San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC): Arnold's Race Report

La Jolla Cove: An underwater sanctuary, the Cove provided for a scenic swim


My alarm woke me at 6:00 yesterday morning, and I reluctantly rolled out of bed to ingest two Cliff Bars and a cup of coffee. Mark was already awake and blasting CNN's coverage of the Saddam verdict, so I sat in front of the TV stretching my quads, hamstrings, and calves. After a final check of our gear, we walked out of the La Jolla Cove Suites Hotel to the transition area, which was right accross the street. Staying at a hotel walking distance from the race has innumberable advantages, including not having to get in line for the port-a-potty before the race.

Mark and I set up our transition areas next to each other--that's mine on the right


Mark and I casually set up our transition areas and walked back to the hotel for one last visit to the head, scoffing at the people lined up at the plastic outhouses. We sauntered back about 30 minutes before our wave start, expecting to have an opportunity for a warm-up swim. Unfortunately, they didn't allow anyone down to the beach head early, so we stood around and took in the sights.

It was humbling to be around so many challenged athletes, many missing more than one limb. As always, Robin Williams was there to offer his support, as was Amanda Beard. As soon as the announcer mentioned the latter's name, I ran to the stage to catch a glimpse, but was too late. Too bad, because I have a huge crush on her.

Without the benefit of a warm up, Mark and I were worried about the swim. Swim starts are brutal enough even when you have a chance to acclimatize to the water (for those of you who have no idea, check out this video), so we were both pleasantly surprised to have uneventful swims. La Jolla cove is beautiful, and there were lots of colorful fish. The only annoying aspect of the cove is it's abundance of kelp, which tends to get stuck to goggles.

I usually have a hard time sighting during open water swims, causing me to zig-zag uncontrollably and lose lots of time. The SDTC swim course is well marked by buoys on the way out, so I efficiently arrived at the turnaround point. The return swim, however, was marked with no buoys, and I'm sure I swam quite a bit more than the required 1.2 miles.

I wasn't happy to see that Mark was right behind me at the first transition. The prospect of Mark actually staying with me throughout the bike gave me extra motivation, and i had a pretty good ride.

A map of the 56-mile bike course generated from my GPS watch


The bike course was very, very challenging, with about 2200 feet of elevation gain spaced out over two major climbs. The first climb occured within the first few miles with a grueling gradient. Since I did the race last year, I knew to take it easy and not blow up so early in the race. The last climb, up Torrey Pines Road was not as steep, but was much longer, and very punishing after such a long day in the saddle. My bike leg was considerably slower than the last half-ironman I did in July, but it wasn't such a bad performance, given that it was not a closed course, and we were forced to stop at all red lights and stop signs.

A graph charting my heart rate and elevation during the bike ride


I was very tired as I cruised into the second transition, especially since the sun began to warm up the course considerably. Luckily, my friend Ali surprised me and was there cheering me on and as ran my bike back to the rack. The extra motivation got me started strong on the run, but that didn't last too long, because the hills started almost immediately.

A map of the hilly out-and-back 13.1-mile run course


The run was an out-and-back course with about 1000 feet of climbing. It was essentially all up hill until the turnaround, and all downhill on the way home. I could not help but stare in awe as I came accross amputee after amputee on the race course. While I was inspired when I saw double amputee Rudy Tolson on the La Jolla boardwalk, I was absolutely heartbroken at mile 7 when I came accross a kid who couldn't have been older than 8-years old resting at a bus-stop bench, weary from limping through the course on his prosthetics (he, like Rudy, had no natural legs).

I happily reached the turnaround at mile 6.6, meaning it was all downhill from there. I came accross a friendly face at mile 8. Mark came walking toward me (he was on mile 5), hydrating with soda. We greeted each other, commented how good the other looked (each of us was lying), and wished each other luck. Seeing Mark struggle was yet another motivator, as I wanted to beat him by more than 30 minutes. Knowing he was 3 miles behind me, I was able to cruise into the finish line, take a shower, change into some fresh clothes, and return to the finish chute to cheer my lungs out for Mark, who arrived about 40 minutes after I did.

Mark was slighly annoyed that I was no longer in my sweaty race suit when he finished. "Did you go home and take a shower already?" he asked. I responded with a wry smile: "Nah, man, I wouldn't do that to you."

A graph of my heart rate, run pace, and elevation throughout the run


The clock at the finish line read 6 hours, 56 minutes when I concluded my run. Since my wave started 15 minutes after the first gun, I estimate that my official time for the 70.3-mile course will be 6 hours, 41 minutes. That's one hour, five minutes faster than last year! Be sure to stay tuned to this blog for official race results, official pictures, and for Mark's race report.

SDTC Swag

Well, I made it safely to La Jolla after an easy drive down Interstate 5 on a nice Saturday morning. Mark, who is at Disneyland right now with his family, expects to arrive at the hotel some time after 6 p.m. Which means I expect him trudge into the room around 10 p.m. Before I turn in for an afternoon nap, I thought I’d post some pictures of the swag we got as SDTC participants. With a hefty $250 price tag, the entry fee rivals that of full Ironman Triathlons. But it’s for a good cause, and man, the swag is top-notch. Here is a sampling:

First, all the stuff comes in a huge Nike Bag:

But the real treasure looms inside the bag. Like a sport towel, sun block, race-number belt, energy drink, and carabineer:

Body Glide:

A running head towel thing-a-ma-jig:


A De Soto Sports running fuel belt:



A first-aid kit:


A 6-pack of race gels:


An inner tube:


Running-shoe lace locks:


A pair of black swim jammers (last year they gave us red jammers;I made the mistake of wearing the red jammers to a swim workout one day, and my teammates and the swim coach would not shut up about how stupid I looked):


Slippers:


Two water bottles:


Goggles:



An issue of Triathlete Magazine (it’s an old issue, but it’s the one with the super model on the cover, so I’m not complaining):


Two pairs of running socks:


They included a really ugly De Soto running hat:


But I didn’t fret too much, because they also gave us a great looking Headsweats running hat:


Like any other race, the swag bag included a cotton commemorative T-Shirt:


But unlike other races, they included a technical workout T-shirt:


and a long-sleeved technical shirt:


AND a cotton hoodie:


Of course, there are some items I didn’t appreciate, like the stick of WD-40:


and a VHS copy of Double Take, starring Eddie Griffin and Orlando Jones (I would have preferred Under Cover Brother, in DVD format):


But then CAF came back strong by including a pair of Nike Running Shoes:


Stacie, Hope, Jen and Bejnamin: You guys jealous? Good. That’s what you get for not doing the race with us. Eat your hearts out!

Pamplona. Out.

San Diego Triathlon Challenge This Weekend

Contrary to Mark's post below, Thursday was not Day 1 of Vineman training: It was Day 1 of my taper for our next triathlon, the San Diego Triathlon Challenge, which will take place this Sunday. I made a last-minute decision to opt out of Thursday's swim workout to ensure that my body is fully rested for this 70.3-mile test.

The SDTC is a race we will always hold dear to our hearts: In 2005 it was our first Half-Iron-Distance Triathlon ever (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and 13.1-mile run). Also, it's a great event benefitting a great cause.

So wish us luck. I'll post a race report right after my post-race nap on Sunday.

Oh, and if you are so inclined, you, dear reader, can donate to the Challenged Athletes Foundation on my behalf. It's easy, just click here.

I'd encourage you to donate on behalf of Mark, but I just checked out his donation page, and he already doubled my funds! He didn't necessarily work harder . . . he somehow fenangled a $1000.00 donation out of somebody.


Benjamin, Stacie, Mark and Me at the Start of the 2005 SDTC. Stacie decided to skip this year's event, and Benjamin just plain forgot to sign up.

Holy Sh**!

140.6 miles of agony await us in August. We may be in a little over our heads.

Stacie, Hope, Jen and Benjamin: The ball is in your court.

Half is Good Enough For HLB Tri

La Jolla, California

HLB Tri Teams up With Bird Marella Tri to Complete Half-Ironman

How many health care lawyers does it take to complete a Half-Ironman triathlon? The answer, apparently, is four. HLB Triathlon Team Members Stacie Neroni, Mark Hardiman, and Arnold Pamplona reached the pinnacle of their triathlon season today when they completed the San Diego Triathlon Challenge. But they needed a little help.

"We really didn't train for this race, so I was glad that the Gluckster was there to inspire us," said Hardiman, referring to Bird, Marella, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg lawyer Benjamin Gluck, who joined HLB Tri for the event. Gluck, who builds his cardiovascular strength simply by repeating his firm's entire name every time he introduces himself (BMWNDL just doesn't have a ring to it), competed in the event even though he was coming off a hip injury and was suffering from a heinous sinus infection.

Pamplona, Neroni, and Hardiman drew from Gluck's determination, and finished the race--consisting of a 1.2-mile open water swim, a grueling 56-mile bike ride, and a challenging 13.1 mile run--in seven hours and forty-five minutes, crossing the finish line together. Amazingly, Gluck finished less than 30 minutes behind HLB Tri despite illness.

The four athletes overcame tremendous adversity to finish, especially during the mountainous bike portion. Neroni had a minor fall on the first of many ascents, a one-mile climb out of La Jolla Cove that seemed to go straight up. But she pressed onward, her bike intact. The same could not be said for Hardiman, however, who saw his drivetrain completely shatter with a mile to go in the bike course. With the heart of a champion, Hardiman pushed his bike to the transition area, inciting a standing ovation from the thousands of spectators who awaited him at the base of the cove.

In total, the bike and run portions of the race involved over 7000 of climbing. But these athletes did more than conquer personal mountains; together, they raised over $2000.00 to benefit the Challenged Athletes Foundation.


A sleepy Pamplona checks into the transition area at 6:30 a.m.


Neroni and Hardiman get ready for a long day


L-R: Pamplona, Hardiman, Neroni, and Gluck


Triathletes waiting for the start of the swim leg


A celebrity sighting


Swimmers and support craft in La Jolla Cove


Neroni strikes a pose after her swim leg


Pamplona smiles (grimaces?) during the bike-run transition.


Pamplona, Gluck, and their good friend Robin Williams attack a steep hill at the beginning of the bike leg


Neroni completes the 56-mile bike leg


Hardiman walks his damaged bike home


A close-up of the damage


Gluck racks his bike in preparation for the half marathon


HLB Tri takes a group shot before setting off on the run together


HLB Tri finishes the race together, 7 hours and 45 minutes after starting