Interview with RJ Boergers - President of GCTri Club
I believe, if I remember correctly, that the first time we met, roughly 5 years ago, was on a group ride on Long Island. We were headed out to Briermere Farms for a 50 mile ride, which happened to be my first group ride as well as my first 50 mile ride. We also embarked on a Timberman 70.3 adventure together as well. Since then we have kept in contact and cheered each other on through social media as we have attempted to tackle the world of triathlon and endurance sports. A lot has happened over the years so I'm glad we can finally catch up. Why don't we start of with something simple,
What lead you off Long Island to New Jersey?
Back in 2010 I got a phone call from my friend (now boss) that they had a faculty position open in the Athletic Training Department at Seton Hall University and they wanted me to apply. Once I got offered the position it was a "no brainer" for me because I had so many friends that lived in NYC and NJ, and I also worked at Seton Hall in the past in the Athletics Department so I knew a ton of people. I couldn't be happier with this decision. My professional life on LI working at Stony Brook University was amazing, but I wasn't satisfied with my personal life. In my opinion, life in the burbs sucks and I was way too far from my good friends. Additionally, as a triathlete on LI, with everything being so spread apart, it was hard to find a solid group to train with. So glad I was a member of Sunrise Tri to get started, but my current situation is way better.
Could you describe your affiliation with the ever growing GCTri Club?
I've been the president of GCTri Club for the past 2 years. It's an amazing club with many quality individuals (and lots of really fast people too). When I knew I'd be moving to Hoboken, NJ I did a google search and found them. I got involved really quickly and before I knew it I was one of the ride leaders. The club president for many years, Andrew Shore was the face of the club and we were all surprised and sad to see him move away to California at the end of 2012. He was a "one man show" as the president and we realized no one could fill his shoes alone so we created a 5 person board of directors and I was elected president.
What sets your club apart from other local clubs or ones you have been apart of in the past?
The answer is simple - awesome members! Seriously, our members have a commitment and passion for the sport AND the TEAM!!! We've got a wide range of individuals from newbies to Kona qualifiers. Folks with more knowledge and experience pass along what they've learned over the years to the others. For most of us, the club doesn't just provide us with other folks to train with; many of our best friends belong to the club. I can tell you that it isn't a large budget that makes this club go (we run it on a shoestring budget), but I think our hidden secret to our success is that we are in a population dense area so it's easy to get together with others to workout. The majority of our members are in Hoboken, Jersey City or Weehawken so you are never more than a couple miles from your friends that you want to train with. Also, many of our members are USAT certified coaches so they help design the group workouts.
How can aspiring and current multisport athletes connect with or join GCTri Club?
Send us a quick email at info@gctri.org and we will give you all the details you are looking for.
Both of us have dozens of races under our belts ranging from sprints to the 70.3 distance so what was the spark that ignited your fire for conquering the 140.6 distance?
Honestly, I was looking for a new challenge. I love racing the 70.3 races and I wanted to see how the 140.6 compared. I've heard a lot about the full Iron distance from friends and I wanted to see for myself what it was all about. Over a year before the race I had evaluated what I had going on in my personal and professional life and decided that I would have the time to train how I wanted to.
Could you provide some insight into your training? What should aspiring 140.6 athletes know before taking the plunge?
I don't use a coach, but I'm fortunate to have a background in exercise science so setting up a plan wasn't hard. I found a few free plans online and took the basic ideas and created something that was right for me. For the most part I did 2 days swim, 2 days bike, 3 days run. I committed to the plan for 20 weeks and every 4th week was a recovery week after the 3 week builds. I probably averaged about 15hrs per week training. Many of the plans were 3,3,4 but many of the extra workouts were recovery workouts. I used that time instead for my strength training (3-4 days per week). I personally feel that most triathletes don't do enough strength training. For me personally, I love to do it and I also firmly believe that keeps me injury free. I don't want to get into the science behind it too much, but if you fail to maintain optimal length tension relationships between your muscles, it's a recipe for injury. Running, biking and swimming also predisposes us for many of the postural syndromes too, so taking time to strength train and also stretch is important to avoid the problems associated with these poor postures (forward head, forward shoulder, kyphosis, anterior pelvic tilt).
How would you compare the physical stress to the mental/emotional stress of training for the 140.6 distance?
The physical stress was nothing I wasn't expecting. It's also kind of cool when you are in the home stretch of your training program and rides or runs that you used to think were hard become simple. I'm still amazed at what the human body can accomplish. The mental/emotional stress was a challenge for sure. You're constantly sticking to the training schedule and you begin to feel like a slave to it so it totally wears on you. I felt like my existence was work, work out, eat, sleep, do laundry, REPEAT. Seriously, the mental/emotional side is taxing because of what you have to give up. You go to bed early and miss out on a lot of fun. Laundry piles up. You don't have time to clean your apartment/house because you'd rather take a nap (and frankly need it). There are days you don't want to get out of bed, but you can't afford to miss the workout. Thankfully, my girlfriend Janine is both understanding and supportive. Even my friends came through with not busting my chops too much about not making some gatherings or not drinking. Not having the life balance that I like to have definitely provided a good deal of emotional stress.
What lead you off Long Island to New Jersey?
Back in 2010 I got a phone call from my friend (now boss) that they had a faculty position open in the Athletic Training Department at Seton Hall University and they wanted me to apply. Once I got offered the position it was a "no brainer" for me because I had so many friends that lived in NYC and NJ, and I also worked at Seton Hall in the past in the Athletics Department so I knew a ton of people. I couldn't be happier with this decision. My professional life on LI working at Stony Brook University was amazing, but I wasn't satisfied with my personal life. In my opinion, life in the burbs sucks and I was way too far from my good friends. Additionally, as a triathlete on LI, with everything being so spread apart, it was hard to find a solid group to train with. So glad I was a member of Sunrise Tri to get started, but my current situation is way better.
Could you describe your affiliation with the ever growing GCTri Club?
I've been the president of GCTri Club for the past 2 years. It's an amazing club with many quality individuals (and lots of really fast people too). When I knew I'd be moving to Hoboken, NJ I did a google search and found them. I got involved really quickly and before I knew it I was one of the ride leaders. The club president for many years, Andrew Shore was the face of the club and we were all surprised and sad to see him move away to California at the end of 2012. He was a "one man show" as the president and we realized no one could fill his shoes alone so we created a 5 person board of directors and I was elected president.
What sets your club apart from other local clubs or ones you have been apart of in the past?
The answer is simple - awesome members! Seriously, our members have a commitment and passion for the sport AND the TEAM!!! We've got a wide range of individuals from newbies to Kona qualifiers. Folks with more knowledge and experience pass along what they've learned over the years to the others. For most of us, the club doesn't just provide us with other folks to train with; many of our best friends belong to the club. I can tell you that it isn't a large budget that makes this club go (we run it on a shoestring budget), but I think our hidden secret to our success is that we are in a population dense area so it's easy to get together with others to workout. The majority of our members are in Hoboken, Jersey City or Weehawken so you are never more than a couple miles from your friends that you want to train with. Also, many of our members are USAT certified coaches so they help design the group workouts.
How can aspiring and current multisport athletes connect with or join GCTri Club?
Send us a quick email at info@gctri.org and we will give you all the details you are looking for.
Both of us have dozens of races under our belts ranging from sprints to the 70.3 distance so what was the spark that ignited your fire for conquering the 140.6 distance?
Honestly, I was looking for a new challenge. I love racing the 70.3 races and I wanted to see how the 140.6 compared. I've heard a lot about the full Iron distance from friends and I wanted to see for myself what it was all about. Over a year before the race I had evaluated what I had going on in my personal and professional life and decided that I would have the time to train how I wanted to.
Could you provide some insight into your training? What should aspiring 140.6 athletes know before taking the plunge?
I don't use a coach, but I'm fortunate to have a background in exercise science so setting up a plan wasn't hard. I found a few free plans online and took the basic ideas and created something that was right for me. For the most part I did 2 days swim, 2 days bike, 3 days run. I committed to the plan for 20 weeks and every 4th week was a recovery week after the 3 week builds. I probably averaged about 15hrs per week training. Many of the plans were 3,3,4 but many of the extra workouts were recovery workouts. I used that time instead for my strength training (3-4 days per week). I personally feel that most triathletes don't do enough strength training. For me personally, I love to do it and I also firmly believe that keeps me injury free. I don't want to get into the science behind it too much, but if you fail to maintain optimal length tension relationships between your muscles, it's a recipe for injury. Running, biking and swimming also predisposes us for many of the postural syndromes too, so taking time to strength train and also stretch is important to avoid the problems associated with these poor postures (forward head, forward shoulder, kyphosis, anterior pelvic tilt).
How would you compare the physical stress to the mental/emotional stress of training for the 140.6 distance?
The physical stress was nothing I wasn't expecting. It's also kind of cool when you are in the home stretch of your training program and rides or runs that you used to think were hard become simple. I'm still amazed at what the human body can accomplish. The mental/emotional stress was a challenge for sure. You're constantly sticking to the training schedule and you begin to feel like a slave to it so it totally wears on you. I felt like my existence was work, work out, eat, sleep, do laundry, REPEAT. Seriously, the mental/emotional side is taxing because of what you have to give up. You go to bed early and miss out on a lot of fun. Laundry piles up. You don't have time to clean your apartment/house because you'd rather take a nap (and frankly need it). There are days you don't want to get out of bed, but you can't afford to miss the workout. Thankfully, my girlfriend Janine is both understanding and supportive. Even my friends came through with not busting my chops too much about not making some gatherings or not drinking. Not having the life balance that I like to have definitely provided a good deal of emotional stress.
For most athletes completing the 140.6 distance is a very long day, with some athletes taking 17 hours to finish. A major component to being able to cross the finish line is to assure there is gas in the tank. Could you speak about how you put together and figured out your nutrition?
Some years back, I went to a triathlon nutrition seminar by Brian Shea of Personal Best Nutrition. At that time I was struggling with my nutrition for HIM distance races and I discovered it was because I was using too much solid foods. Since then, I've switched to all liquids (I mix IRONMAN Perform with Carbopro). I use a particular equation that uses your weight and expected time on the bike to determine how many calories you need to take on the bike. In a HIM, I only take on calories on the bike and drink water throughout the run. For the IM I took on 1800 cal on the bike. I had 2 bottles that were 900 cal each and then I continually drink water from my aero bottle (which I topped off at every aid station). Once I was on the run I followed my plan which was to have a 100cal gel every 45min. The brand they had on course was High5 which is more loose than the gels we have in the USA. We had a lot of the product shipped in the summer so we could practice with it during our training. I actually prefer it over any of the products we can purchase in our country.
Some years back, I went to a triathlon nutrition seminar by Brian Shea of Personal Best Nutrition. At that time I was struggling with my nutrition for HIM distance races and I discovered it was because I was using too much solid foods. Since then, I've switched to all liquids (I mix IRONMAN Perform with Carbopro). I use a particular equation that uses your weight and expected time on the bike to determine how many calories you need to take on the bike. In a HIM, I only take on calories on the bike and drink water throughout the run. For the IM I took on 1800 cal on the bike. I had 2 bottles that were 900 cal each and then I continually drink water from my aero bottle (which I topped off at every aid station). Once I was on the run I followed my plan which was to have a 100cal gel every 45min. The brand they had on course was High5 which is more loose than the gels we have in the USA. We had a lot of the product shipped in the summer so we could practice with it during our training. I actually prefer it over any of the products we can purchase in our country.
There are many iconic 140.6 distance races in the United States such as Wildflower, Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman Canada and Most recently Challenge opened their first full distance triathlon in your backyard, Challenge A.C.. Could you speak to your selection process of your first 140.6 distance race?
Most people thought I was crazy when I said my first IM would be in Copenhagen, Denmark, but for me I wanted an excuse to go on a European vacation. My good friend Mike in my club has done 5 international IM events so he pretty much has things figured out when it comes to preparing for all the logistics involved (he's super type A so literally that is no detail left to the imagination). My other good friend Maria in my club is from a village near Malmo, Sweden which is literally just a super long bridge away from Copenhagen so she promised lots of support from her friends and family for us. We didn't even investigate the course or weather conditions much- that wasn't the important thing. From my perspective, it was going to be a great place that would allow for easy travel to a variety of locations after the race and the timing (late August) was perfect for my training since I teach college classes.
Most people thought I was crazy when I said my first IM would be in Copenhagen, Denmark, but for me I wanted an excuse to go on a European vacation. My good friend Mike in my club has done 5 international IM events so he pretty much has things figured out when it comes to preparing for all the logistics involved (he's super type A so literally that is no detail left to the imagination). My other good friend Maria in my club is from a village near Malmo, Sweden which is literally just a super long bridge away from Copenhagen so she promised lots of support from her friends and family for us. We didn't even investigate the course or weather conditions much- that wasn't the important thing. From my perspective, it was going to be a great place that would allow for easy travel to a variety of locations after the race and the timing (late August) was perfect for my training since I teach college classes.
Athletes freak out about preparing for and getting to local races on time and without forgetting anything, was traveling to this race a logistical nightmare?
As I mentioned before, I did this race with my friends Mike and Maria. They are both such type A personalities that everything was practiced or thought through at least 5 times. The packing lists that I got from my friend Mike were pages long with rationalizations for why you needed to have certain things (it was funny, but it helped me relax knowing I wasn't going to be ill prepared). Doing a triathlon in Europe is a bit of a pain because you have to pack and transport so much gear (it would totally be easier to travel for a destination marathon). I made sure that I had a direct flight going out there so I knew my bike box would arrive without problem. I can tell you that my friend Maria was in a bit of a panic because she didn't have a direct flight and her bike arrived a day and a half after she did. I can't even begin to describe the anxiety that she was dealing with. We did overnight flights on Wednesday that arrived Thursday - I wouldn't cut it any closer. Your body needs a bit of time to adjust and there is quite a bit of running around you have to do for IM.
Could you speak about your game plan and or goals for this race?
My overall goal for every race is to have fun!!! Why bother doing this stuff if we don't enjoy it. I did make sure to take in all the sights and sounds and smells the day had to offer and it was a great experience. I always have goals for each discipline and for my nutrition going into a race which are always based on my training. When doing an IM, you kind of work backwards from your overall goal time. I wanted to be under 12 hours so then I just started running the numbers I would need to get for each discipline. Going in I was capable of a 1:15-1:20 swim, but I gave myself up to 1:30 if conditions were choppy. (Swim -1:18) I'm a bit slower so I just swim off the back of my AG wave so I don't have to deal with too much contact. I also knew I was capable of being under 6hr on the bike (it's only an avg of 18.5mph) and I can hold 20-21mph for HIM distance races. I don't use HR or power - I let cadence be my guide. I made sure I was 85-90 the whole time (at times the wind was crazy strong so I really had to gear down when I couldn't hold the cadence). The other big thing I had to control myself with was not chasing people. In shorter races you can hammer a bit and be really aggressive, but I made sure I was spinning within myself. (Bike - 5:56) On the run I figured I could go 4hr based on my training and my previous open marathon time and I was pretty much spot on. I made no specific goals for number of aid stations I could use or how long I could walk through an aid station - I wanted to just see how I was feeling without being too pre-planned. (Run - 4:02) One area where I totally followed my plan was with nutrition. I sipped my nutrition every 15min on bike and drank water throughout, and I took gels every 45min on the run and drank throughout. Although I might have been a bit conservative with my goals for the race, it was my first IM distance so I have no regrets.
As I mentioned before, I did this race with my friends Mike and Maria. They are both such type A personalities that everything was practiced or thought through at least 5 times. The packing lists that I got from my friend Mike were pages long with rationalizations for why you needed to have certain things (it was funny, but it helped me relax knowing I wasn't going to be ill prepared). Doing a triathlon in Europe is a bit of a pain because you have to pack and transport so much gear (it would totally be easier to travel for a destination marathon). I made sure that I had a direct flight going out there so I knew my bike box would arrive without problem. I can tell you that my friend Maria was in a bit of a panic because she didn't have a direct flight and her bike arrived a day and a half after she did. I can't even begin to describe the anxiety that she was dealing with. We did overnight flights on Wednesday that arrived Thursday - I wouldn't cut it any closer. Your body needs a bit of time to adjust and there is quite a bit of running around you have to do for IM.
Could you speak about your game plan and or goals for this race?
My overall goal for every race is to have fun!!! Why bother doing this stuff if we don't enjoy it. I did make sure to take in all the sights and sounds and smells the day had to offer and it was a great experience. I always have goals for each discipline and for my nutrition going into a race which are always based on my training. When doing an IM, you kind of work backwards from your overall goal time. I wanted to be under 12 hours so then I just started running the numbers I would need to get for each discipline. Going in I was capable of a 1:15-1:20 swim, but I gave myself up to 1:30 if conditions were choppy. (Swim -1:18) I'm a bit slower so I just swim off the back of my AG wave so I don't have to deal with too much contact. I also knew I was capable of being under 6hr on the bike (it's only an avg of 18.5mph) and I can hold 20-21mph for HIM distance races. I don't use HR or power - I let cadence be my guide. I made sure I was 85-90 the whole time (at times the wind was crazy strong so I really had to gear down when I couldn't hold the cadence). The other big thing I had to control myself with was not chasing people. In shorter races you can hammer a bit and be really aggressive, but I made sure I was spinning within myself. (Bike - 5:56) On the run I figured I could go 4hr based on my training and my previous open marathon time and I was pretty much spot on. I made no specific goals for number of aid stations I could use or how long I could walk through an aid station - I wanted to just see how I was feeling without being too pre-planned. (Run - 4:02) One area where I totally followed my plan was with nutrition. I sipped my nutrition every 15min on bike and drank water throughout, and I took gels every 45min on the run and drank throughout. Although I might have been a bit conservative with my goals for the race, it was my first IM distance so I have no regrets.
There is always a lot of discussion or debate between American Ironman branded events and European Ironman branded events, did you notice any differences? Atmosphere? Quality? Swag? Conditions? Fan support? Calibar of athlete? Etc
There were major differences between IM Copenhagen and many of the American races. The atmosphere was one of the best I've ever experienced. People were super supportive of the athletes and they seemed excited to be hosting the event. There was great support everywhere. I never found myself wishing for more fan support because they were always there. When I was doing my last preparations in transition before the swim start I was looking around at the bikes and each one was better than the next. After I got my wetsuit on and was standing on the beach I looked at all the guys in my age group and wondered "where are all the fat guys?" I don't mean this to be rude in any way, but in American races, there's plenty of competitors that aren't that fit. This is absolutely NOT the case in Scandinavia. These guys looked fast and I confirmed this on the bike and run. On the bike it was an all out hammerfest by these guys. Typically in an American event, you watch these guys hammer the bike and then die on the run. Once again, this was absolutely NOT the case in Scandinavia. All the competitors were very fit. Despite having a respectable finish time of 11:36, that only got me in the 55th percentile for my age group which was frustrating. They were really light on the swag which was disappointing. Is it me or is IRONMAN getting super cheap in this way? We only got a backpack and the worst finisher tech shirt ever. I mean, throw us a hat or visor or something else. Let me continue about the worst finisher shirt ever. I can't possibly ever wear the thing without being laughed at because in HUGE block letters across the front of the shirt it says: I MADE IT TO THE FINISH LINE - yuk. It's obnoxious. I would have loved something that said "Finisher" in a more subtle way.
Race reports are often very detailed and focus mainly in an athletes numbers, HR, power, pace etc, I would like to know what was your mental state through out your race day?
The morning of the race I only had one brief moment of panic when I couldn't locate one of my bags. After that, I wasn't nervous at all because I knew we had trained properly and were prepared. During the swim I was just very happy. The reason for this is that I only really learned how to swim for distance about 6 years ago. I was kind of proud of myself. The swim was really clear water, not choppy and I wasn't making too much contact with other athletes so it was thoroughly enjoyable. By dumb luck I saw my buddy Mike in T1 and we exited together - this was just another thing that made me smile because I trained a lot with him and we got to share the experience together (many times you race with a friend and may never see them on the course). During the bike I struggled mentally a bit. I didn't see our cheering squad until about mile 50 and I had been passed by all these guys that were hammering (it wasn't good for the psyche). Seeing my friends cheering re-rejuvenated me and I knew I could get through the next loop without an issue. In T2, I didn't have anxiety about the marathon - it's almost like I had absence of thought. Once I started running the first 6mi were pretty easy...then it gets very hard!!! My mind drifted at times, but I never felt ashamed of my effort and I never felt like I couldn't finish strong. My club had Dr. Peter Economou a psychologist come and talk about the technique of mindfulness, so I used some of those tips to help control my thoughts. In really looking back at things, I don't think I had many negative thoughts. If I did, they didn't stick around very long and spiral out of control (thanks to the mindfulness).
If it is possible could you explain what you were experiencing when you made your way down the finishing chute and crossed the finish line?
People that know me know that I don't often smile while racing. On this occasion I was smiling ear to ear knowing what I had just accomplished. The crowd was totally electric, they were playing awesome music and the energy made me have a pins and needles feeling throughout my entire body. It was pretty special.
Now for a question that everyone wants to know, how did you celebrate after your race?
The night of the race was pretty tame - I ate an entire pizza and drank 4 delicious beers and passed out from exhaustion. I spent the following week in the south of Sweden, Berlin and Amsterdam. We had 2 actual IRONMAN parties in Sweden courtesy of my friend Maria. We had a bar party in Malmo which was super cool (only I couldn't figure out how to use the bathrooms) and at the beach house we were renting we had a crayfish party which is a traditional thing to do in Sweden in the month of August. Aside from eating lots of crayfish, we sang Swedish songs and drank disgusting schnapps. The Swedes are apparently sneaky drinkers because they don't really drink the schnapps, but I ended up getting bombed. I guess they had fun watching the silly American get loaded. In Germany every beer I had was more delicious than the first and Amsterdam had some good brews as well.
Anything else you would like the thousands of readers to know?
The full Iron distance is weird. I'm glad I did it and I'm proud of my accomplishment, but I kind of don't think it is as big a deal as many people make it. I still prefer the 70.3 distance for 2 reasons: I can have a better life balance and you can actually race it. My message to people is this: loving sprint, olympic or HIM races does NOT make you any less of a triathlete. Do what you love and what works for your lifestyle.
There were major differences between IM Copenhagen and many of the American races. The atmosphere was one of the best I've ever experienced. People were super supportive of the athletes and they seemed excited to be hosting the event. There was great support everywhere. I never found myself wishing for more fan support because they were always there. When I was doing my last preparations in transition before the swim start I was looking around at the bikes and each one was better than the next. After I got my wetsuit on and was standing on the beach I looked at all the guys in my age group and wondered "where are all the fat guys?" I don't mean this to be rude in any way, but in American races, there's plenty of competitors that aren't that fit. This is absolutely NOT the case in Scandinavia. These guys looked fast and I confirmed this on the bike and run. On the bike it was an all out hammerfest by these guys. Typically in an American event, you watch these guys hammer the bike and then die on the run. Once again, this was absolutely NOT the case in Scandinavia. All the competitors were very fit. Despite having a respectable finish time of 11:36, that only got me in the 55th percentile for my age group which was frustrating. They were really light on the swag which was disappointing. Is it me or is IRONMAN getting super cheap in this way? We only got a backpack and the worst finisher tech shirt ever. I mean, throw us a hat or visor or something else. Let me continue about the worst finisher shirt ever. I can't possibly ever wear the thing without being laughed at because in HUGE block letters across the front of the shirt it says: I MADE IT TO THE FINISH LINE - yuk. It's obnoxious. I would have loved something that said "Finisher" in a more subtle way.
Race reports are often very detailed and focus mainly in an athletes numbers, HR, power, pace etc, I would like to know what was your mental state through out your race day?
The morning of the race I only had one brief moment of panic when I couldn't locate one of my bags. After that, I wasn't nervous at all because I knew we had trained properly and were prepared. During the swim I was just very happy. The reason for this is that I only really learned how to swim for distance about 6 years ago. I was kind of proud of myself. The swim was really clear water, not choppy and I wasn't making too much contact with other athletes so it was thoroughly enjoyable. By dumb luck I saw my buddy Mike in T1 and we exited together - this was just another thing that made me smile because I trained a lot with him and we got to share the experience together (many times you race with a friend and may never see them on the course). During the bike I struggled mentally a bit. I didn't see our cheering squad until about mile 50 and I had been passed by all these guys that were hammering (it wasn't good for the psyche). Seeing my friends cheering re-rejuvenated me and I knew I could get through the next loop without an issue. In T2, I didn't have anxiety about the marathon - it's almost like I had absence of thought. Once I started running the first 6mi were pretty easy...then it gets very hard!!! My mind drifted at times, but I never felt ashamed of my effort and I never felt like I couldn't finish strong. My club had Dr. Peter Economou a psychologist come and talk about the technique of mindfulness, so I used some of those tips to help control my thoughts. In really looking back at things, I don't think I had many negative thoughts. If I did, they didn't stick around very long and spiral out of control (thanks to the mindfulness).
If it is possible could you explain what you were experiencing when you made your way down the finishing chute and crossed the finish line?
People that know me know that I don't often smile while racing. On this occasion I was smiling ear to ear knowing what I had just accomplished. The crowd was totally electric, they were playing awesome music and the energy made me have a pins and needles feeling throughout my entire body. It was pretty special.
Now for a question that everyone wants to know, how did you celebrate after your race?
The night of the race was pretty tame - I ate an entire pizza and drank 4 delicious beers and passed out from exhaustion. I spent the following week in the south of Sweden, Berlin and Amsterdam. We had 2 actual IRONMAN parties in Sweden courtesy of my friend Maria. We had a bar party in Malmo which was super cool (only I couldn't figure out how to use the bathrooms) and at the beach house we were renting we had a crayfish party which is a traditional thing to do in Sweden in the month of August. Aside from eating lots of crayfish, we sang Swedish songs and drank disgusting schnapps. The Swedes are apparently sneaky drinkers because they don't really drink the schnapps, but I ended up getting bombed. I guess they had fun watching the silly American get loaded. In Germany every beer I had was more delicious than the first and Amsterdam had some good brews as well.
Anything else you would like the thousands of readers to know?
The full Iron distance is weird. I'm glad I did it and I'm proud of my accomplishment, but I kind of don't think it is as big a deal as many people make it. I still prefer the 70.3 distance for 2 reasons: I can have a better life balance and you can actually race it. My message to people is this: loving sprint, olympic or HIM races does NOT make you any less of a triathlete. Do what you love and what works for your lifestyle.
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