OK, it's official.  I am in the NYC Marathon.  I received the email confirmation earlier this week.  I have a busy triathlon season this summer, but KNOW I will be ready to run the race of my life in early November.  With my last triathlon scheduled for early September I am confident I will be ready for the 26.2 mile run 2 months later.

I am writing this just 5 days away from my first triathlon of the 2012 season.  I finally decided to race the REV3 – Quassy Olympic distance tri down in Middlebury, CT.  I will travel down on Friday night, race on Saturday and then watch the Pros and friends race the ½ Iron distance race on Sunday.   I am looking forward to meeting pro Kelly Williamson in person and of course seeing my friend Miriam Wieskind again. Miriam is the owner of the Enduraguide website.

On May 20th I completed the Tour de Cure for the 3rd year in a row.  I did a 64 mile ride around the north shore of Massachusetts.  I managed to complete it this year more than 30 minutes faster than last year.  I know its not a race, but I still managed to put my best effort completing the distance.  The course was not as hilly as last year's, but still a 30 minute improvement felt like a real success.  The best part of the being I managed to raise $200 for the ADA and Sue and Owen came up to Pingree for the end of the ride to have some lunch with me on site.

A few days later I went down to Waltham to compete in a 5K race to support Team Hoyt.  Like the TdC, it was my 3rd year running this race.  Something about this course brings out the best in me.  I don't know if its the inspiriation of racing to support Dick and Rick Hoyt, the time of day (race start is 6:30pm) or maybe its just a course that suits me, but I completed the 5K race in a personal best time.  My finish time was 38:30, which was 51 seconds faster than last year. 

My training has gone well and I feel I am ready for a great race this coming weekend.  My only concern is the temperature of the water.  It's an early season race so the lake temps will probably be in the 65-68 degree range.  I will heading down on Friday night and will be staying with some dear friends about 30 minutes away from the race site. 

I did a lot of umpiring this past weekend.  There was a double header on Saturday (VERY HOT and HUMID) and then another game on Sunday.  All 3 games were in Marblehead.

Today was a super family day.  I marched in the Memorial Day parade with Owen and his cub scout troop.  After that all 3 of us headed up to Newburyport for the afternoon.  It was so nice simply spending the day with Sue and Owen walking around enjoying the beautiful weather in such a quaint seaport town.  After that we returned home and Owen and I were able to have a 3 mile bike ride around the neighborhood.   

Three Weeks Away from REV3 Quassy Oly

With a little more than 3 weeks to go before my first triathlon of 2012, training is going very well.  I am not registered for it, but still planning on doing REV3 Quassy Oly. This week is a 12 hour week and the weather is not totally co-operating.  I had an awesome 5.7 mile run on Tuesday after work.  The plan was to run through Bradley Palmer Park and then turn left out of the park and make my way back to Pingree.  The road was nice and hilly but also really narrow.  There was virtually no shoulder and a number of cars had to stop to let me run by due to oncoming traffic.

I have really taken to running without music.  I find listening to my body, especially my feet and my breathing is actually quite beneficial.  On a treadmill, I still need the tunes, but outside, I feel this is the way to go.  I can't wear the music during a triathlon, so like the saying goes, train like you race.

The hill workouts I have been doing are also starting to pay off.  I found my usual technique of walking up the hills does not cut it.  I was actually running up a lot of the hills and felt the need to crest the hill and run down as well!  I only walked to drink and take a gel, so the system seems to be working.

I hope to finally do a group ride this Saturday with my friends from Team Comp.  I am riding in the TOUR DE CURE on May 20th and fund raising is not going so well.  If anyone reading is willing to make a donation, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Tour de Cure - Donation page for J Young

It's been a WHILE, but here is my first post of 2012.

What a great winter we've had here in New England.  Very little snow so the roads have been totally clear and yet I only got my bike out a couple of weeks ago.  Yesterday was my first ride to work and back.  It started out quite chilly (35 degrees) but the ride home was a heck of a lot warmer.

The main reason for this post, is a race report for the "Columbia University Road Runners 5K" in NYC.  The race was on March 25th.  The best part about the weekend was catching up with both new and old friends.  The worst part was that Sue and Owen had decided to stay back in Salem.  Would you believe Owen picked going to see "Blue Man Group" over watching me do a 5K?  Of course, an easy decision for sure!

Lots of updates over the winter season to talk about before I get to the race report, so here goes.

• I won a free entry to return to the NYC Triathlon in July.  It was a Facebook contest where people had a "like" a photo.  I had more than 700 likes and was overwhelmed by the support.
• I was given a free entry to return and race at Hy-Vee over the Labor Day weekend in Iowa.
• I won a free pair of K-SWISS Kwicky Blade Lights from elite triathlete Angi Greene.
• Connected with elite runner and clothing designer Verity Breen who has been a source of information and encouragement as I prepare to race my first marathon in November.  She has selected me to be a brand ambassador for her line of clothing called "Thirty Birds".
• I have also joined "Achilles International" which is a running/tri club based out of NYC.  Their director, Kat Bateman, contacted me about joining.  I will race on that team a number of times over the summer.  The bonus about joining is that all members can race in the NYC Marathon.  I am hoping to do a marathon this year in the hopes of finishing under 6 hours.  If I do so, I have been told I can race the Boston Marathon as a physically challenged runner.
• The Pingree Girls' Swim Team finished 2nd at New Englands this season.  Two of our swimmers were selected as Swimming All-Stars by the local paper.  And the real kicker for me, is that the paper also selected me as the Swim Coach of the Year.  I had no idea I was even being considered, so it is certainly a great honor.
• And finally, I have decided to race in the the inaugural "Toronto Triathlon Festival" in July this summer.  It will be a blast completing in a race in my hometown.  Hopefully some old friends and family can come out and watch me race.  I just heard from the race organizers that they have selected me as Triathlete of the Month for March .

Now onto my first race on 2012.  This race was suggested to me by Kat Bateman from Achilles.  She suggested this would be a good opportunity for me to meet up some of the other Achilles runners.  I agreed and also realized I would be able to meet up with some "new" and "old" friends.

So I headed down on Friday morning after dropping Owen off at school.  The drive was uneventful and to save some money I packed a lunch and snacks.  The 4 hour drive wasn't really that bad allowing for stops along the way to stretch my legs and such.  I arrived in NYC and circled the block around where I would be staying on the upper west side until I found a spot.  I ended up parking on Riverside Dr (AGAIN) and would be able to leave my car there for the entire weekend.  I phoned up my friend Barbara from CAF as she was able to arrange an apartment for me to stay in.  I headed down to her place, lower down in Manhatten to get the keys.  We had a quick visit and I headed up to my temporary base around 78th and West Side Dr.  After getting all my stuff in the apartment I took some time to rest before heading to Brooklyn to meet up with my friend Miriam.  She is the owner of a website called ENDURAGUIDE.

Pizza at Anthony's in Brooklyn is amazing!

We have a mutual friend in Joan Murray with the USAT.  Miriam did a online interview about me a few months ago.  We were planning on meeting at the YMCA in Brooklyn and then we would be heading out for some REAL NEW YORK PIZZA.


OKAY...............here's where I stop and say, ARGH.  I started this post weeks ago and kept dreading finishing it and I don't know why.  So I am going to stop now.

Highlights of the trip were of course meeting Miriam and Kat.  Catching up with my dear friend Barbara Evans from CAF was AWESOME!  Just chatting and having dinner on Saturday night with her were so much fun.

But that's where this report ends.  The race was great!  I didn't PR my best 5K time, but I did manage to run  sub 14 min miles, which was my goal for my first race of 2012.

Here's where I now pledge to make at least one blog post for the remainder of 2012.  I PROMISE!!!

Finishing in 43:15.  Not a PR, but great for first race of 2012.

Some struggles............but "Life is Good!"

The first pic of me running with BOTH feet off the ground!

Since Hy-Vee in early September, my life in the multi-sport world has slowed down and I have been able to concentrate on family and work. All I have left in the 2011 season are some road races. I managed to complete the Wicked 1/2 Marathon on September 24th. I had a real "reach" of a finish time hoping to finish in 2:50 and managed to complete the race 3:04:15. Though I did hit my target, I was able to finish 7 minutes faster than last year, so I had to be pleased with the PR.

I tweaked my right calf while running at the Y about a week later.  I immediately stopped and stretched it out.  I then finished my run and things seemed fine.  Leading up to the Witch City 5K on October 23rd, things seemed to be going well.  I prepped for the race like usual with the same morning routine and pre-race breakfast.  I hydrated well, got to the race, stretched and prepared as usual.  I got ready to race.  Beth form the Y gave the start signal and off I went.  It was seriously only 200 yards or so into the race, and both calves seized HARD.  I slowed down to a walk and did not know what do do.  Hundreds of people were going past and I could barely walk.  I thought for few minutes that stopping would probably be the best choice.  This would then be my first DNF.  I chose to continue on.  I walked along until the first mile marker and was surprised when I reached it in a little over 16 minutes.

A lot of the same police in Salem do the race marshaling, so as I reached each controlled intersection it was encouraging to hear them try and nudge me along.  They could easily tell I was having a real struggle.  I started my old trick from the 1/2 Ironman and would run to a pole and then walk to the next and that seemed to work quite well.  I reached the water stop around the Boys and Girls Club and then headed back along Derby towards the Willows. 

I continued most of the race using that same pacing and then a managed to run for about the last 200 meters or so.  My finishing time was 0:50:06, which in fact was a lot better than I was expecting at the start of the race.  I figured it would take more than an hour.  At that rate I was only 12 minutes slower than my best time.  So, was not hurt that bad, or was I really a pretty slow runner to begin with?  What does it matter, I finished.

I got in my car and got home and immediately took a Epsom salt bath.  A couple of days later I managed to see a massage therapist who was able to determine I has some tightness in my IT  band.  I continue to stretch and do so some fitness ball, roller and mat work.  I have managed a couple of 2 and 3 mile runs and still I get some slight tightness in the calves, but things are getting better.  I really want to run though since I just purchased a new TIMEX -GPS - Triathlon watch and want to full get to use some of it's great mapping and training features.

A couple of real cool things happened to help with next year's race season.  The NYC Triathlon had a contest where you could enter a pic of yourself and the one with the most "likes" would win a free entry.  There were 16 photos and I ended up winning with almost 700 likes.  A pretty amazing feat and it sure showed the power or exponential growth and connections in social networking.  I had quite a few friends posting on the their own sites to try and get their friends to help.  It all worked, along with quite a few of my own students checking out the picture, on their own time off school campus of course.  About 4 days after winning that contest, I was contacted by the Hy-Vee Triathlon organizers and was given a free entry into next year's race in Des Moines.  We are working on trying to organize a family trip to Minnesota to coincide with the race.  

A very inspiring thing happened to me last weekend and it has somehow left me speechless.  I made a contact through the photo contest who is friends with one of my online friends.  He presently weighs close to 400 lbs and has started to exercise, lose some weight and someday soon compete in his first 1/2 Marathon.  On the Saturday where we changed from Daylight to Standard time he was planning on doing a 5K at 1:50AM.  This way when he finishes he is right back at the time he started.  He was able to finish the race in under and hour.  The amazing thing to me is that he wants me to send him an autographed picture.  He has followed my blog and says that something about what I am doing is inspiring to him.  That was sure a humbling request.  I never thought I would ever be asked for something like that.  I haven't sent him one yet, but that's only because I don't have a proper picture printed up.

Next up for me is the Feaster Five in Andover on Thanksgiving Day.  I was emailed by Dave McGillvary and was invited to race there this year.  I am doing my best in the hopes that my calves are ready to have a really good and solid race.

Hy-Vee 5i50 US Championships - Des Moines, IA - September 4, 2011

After racing in NYC where I finished 12th, I was contacted by the race organizers of the Hy-Vee US Championships where they decided to invite me.  Finishing in the top 10 was an automatic bid, but I would find out later that most other para competitors were either going to the "Worlds" in Beijing or simply would not be going.  My initial thought was to not go.  My season was winding down and another race, which would have to include a flight and airfare was not in the family budget.  After chatting with a few Facebook friends I was convinced to go.  One team-mate said when you are invited to race, you race.  One other friend suggested I set up a fund-raising website and ask friends to help out if they so chose.  I have to admit I was a little reluctant to do that.  There are so many more worthy charities out there, so why would someone want to give me money to race?  Well, I set up the site and sent out an email and a posting on Facebook and to my great surprise, the money came in.  Before I knew it, I at enough saved up to ensure I could go without worrying about blowing the family budget.  To those that gave and those who decided not to but still wished me well, I am SO GRATEFUL.

This would be my first "destination" race.  I would have to find a way to get my bike there so when I asked around I was able to borrow a bike box from Kurt, our team captain.  It took a while to get the bike apart where I had a particular problem with the pedals.  After taking more than an hour I got the right pedal off, I was still struggling with the left.  And yes, I did know I was supposed to turn the left pedal in the opposite direction.  I ended up buying a pedal wrench and it worked a heck of a lot better.  Once the bike was all packed away, I knew I was actually going to make it there.

I chose to fly on FRONTIER airlines because I had good things about traveling with bikes on their airline.  I was not disappointed as I was allowed to check 2 bags and with the bike being one of them, I was not asked for any sort of SURCHARGE.  YES!  The flight there was uneventful with a brief stopover in Milwaukee.  I arrived on-time in Des Moines, called the hotel and was shuttled there with no problem.  After checking in I decided to make it over to the EXPO for a briefing and then get my race packet.  That all went pretty smooth   

When I started to check out the EXPO, I ran into a paratriathlete who raced in NYC.  His name is  Sean VanGerena.  I did not think he was going to be racing at Hy-Vee and then he explained to me he was to be going to Beijing, but had some passport problems, so last minute, decided to come to Des Moines.  He is a great guy and I was excited to be see him again.  This race for sure had the most amazing SWAG.  We were given a back-pack, cycling jersey, a visor or hat, IRONMAN sunglasses and a whole host of other stuff. 

I headed back to my room and then decided to try and find a place to eat some dinner.  I walked and walked and .........walked without finding something appropriate.  I decided to walk across the river to the concert and Beer Garden that were being put on by the 5i50 race organizers.  I ended up having a beer and some AWESOME authentic tasting tacos for dinner.  Not exactly the best dinner 36 hours prior to the race, but not terrible.  I even saw Tim O'Donnell and Mirinda Carfrae out for a evening run.  I had met Tim at Timberman last year and had managed to keep in touch with him somewhat through Facebook.  A REAL nice guy.  Something you're likely to hear about most of the Pros in triathlon.  Mirinda is the reigning World Ironman Womens' Champion.  I didn't stick around the concert very long and then made my way back to the hotel.  I managed a brief swim and jacuzzi in the hotel pool and then called it a night.  Prior to turning in I ran into a woman named Bridget who had flown in with her friend Aubrey was going to be racing as well.  They were both from the western part of MA.  Bridget was saying that Aubrey was in the need of a pump and I was happy to oblige. 

 I had a very restful night waking up a number of times wondering if I would be able to put my bike together without and help.  As such, I awoke at 4:30AM and proceeded to get in together.  To my amazement I was finished a little prior to 6AM.  I would try and get the bike out for a ride after breakfast.  I headed down to the restaurant for breakfast and was happily surprised by the EXCELLENT buffet that was available for only $13.  I grabbed a local paper and proceeded to enjoy a nice 2 hour breakfast.  I grazed and grazed on some great fruit and had an awesome omelette made to order as I watched.

As I was leaving, Aubrey and Bridget came down for breakfast.  I asked if it would be OK if I sat at the table for a while and we could all get to know each other.  I would later find out that unlike me, Aubrey was quite modest.  She qualified for the race by WINNING her age-group at a 5i50 race down in Florida.  She never told me any of this while we chatted.

After leaving the girls, I made my way upstairs to change and go out for a ride.  The clouds looked a little ominous, but I thought I would try.  The bike worked great and all seemed fine as I headed down to ride over to where I would later drop my bike off.  I was about 2/3 of the way there (a 4-5 mile ride from the hotel) when the rain drops really started to fall.  I saw a covered parking garage and headed for it, when the unthinkable happended and my chain came off.  When I looked, it had not really come off, but had come APART.  I obviously had not connected the quick link the proper way and now the link was missing.  I was so lucky the rain shower lasted for about 1-2 minutes.  I got off of my bike (luckily I had brought my glasses as well) and started to look for the link.  I was looking for about 5 minutes and was having no luck.  I was in a real industrial area at this time and there seemed to be no one around.  What was I going to do?  Walk my bike back to the hotel and look like a real amatuer?  Just as I was about to give up, a small car pulled up and out of came a nice couple named Ken and Sue.  Ken quickly got out of his car and started to help me look and if he didn't find the link in about 1 minute.  Just as he did I looked over and a man who was TOTALLY STONED came walking up the road towards us.  I was carrying a leaf and put it in our faces and was wondering why we weren't as interested in it as he was.  He stumbled around a bit and even fell.  As Ken asked him if he needed any help, he managed to get himself up and contined on his way.  All I said to Ken and Sue was, THANK-YOU!  I could only imagine what would have happened if they did not come along and I was face to deal with this guy all on my own.  I am sure I would have been OK, but what might he have tried to do if I was alone?  I tell you, God sure does look after us! 

I managed to get the chain back on and then proceeded to ride carefully back to the hotel.  Ken had given me his number in case I needed help between there and the hotel.  Thank goodness I got back OK.  Back in my room I checked out the chain and it seemed to be OK.  I de-greased and then re-greased it.  There was a small bike shop called the Des Moines Bike Collective across from the hotel and they took a quick look and said the chain looked fine to them.  I must not have fastened it the right way the first time.  While waiting I met a young woman named Traci and her dad Larry.  Her mom's name escapes me now.  We had a lovely chat and I was enjoyed talking to her about racing as this would be her first triathlon.  We talked a bit what got us both to this point and I was happy to share with her the story about Ken and Sue and how God does make sure that as long as we put our trust in Him, we will be cared for. 

My bike in transition with the other para bikes.

I got some lunch at a small restaurant near the hotel where I met a young couple from Nebraska and their two young children.  He was coming to race even though he was under the weather.  He had won the entry to the race while doing another race.  When I was done I finally saw an opening and rode my bike down to the transition area at Gray's Lake.  After arriving the bike techs from Scheels were there and they also took a good look at the bike.  They tweaked the gears and brakes a bit and said the chain looked fine.

Greg Welch

I had no luck finding a taxi to get back to the hotel so I started asking around for a ride and managed to get a lift from a nice guy who would also be racing.  We had a great chat and he dropped me off just in time for me to make it back to the Expo in time to see the Pro Panel.  Eight of the pros (4 men and 4 women) were answering "softball" type questions from Greg Welch.  Greg had won Ironman in back in 1994 but had to take a quick exit from the sport when he was diagnosed with some major heart problems.  He now does the commentating online for IRONMANLIVE during all the big races.  He is just as funny in person and I went up to him prior to the event and introduced myself.  I often hear other races teasing him because he is shorter than most of the male pros.  I told him he can tell them now he is not the shortest guy in triathlon.  He thought that was pretty funny.  I later would ask a question of the panel and he asked me to repeat the story to everyone.  I gave them all a good chuckle. 

Tim, Rasmus, and Chris

 When the panel concluded I stayed around to say "HI" to Tim O'Donnell.  It made me feel pretty good when he actually came up to me and said, "Hey John, how are you doing?"  He even introduced me to Mirinda, which was very cool.  I also made a point of saying hello to Rasmus Henning and even Chris McCormack (reigning World Ironman Champion ).   I later felt a little dumb as standing right there as well was Ironman LEGEND Paula Newby-Fraser who won Kona an unprecedented 8 times.  I also asked passed Ironman Champion Heather Fuhr, if she was pro Dr. Amanda Stevens.  Boy, did I feel silly. 

Mirinda, Me, and Tim

Chris McCormack and Me

Heading out again from the hotel I managed to find a nice restaurant for dinner.  The wait for a table inside was going to be more than 45 minutes or I could sit outside under an umbrella at a table right away.  I chose the one outside and had a nice dinner in the pouring rain without getting wet.  After dinner I headed back to the hotel for the night.  I showered and then put on my TRI-TATS.  They are temporary tattoos and as I am writing this a week later, they are still visible.  If only I could have spent the whole last week wearing a tank-top!  I took a while to pack up my bag for the morning and drifted off to sleep around 10:30pm with the alarm set for 3:15AM.

The alarm went off and I was up pretty quickly.  Being away from home without a car and no market nearby, I had to improvise for breakfast.  Breakfast was a Protein drink, wheat and berry muffin, a CLIF bar and some water and gatorade.  I headed down to the lobby and quickly asked a couple of they were heading down to the race.  They were and they said they had room if I wanted to go with them.  Dave was going to be racing and his wife would be leading a small cheering section comprised of parents, in-laws and children.  They had driven up from Kansas City, KS. 

In transition around 5AM

I arrived at the race site around 4:30AM after a short walk from where the car was parked.  It was still pretty dark and my head-lamp became very helpful.  I was a little freaked out that the pressure was down in my front tire.  The bike techs checked it out and felt it would be fine for the race after being pumped up.  I trusted them and would later realize, it was a wise thing to do. 

All 3 of the other para-triathletes were there: Sean, Aaron Scheidies, and Mark Dobersh.  I slowly got things ready and started to enjoy a very beautiful sunrise.  On one of my trips to the porta-john I ran into another Kona Ironman Legend.  Shivering away, I saw Sister Madonna_Buder, the IRON NUN. We had a lovely chat about racing and faith.  As we parted, I felt the Spirit around both of us and cried for a moment.  Total tears of joy!

Two days prior to the race the race organizers had been telling people the lake water temp was 83 degrees.  That's too hot for a wetsuit for age-groupers who want "official results".  Well, people should not have listened as the water temp for race morning was 77 degrees, which is cool enough for a wetsuit if wanted.  Lots of people were walking around upset as they had left their suits at home or at their hotel.  Para-triathletes are allowed wetsuits in any weather.  I was planning on only wearing my wetsuit pants, so I had no worries.

All set, I made my way to the swim start and looked out on the lake.  This was a 1.5KM swim which was comprised of a swim straight out with a right turn then we simply made our way around the outside of the lake making 4 left turn before heading back in.  Our para wave was to go out after the elite men and then women.  We waded in a bit and then before I knew it, I heard the horn and we were off.

I managed to make it to the right turn before I heard the next wave of swimmers make it in.  I knew it would only be a few minutes before they were passing me.  This wound it being the first open water swim where I really got hammered by others.  Having a MINI COOPER go to the first place finisher might have something to do with that along with prize money for the top 5 in each age-group.  I got hit in the back pretty good at least 3 times along with getting my ankle grabbed once.  I was trying to do my best to stay in line to the turn buoys knowing I was going to be in the think of things.  The long back stretch was difficult to sight as we were swimming into the sun the whole way.  Keeping swimmers to my left ensured I pretty much kept on track.  The water tasted a lot like fuel and I felt it was actually stinkier than the Hudson River swim I did 4 weeks previously. 

Swim exit

Making the last turn I lined up to try and swim straight to the swim exit.  All went well and when I got out and passed over the mat, I was happy to hit the lap button on my watch at 47:34.  That was a pretty good time for me and I tried to run some of the way into transition.  The run down to the entrance was pretty long and since my bike was racked near BIKE OUT, I knew I would have to make it all the way back down to my bike.  The good thing is, that meant less distance to run with the bike.  With the run included I made it out of T1 in a time of 5:47.  I would bet that more than 3 minutes of that was running to my bike.

Out on the bike and rolling all went well.  The roads for the entire ride were very smooth, save for a little section right near the end.  There were some nice hills up into West Des Moines but along with that came an AWESOME decent, where I managed to get up to 38 mph.  We passed over a number of railway tracks where they put some carpet over top of the tracks to help, and it did.

There were two lollipops on the ride where both turnarounds went pretty good without too much of a slow down.  I had to stop around the 15 mile marker to add water to my aero bottle.  I can carry the bottles in a cage on the back of my bike, but can't reach them while riding.  It amounts to less than a 1 minute stop, but I know I can't ride without water for 10 miles and then expect to run well off the bike.

Enjoying the ride

Getting back to T2 in a time of 1:37:32 was a great bike time for me.  I was very pleased with my ride and was confident I left a lot more in the tank for the run.  Off the bike and into T2 I got changed pretty quickly but needed a stop at the porta-potty.  Out the back of transition in a time of 4:59, was not at all fast, but again, most of the time was due to the long run out.  Lots of relay runners were waiting for their bikes to show up and cheered us on as we left out and onto the run.  

I was determined to have a GREAT run after my poor showing in NYC.  It's important to note that the run in NYC was a lot hillier and hotter.  The first few miles of the run were all on a paved path with no hills at all.  There lamp posts or cones along the path the whole time so I started out the run doing a 3 to 1 ratio of run to walk and then upped it to 5 to 1.  I made sure of sticking to that ratio as to start the run, my back got really tight and I was worried I would end up having to walk a lot again like in NYC.  My strategy worked as I took those rests each time I felt like I was actually GAINING strength.  There were water stops each mile with lots of cheering volunteers.  As we ran as I went out to a turn around near mile 2, Sister Madonna Buder was running out as I was running back and we gave each other a cheer.  As I neared the water stop at mile 3, I saw Traci's parents.  Her whole family got up to cheer me on and boy did it give me a boost.

Around mile 4 to 5 there was a loud speaker set up playing and re-playing the theme to ROCKY, "Gonna Fly Now".  It was so fitting for me as I had received an unsolicited good luck email from Chrissie Wellington the night before where she wished me luck in the race saying, "Fly like the Wind".

Actually remembering to SMILE!

We passed by a bar called "Mullets" and there was a large crowd tailgating there in preparation for the AAA Baseball game in the nearby park.  I got them all cheering as I ran by a lifted my arms a bunch of times to get them going.  Again, another boost.

Across a small walking bridge and we were nearing the downtown core and the State House.  We had to run up near the State House then come back down and then again back up for the finish.  The streets were lined with specatators and I could feel my energy level increasing.  As I passed mile 6, with only 2/10 of a mile left, I turned to corner to the finish and saw a HUGE uphill into the finishing chute.  I started to walk and knew I would need some help to run the finish.  The streets were barricaded and lined with fans.  Again, like before, I started to move my arms to get people cheering and they responded.  As they cheered, I started to run.  Made the final turn and headed to the finish.  

Crossing the Line.

Again, still all uphill, it was a challenging finish.  I kept my arms moving and people continued to cheer, so I kep running.  I am glad I never checked the total time I had, because as I crossed the line, I looked at my watch and saw the time, 3:59:56.  With a run time of 1:24:06, I was able to stay on 13.5 min miles for the whole run.  Though longer than my last 5i50 time at NYC, I have to keep saying to myself, you can't compare times from different courses.  There are so many variables in each race.   One particular note, my swim in NYC was only 23 minutes, thanks to the current in the Hudson, so there is 25 minutes right there.

5i50 US Open Para-triathlete Champion!

I got my clothing bag, changed and then waited for the awards.  Since finishing 4th out of the 4 paratriathletes, I knew I would win something.  I was initially worried when they called the prizes and were only awarding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and then I heard, "Winning 1st place in the Open Paratriathlete Category is John Young of Salem".  First place?  I was given a gold medal and a huge gift certificate from Orca (wetsuit company).    I later was to find out that thanks to my classification problems in NYC, where I was too tall to be classified, the Hy-Vee organizers contacted USAT and were told I was to be in the Open category, not with the other athletes.  Well, I guess it goes to prove, "Good things come to those who wait."  I get my classification sorted out sooner or later, but I guess winning something in the mean time is good too.  

I went over to the Hy-Vee tent to find out I automatically qualify for the race in 2012.  I am sure next year, we will budget for this race.  Hopefully we can manage trip home to MN as well to see Sue's family.

Food after the race was pretty poor.  Especiailly since Hy-Vee, the race sponsor, is a supermarket chain.  It was simply bagels and fruit without much more.

I made my way on a shuttle to transition, loaded up my gear in my bag, put it on my bike and then rode back to my hotel.  Nice and slowly I made it back with no problems.

I quickly got changed and then walked back towards the river to watch the PROS race.  The women had already started and I got there when they were all on the bike.  I watched for a while and then walked towards the State House grandstand.  I stopped to talk with a group of 3 people who were watching.  They had all raced earlier as well.  I ended up spending the rest of the womens' race and then the entire men's  with Kattie and her husband. 

Mirinda catching Luxford

Mirinda, 2nd place woman.

Swim Start for Men

Chris McCormack

Greg Bennett, First Place Male

  
After the men's race, I met up with Sean and his buddy and we had a nice dinner and some drinks together.  I made my way back to my hotel later in the evening.  I even managed a short swim and jacuzzi before the pool closed at midnight.

The next day I packed and headed home.  Except for a pretty bumpy fllight from Milwaukee to Boston, the trip home was pretty eventful.

Again, I want to says THANKS to all those who helped get me there.  Your generosity and encouragement have not gone unnoticed.

NYC 2011 Accenture Triathlon

Awoken by my phone alarm at 3:15AM, I actually felt like I had a solid 4 hours of sleep.  I got up and had my breakfast understanding that I would probably not be in the water until about 7AM with the first pro wave expecting to go off at  5:50AM.  I consumed 1/2 a bagel with PB, a banana, some fruit and yogurt, and a glass of milk with protein powder.  I packed up my bags, checked out of the hotel and made my way to my car.  At this point it had stopped raining but the streets were wet.  I got to my car and packed away any gear I would not need and starting walking to transition.  By the time I reached my bike the rain started again.  I got my transition area ready and luckily I was on a extreme side under a tree so my gear was not getting hit with the full force of the rain.  I did bring some small plastic bags to keep shoes in and covered other things with small towels.  I got my tires inflated and then joined a LONG line to use the porta-potties.  After getting my water bottles all filled I left transition and walked the mile down the sea-wall to the swim start.  I carried one bottle and a small clothing bag that I would turn in and get after the race at the finish line.

The rain was starting to really come down hard now.  As I neared the swim start we slowed down simply due to the fact that there were 3100+ people waiting to race.  The had corrals set up and I looked for the OPEN PARA area and when I found it, it was empty.  I remembered there was a special tent for us right up near swim start.  I chose to stay near the corral and watch the swim start.  After turning in my bag I hear an announcement that the start would be delayed.  There had been an accident on the highway and they needed to clear it up before the bikes hit the road.

As I waited a good friend Elizabeth found me.  Given the number of people waiting it was a total surprise.  We met last year at Timberman and she had taken the pics of me with Chrissie and Andy when my camera batteries had gone dead.  It was nearing 6:30AM now and they announced that the swim was to start soon as they were calling the PROS to the start barge.  I took a trip to the PORTA-POTTIES, took my GU and continued to drink a bit more water.  Once the two PRO waves started, then the ELITES, the age-groupers started next.  Simply waiting there I was amazed at the number of people I talked to who were doing this race as their first triathlon.  The current was picking up (in the RIGHT direction) but the wind was as well and there was quite a bit of chop forming.  As the waves of people started into the water I was noticing a number of swimmers in distress.  The kayaks were getting to them fine, but it would be a long day for the lifeguards if this trend continued.

The day after the race, I found the following video online.  I certainly hope the person was DQed.

I even spoke to a gentleman getting ready for the race who was wearing a wetsuit and had never worn one in the water.  I'm sorry, but people can't just believe a triathlon is something you do on a whim.   They were trying something new this year that seemed to work well for me.  Instead of waves of large numbers going off every few minutes, they were having a TT start with 20 people at a time.  My wave went off after a 20 minute break so when I got to the swim exit it was not too crowded.  Others later in each group mentioned that the swim exit was very congested.

Anyway, 40 minutes later than expected, they announced that the para-triathletes were up next after a prolonged break.  I proceeded down to the swim start and was ushered onto the starting barge.  All capped and goggled, I was ready to go.  The "official" paras would go first and then those of us in the OPEN division.  Well, when the announced it was our turn, without hesitation I went out the to edge and sat down ready to start.  I was amazed at how relaxed and ready I was.  The horn sounded and off we went.  I waited until the 2 guys beside me jumped in and then I went in feet first.  The water was felt fine and I do not recall any strong odor.  Off I went and found my groove pretty quickly.  As I breathe on my left, I was able to see the crowd of about 1500 more athletes waiting to get in and could also hear their cheering.  I got a couple of waves hitting me hard, but it felt no worse than FIRMMAN down in Narraghansett last year.  I noticed a large sign on my left and I realized it was marking the first 250m.  I looked at my watch and freaked out.  My watch read 3:52.  In the pool I usually take that same amount of time to swim 150 yards.  I was CRUISING.  I looked and kept trying to keep to the right (where I thought the current was the strongest) anbd continued on.  The swim proceeded along pretty much the same for the entire 1500m.  I noticed a few passing me as I neared the half way point but I never felt like I was getting bumped or banged.  As I neared the end I could see the lifeguards at the exit pulling people out.  As I lifted my head one last time I caught the eye of a guard who reached out for me.  As he grabbed my hand he told me to turn around as he would lift me out.  I assume he knew I was a para-triathlete by the color of my cap.  I said "No, I will walk out."  He pulled me closer and when my feet hit the ramp, I started to run.  I said excuse me as I ran past an athlete being pushed in a wheel-chair.  Remembering the run was pretty long to transition I slowed down a bit. 

Heading into T1

As I passed over the timer, I looked at my watch and I had 23:26 which placed me 9th out of 14 in my division.  I was PUMPED with that swim. For sure it will be the fastest 1500m (1 mile) swim I will ever do.

It was probably a good 1/10th of a mile just to get into the back of transition and then back up to front to where my bike was.  I got my wetsuit off pretty quickly, with helmet, shoes and glasses on as well.  The rain was continuing pretty strong now, so my biggest concern would be the slickness of the roads.  I got my bike off the rack and proceeding out of transition to the mounting line.  Things were pretty congested but I got on my bike with no problems and then proceeded down the path on the right with swimmers running up the other side.  There were plenty of volunteers yelling to "take it slow" with the "HILL" coming up.  There were only a few cyclists on the hill so I increased the gearing just a bit, got out of my saddle, and got up the hill with no problem passing a few people on the way.  It probably helped that I  was in the 34rd wave of swimmers after there had been a 20 minute break.  I am sure things were crazier both earlier and later on.  I got up to the traffic circle at 79th-80th and then proceeded to avoid the HUGE potholes (some of which were filled with rain) and follow the course up and onto the Henry Hudson Parkway.  Having the course closed to traffic is a huge plus.

The course was fairly hilly all the way up to the turn-around in the Bronx.  There were a couple of long steep climbs with some cool downhills to follow.  You can't really have the downhills without having the uphills as well.  The only problem was, with all of the rain and the roads being so slick, I felt I could not go full speed down the hills without increasing the possibility of an accident.

Riding through a toll-booth near the Bronx.

Even though some of the puddles looked pretty small, I tried to avoid them not knowing what was underneath.  I heard later than one of the pro women crashed out of the race going through a small puddle that happened to have a pot-hole in it as well.

I was surprised at the number of cyclists who were walking their bikes up some of the big hills.  I would have to admit that many of them were part of sponsorship teams that encourage people to enter a triathlon in order to raise money for a charity.  I am not criticizing them at all, hey they are out there racing and not sitting at home.

I got some chuckles from the police as I yelled out going through the toll-booth, "I'm sorry, but I forgot my EASY-PASS!"

The crowds along the route were pretty sparse but that's understandable since we were riding along a major highway and the only way people could come and watch was to come up a closed on or off ramp.

The only stop I made was at the northern turnaround in order to fill my aero bottle with the bottle I keep in the cage on the back of my seat.  My arms are not long enough to reach it while riding.  There was a stiff head-wind going south, but I loved the ride.  We had to go south to 55th? I think and then head back north to the exit.  It was great because we got the benefit of a cheering crowd twice as we passed the exit going south.  The southern turn-around came pretty quick and it was great to know I only had a mile or two left.  The exit ramp was lined with lots of spectators who were cheering as the rain had now stopped and in fact the sun was starting to shine.  It was great for the fans, but it also meant the run would be a bit of a scorcher. 

Returning to the traffic circle (rotary here in MA) there were lots of cyclists there but no one was being silly.  It was a real sharp downhill to the dismount line which was on a downhill, but not much else to do with the space we were using.  Off the bike and into transition was a real short trip for me.  Great knowing that my spot was right near the CLIF sign. 

My time for the bike was 1:41:58 which put me 12th out of 14.  The times in both T1 and T2 are noticeably slower for this race due to the fact that the transition areas are huge and it takes a while to get in and/or out depending on your spot.

I had not run this course and had been warned that the exit out onto 72nd street is quite steep.  They were right but just getting down that far from 79th street took a while as well.  I knew I was going to have lots of water stops along the route, so I didn't take anything with me save for a couple of gels and an inhaler.

Suffice it say, this was a pretty challenging run.  The clouds had completely disappeared now and the sun was pretty hot.  I had come to the conclusion that I would walk all of the uphills in order to have something left for a strong finish.

Running up 72nd street towards the Dakota and Central Park

When I came out of the park and onto 72nd street I was prepared for what I was about to see.  The street was closed to traffic, barricades were up and the street was lined with cheering fans.  Honestly, it felt like the BOSTON MARATHON to me.  How could I not run?  I did my best to take it easy but the adrenaline was pumping for sure.

At every corner there throngs of people and police.  On at least two occasions I raised my arms up in the air and the crowd responded with cheering.  It was euphoric.

I got to Central Park and then realized the hills would be coming.  The rest of the race prior to the finish was simple.  Walk all of the uphills (MANY!) and run the flats and downhills.  There were lots of others out running and cycling the park as well and some cheered us on.  At about the 4 mile mark, Scout, who I referred to earlier, passed me.  She looked strong at when I talked to her at the finish, she PRed the course as well.

With less that a mile to go to the finish I was doing my best to run hard and then I heard "Hey Mr. Young" behind me and it was Austin Esecson, a former Pingree student.  He was doing then race for the second year and was in the LAST wave of swimmers so he had probably started at least an hour after me if not more.

At the finish and pretty exhausted.

I had remembered the finish chute from the "Underwear Run" from Friday so as I entered it I knew how much longer I had to go.  I did my best to keep going at a solid and strong pace and with about 20 yards to go, I heard the announcer call out, "John Young from Salem, Go Johnny".  They actually have a video of both my swim exit and finish I can purchase online.

My run time was 1:34:37 which game we the slowest run in my group but a final time of 3:51:31 which placed me 12th out of 14 overall.  A new personal best for an Olympic distance course by over 8 minutes.  I am sure the FAST river helped a lot, because my run time was not my best at all, but a PR is a PR.

After the finish I found some food, water and MUSCLE MILK and then went to the tent to find my clothing bag.  After changing I found the VIP tent for some additional refreshments.  There really wasn't much else but being under the tent in the shade helped.

After getting my results and started heading out of the park.  I met up with two other athletes, one who had DNFed due to a nasty bike crash.  We agreed to split a cab to ride the few blocks to transition to get our bikes.

I got my bike and gear and then walked the few blocks to my car.  I went back into the hotel where I had stayed and asked to use a bathroom to freshen up a bit.  After changing I made my way to a restaurant for some additional food.  John Korff, the owner of the race, was hosting a party for all of the para-triathletes where we could get some lunch.  I had a burger and beer, said my good-byes to some real GREAT athletes all with the CAF and then walked back to my car.  I called Sue to let her know I was on my way home.  I was so surprised that the 5 1/2 hour drive home really was not that bad.  Listening to books on CD sure help pass the time.  I never really felt sleepy at all.  Getting home around 7:30pm or so was a real relief as I got to see Owen before he was off to bed.

I did mange to race the following weekend at the Westborough Sprint triathlon and compete the race in 1:49, which was a new PR for me for a sprint distance race.

A gift from the WTC !

I got an email the following Monday from the WTC who run the HyVee 5i50 US Triathlon Championships and they invited me to Des Moines to race on September 4th.  Well, after some encouragement from fellow triathletes and teammates, I am GOING. 










 

NYC 2011 - Leading up to the RACE !

Before I get into my report I want to pay respects to two triathletes who lost their lives in the race yesterday.  A 64 year-old man and 40 year-old woman both died of apparent cardiac arrest during the swim portion of the race.  I completed the race and drove 5 hours home only to hear about the tragedy after arriving back home.  My prayers go to the families of both victims.

This race was on my radar since last summer.  As a para-triathlete I knew this race would be the chance I might be able to take in order to try and qualify to race in the Paratriathlon World Championships in Beijing China this coming September.  If any of you are Facebook "friends" you surely know the problem I have been having with the International Triathlon Union (ITU) leading up to this race.  

There is a classification for dwarfism in the ITU.  They actually have a maximum height listed and I am considered too tall.  I asked how they determined the height and an answer is not available.  Needless to say, I will talk more about this later in the post, but I am still fighting with the ITU and hopefully, they will resolve the issue prior to the 2012 racing season.


Okay, I traveled down to NYC on the Friday preceding the race.  Sue and Owen and decided to stay home since I would be dealing with lots of classification details on Saturday and my mind would not really be on sight-seeing with them.  We had just traveled to NYC last summer, so if (WHEN) I do the race again, they will surely come along.

Travel to NYC was not a problem at all and I arrived there around 3:30pm in the afternoon.  The hotel I chose was a STEAL at a fraction of the "official" hotel and it was 2 blocks from transition with FREE STREET PARKING.  I found a spot right away a 1/2 block from the hotel.  Once I parked, I never moved the car again until I left after the race on Sunday afternoon.  It looked to be a safe neighborhood and in the end, it certainly was. I checked in and got all my gear upstairs while leaving my bike in the trunk of my car.  There was an Underwear Run planned for the evening in Central Park, so even though I was not registered for it, I brought some appropriate clothes and made my way to the Sheraton for the Race Expo.  After looking around at the Expo I ran into Stephanie and her husband.  She is a member of Team Comp and would also be racing.  I find there are RARE deals at the Expos and I simply had fun looking at stuff.  You could really tell who the newbies were as they were buying gear and clothing to wear in the race.  That kind of goes against the idea that should never try something new in a race.  That tip has done me well.

"Cool runnings"

Cav, Adrian, Josh, Bill, and Julie

I left the Expo and made my to Central Park to try and figure out where the Underwear was.  I met up with another athlete named Ben who lives in NYC and has done the race for a number of years.  We chatted a bit and he gave me some good tips about the race course, especially about starting on the bike portion.  I had already been reading about this, but he reinforced the idea about the BIG HILL leading out of transition onto the highway.  The tip was to keep your bike in the lowest gear, get up the hill and then worry about racing.  Be careful about all the rookie riders as some of them tend to stop on the hill and cause problems.  I thanked him for the tips and made my way to the "run".  When I got there, there were plenty of people getting ready for the run.  I had not registered and realized I would not be able to leave my bag and would have to carry it for the run.  Then I saw my friend Jen who was working for the race organizers.  I had met her at the Minuteman race last year and knew she would be there.  She offered to get me an official entry into the race, so I was set.  I got changed and was ready to run 1.7 miles in Central Park and it was WARM by this time.

This was in the Huffington Post

This is a video of the start of the race, and if you watch long enough, you can see me at the end.  I found it on YOUTUBE.

The race was a BLAST and I am so glad I did it.  So I didn't look like most of the other buff bods out there, since when has that ever stopped me.  Josh and Julie from the pic above got ripped off in the costume contest.  Winners were to receive a trip to Jamaica.  In my opinion, they had the best costume and completed the entire race as shown in the picture.  A team with a "similar" theme won, and it was a much poorer attempt.  Walking back to my hotel I met up with Cav, Julie and Josh and we chatted a bit.  I found out that Josh and Julie were also doing the race.  Cav invited me along for a beer and I said sure.  He lives in a SMALL apartment in the area but he is lucky to have a roof top deck.  Friday night in Manhattan enjoying a beer and some snacks on a rooftop.  Many memories of Hong Kong came flooding back.  Bill and Adrian, their other friends showed up and we had great times chatting about triathlon.  I excused myself after a while and walked the 4 blocks to my hotel.

Sleep did not go very well since I knew that Saturday was going to be a stressful day starting with a breakfast hosted by John Korff who is the race organizer.  He was putting the breakfast on for all of para-triathletes.  It was at a lovely restaurant around the corner from the Sheraton which was the host hotel for the race.  I managed to stop by a Tim Horton's for a quick coffee first !  I met a number of great athletes at the breakfast including the 2 pictured below.

Me along with Scout Bassett

Hector Picard with me.

I had to leave the breakfast a little earlier than most for my classification meeting at 10:15am back at the Sheraton.

When I arrived at the appointed location both Eric and Joan were there to greet me.  They both work with USAT and were both lobbying on my behalf in order the change the current classification.  Eric even had me write a last minute appeal to send to the ITU, but alas, I was told it would do no good as they classifier had to follow the current guidelines.



As an example to how crude their measuring was, I have always been told by my own doctor, that I am 4'4" tall which is 132 cm tall.  When they measured for my classification, they pegged me at 130.5cm tall, with the cut-off being 129.5cm.  I refused to try and slouch down, which was difficult anyway since they measured me while lying on the floor.  So even they got it wrong.  They proceeded to measure the range of mobility of all of my limbs and when they were done I asked to leave so they could go over the numbers.

Less than 5 minutes later I was called back in and told, I failed to meet the criteria for the classification and would be racing in the OPEN category.  I was glad about that somewhat, because months ago, I was told if I was not classified, I would have to race in my AGE-GROUP, so at least I would be in a group of 15 other para-triathletes.  One of those other OPEN racers, actually was denied because he failed to bring a note from his physician.  This was a man who lost his leg in Iraq and it could plainly be seen that he is missing a limb.  Sorry they said, no letter, no classification.

The classifier and her assistant both thanked me for being so honest about being measured.  She said I would be surprised to find the number of people who try and bend the rules.  From the onset of this I have tried to be forthright and direct about my concerns.  I told the classifier I was "A rule changer, not a rule breaker."  She ensured me that my letter had been taken to the highest level in the ITU and than changers were going to be made, where they were going to base future classifications on "real data" from athletes.  I looked at her in amazement and asked, "What are the current ones based on?"  She just looked at me and said nothing.  More evidence to support my belief that this maximum height of 129.5 cm was selected arbitrarily.

I then went on to explain that I would be much happier if I was 25 years old and dealing with this instead of 45.  They hope to have things completely in line for the Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016.  I explained I would be 50 at that time, to which the classifier replied, "Age is just a number."  Of course I replied, "So is height.".  She just stared again.

I do not blame her at all as she is just the messenger, but as the Head Classifier for the ITU, she will certainly have a lot of say as they make changes in the future.  I can only hope and of course keep writing letters.

I left the meeting room and then chatted with Eric and Joan again before leaving to clear my head.  I walked around the Expo a bit more and then ran into Bryan Lyons another triathlete from MA.  He is a member of Team Hoyt and we have done a number of races together.  He raced the Wicked 1/2 Marathon last fall and gave me his finishers medal since they had run out of them.  We decided to have lunch together and found a quiet Irish pub off of Times Square.  After lunch I returned to the Sheraton for the mandatory briefing where I also received my race packet and number.  There were lots of rules to go over in regards to para-triathletes and their handlers and guides.  I had chosen to not use a handler since I had not needed one yet, thought it might have been nice to hand my bike to someone and have them rack it prior to going out on the run.

I then decided to return to my hotel room on the west side to get my bike to transition for check-in.  I was able to leave my bike in the trunk of my car prior to check in.  With the forecast for rain on race morning I was so glad to have a large plastic bag (from Jay Curry) with which to cover my bike.  It was so nice to return to my hotel and simply get my bike out of my truck and then walk it down to transition only 2 blocks away.

My bike all checked in and ready for the rain.

After bike check-in I had a tour of the transition area.  They reviewed the big hill we were to face leaving transition and since I had just ridden it prior to checking my bike in, I was all set.  They took as down to the swim exit and then we were down with the tour.

The swim exit where lifeguards would be stationed to pull you out.

Returning to the hotel I spent some time catching up on Facebook and then went out to find a place for some dinner.  I walked up to Broadway (in the rain) and looked for a nice "family style" restaurant that served pasta.  I found a small place called "Cafe Eighty-Two" and what a pleasant treat it was.  I had a HUGE plate of pasta and grilled veggies along with a salad.  The neat thing about the restaurant was how friendly the wait staff was with a lot of the customers.  Obviously a place frequented by locals.  It was great watching the waiters hugging and kissing this one table of older ladies as they each came in to meet up for dinner.  A place I will surely re-visit when I race there again.

On my way back to the hotel I stopped at a shop called ZABAR'S.  I bought some milk and water for the morning.  I thought it was a neat shop with lots of different things to buy.  It looks like it started with one shop and then as others closed, they purchased them as it represented almost a whole block on Broadway around 81st Street.  I found out later it has a bit of a reputation as Sue said to me when I got home, "YOU WENT TO ZABAR'S?"

Back in my room I got ready for the night, send a few more emails and then laid down to sleep.  I was set to expect rain in the morning and tried not to worry about it since it is not anything I can change.  I slept pretty well and was woken by my alarm at 3:15AM.

Race report is the next POST!