Michael got to meet Dick Hoyt, a very inspiring man!

 Michael left his mark at the Expo!

The great old building that church was held in.

A little time was made to play with foam bricks in the kid zone at the museum!

Walking down into the fight zone! It seriously was almost dangerous trying to get into those packed subway cars! Good thing us Whetstones have some fight in us!

We saw Michael at about mile 16.  We were all in a line and he put his hand out to give high fives, but 4 of us were holding food options.  By the time he got to Christi he realized what everyone had and grabbed at her hand for some nutrition. Only, Christi was really just giving a high five! We hollered at each other and ...

 Mary Beth took off with some electrolytes.

Christi and Mary Beth took off running from the subway to make sure they didn't miss Michael at mile 22. We weren't there 5 minutes and he came by. He actually stopped for a little walk break right when we spotted him so he put a smile on his face and ran across the runners to give MB and Christi a hug and kiss!

 Hurrying to meet Michael at the finish line!

Well, as close to the finish line as we could get! It sure is a good thing they had these! We would have been searching for hours!

Yep. It happens every time!

The part of Team Whetstone that got to experience Boston!

Michael's proud kids!

Boston 2010 - Michael's Story

I have always known that the more help that you can rally into your marathon and triathlon training the better off you are.  So, about two months ago, while preparing for a mid week pace run I decided to bring along my new Garmin 405 GPS watch.  With this great little GPS device comes a virtual training partner that, with only a few hours of research and study along with several instruction sessions with Ward, I could adjust his pace to whatever time I desired.  He was a great addition to our pace runs.  We found out that he didn't even slow down when we grabbed a water bottle or stopped to retie our shoe.  I could get continual feedback on whether he was either 7 seconds ahead of me or behind by a slight margin.  I began to rely on the knowledge of exactly where he was since he did such a great job of maintaining a consistent pace.  This guy became another great training partner on our LHS group runs.  He and I seemed to get along pretty well.  I have begun to call my virtual training partner Vert for short.  He spells it VErt not Virt and it rhymes with Bert.

I was glad to be going to Boston along with my new training partner.  Karen and I had tried to get together prior to our 10:30 start, in the athletes village, but with 27,000 others there it was not an easy thing to do.  Vert and I started off together in the 18th corral.  He was set on going out at an 8:40 pace but I wanted to push that envelope a little.  Believe it or not, I got the jump on him from the very 1st mile.  From my previous marathon experiences I knew that this was probably a little too fast but the first 4 miles down hill and the adrenaline rush tended to lull you in.  I was hoping to build in a 30 second cushion on Vert that would be eaten up later on in the big hills.  I was pretty thoughtless though as I worked myself away from him. It wasn't hard for Vert and I to get separated in that huge Boston crowd.  My watch showed that by 4 miles I was kicking his tail by 30 seconds.  I easily held on to that lead through 10 miles.  I was working pretty hard milking the crowd for support and not really worrying about my buddy Vert.  I thought he would do just fine back there with the slower 8:40 pace group.  

The Boston course is so unlike the other courses that I've experienced.  The downs and the ups tend to hit you pretty hard if you don't show proper respect. I could see that Vert was closing the gap on me and then he actually caught and passed me as I labored on the first real hills @ miles 16 and 17.  I had enjoyed pounding down those easy miles just too much and my quads couldn't handle the uphill pull.  Karen and Pat passed me somewhere on or before Heartbreak Hill and I never even saw them.  By then I was having to take short breaks to massage my quads.  As much as the motivation of the crowd and the thoughts of my family waiting for me ahead, I could not overcome the pain.  I would pause, grab and knead the muscles just above my knees for a few seconds and then try to get back to running.  

By now Vert had left me in the dust.  He displayed the same disregard for me that I had had for him in those early miles.  What goes around comes around. By now, the down grade was hurting my quads just as bad as the inclines were.  So, I'm sure that I was an awful sight only running for 3 or 4 minutes between my breaks.  I came across Team Whetstone at  miles 16 and 22.  Mary Beth and Christi yelled out just as I succumbed to my quad pain demanding a break.  Jackie, Kenny, Jessica, Joe and Chelsea were just 20 yards down the road so I got an extra GU and a few more electrolyte pills from them to help me get to the finish.  I wrestled through the last few miles struggling to keep my quads in motion.  I managed to finish in 4:09.  Vert probably broke the tape right at his predicted time of 3:47.  I wasn't able to find his time in the official race results though.  But, I know that he ran a consistent evenly paced  race which is much better than my overconfident aggressive approach.  I have limped around all day today, hobbling down every set of stairs.  I'm confident that my buddy Vert will be ready to go again tomorrow with you guys while I'll still be at home nursing my quads in the whirlpool.

2010 Triathlon Season

The 2010 Triathlon season started with a bang for Michael. He got to enjoy wonderful weather, a faster than anticipated time resulting in 4th in his age group half of Team Whetstone cheering for him and Mary Beth joining in for her first triathlon.
After getting the packets, Michael and Jackie walk with Maizeigh (Team Whetstone member #16) back to the car


Michael giving Mary Beth some pointers


Michael with members of the LRC

(Mike 9, Tim, Michael, and Mary Beth)

Michael during the swim, getting cheered on by Team Whetstone (this happened EVERY lap)


Michael's run finish


THE KISS

(notice in the background, Emma, Team Whetstone's newest member, #17)

After Michael finished, he took Jackson to see the soldiers.


Michael running in with Mary Beth on her last 3 blocks


TRUE aero position (Jackson, Team Whetstone member #14)


Michael, Mary Beth and Maizeigh waiting to hear the results

(the last man to finish the race, won first in his age group, 80 and above - Michael expressed desires to still be doing triathlons when he's 80)

While visiting Parris Island, Michael was able to show Jackson and Maizeigh some jets.


80 MICHAEL 116 00:10:13 00:01:34 99 00:33:38 00:01:08 66 00:20:58 01:07:28
95 MARY BETH 80 00:11:41 00:02:20 100 00:43:17 00:01:01 99 00:29:09 01:27:25

Patriots Half - Michael's Story

I originally signed up for the Patriots Half Ironman in 2008 and traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia only to have the race cancelled due to a little storm called Hurricane Hanna. To avoid reimbursing our entry fees, Setup Events allowed us credit towards this year’s race. So, I enjoyed an abbreviated tri season with the Patriots Half as this year’s ultimate race. Our 6.5 hour drive on Thursday afternoon seemed pretty long, but we arrived in time for dinner and a good nights rest before a day of sightseeing in historic Jamestown and Williamsburg. I took every opportunity that I could to get off my feet, but there wasn’t an abundance of those. As we toured the docks of Jamestown, I noticed the dark brown white-capping river that I would be swimming in at 7:00 the next morning. What a fearsome sight it was. For weeks I had hoped that the water temperature would drop below 78 degrees so we could enjoy a wetsuit legal swim in that rough water. It did. The announced water temperature was 74 degrees.
The swim was an inverted U with a 0.6 mile leg down the river. My swim time and comments from other swimmers exiting the water led me to believe that the swim course was long (or at least the course that I swam). The first leg of the U went fine with three orange buoys on my left before the turn. I only remember seeing two buoys on the long leg of the swim. The last leg of the U had us heading right into the rising sun. I never saw another buoy even though I paused twice to search for one. So, I relied on the follow-the-leader method of course navigation. Evidently the last turn was rounded off pretty bad and we got caught in the current that pushed us down stream, which stretched the course out. Well, that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. I enjoyed several cheers and high fives from Team Whetstone members spread out over the long dash from the river to transition. The bike course was relatively flat so I enjoyed my fastest bike ride ever over 50 miles. I was impressed by the consistency of my bike computer with the course measuring device. There was a painted mile marker on the road every 5 miles. I was consistently 1/100th over. At their 20 I had 20.2 and at 50 I had 50.5 miles. All of the turns were well marked and monitored so I became worried when I had reached 57 miles and had not seen the last two turns. I ended up with 58.3 miles on my computer.
This was my longest event with no clothing changes. I wore my new tri top and a pair of shorts with a heavy pad under my wet suit. The soaked pad proved to be a handicap and made my afternoon walking tour of Williamsburg quite uncomfortable. Not having to put a tight top on a wet body probably saved a minute in T1. I forgot how good of a job Body-Glide did protecting the back of my neck from the wetsuit in a long swim. Learning lessons again can be quite painful. Note to self: please don’t have to learn that one again. I have signed up for the Swim for Drew at Lake Murray this weekend and need some healing time. My bike computer displayed a 19.0 mph average when I hit the transition area again. I began the run with a kiss from my bride. That should fuel me for a while. I started the run feeling pretty good and vowed no miles over 9 minutes and no walk breaks without a cup, from the aid stations, in my hand. The run course was beautiful. They had to reroute it after a boat recently damaged a bridge on the Colonial Parkway. There were only two half mile segments on a road. The majority of the run was on a paved bike path and the balance was on a raised gravel path through a wetland forest. This kept us protected from the afternoon sun. We had several loop-backs and got to see each other a number of times. Out in the middle of the course there were a couple of girls standing on a bench at the edge of a corn field cheering us all on. I thanked them each time that I passed. My splits were close to what I had predicted and my leg pain was near the “I’m-gonna-walk” level. So, I knew that I was on the edge. If only I had known that a new PR was only a minute and half away. My final dash down towards the finish line was met by the gang lined up beside the road, with hands out, ready for one more high five. But, another runner happened to be there on the road’s edge blocking me from the kids. Jackie said he got high fives from them all and ran on by with a big smile on his face. I am grateful that another runner was able to benefit from the boost that comes from having such great support. At the finish I was greeted by the whole gang. Jackie, Kenny, Jessica, Christi, Joe, Chelsea, five of my grandchildren, Preston (Chelsea’s brother) and his wife Leslie were all there braving the hot sun wishing that I would hurry up. We missed having Tim, Mary Beth, Kevin, Jackson and Maizeigh along but our schedules won’t always allow us to be together. After a few waters, Gatorades, a plate of bar-b-que, a sprinkler shower followed by a changing of clothes in the Porta-John, I was ready to hit the sites of Williamsburg again. I’m grateful for the way this entire weekend turned out.
With the completion of what I consider a successful season, I’m now ready for the November 8th sign up day, Ironman Florida 2010!

Patriots Half

This year I didn't make it to the swim start in time. I thought I was going to, but I ended up at the swim finish instead. Luckily, I got to walk onto the beach and was able to see Michael's heat start!

It was quite a little run up to transition.

Coming out of transition, the triathletes had to cross onto a road that had moving traffic. There was a police officer holding up traffic, but it still made us nervous!


The grandkids caught Michael for high fives coming out of transition.

Speeding down the home stretch.

Another runner benefited from our cheers and high fives too!

Another different view than my usual. We stayed at our spot up on the road and watched Michael cross the finish line from over the transition area.

Some extra fans from Joe's wife's family showed up to get a taste of what triathlons are like!

Don't know what these kids find fascinating about taking Michael's sweaty socks off for him!

A nice, cool sprinkler shower.

Jackie wanted a picture of Michael holding his medal, but he didn't want to be in a picture by himself so he just stood in the middle of our group. Some posed (Olivia), some didn't...

The effects of wearing a tri top under his wetsuit without Body Glide.

Tri the Parks

Elberton, Georgia
(We'll call this one a training event)

After watching the first half of the triathlon season pass by while I rehabbed, I considered Tri the Pee Dee last month as an initiation back into the sport. This weekend's event will have to go down as a training event in preparation for The Patriot Half in three weeks. The Richard B. Russell state park was a great place to hold an event such as this. It had no auto traffic to worry about except for the middle section of the bike and the area was so secluded that I didn't see a single car on the entire route. They had a calm cove of the lake for the swim, a white sandy beach, that my grandchildren just loved, and showers with changing rooms to make that ride home comfortable. I had only done one mile long open water swim this year without a wetsuit, and that was just a week ago. So, I was a little short on swim confidence. About half way through the second loop of the double loop swim I began to worry just how deep this part of the lake was. The two loops were separated by a 150+/- yd dash before you waded back in. The run from the water to transition was about 300 to 400 yd's. I was hoping that we got extra credit for those two runs. The bike section had two 180 ft. climbs and the 10 K had two half mile sections on dirt trails through the woods. This was my first 10 K wearing a hat and glasses for the entire distance. The sun was out in full force after about the first 6 miles of the bike segment. Every time I came by the base camp area I got wet high-fives from my grandchildren that were enjoying my away time in the lake. Team Whetstone had a nice shaded picnic area that over looked the lake to enjoy while I was touring the countryside. Again, I was blessed with an advantage by having so much loving support out there for me. It's always nice to have an excuse to get our family together. I imagine that each of them are looking for a better excuse though. After the race I helped the grand kids cool off in the lake. Boy they needed that!! About 4 miles into the run I began to wonder "who in their right mind would sign up for a race twice this long?" Now it's time for 3 weeks of serious training and/or a mental check-up.

Tri the Parks photos

Big Daddy with his Team Whetstone grandkids!

As you can see, there are mostly caps out there. There weren't a lot of fans so we pretty much had our pick of where to stand and watch!

Right before Michael's start time we all yelled "Go Big Daddy!" at the same time. The people around him had blocked him from our view so he let us know he heard us.


This was the long run in between rounds of swimming that Michael talked about.



Rounding the curve out of the transition area Michael had to start the bike with a hill! Uphill!


I got a wave. Was that "Hey" or "No more pictures please"?

The run had a little bit on the trail. It was that soft rubbery track material and shaded.

Coming down that hill on the home stretch, Michael was going too fast for me to get a good pic so I got one when he slowed down across the finish line!

The grandkids "convinced" Big Daddy to go swimming with them after he finished.

Since there were so few onlookers, we got first pick at the shaded picnic areas!

And Michael got help taking his shoes off!

Michael took off his jersey while swimming and put it on Hagin. He obviously thinks it's cool to be wearing Big Daddy's sweaty nasty jersey!


They lined up all the winners for a group picture. That was a first.