My 40 – 40 – 40

For some unknown reason I decided to celebrate by trip over the hill by torturing myself. My wife offered to take me to Vegas or any other weekend destination that I wanted, but no, staying home and competing in a triathlon with a field of 1 sounded like a plan. I decided I would celebrate my 40^th birthday by swimming 40 laps (2000 yards), biking 40 miles, and running 40 laps (10 miles). I had not been working out much for the past 3 months but I really was not going to let that discourage me away from my plan. Besides not even working out much I can not remember a time that I have gone for a 40 mile ride. Plus, the only triathlons I have completed to date have been Sprint Tri’s. The only thing that changed my plans was the weather forecast for my actual birthday was rain so I elected to hold my triathlon a few days early.

The Swim

The day of my triathlon I woke up at 5:30 eager to start the challenge. The weather was cold, about 33 degrees, so I elected to swim indoors at the local Y. Thanks to the local Southwest Y for the free swim! The swim went great, I felt like I had not taken any time off from being in the water. I finished just under my goal of 40 minutes and I was quite pleased with myself.

The Bike

After breakfast, coffee, and getting the kids off to school it was time to hit the road. It was still pretty cold out, sub 40 degrees, but I did not have the luxury of waiting for it to warm up. Off I rode towards what was soon to be the hardest ride of my life. When I planned out my day I did not want the ride to something plain, I wanted something that would make the challenge something to remember. I decided to climb Big Basin to Skyline, a 7.5 mile climb of 2,500 feet, not my everyday ride. Matter of fact, I have only completed this climb once before, a little over a year ago. (That is another story, my seat post broke 1/3 of the way up but I was behind my friends so I really could not stop). The good news is the climb starts about 4 miles from home so I had time to warm up. I eventually made it to the top after climbing for 67 minutes, which was tough. Once to the top I thought it was going to be a nice easy ride, boy was I wrong. I headed toward Palo Alto and enjoyed rolling hills with a drop in elevation of 400 feet or so until I hit the 20 mile mark on my odometer. Not wanting to test myself any further, I turned around immediately. On the way back up I stopped at a view point and enjoyed a morning snack of 4 energy bars and took in the amazing view of the valley. Eventually, I got back on the bike and my legs were heavy. The next 8 miles ended up being harder then the main climb. My toes were basically frozen; it was only after this ride that I learned about shoe covers. I can not believe how hard it was to gain the 400 feet back. I was very pleased once I got to Skyline and Highway 9; I knew I was in for an enjoyable 7.5 mile descent without the need to exert much more energy. The descent was great; I just wish the wind didn’t make my feet that much colder. In all, the ride took just under 4 hours, for me a great accomplishment.

The Run

After another shower and lunch, it was time to go for my run. My initial goal for the day was to complete the triathlon in less than 400 minutes of exercise time. I was looking at needing to complete the 10 mile run in 120 minutes. Normally I would be embarrassed if a 10 mile run took me 2 hours but today, I knew I could not phone it in. I started off at 10 minute pace but that only lasted halfway through Vasona Park. At about the 4 mile mark, 5 hours and 20 minutes in, I hit the wall. I started to walk. It was at this point that I decided to never judge another runner in a negative fashion by their speed. You just never know what they have done to get to the point where you see them that day. My walk turned into a walk jog for the next three miles. I just could not bring myself to charge the hills between Vasona and Highway 9. Once I got to Quito I knew I was going to have to start running again if I was going to accomplish my goal of 400 minutes. I was about 4 miles out and only 40 minutes to spare. The good news is it was all downhill from there to home. I started to run again and before I knew it I was able to maintain a 9 minute pace. As I made the turn to the last long straight away my wife called me to check in and give me a little encouragement! It was just what I needed to kick it home. I made it in 1:59.58; I could not believe it! I was done.

The END!

This was by the greatest single sporting accomplishment I have ever competed. In my time I have competed in a great deal of races and games which were important to me. This event overshadows them all. This victory was the sweetest. My kids, wife, family and friends were all very supportive of this effort. Everyone wished me the best and gave me nothing but support. A good friend, Jon, told me to look on the brightside, at least I was not turning 50!

Today's Bait: The course