Jerome’s Blog

well…. this happened a while ago - but I am just now getting around to putting up some pictures of it!

First - my Brother and his new wife - Andrea:

His son Connor was the ring bearer and did really well for a kid trapped in a monkey suit in the middle of June in Missouri! 

My cousin stood up with us:

He is the tallest and baldest of the group…. though I’d trade height for hair any day!!

It was a lovely ceremony out @ Powell Gardens in Missouri.  Ellie took most of the shots - even this one of my Grandmother and my Aunt Deb …. notice the family resemblance?

Sorry Aunt Deb - best picture Ellie took of you the whole time….

Oh yes my Aunt is now reading my blog - so I am up to…. well enough readers now I need to use a second hand to count them!

Andrea is a bright and shinning addition to our family!  It was beautiful ceremony and I think that the best man was the best best man ever! HA!

OK I will be doing the Shawnee Mission Triathlon on Sunday the 13th.  I do not think Shannon will be doing it at all though - her calf is messed up!

So come out and cheer me on - it is a short (sprint) triathlon and this hunk of burning triathlete should be done a wee bit before 9 am (It starts @ 7 AM). 

I have been pretty good about working out since the BIG ONE (the HyVee triathlon) has finished - but after this one I take a two week break - my body really needs it!

A guy I work with snapped this shot of me on the bike:

So come out on SUNDAY (Sunday, sunday sunday) as we turn Shawnee Mission Park into a GIANT MUDPIT … oh wait… sorry into monster truck narration mode again!

I can give directions or what not but the more the merrier!  Just think not only do you get to see ME in spandex but hundreds of people who are really fit and look much better than me in spandex (what you thought I did this purely for health benefits?!?!?!)

C U THERE!

OK this year’s kids triathlon was a "dry tri" or essentially a duathlon - where you run bike then run.  The really neat thing about the HyVee kids triathlon  was that there was a TON of participation this year.

Ellie (above) had the longer race as she ran in the 10 year old division.  Last year her race number was 79 and this year it was 179 - very cool little coincidence!

Ellie made a nice little friend @ the start and they did the whole race together until about the last 150 yards or so. 

Grace on the other hand hates to sweat but decided to go full force and she wanted a pretty but professional looking suit…. uhm OH OK….

Here she is in action:

  (credit to Grandpa Jerry on the nice picture here and above of Ellie)

The goal was for them to have fun and they both did!! though ask Grace what place she came in - (hint - higher than her sister) and her eyes light up!

Of course Grace’s race was much shorter than Ell’s but hey who’s counting (Grace sure is - she even burst my bubble - "You came in 55th? Well I came in 14th)….. NICE

Gracie Hilscher	Ellie Hilscher
bib number: 56 division place: 14 out of 23 time: 9:39 run1: 1:46 t1: 0:53 bike: 4:44 t2: 0:28 run2: 1:49	bib number: 179 division place: 19 out of 26 time: 15:00 run1: 4:59 t1: 0:35 bike: 3:22 t2: 0:25 run2: 5:41

I could not be prouder!

First - for the confusion and flooding the folks @ HyVee did and AWESOME job! I made sure to thank everyone I saw who was a volunteer! It was great and I am glad they worked it out so it was a true triathlon. As running is not my forte I would have hated a Du!

What worked:
Initial swim strategy - felt comfortable letting the lead pack jump in and run away while I settled in. Got the breathing down pretty well - handled that initial surge of panic and BOOM started enjoying the swim. I was surprised by this. I never really swam in an open water race before and open water training was not the same. It helped to see the guys hanging on the buoys and know - hey at least I can out swim those folks!

Nutrition strategy - peanut butter cliff bar and coffee @ 3:30 AM - water bottle before we leave the house. Water bottle on the trip down. Gu before we hit the beach. 2 gu’s on the bike with one water bottle and one Gatorade bottle. UGH not enough water. Needed a water bottle exchange - but no water even coming out of the transition. Water and Gatorade at every other stop. Made sure I splashed water

Bike Strategy - just stayed with what I planned. I really got into a groove though and had a nice bike ride. Surprised at how tired the arms felts. My bike MPH was higher than I had previously done in training rides (15.73 v 15.2-15.5).

What did not work so well:
Not enough body glide on my neck - horrible hickey there!
T2 - got lost - ugh - write down notes on body - need to be smart about it!
Mentally toughen up in the run!

My goals:
1 Under 4 hours
2 Don’t finish Last in Clydesdale division
3 Don’t stop without a purpose(ie transition getting on stuff)
4 Don’t stop swimming
5 Try to relax and enjoy the experience
6 Take mental snapshots
RESULTS
#1 - woot - under 4 hours - really thought I had a BAD swim - but I ended up doing better. Wish I would’ve pushed more in the run now. Though 2 days later and my legs just laugh @ that statement.
#2 - 55/58 - woot woot - did not even check to see how many were DNF or DNS even.
#3 - Only stopped ONCE and that was when I was lost - took one deep breath and did not panic - so it was a positive - otherwise I moved the entire TIME. Felt great.
#4 - most worried about this - I was pushing forward continuously! Never once floated or stopped - and only breast stroked twice - once to get back into line of swim and another time to get my bearings going into the finish area. Otherwise it was heads down the whole way. I really think I can improve here a lot!
#5 - This started on the swim and did not stop until I went to sleep that night!
#6 - Some cool images - the number of bikes still racked when I left the swim, the sun rise over the water - the little rainbow during the national anthem, the co-worker @ the exit of T1 - the smile my wife gave as she passed me (going up hill) - the fellow YMCA class members cheering me on during the bike - the snapping turtle getting corralled by the older volunteer on the bike course - the dude biting it on the bottom of the hill on a sharp left (yet I still did not break) - the encouragement on the run - the sight of my wife cheering me down the finish chute - the blue carpet - the Y group - the ice bath (THANK GOD)….. so many!

What a great FIRST race - wow!

It is over and done with - the big tri - the HyVee triathlon is over.

I am still pretty much exhausted.  I had a lot of fun - was really surprised at how much I could push myself. 

I finished in under 4 hours…. my original goal of 3 1/2 got stretched to 3:45 and then moved out to 4 hours when reality set in with a new hillier course and old beer gut still attached.

I have a much longer post started but my forearms cramp up a bit if I type too much and if I sit in one spot too long my knee hurts…. did I mention I had a lot of fun!?!?!?!

The girls did great in the kids tri’s and Shannon beat her time from last year!

Go to http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=8234  check for the names - I am in as the only one with the first name or Shannon is there if you look for Hilscher too.

OK More later - some pics even - I promise.

So I beat the 4 hour mark - did not finish last - did not finish last in my group - did not stop once on teh swim or the bike or the run…. did get a little lost in T2 when I was trying to drop off my bike and get into my running shoes!