DNF Silverman Full 2010!!! Yeah! I like to think my training plan fell to shambles when my job put me to part time and I was really making an effort to make ends meet. You'd think a fella would train more with more time on his hands. But somehow working 6-7 days a week for half the pay balancing 3 different on-call employers just wouldn't do! Prior to coming out, everyone told me not to go (it's suicide, you'll suffer injuries you'll never recover from, etc...), or even switch to the half. I did the half in 2009 and had a ton of fun. And winging a half wouldn't risk irreparable injury. After switching races back and forth a couple of times with Frank and Denise (super sweet people by the way) over at Lowery Multisport (and they must've loved me for that), I'll let it ride. Nonetheless, I didn't train at all and winged it! Showed up to prerace dinner and packet pickup only to find banners all over the place stating "Silverman: World's Toughest Triathlon"! I remember thinking that night it was such a n00b move signing up for a race without even looking at the expected course! Everyone there was super anxious and nervous about the race. I approached it with the mentality to have fun. Despite only sleeping 4 hours the night prior (Kung Fu Panda usually puts me to sleep pretty well, but I had to run it twice before I finally got some shut eye!), it was awesome! Swam faster than I thought I would. Who knew that not training (eg: no swimming) for the 3 months prior would let me swim 2.4 in 1:31! There's something immensely calming popping your head out of Lake Las Vegas to find no one around you, at all. This was no LA Tri '09. I was there. 3rd wave. No fun. But this, this was surreal and simply breathtaking. Nutrition plan failed. Are you surprised? And I overdressed for the occasion (apparently my Craft ProZero Extreme baselayer was a little too formal for the 80 degree november heat!). There wasn't a single stretch of flat ground on that bike course. If you look at the elevation profile, you would think so. It was helpful that I cut out the profile from the race magazine and had it folded in my jersey pocket so I could always check on how much pain was left to endure. http://silvermannv.com/downloads/silverman_bike_profile.pdf If you saw my facebook photos or other course photos of the transition area, you would've seen that Lowery Multisport excavated singletrack dirt switch backs (2 of 'em) exiting T1 to start the hills early in the race 'cross style! And to top off my great start, my 2nd saltstick (added recently to my bike the day before) broke off within the first mile of the bike course and I lost half of my saltstick caplets! Since the fluid stations didn't have electrolyte tablets / 6 caplets for 112 miles? I'm doomed! After descending the 7 mile 7% grade refreshing slope to the turn around (I was aero the whole time and it was really neat) to the turnaround at mile 58, we were faced with climbing that sucker back up and have a strong headwind (which would last until until mile 105)! Just as I began to really lose hope, the heavens opened up and I came across a Zip-loc baggie of 4-5 white pills on the pavement! Those who know me best know that I don't spend my time "chasing the dragon" or Carpet Patrolling, or being an Alchy (except for the occasional social bourbon). I mean rarely accept the 5-second rule (peer pressure usually involved) and barely survive with exercise-induced asthma. But boy, I sure was desperate. I mean, who else leaves baggies of pills in the middle of deserted Henderson highways other than triathletes! So I took them! Not only that. As I had begin to run out about an hour later, I came across a Tic-Tac Box full of the same thing. I swear, I think Someone upstairs was looking out for me that day. Made the mile 92 marker by 3:40, barely clearing the 3:45 cutoff and then proceeded up the 3 sisters. Not that bad. Really. Compared to all that we just did. But the headwind and was unbearable and I had nothing left in tank, no matchsticks remaining. By the time I hit headwind stopped, I flew through the residential areas and into transition, but not under the time limit. 109 of 112 on no training. I'll take it! Overall, a really well run race. The community is completely behind the RDs on this and I am truly blessed that I had the fortune and taste this experience of a lifetime. No, I'm not an Ironman. I'm not even a Silverman. But I think I lived like one that day. My Takeaways: - It's amazing how far my body can push me on gut will and brain power alone. Had I trained a little, I would have completed 3 miles more within the time frame, continued to walk the marathon (14:30 pace) and finished in 6.5hrs. - Exercise and Eat Well for the sake of health. Once I stopped training and racing, I didn't know how to be healthy again. I gained 28 lbs in 2 months! Yeah, fatty over here needs to get going again. But it leads to my last takeaway: - Race for fun. If I'm only doing it to say "Yeah, I did that", cross it off the bucket list, or "get another one under the belt", I'll soon find that there's no passion in the action. Where there's no passion, there's no excitement, no enjoyment and no commitment. - Don't do drugs. Or pills of unknown origin. Repeatedly. It's stupid and probably not worth it. :0) Peace & Love, Anthony So so.anthonyk@gmail.com https://laziesttriathlete.wordpress.com/