We all have our kryptonite; it really should not have come as a surprise to me that mine is the heat and the Sun. In fact, when I was growing up my Mom told me that I was allergic to the sun, I’m not kidding. My Mom would make me come into the house on hot sunny days or sit in the shade while my buddies were running around playing. My eyes would swell shut, I would get heat rash, and in general would feel pretty awful. As a kid I didn’t care about that, I just wanted to play.

In my short (prestigious) multi-sport career, now it its fifth full season, I’ve only experienced one other day like this past Sunday during an event. It was the 2007 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, a day not nearly as hot but with extreme humidity. Living in the upper mid-west has helped keep me keep away from events with extreme hot sunshine.

But before I go into my mindless dribble and general silliness, I have to start this post out on a very serous note. On Monday, 18 July, my wife’s (Charlene) cousin (Tiffany) passed away from complication associated to a drug overdose. I know that most of you reading this do not know Tiffany, but I must reach out to you today, and plea with you, that if you know of anyone who is suffering from depression or a drug/alcohol problem, that you have the courage to intervene.

The lives of those who knew and loved Tiffany have been profoundly changed in an instant. Tiffany was 43, the mother of five, the youngest (Rose) is eleven. She had posted on Facebook (of all places) hours before she was found unconscious and unresponsive, that she was checking herself into the hospital, that she was depressed about the loss of her Dad last year, and that she needed help.

“Be the change that you want to see in the world” – MC Yogi, lyrics. Depression and addiction are serous diseases. You can help those you love by getting involved and getting them the help they so desperately need.

Events Leading up to Race Day
Before I get on with the race report I feel that I have to give you some background on the events leading up to race weekend. Hopefully I can do so without putting you to sleep.

On Thursday, 30 June, 17 days prior to the Door County race, I did the unthinkable. I had left work and went to Square Lake for an open water swim. I had my bike with me and planned to ride afterward. The swim started a bit late and ran longer than expected so I decided to forgo the ride. On my way home I noticed that the local farmers market was open. I called Charlene, picked her up, and headed over to get some fresh veggies. When we got home I stopped in front of the garage to let her out and she says, oh just go ahead and pull in…

Needless to say, the bike was mounted to the roof rack, crash, boom, bang…my stomach was in my mouth, I felt horrible, I wanted to cry, really…

I took the bike to a local bike shop later that evening. They told me the estimate and then I really, really wanted to cry. I said thank you but that is a third of the cost of the bike when I bought it three years ago. On Friday, 01 July, I found the parts I needed on eBay and was the successful bidder. I tried contacting the seller five times over the next week and a half. He apparently does not read or respond to email.

On Tuesday, 13 July, I decided I could wait no more. We were leaving Thursday evening and I had to have a bike. Now just so you know, I do have an old TREK 1200 road bike with the shifters on the down tube. I have ridden this bike in triathlons, as a matter of fact, it was my primary ride my first two seasons. But the idea of riding it now just seems wrong. I was able to find a rental. I didn’t even now this was an option until last week. I was not able to find a TT/Triathlon bike (adjustments are two complicated) but was able to rent a road bike. The folks at Gear West Bike hooked me up with a 2011 FELT F2SL (full carbon dura-ace, for you bike people out there). A nice bike for $150 for a full week. I picked it up on Wednesday and had to have it back the following Tuesday, all in all not bad.

With that tragedy behind us for now (the parts finally showed up Friday evening). We were off to Door County for the weekend. The whole family was going, Charlene, Alexandra, Christopher, and his girlfriend, Liz. We stayed at the Door County Camping Retreat we rented a rustic camper cabin. This place is one of the best kept secrets in Door County, super clean, quiet, very nice.

On Saturday, we went charter fishing for King Salmon on Lake MI. My Yogi (Sara) hooked us up. Her brother Captain Alex runs a charter on his boat ‘The Outdoorsmen‘ out of Sturgeon Bay.

I highly recommend you look him up if your planning a trip; we had a great time. We had four fish on at one time and had six fish in the boat before 5:30 AM. We hope to make this an annual event. We probably have enough salmon to last until next year.

So, finally, we get to race day. As a general overview, you can not ask for a better run event or a more pristine setting. The race starts at Frank E. Murphy Park which is on Green Bay between Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay. They have great volunteers! This years race (the events 7th annual) was filled to its maximum capacity of 1000 entrants. The video link below gives you a wonderful overview, be sure to watch the half iron course preview at the end!

The Swim – 1.2 Miles
The good news is that I did not swim off course. The water temp was good at 69F albeit a bit choppy. The wind was out of the southwest so the swimmers were head on with the waves down the back stretch which encompasses about 3/4 of the course. I started off up front in the middle which is not really where I wanted to be. I’m much more comfortable outside were there is less traffic. As we made the first turn I stopped, got ran over as a I made my way to the right side of the course in open water. The rest of the swim was uneventful, I felt good in the water and have done more open water swimming this year then all years prior. I’ve gotten to the point were I’m finally comfortable with no lane lines. It was not my fastest swim at Door County but was within seconds of the previous two years and was good enough for 38th overall.

The Bike – 56.3 Miles
A non traditional distance for a half iron. Typically the bike is 56 miles. So this event is actually a 70.6 mile race, take that Ironman 70.3.

The rental felt solid, the positioning on the road bike puts you in a more upright position. It wasn’t horrible but other than the 20 mile test ride on Wednesday evening, was the first time I road this bike. By mile 30 or so I could feel the heat. The course is on fairly open roads with little to no tree cover. You don’t sense the heat as much on the bike so if your not careful you can quickly dehydrate. I did my best to keep up with my fluid intake. I carried two 24 oz water bottles which I had mixed up some nuun electrolyte tabs. I finished both bottles plus took in additional water at the aid stations. Over the 2 hour 41 minute ride I easily consumed 60 oz of fluid.

As I made my way the last six miles or so I knew I’d be in trouble on the run. I was hot, crampy, pukey, and in general felt bad. Looking back on it now as I write this; a wise move would have been to take a prolonged T2 and jump back in the lake, cool off, and recover. The 10 minutes it would have taken would have been priceless later on. And if it didn’t work I would of been no worse off.

Through the swim, T1, the bike, and T2, I was within a minute of last year’s time and within 2 minutes of my PR from two year’s ago. To bad the race doesn’t end after T2…

The Run – 13.1 miles
I feel bad calling this section the run since I did little of that on this day. Within the first mile I was mentally and physically defeated. I could not seem to cool off. The ‘Death March’ that followed really is not worth writing about or reading about; 2 hours and 45 minutes later it mercifully came to an end.

The Result
The day kind of reminded me of having your favorite desert in front of you. You can almost taste the sweet, creamy coolness before you even put it in your mouth. But when you take your first bite you immediately know something is wrong. The taste is bitter, its warm, and kind of chunky. Your eyes widen and you start to wonder what exactly did you just put in your mouth. This is not the desert I remember, something is horribly wrong here. You question if you ever really liked it, you feel a sense of loss almost, were did that wonderful taste go? Will I ever taste it again?

I’ve had a hard time shaking off the after taste of this race. I’ve replayed it way too many times in my head; trying to figure out what I should have done different. For now I’m blaming it on the sun and the heat, because if you remember, I’m allergic…