately, it was deceptive! I ended up seriously sharting  my pants. 98 miles to go in the race and I am forced to sit in my own shit.

There was around 40 miles of strong headwind which made the flat course that much more difficult. At mile 33 I had a flat tire that cost me around 18 minutes.  After that the bike course was a matter of just grinding it out.  My unofficial time on the bike was 6:49.

I felt fairly good at the start of the run course.  My energy level was excellent.  I had to use the restroom at T2 to urinate, which meant that I was staying hydrated. The first two miles I felt good, but shortly thereafter a knee injury starting to give me trouble.  I decided that it was too early in the race to have knee problems that could eventually eliminate me.  I decided to do a race walk.  I was able to keep around a 13 minute pace race walking.  The problem with that strategy was that I had not trained to race walk.  I ordinarily run on the balls of my feet, so my heels had not built up calluses.

I felt fairly good, although a bit disappointed in my inability to run through the first half of the run course. By mile 14 the blisters started to hurt.  By mile 16 I could feel my entire feet were blistered and sore.  I decided to try and make it to the timing chip station inside St. Andrews State Park in order to document that I had made it that far.  Once inside the park a sheriff’s deputy noticed that my knees were buckling from the pain.  She recommended that I seek medical attention. She radioed the support vehicle to come and get me.  I knew at this point that I was out of the race. I was not so much disappointed at this point but just in sheer agony.

Ouch!

I was taken to the medical tent at the finish of the race and tended to by several podiatrists who insisted on taking pictures of my feet. They had not seen any blisters of this magnitude before.  I had my blisters treated and my feet bandaged.  What many people who don’t do endurance event don’t realize is the role that endorphins play in making feats of this magnitude possible.  Endorphins mask much of the discomfort.  Once I had sat down and had my feet treated my feet started really hurting and I was to the point that I couldn’t even put weight on them.

I really owe a debt of gratitude to the whole Sunbury clan who assisted me in getting back to the beach house and then collecting my belongings from the transition area.

The following day all of the Seymour participants and their families had a a nice cookout at the beach house that we were renting.  I was able to hobble around enough to cook at the grill.

Has Ironman seen the last of me?  Oh, hell no!

Taken in the medical tent by podiatrist. Rectangle used to hide what looks like man-boobs.

I’ll be heading to bed early tonight. Big day tomorrow! The gear is all at the transition area, I got all my stuff laid out for in the morning.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being a bit anxious. I always am before a race. Things have gone very smoothly so far. The beach house is even better than expected.  Had a nice swim to work out the kinks. Bike is working well.  Thanks to simplybrent for cleaning my bike chain and gears!!

Opening a can O' Whoop Ass!

It’s been nice having a big group here with TT, Track, One-Trick Pony and their entourage. We plan on having a post-race cookout on Sunday here at the beach house.

Thank you to all for the encouragement!!! I has got me through some tough spots!

In 24 hours I will be standing on the water’s edge waiting for the start of the race. I can vividly remember my first Ironman before the start of the race..

Looking down the barrel of a loaded gun.

It felt like I was staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.  It is the unknown that is frightening. I had nothing to compare the race to.

This time is different; not to say that there aren’t some butterflies in my stomach.  I’ve done the race. I’ve even done this particular race before.  Still 140.6 miles is a long way to travel under nothing but one’s own power. A lot can go wrong.

I felt better yesterday after swimming part of the swim course.  Water was relatively calm.  Nice thing about the Gulf of Mexico is the water visibility.  You can see the bottom nearly the whole way.  Salt water has the advantage of providing some extra buoyancy.  My wetsuit didn’t feel as restrictive as my old one.

I’m going to take a short spin on the bike this morning to make sure there are no mechanical issues from the transit down here.  After that I plan on relaxing and keeping my legs up so that I’m rested and ready to go.  OH! Weather here could not be better! Race day forecast calls for high 70’s and sunny.

I plan on wearing some sunscreen. The thing that hurt the worst last time was the sunburn on my face, neck, and shoulders.

Triathletes love their toys! Not only do they love their toys, but they love to talk about their toys.  If you are not into triathlons you might be bored witless by this post. We are leaving on Wednesday for Florida, so I am compiling my checklist of things I need for Ironman Florida.

I remember a story I read in Triathlete Magazine several years ago when professional triathlete  Craig Walton had forgotten to pack his bike cleats and only realized it when he was at T1 and ready to hop on the bike. What to do? He ended up putting on his running shoes and doing the bike leg in them.  The good news is that he still came in 1st.

2XU Comp Wetsuit, full sleeve

2002 Kestral Talon 57 cm full carbon fiber, monocoque construction, Shimano Ultegra groupset with Dura-Ace 12-23 cassette.Profile Design Aerobars.

Since reading that article, I have a triathlon checklist attached to my transition bag.

SWIM: 2XU Comp Wetsuit, full sleeve, Sable swim googles, Tyr swim jammers underneath.

BIKE:  Kestrel Talon bike set-up. Reynolds Strike Full Carbon Wheelset (clincher, 66 mm profile) Michelin Pro3 20mm race tires pumped to 135 psi. (If you want comfort, stay home and sit on a Lazy-Boy),Seat: Selle San Marco Astride carbon fiber seat. (I get more comments on this than anything. Despite its looks, it is very comfortable. Carbon fiber is good about dampening road vibrations and the seat is slick so there is no chaffing from shifting positions.)  Pearl Izumi road cleats, Smartwool bike socks, Zoot tri-suit with another pair of Pearl Izumi bike shorts over the top.

Seat: Selle San Marco Astride carbon-fiber seat

Run: Brooks Glycerin running shoes, Smartwool running socks. Lucky Ironman visor. Rudy Project photochromatic sunglasses.  Zoot tri-suit .