Chet does the Double Deca.

I used to coach for Team Jet. This is the founder, Chet "the Jet" Blanton. He was planing on doing the Double Deca (yes 20X) Ironman in Mexico. Due to the recent violence, he decided to do it by himself in his hometown of Honolulu. Sorry for his constant caps lock.

This is nuts to me!

Today the 48 miles of swimming starts.

ALOHA EVERYONE

I WANT TO UPDATE YOU ON MY 20 X IRONMAN

STARTING TODAY MONDAY ON WWW.TEAMJETHAWAII.COM THERE WILL BE

A LINK TO MY DOUBLE DECA PAGE . YOU CAN GO THERE FOR DAILY UPDATES

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THIS IS A ROUGH PLAN SO IF YOU COME OUT YOU WILL KNOW WHATS UP !!!

CHARLES DIAS IS GOING TO BE THERE THE WHOLE TIME. ( THANKS CHARLES )

CHARLES IN CHARGE IS MY ONE MAN CREW !!!!!!

IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD COME OUT TO HELP HIM DURING THE RACE.

WE HAVE TO WRITE DOWN EVERY LAP TIME. ALSO BEFORE COMING OUT , YOU COULD

GIVE CHARLES A CALL TO SEE IF WE NEED ANYTHING, THAT WOULD BE A BIG HELP.

CHARLES DIAS : CELL PHONE : 1-808-368-6872

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THE SWIM !!!!!!!!

SAT NOV 13TH AT 6AM AT THE OAHU CLUB I WILL START MY SWIM

760 UP AND BACKS = 48 MILES SWIM

HOPE TO BE DONE MONDAY AT 9AM, 12 NOON, OR LASTEST BY 5PM

51-59 HOURS

MY GAME PLAN IS ONE OF THESE PLANS :

6AM-10AM       60 LAPS    70 LAPS   80 LAPS

10:30-2:30    120 LAPS   140 LAPS   160 LAPS

3PM-7PM       180 LAPS   210 LAPS   235 LAPS

7:30-11:30    240 LAPS   280 LAPS   310 LAPS

12:30-4:30AM  300 LAPS   350 LAPS   380 LAPS

5:30-9:30AM   360 LAPS   420 LAPS   450 LAP

10AM-2PM      420 LAPS   480 LAPS   515 LAPS

2:30-6:30PM   480 LAPS   540 LAPS   580 LAPS

7PM-11PM      540 LAPS   600 LAPS   640 LAPS

12MID-4AM     600 LAPS   660 LAPS   700 LAPS

5AM-9AM       660 LAPS   720 LAPS   760 LAPS DONE  51 HRS   (MON 9AM)

                                ------------

9:30-1:30     720 LAPS   760 LAPS DONE BY 12 NOON 54 HRS    (MON 12PM)

                      -----------------------

2PM-5PM       760 LAPS DONE                      59 HRS     (MON 5PM)

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THE BIKE!!!!!!

THE BIKE WILL TAKE PLACE AT LAGOON DR AT THE END PARKING LOT.

STARTING AT THE END PARKING LOT I WILL RIDE A 2.8 MILE LAP

THIS IS I.4 MILES OUT AND 1.4 MILES BACK . I WILL DO THIS

800 TIMES = 2240 MILES

THE GAME PLAN FOR THE BIKE : DAY 1 UP TO THE SWIM

 1ST DAY OF BIKE 1 OF 3 PLANS UP TO THE SWIM

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12PM TO 4PM  18 LAPS  = 50.4 MILES

6PM TO 10PM  18 LAPS  = 100.8 MILES

10PM TO 6AM  8 HR SLEEP

3PM TO 7PM   18 LAPS  = 50.4 MILES

9PM TO 11PM  9 LAPS   = 75.6

11PM TO 6AM  7 HR SLEEP

8PM TO 10PM  9 LAPS   = 25.2

10PM TO 6 AM  8 HR SLEEP

AFTER DAY 1 HERE IS MY PLAN

(179.2 MILES A DAY) STARTING DAY 2 OF THE BIKE

6AM TO 10AM  18 LAPS = 50.4

11AM TO 3PM  18 LAPS = 50.4

4PM TO 8PM   18 LAPS = 50.4

9PM TO 11:30PM 10 LAPS = 28

11:30PM  TO 6AM  6 1/2 HR SLEEP

12 DAYS  PLUS 100  SAT NOV 27TH 12 MID

12 DAYS  PLUS 75.6 SUN NOV 28TH  8 AM

12 DAYS  PLUS 25.2 SUN NOV 28TH  1PM

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THE RUN !!! 14 DAYS AT 36 MILES A DAY

THE RUN WILL BE AT KAP PARK LACATION TBA.

I WILL RUN AROUND THE PARK 1.8 MILES FOR 276 LAPS

THAT = 497.8 MILES THEN I WILL END IT BY RUNNING THE HONOLULU MARATHON

THAT WILL MAKE THE TOTAL OF 524 MILES.

THE GAME PLAN FOR THE RUN IS :

6AM TO 9AM  5 LAPS = 9

11AM TO 2PM 5 LAPS = 9

4PM TO 7PM  5 LAPS = 9

9PM TO 12MID 5 LAPS = 9

12MID TO 6AM  6 HR SLEEP

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THIS IS A EASIER RUN PLAN BUT IT JUST SO I CAN FINISH AT THE HON MARATHON

MY 1ST PLAN WAS :

6AM TO 9AM  6 LAPS = 10.8

11AM TO 2PM 6 LAPS = 10.8

4PM TO 7PM  6 LAPS = 10.8

9PM TO 12MID 6 LAPS = 10.8

12MID TO 6AM  6 HR SLEEP

DID NOT WANT TO FINISH ON THUR OR FRI

12 DAYS        THUR NOV 9TH   12 MID

12 DAYS        FRI  NOV 10TH  9 AM

12 DAYS        FRI  NOV 10TH  2 PM

IT WILL BE MORE BETTER TO FINISH AT THE HONOLULU MARATHON WITH ALL MY

FRIENDS.

HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE AT SOMETIME DURING.

TAKE CARE

CHET THE JET    TOO LA JET TO QUIT

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Chet "the Jet" Blanton

Team Jet Hawaii

phone: 808-396-5381

fax: 808-396-5381

mobile: 808-753-5381

PV part 2.

Rooster! 

Very cool to see in person. 

My National Geographic moment. 

The boys. 

The malecon.

Lots of casting practice.

So we didn't have any luck from the boat, but I did catch my first Roosterfish from shore. After watching a turtle lay eggs on the beach nearby. How awesome is that?

We also saw the Pan American Championship triathlon race. Collins did well and I was stoked to see him race!

Boulder Peak

Last weekend was the Boulder Peak Olympic distance triathlon.
Swim: 25 minutes
Bike: 1:18:22
Run 43:17

My bike still needs lots of work and I feel like it always will. The most exciting thing was that I hit a fox going about 35 mph down the back side of Olde Stage Rd. He jumped out right in front of me and I clipped his back end. My front wheel wobbled and I screamed as I wondered which side of my body was going to get the worst road rash. Things worked out and I didn't crash. I looked back and saw the fox lope across the road. Looks like we both made it! I was probably a bit more cautious after that than I would have liked to be.
Nearly at T2 three guys were riding side by side and a car was trying to pull out perpendicular to them. I passed them as the car nearly took us all out. One of the guys crashed into my rear wheel. We both stayed upright and almost doesn't count.
So a couple of close calls and I was happy to be out on the run. I ran hard and passed more people than passed me. My run kept me just under 7 minutes per mile and I am very happy with that. Today I rode my bike and I look forward to the 70.3 next month!

Longest sprint ever.

This weekend was the first of three triathlons in the Boulder Tri Series. This was the first year that Ironman bought the races and there were quite a few complaints heard. At packet pickup, there were two lines snaking through the expo. Nobody told you which line to get into first and most people waited over an hour to pick up their race number and free goodies. The t-shirt was less than impressive so people weren't happy about the free things they received. It looks like most other race shirts, I could care less. It was pretty nice going to an expo and not working it although it made me realize how much I love the athletic industry.
Race day came around and I was excited to test myself. After my last sprint triathlon where I averaged 6:27 per mile and the Bolder boulder 10k where I ran 6:24 per mile, I was ready to see where my fitness was now.
Mark is a great coach and having him show his support at these races has been great. It must be tough not being able to race, but he is still so enthusiastic about his athletes.
My swim went well and I was top 10 out of the water for my age group. I had the 55th fastest swim time out of 1600. Out on the bike everything was going to plan for the first mile. Then my front tube exploded. Not a slow leak, but a big bang and then it was flat. I pulled over (swearing loudly) and tried to use my pit stop to plug the leak. Foam was spilling out of my tire and I knew I was screwed. I was determined not to quit. I started walking the bike course thinking of CAF athletes and Rutger Beke. About 3 miles into it an official on a motorcycle informed me that the bike course was almost 18 miles long. I turned around and walked back to transition. After 6 miles of walking barefoot on the road I was close to limping as I hit T2. I ran a 20:37 5k making my pace being 6:39.
I was disappointed with the whole day. After resting today however (and not catching any fish) I am eager to get back to training and kick butt at the Olympic distance race next month.

1st triathlon of the season.

After a week of injury and a week of illness, I am happy with my results from yesterday's Summer Open sprint triathlon.
I swam a 10:53 750 meter swim. I love wetsuits. I never got on anybody's feet. That was frustrating. I had a few strokes behind somebody, but then they would start breaststroking. Being out in no man's land feels inefficient.
After a quick (:52) T1, I was onto the bike. There were a ton of Triads and even one Triad SL. My 12.4 mile bike was completed in 32:32 for an average speed of 22.9 mph. For me that is pretty good, but compared to the rest of the field, it sucks. We are going to work on the bike for the upcoming season.
T2 (:41) went well and I took off quickly on the heels of some guy hauling ass for the first half mile. Realizing that pace was unsustainable, I settled into my own rhythm and tried to pick people off. The run felt good and I was happy with a 19:58 (6:27 pace) 5k.

I ended up 3rd in my age group out of 33 and 28th of the 353 total.
I am still not feeling 100% and it was difficult to pick up the pace at some points in the race. I had a blast none the less and got to play with the dogs in the lake after the race. Time for a busy day off now.

First hike of the season.

I was thrilled to be outside.

What a view!

Coach Mark and I went for a hike starting at Moffatt Tunnel. The tunnel is an impressive 10 km long through the Rockies. It really amazes me that it was completed before 1930. We were able to bring the dogs and thoroughly wear everyone else. We made it above the tree line for lunch and hustled back before the summertime like thunderstorms rolled in.

They eat better than I do sometimes.

Then I started making food for the dogs. Turkey, rice, broccoli, and carrots in this batch. They seem to love it. Now it is cold and rainy and the runoff is making the water fast and murky. I knew the fishing would be on hold, but I love getting my tri training done outside. Looks like today will be a treadmill run. I will also be racing the Summer Open sprint triathlon in about a month. I am excited to get racing again this season. It has been wonderful having a coach. I don't have to think about anything except doing my workouts. Now it's time to run and swim!

USAT Hall of Fame!

Last weekend, in the middle of the Denver Golf Expo, we were invited to the Hall of Fame dinner for USA Triathlon. Thanks, Rudy Project. It was impressive to see the original race directors and athletes like Barb Lindquist and Pauly Newby-Fraser. I was surprised by the amount of religious rhetoric at the dinner (by the speakers) and I was surprised that the athletes weren't competing for themselves. They claimed to be doing it for God, because that is what He wants them to do. That seems like a good way to get out of feeling selfish. Too many families suffer when you have to train 40 hours a week. Either way, I felt very lucky to be there. It isn't too often that we get to have dinner at a place as fancy as the Broadmoor Hotel.

We have been swimming twice a week at the YMCA. They finally approved out financial assistance so we can afford to work out there. There is a masters class that they call something else. Tonight I was the only person to show up. I swam about 3,000 yards (meters?) tonight with the main set being 20X50's. The first 5 on 1 minute, the middle 10 on 50 seconds, and the last 5 on 1 a minute. It was hard, but made the laps pass by quickly.
I have also been watching the Endurance Films while riding my bike. It is a fun, sweaty, hour long workout that is always entertaining when it is snowing outside. Friday, we have our first lesson with Sit Means Sit dog training. They came to our house to show us a free demonstration and it was very impressive. We spent a few days with them previously and they have been wonderful. They even have payment plans! I will try to post updates as we progress.

SOMA pictures.

Thanks to Red Rock Co. for putting on a great event! Thanks to Rudy Project for a great dinner this weekend. We bought our ski passes today. Now it is time for some winter activities! The resorts are opening and I am excited.

SOMA Half.

Swim 33:43
T1 1:06
Bike 2:38:10
T2 1:09
Run 1:47:12
Total 5:01:21

While I am happy with my overall result, I feel like I made a lot of mistakes.
The swim was the most brutal swim that I have ever been in. I was kicked, hit, punched, slapped, pushed, and everything else that could happen. That being said I think that I violated quite a few people as well. It was a swim start and all the guys under 30 were in the same wave. It was pretty aggressive. I made my way towards the front of the pack, but it did no good. I had to stop to fix my goggles a couple of time. That never happens. The women started a few minutes before us and we quickly caught them. Then I caught the group in front of them. A couple times I ran into some massive person that was sitting still treading water and trying not to panic. My wetsuit was rubbing on my neck. That also never happens, I must have put the strap in a funny position. Another rookie mistake. I am such an age grouper.
The first transition went well although I have still never tried the flying mount. Mounting my bike, I put my foot on top of my shoe and somehow pushed it off the pedal. I had to stop and put my shoe on like everyone else. Come on Rory, get it together! I took off pedaling and realized that I had no liquids. No water bottle, nothing. I knew that at mile 9 there was an aid station so I just hoped to make it there. The bike was 3 loops. I started pretty conservatively because I don't think that I have ridden 56 miles at one time this year. At the aid station, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade. While trying to take a sip and thank the volunteers I somehow managed to squirt the Gatorade up my nose and into my eye. I guess I was squeezing the bottle really hard. I was very thirsty! The first bike loop was faster than I expected. The course was flat and we had a bit of cloud cover so the temperature was perfect. The second loop went well except for my penalty. The three lanes came together to one lane with no shoulders. A dozen people came together and as we tried to get in front of each other two guys in front started talking and going the same speed. There was no way to go forward, back, left or right. The ref pulled up and gave at least 8 of us either drafting or blocking penalties. We were all yelling at these two guys to move, but it was too late. Whatever. The bike ended well and I was excited for the run.
The run started well with the first mile a 7:04. Mile 2 was a 7:10. I was hoping to run 8 minute miles, so this was feeling good. I know that my last two half marathons that I ran were a 7:10 pace. Then it all slowly deteriorated. 8:00, 8:30, blah blah blah. The last four mile were hard. I was definitely shuffling. I think that people were cheering for me because I looked like I was hurting.
Overall, I am really stoked about the time though. 5:01 is almost 15 minutes better than my last half. Of course comparing Kona to Tempe isn't really fair. I will post pictures as I get them!

AZ.

I drove a couple of days to make it to Phoenix. I actually drove past Phoenix to get past the utterly insane suburban sprawl that is Phoenix and all of it's incorporating towns. I am staying in Apache Junction. I thought this was interesting when learning about AJ on Wikipedia.
There are a total of 51 RV parks in Apache Junction. 1, the Lost Dutchman, is a state park. 9 offer wireless internet connection. Note that only two of these RV Parks have indoor plumbing, the rest rely on a network of outhouses scattered throughout the park.
I am glad that I chose one of the right places to stay! Thank you KOA. I rode my bike toward the Superstition Mountains thinking that it was a cool place. Turns out that the rumor is that there is a cursed gold mine that nobody can find. If you go looking you will probably die. Luckily, gold doesn't interest me that much.
With SOMA in a couple of days I am excited to get racing again. I am even more excited for the off season. We found an apartment in Boulder that seems to be perfect. It is across the street from an Indian restaurant and a fly fishing store. Could I be any happier? I just remembered that Silverman is 16 days away. I may have just told them that I want to enter. What am I getting myself into?!

IM '09.

About 9 at night as we were walking to get something to eat people were sitting at Lava Java writing emails, posting blogs, updating friends and family, all as participants were still running the marathon. So this post is probably a bit late. A bunch of us volunteered for water patrol and were in town at 5 am. The athletes were already nervous, pacing, eating, and getting body marked. We paddled out into the calm before the storm and waited for the mayhem to begin.

Macca stopped by.

Macca wanted to see how I was doing. I told him just to relax and have a good race. I was worried about mechanical failures as you never know what can happen out on the Queen K!

Check out the wake!

He swam off quickly, but I think that Erica was smitten. We tried to keep the swimmers on course, but they didn't like listening. Only a few people didn't make the swim cutoff and the day was already emotionally charged right from the beginning.

 

Our view. 

After the swim we were able to go home, eat, shower, and return to the middle of it all. We sat in the heat for a while and waited for the pros to come by. It looked to be a good race with most of the major players coming in around the same time.

Chris Lieto coming in first.

Then we saw everyone take off running. After about 10 miles, they come back to the same place. It was great to watch the race unfold.

Andreas leading Craig up Palani.

Faris in his typical outfit.

CW.

Chrissie is the absolute queen of this sport. Not only is she an amazing athlete, but on of the friendliest women I have ever met. Always with a smile on her face. She gritted her teeth at the bottom of this hill, but all the way to the top people were going crazy screaming her name and cheering for her. She feeds off the energy and smiles all day long. She is fantastic.

Andy Potts.

I was impressed with Jon Flanagan and Andy Potts in the water. They blew everyone away. Next year, Marky V will have a huge gap on all of them.

You want impressive? Try coming close to setting a new record. Do it by being a woman beating all of the men. That is impressive to me. Here is Erica cheering on some FAST athletes!

Still enthusiastic!

We went to the press conference to hear what the pros had to say about the day. Everyone showed up but Macca while we were there. They all agreed that it was hot! We went and cheered in all of the athletes until the midnight cutoff arrived. Chrissie was there to congratulate the participants. She has great sportsmanship. We went home to crash. This morning, I feel like I raced. My body feels beat up. I am exhausted. This watching stuff is hard!

LA Triathlon.

I was able to race the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Triathlon presented by Herbalife. I should rephrase that. I participated in the race this weekend. Checking the results, I was not too disappointed. The only thing that I have to blame is my lack of fitness. My guess is that it might be a direct result of the lack of training. I did swim with Courtenay a couple of weeks ago, but apparently that didn’t carry over to this race. I felt like my arms weren’t pulling me through the water, but were just going through the motions. There was a little swell and plenty of people had some difficulty. I hate when people complain about conditions in the ocean. If you are scared, don’t enter a race in the ocean. Know what you are signing up for. There were plenty of lifeguards and I never felt like it was too dangerous. I was able to catch a couple of waves in at the end of the swim so that must have saved me about 4 seconds.
The bike wasn’t as exciting as I thought that it would be. I love racing in cities where everything is shut down. There were lots of volunteers, cops everywhere, and the plenty of people wondering what was going on when they woke up Sunday morning. We rode through Korea Town and ended near the Staples Center. My legs felt constantly tired and I am hoping that it was uphill most of the way. After all, we were heading away from the ocean. It looked pretty flat however.

The run was great. Except for one big hill. Up was bad, down was scary. I loved the run though. I never felt like I had any “pep” out there. I felt very flat the whole day. Like I was just going through the motions. I liked the run course because we got to run past a Disney building that I saw in the movie “The Soloist”. It was also fun because it was pretty close to an out and back and we did two loops. I like out and back courses. There is something that makes me happy when I know that I am on my way back. After the first half, everything seems easier, no matter what the distance is. I was glad that I got to do the race. We left LA a couple of days later and now I am sitting in the Honolulu airport. When I publish this, I plan on being on my lanai looking over the warm part of the Pacific thinking about how hectic this next week will be and how happy I am that I am not racing. I look forward to a full week with a few thousand friends.

Eating is good.

Being a guest at the Collins' house is amazing. Despite trying to eat everything that we can, they are still nice to us. There is amazing food and wine available whenever we want. Tonight's menu is set to include crab cakes on a bed of spinach with a white sauce and teriyaki short ribs for those of us that prefer not to dine on crustaceans and their ocean dwelling counterparts.

Just trying to get kicked out.

I raced in the Kirkland Triathlon this past weekend. Ben won and I was happy with my result. I will post pictures when I get them. Staying with Ben, I always jump on the opportunity to train with him. I am horrible at training on my own so having someone much better than me is motivating. Even if I don't see him for most of our runs. Today, the weather was in the mid 80's and sunny.
I was a little nervous when I opened a drawer and saw a container labeled "Carl's Gruel". I wish that there was a person named Carl here. Maybe even a dog. Either way, I wont complain about the food.

My Lake Washington Swim

Vancouver Island.

We left Seattle early Sunday morning and headed for the first of many ferries. Then someone sitting beside me realized that they forgot their passport. Luckily, it was only a four hour delay. The weather was typical Seattle weather, but that was to be expected. We traveled for about 8 hours before arriving at a campsite beside the Cowichan River. I was told that this would not be an exclusive fishing trip, but we somehow always stayed near the water.

One of many ferry rides. 

The house going to Canada.

The Cowichan River was beautiful. It was set in a semi deep gorge with steep sides. The water was a series of pools with small waterfalls. It made for tricky fishing, but saw a guy pull a big Rainbow Trout so it gave us hope. Unfortunately, we hauled out the small dumb trout. What makes it worse is that the guy with the big 20 inch trout was using "worms and weights". Weak. Us fly fisherpeople are supposed to be a bit more civilized. And maybe even, dare I say it, better anglers.

 

Cowichan River fishing.

Leaving the town of Duncan and the mighty Cowichan, we headed to Campbell River looking to kayaks to rent. Arriving at the end of summer is great. There are always campsites available, the amount of tourists is cut in at least half, and all of the kids are back to school. However, a lot of businesses close after Labour (sic) Day. We took another ferry to Quadra Island. It is an island with few people and hopefully Orcas, seals, bear, etc. The weather wasn't cooperating so couldn't go kayaking. 25 knot winds didn't sound like fun out on the water. We got in a fun, but hilly bike ride, practiced casting into the 25 knot wind, then went down to the only pub in town for dinner.

 

I noticed something funny on my saddle.

On our bike ride, we stopped at the Quadra Salmon Eco Centre. It showed us how the salmon live and die. More importantly, it showed us what they eat and where they hide. We went to bed hoping for better kayaking weather the next day. We woke up and it was pissing rain. Looked like there was nothing else to do but fish. We departed for Campbell River, grabbed some blue, pink, and green minnow pattern flies and started fishing in the rain.

Fishing in the rain.

 

We are going to need a bigger net.

It worked out well for us.

 

A female Pink Salmon.

A male pinky.

Biggest of the day.

Leaving Nor Cal.

I got to finally meet The Lorpeedo at Vineman. He even agreed to do water patrol with us in Kona this year. I have stopped reading the news. Or watching it on TV. Not that I have a TV. I do wake up early to watch Le Tour when we are in a hotel. Now we are on our way South. Back to Newport Beach. I hope to get some more bike riding in. I did a couple of hours yesterday.

 

Here is my view from the bike yesterday.

My leg hurts from indoor soccer still. The limp is gone, but it is still tender. I even got a little swim in a the Vineman course. I can't wait to start racing again. It looks like our next race will be at the Santa Cruz sprint. Time to drive.

Texas Man pics.

Here are some pics from last week's race, the Texas Man Tri.

We made it to Austin. Tricia was here for a few days before leaving town. We got together with her and Ben over the last couple of nights. They are fun people and awesome athletes. It has been great weather here which is really nice.

Ben and I before a run at Barton Springs.

I have been training a little more now that I have races coming up. Tonight, I go to pick up Michael. He also works for my boss, Craig. He will be manning the soy milk booth next to our USAT booth. He will also be staying in our room with us. Barton Springs is closed on Thursdays. That is something that we found out the hard way. It looks like a fun place to hang out in the sun. It is a spring that is contained by man made barriers. The water is constantly 68 degrees. I get to wear my wetsuit for the 2nd time.