Mike Schubert

Laying out my Transition Bags and Gear
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

Lack of change is certainly not my problem these days. Every day is almost as different as it is the same. I'm walking around with open eyes, an open heart, and asking myself "Self, what do YOU want to do today?"

Last Tuesday, I brought my new bike home. It's the Scott Plasma I talked about a couple of weeks ago. It's a dream to ride. For its maiden voyage I rode with a new friend, who also had recently acquired a new road bike, out at Stone Mountain Park. Something just seemed right about this particular ride around the rock I grew up so close to.

Tonight, I'm headed to a "Grind" class. I've been told it's unlike any "spin" class I have ever taken. I'm looking to hire a coach and these Tuesday / Thursday classes might just put this group over the edge. The classes are periodized and executed on your own bike. That means I get to use my power meter during a spin class! They also have an indoor "Current" pool that is like swimming in the ocean. They have "Grind Bricks" which allow you to do a swim before class or a run immediately after. I'm really pumped about the possibilities this change will bring.

So I have my bags laid out before me, ready to be packed for the adventure. My gear is clean and lubricated (where necessary). My mind and body are clear and primed.

I am ready for a change.

I raced my last triathlon as a 36 year old this past Sunday out in Carrollton, Ga. It was a low-key event, not even USAT sanctioned, that had somewhere around 250 participants. I'm sometimes weary of non-sanctioned events, but this one turned out to be a lot of fun. It was an interesting contrast to some of the higher profile races I have run. The day started out extremely eventful with my Xterra's battery dying. I had to procure a car from a friend in order to get out to the race. This stress was quickly relieved once I had my bike racked and headphones on. 

Swim 1/4 Mile

My swim was pretty good, turning in an 8:25 time. The start wave I was in was extremely crowded and it reminded me of the Ironman start where it's like you are in a washing machine. Sighting on the course was easy and before I knew it I was done. 8 minutes go by pretty fast.

Bike 12 Miles (Map Below)

The bike course was rolling, with the first half containing a number of short inclines. I was able to stay aero most of the time and turned in a 36:06 split. I had slightly higher expectations when I hit mile 7 on what I think was Hwy 61 - immediately upon turning I was hit with a strong headwind that stayed in my face the next 4.5 miles. My wattage was steady as was my form, so I'm really happy with my performance on this leg despite the wind.

Run 3.4 Miles (Map Below)

The run started fairly innocuously with a gentle negative grade. Unfortunately, what goes down must come up, and a series of inclines began around mile 1. I was pretty steady just under a 9 minute pace the whole way, with only 1 walking incident at the water stop. The finish was uphill and I was challenged at the end by some guy who decided to sprint by me about 1/10 of a mile from the line. I accelerated a bit too soon, allowing him to respond and barely beat me to the line. Oh well - I'm not a sprinter. My run split was 30:04. Below is a picture of me at the line - you can tell I was after this guy since both of my feet are off the ground.

Overall time was 1 hour 19 minutes. T1 was probably 3:30 including the run up to transition. I can't imagine T2 being over a minute. I met or beat all of my objectives. Next up - tri bike shopping. I have narrowed it down to 2, so it's just a matter of taking them both for a ride for the final decision. The funds have been set aside and my personal goals have been met. Time to "put the bow" on it and bring it home!

Update: Here are the course maps for the bike and run course.

I am looking to race in a few events that have open water swims in the ocean. The only time that I have swam in the ocean has been on vacation - and it was more play time than actual swimming. Clearly one of my concerns is in navigating the open waters and staying on course. The other major concern is being stung by jelly fish.

I don't know why this worries me so much. I have never been stung by one before, and have really only seen them in dead form on the beach. It probably has something to do with my mother's worrisome nature and the tales of my brother being stung while on vacation when he was younger. Either way, it does weigh heavily on my mind. 

Enter pantyhose. Evidently, the nylon forms a protective barrier that protects the body from jelly fish stings. I guess I don't really need to cover my arms and legs in pantyhose but rather by a nylon skin suit that I could wear while practicing. This is definitely something worth looking into.

The attached article goes into more detail, and also has handy info on what to do if you get stung:

If you forgo the suit and end up getting stung, bust out the blow dryer—assuming you were stung by the irritating and not life-threatening kind of jellyfish— and use a trick a friendly lifeguard taught me. Fire up a blow dryer and hold it as close to the site of the stings on the hottest setting you can stand (don't burn yourself) and then fan it back and forth over the affected area. The blow dryer dries out the stingers without activating them—like drying to rinse them off with fresh water would. Once you blast the area with heat you can use a safety razor or credit card to scrape the stingers off.

I would've never thought of that. Going through these scenarios in my mind is really helping to coax me back to the beach. I always feel more comfortable when I have a plan in my mind and have thought through what could go wrong. 

Read More -> Use Pantyhose to Protect Yourself From Jellyfish Stings

Threatening skies over the transition area
at the Macon Rock & Rollman triathlon
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

Today was a great day for racing, unlike yesterday when the attached photograph was taken. The water was a warm 81 degrees, the skies were partly cloudy, and I felt prepared to race. My pre-race routine was uneventful, and I arrived at the race site with plenty of time to lube my chain, air up my tires, and make a couple of trips to the port a johns.

I wasn't doing the half iron distance for a change this year, so I had plenty of time after transition closed to get to the water and warm up. During this time, two small things happened. First, the race start was delayed by about 20 minutes for some unexplained reason. I think this hurt me a little early on the bike because I had timed out my nutrition needs based on the published schedule. Second, I was bit by a fish twice. It's nit uncommon to feel smaller fish bumping into you in the water trying to figure out whether you are food, but this was a bigger fish that could actually grab onto my calf. No big deal in the grand scheme of things, but an interesting side story.

Swim 750 meters. I completed the swim in 13:09. I'm very happy with my execution in the water. My sighting was almost perfect and straight. I passed a bunch of folks and although my wave was big I never felt crowded. My water position was close to textbook. Again, water temp was 81 degrees so that meant everything was up to me, there was no wetsuit helping my form out today. This leg was over before I knew it and I had my cap and goggles off in one motion and ran up to T1.

Bike 15 miles. My ride time was just over 45 minutes, with an average speed of 19.6 mph. I'm very happy with my execution on the bike. I had to eat a little earlier than planned (18 minutes in instead of 30 minutes) but that probably worked out for the best. It just came on an uphill where I lost some momentum that would have otherwise kept me at a 20 mph pace. I was aero somewhere around 70% of the time, probably due to tight hamstrings. I need to work on those over the coming months. Before I knew it, I was back at transition and flew through in just over a minute - another well executed segment of my race.

Run 5 kilometers. By the time the run started, the temperature had reached the 80's and the sun was starting to beat down. I don't think it had much effect on me based on miles 2 and 3, but the first mile really stunk. I had to run / walk to try to find a good rhythm and could feel my race slipping away. Fortunately, by the time I reached the turnaround point I had found my stride and was able to turn in a 29:40 run segment. It wasn't the best executed run I've ever done, but it did the trick.

My overall time was 1 hour 32 minutes. The best case scenario I had in my head was 1 hour 35 minutes so I'm very pleased to have beaten that. This was the first triathlon of my 2010 race season and I don't think it could have been any better. I'm really looking forward to getting back into my summertime swim, bike, run pattern that has shown so much success over the past few years. There are at least 3 more tris on the calendar, with 1 or 2 at the half iron distance, so it will be great to measure my progress at the end of the season off today's baseline.

Yes. I've known a large number of great people over the last 35+ years of my life. Many of them came into my life or I lost track of during one phase or another. One question I get a lot when people catch up to me is "How did you get into Ironman?" Being an engineering type with a simple story to tell, I thought I'd write an article for the world and share when people inquire. It goes something like this:

The whole Ironman dream started back in the 80's watching somebody crawl across the finish line on NBC. I remember thinking that I loved to swim and bike, but couldn't run 10k much less a marathon. So it just kinda sat out there. Tennis was my strong suit and I stayed pretty fit up until 96 or so and then drank too much beer and took on the desk job. Bad combination.

So in 2003 my dad passed away, my job sucked (good pay, no expectations, but it wasn't challenging or remotely rewarding), and one day I felt a pain on the left side of my chest. No big deal it turned out, but my doctor said I needed to lose weight and eat better or that story would change. So I started going to the gym at lunch and eating a little better and dropped 30 pounds in roughly 3 or 4 months. That made it easier to run and I started doing 5ks. Then 10k's, Then half marathons and finally I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2006.

With food poisoning. Yeah - food poisoning 3 days before my first marathon. I should've been eating 2500 calories each of those 3 days and instead barely ate 1000 each day. But somehow I got up and toed the line - and the finish was spectacular. It was 30 minutes after my finish when I was still sick (i'll spare the details) that I realized I should raise the bar much higher than it had been. I am capable of pushing myself harder, farther and through more pain, than the typical person. I had done a short course triathlon earlier in 2006, but this was the moment where I realize anything was possible.

As of the date of this post, I've done 2 Ironman triathlons - Lake Placid, NY and Madison, WI. 4 or 5 half iron races. 15 marathons in 8 states (it's a great way to see the country I figured). One of those marathons was Goofy's Challenge in Disney where you run the 1/2 marathon on Saturday and the full on Sunday for a total of 39.3 miles. I have pictures from just about all of these if you're really interested. 

It's absolutely insane to type all that out. But in a nutshell, that's what keeps me waking up every day and going to sit in an office. It goes beyond just being my stress relief but is something that makes me absolutely giddy. I still remember the first time I got on my bike and road to Stone Mtn Park from my house as a kid. And as an adult I remember getting on my bike and riding to the Alabama state line and back.

I guess I'm still a computer geek. I like tinkering with code and solving problems, playing games, and soaking in the sun. Now it's your turn - what's your story?