Jeremy’s Blog

As usual it has been a crazy couple of weeks.  Since my last post I did an interview with Rosen Sports (WCCO channel 4), di the Liberty Half, got my nephew his first road bike (he’s beyond excited), and visited my little buddy Shane who had to have a surgery at Children’s Hospital (Shane has Spina Bifida).  Add work and some training to the mix and it feels like yesterday when I last posted.

For those who missed it, I was on Rosen Sports this past Sunday.  Regions hospital wanted to get my story out and WCCO were the ones to jump on it.  It was wild to recall the whole accident and past summer as it now seems like eons ago.  They did a great job truly capturing what I wanted to portray with the help of Jonny-J, my wife Jennie, and my physician Dr. Cole.  I wish that they would have left in parts about Accua (where I was able to run on the underwater treadmill) and about my P.T Mike Mancini who is the most out of the box thinker possibly on the planet.  For those wanting to check out the coverage go to www.tcmultisportsclub.com for a link to the story.

Last week I aquired a used road bike that fits my 9 year old nephew Adam.  I had to do some minor work to get it in perfect shape but it went together very nicely.  I had Adam come over to Grand Performance where I was working on the bike.  He came in the back and I showed him what I called ‘my new bike’.  I then took it off the work stand and asked him ‘do you think it fits me?’.  Since my nephew is well versed in bike fit, he said ‘I don’t think so’.  I looked back and said ‘well do you think it will fit you?’ and his face beamed with excitement.  We went outside for him to try it and 10 minutes later I had to grab my bike to go and look for him.  I saw him riding down one of the side streets and had to go a bit hard to catch up.  He’s been on his new ride every day and will be doing both Miracle Kids tris this summer.  Look for the fastest bike split in the 9 year old group from Adam Sartain!

Liberty Half went quite well this past weekend.  My goal was to have an overall solid race and go sub 4:30 overall.  I went 4:27 and change and felt like I had a lot more in me.  I’m still developing top end power on the bike and speed on the run but I have those sensations that it will be there soon enough.  Amazingly I was only 10th as there was an incredibly stacked field.  Normally a sub 4:30 would get you at least a top 5 but I’m pleased anyway.

Today I visited my buddy Shane whom I had the pleasure of racing with at Miracle Kids last summer.  I had been at HED wheels prior to going to see Shane at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and grabbed a hat for him to wear.  It took a minute for Shane to recognize me but he was his typical excited self.  Every nurse and staff member in the place knows him well as this kid’s energy is absolutely contagious.  I’m hoping he’ll race with me again at Miracle Kids this year. 

That’s the basic low down for now.  I’ll be finished with teaching a nutrition class after next week and will add more volume to my training.  I’ll be doing Minnetonka Sprint Tri on Saturday and then plan for a very long ride on Sunday followed by a 10 mile run.  Obviously Wisconsin Ironman is on my mind!  Oh, I almost forgot - local tri and nordic ski guy Ben Pop began the Race Accross America (RAAM) today.  There is a link to his blog which his crew is updating at www.skinnyski.com.  Please check it out and drop a note of encouragement if you can. 

Jeremy Sartain

It was a rediculously cold and windy day today for the Buffalo Triathlon.  Not my pick for weather for my first true race back but it did help to alleviate any major race pressure as I decided to do this purely for training and to get some rust out of the engine.  It was great to be back and see first hand some of the new kids on the triathlon block.  But before I go into that I need to mention yesterday.

Yesterday I got up early to help out at New Bri Tri and to watch a bunch of the TCMC team and club members race.  Our own Brendon O’Flanagan took the win and Anton Pshon placed an impressive 4th.  I slept nervously on Friday as my body seemed to think it was me who was going to race.  I guess I lost that brain/body connection that night.  Last night though, I slept great, content to simply get a great training race in and experience a triathlon with a fully functioning body. 

I was nervous when I did get up and nervous all the way up to the starting gun.  I swam a bit too relaxed and had a 22 minute time - I’m certain I’ll get that down to low 20 in a couple of weeks for oly distance.  I took a ton of time - about 3 minutes more than everyone else - in T1.  I put on socks, bootie covers, a wind proof base layer, long sleeve jersey and gloves (winter ones) before departing.  I had to do a bit of cyclocross to hop over one guy who bailed while trying to jump on his bike but it really didn’t hold me up very much.  I got going nicely on the bike for the first 5 miles and then the cold really set in on the legs.  They got very stiff and I was pedalling squares.  I kept moving around my bike to try and find some power but it just wasn’t there.  It was a good tempo ride though but I was only the 6th fastest rider on the day.  Team member Steven Sander’s had a rockin ride though and ended the day 5th overall so huge props to him! 

It’s amazing how you forget stuff when you’re basically out for a year.  I forgot a race belt but luckily Jonathan Balubeck had an extra.  I forgot to take in a GU at 5 miles to go in the bike like I typically do and instead had one just before T2.  This was not something to forget.  Having done no training with gels outside of some bike races, the GU really hit my stomoche at the end of the first mile of the run in a terrible way.  I had to back the pace way off and essentially jog until my gutts finally stopped screaming at me.  Patrick Parish went by like a Kenyan doing a 5k and ran the fastest run time of the day dragging himself into 4th overall from 8th place off the bike.  I did get going fairly quickly myself and kept running faster and faster until the end.  My time was nothing exciting but I felt like I blew the old carbon out of the engine and things will progress really fast the next month.

All in all it was a great day.  I finished 9th overall without cranking it too hard (albeit I wasn’t able to at points).  Today gave me huge confidence that I will progress into some semblance of 2007 fitness and took away any doubts of my future abilities.  Today was the first time that I ran without slapping my right foot.  Today reminded me how much fun it is to push a healthy body.  Today reminded me again how many friends I have (I couldn’t walk 5 feet without a ‘welcome back’ said my way).  Today was incredibly fun and I can’t wait for the next one!

Up next is the Liberty Half next Saturday.  There is a local bike race on Tuesday night at the State Fairgounds that I’ll jump into for some training as well.  After that it’s time for some short stuff at Minnetonka sprint and then June finishes with the Rochester Tri.  I’m racing almost every weekend with several half IM’s planned but all distances included.   

That’s the low down for now.  It’s great to be back!

Jeremy Sartain

Well hello! 

I know, my last post was forever and a day ago.  I found this thing called ‘facebook’ which has taken all my time and proven to be more addictive than the Percoset I once upon a time had to utilize.  Boy, that feels like forever ago too!

So here we all are - May 2009 already - with the season already starting.  I’m personally avoiding the duathlons as I still truly beleive that running is: A) something you do from the police OR B) done at the end of a triathlon.  At least that’s what is listed in my dictionary.  I have been hitting a few bike races though, nothing to write home about yet but the fitness gained from racing is great.  After a year out the slowest thing to come back is the top end power and speed, but I’m getting those old sensations that it will happen.

Right now the biggest thing to post about is the fact that I am officially registered for Ironman Wisconsin!  I must go back to Hawaii to race it for real and that will be my main goal for the season - qualify for Ironman Hawaii 2010 with a superb race at Ironman Wisconsin.  As pretty much everybody and their brother is coming down, I’ll have all the motivation in the world to put the cherry on what should be a great 2009 season.

Life has certainly been crazy.  I’ve been playing ‘catch up’ since my accident last year and it seems as though I’m just getting there.  I have a huge training base and have just begun specific interval work and track work.  Consistency has not been great the past couple of weeks as I was finishing up with students at Saint Paul College.  Today it’s been an office day cleaning up e-mail and finally getting to my blog.  In the process of cleaning up e-mail I came across a huge number of e-mails from so many different people dating back to just post accident time.  It was wild to visit those again today and be reminded once again of how blessed I am to be involved with such a great sport and have so many friends.  Those will be saved forever so that I can visit them whenever I think that times might be tough.  I’m not a scrapbooker but I’m thinking that I’ll put something together bound with the plate that was once in my leg.  It would make for a great coffee table book, don’t you think?  If I get one of those thick cardboard covers I can put the screws in the front to get that cool industrial look going. 

That’s the quick low down for now.  I’m excited to get back to racing and fully anticipate being in full swing later in the season.  Things will kick off with the Buffalo Tri.  I hope to hold my own the first few races but have placed no significant expectations on myself early on.  I’m looking forward to turning myself inside out and having that completely wiped out feeling for the rest of the day - that feeling where you just sit out on the back porch after getting home from a race, sip a beer and savour that fantastic, unduplicable (if that’s a word) and almost indescribable sensation of pure and utter bliss.

I’ll be posting with frequency including my racing calendar - I didn’t want to put that up until after the one year aniversary of my accident!

Jeremy

Obviously it has been awhile since my last post.  Hawaii was the icing on the cake until the Tri Night Banquet and I needed some time to digest that experience before being able to truly write about it.  Before that, here’s my year recap:

2008 started great.  I was in heavy training mode a year ago at this time doing 4-6 hours a day in order to create a huge base and go even faster than I did in 2007.  I like to win, always have, and learned to put the work in to do so many moons ago.  Spring of 2008 came quickly and my fitness progressed like clockwork. 

By April I had a great base and was throwing in some good intensity.  I did a bike race on April 20th and felt great.  Of course April 23rd was the big shift for the year when I got nailed by a car that swerved over 4 lanes of traffic and smashed me at freeway speeds while on my motorcyle.  The impact broke my left tibia and acetabulum (pelvis).  I crashed on my right but nothing there got damaged thanks to appropriate gear.  The entire time I was very cognitive of what was going on.  I immediately realized my season was over followed quickly by the thought that my athletic career was possibly done especially when I reached behind myself to feel my hip back where my ass should be. 

The short term after the accident is rather hazy.  I was in the hospital for 5 days and then at home well medicated.  I do recall barely being able to get out of bed and into a chair next to the bed.  I remember lots of visitors and my dad and brother converting my main floor bathroom into a handicap accessable one.  I remember ditching the percacette for a beer.  I remember finally making it outside onto the patio and petting my dog kodiak only to find massive tumors on his chest.  I remember the day we had to put him down shortly after that.  I remember (mostly) coaching the bike handling clinic from my wheelchair.  I remember going to the Gear West Duathlon and finding out how many friends I have.  I remember going to most races and enjoying helping out doing bodymarking and kayaking during the swim leg.  I remember doing Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on crutches.  I remember having the honor of escorting 7 year old Shane who has CP through the Miracle Kids Tri the day after a minor surgery.  I remember every step of the Hawaii Ironman.  I remember more the good times and less and less the bad times of 2008 as I continue to improve and become more optomistic for 2009.  And I remember Tri Night 2008…

I was lucky to get involved with the Tri Night Banquet this year.  In year’s past this event has been held at a variety of locations.  All previous events have been fun but often with poor food, cramped venues and sometimes not so smooth delivery of awards.  This year a committee came together intent on changing things and creating the best banquet ever.  We solidified my work place (Saint Paul College) and my brother Nate and his culinary students (Nate teaches culinary here at the college) to do the food.  Others had a hand in getting olympic triathlete Hunter Kemper to come to the show.  Needless to say the food was fantastic and the venue terrific.  Hunter did a great presentation and was impressively entertaining.

For those of you unaware, the Tri Night Banquet is a huge end of year celebration in which various awards are given out.  There are performance oriented awards as well as awards for volonteer of the year, most embodies the sport of triathlon, most enthusiastic rookie, and the Thorpe inspiration award to name but a few.  The night began with a happy hour social, dinner, Hunter Kemper presentation and then kicked off with the awards that I specifically named.  Since I was unable to race this year I helped out at most of the local races.  Based solely on numbers I received the volunteer of the year award.  It was great to be recognized but what most people don’t realize is that going to the races really helped me.  As difficult as it was to be at a race and not race it would have killed me to stay home and dwell on it.  Instead I had a blast paddling around in my kayak helping several newbies and of course experienced total and complete sexual harrassment by many women (and especially Helen Gunther) at the first annual YMCA Womens Triathlon.  Like I said, I had a blast!

After the initial fun awards local legend Tony Schiller presents the Thorpe inspiration award.  Thorpe Running (that’s really the originators name) was a triathlete who crashed badly while training one year.  He was paralysed but continued to keep his outlook on life incredibly possitive.  He was so inspirational to so many that the Thorpe Inspiration Award was born in his honor.  Incredible folk have receive the award over the years.  Cancer survivors, a 15 year old with CP who raises so much money for the Miracle Kids Tri that he could get hired as a campaign fundraiser for anybody, and many more.  Tony began his speech and soon some slides were up showing me holding little Shane at the Miracle Kids Tri.  Tony essentially stated that I had overcome what could have been a terrible year by jumping in to help out without hesitation and had refused to let my situation get the better of me.  Tony then called me up to the stage.  I was in a state of shock, was tearing up from the pictures, and was shaking as I walked to the stage.  I was trying to pick the right words to say - something I am typically good at.  There were no great words to say.  I tried to recap the year a bit and fit in some funnies.  Friends and family said I did a good job but it is truly impossible to summarize something that is such an honor to receive into words.   Now that it has been some time I think I can state more so what I felt that night…

I felt honored to the point of lacking the right words.  I also felt a bit embarrassed.  You see it was not me who inspired but rather everyone else who inspired me.  What I mean is that I only took that first step to show up to that first race and help out.  I was so well received with kind words, hugs and well wishes that it lead me to go to another race, and another, and another.  That in turn lead to me being so head strong in rehab that I began to make such headway that I managed to talk my physician into gradually removing hardware so that I could do the Hawaii Ironman.  I ran into Tony at the Lifetime Fitness packet pickup, a race I actually did do, and he invited me to escort Shane at Miracle Kids Tri.  This wasn’t a chore or an act of ‘volunteerism’ but rather pure and utter enjoyment.  I wrote about Shane in a previous post but the summary is this kid is amazing.  I read a quote the other day that sums up Shane: ‘Never, ever, ever, ever give up’.  Not the most amazing quote ever but absolutely true for a kid without full use of his lower limbs who powered through 3 miles on a hand cycle until he was so red in the face I thought he might be a radish.  I was then inspired by Shane.  So I got to have fun and was motivated and inspired by others after my own first step.  It’s easy to do things when you have people there every step of the way cheering you on and this was my experience in 2008.  I felt that every day and that feeling exploaded at the Tri Night Banquet.  So the Thorpe Inspiration Award is not mine.  This award belongs to the entire tri community, to Shane, to my friends and family. 

As they say time flies when you’re having fun.  I’m having fun every day.  I now have actual muscle in my left glutes, quad and calve!  I’m incredibly motivated to come back in 2009.  It will likely take most of the season, but I will charge forward with patience and dilligence one step at a time hearing thousands of footsteps land with each of mine.  I want to thank each and every person who inspired me for contributing to my incredible 2008 year.  I wouldn’t change a thing.

Jeremy Sartain

Partial winner of the 2008 Thorpe Inspiration Award

Oldest kid to finish Miracle Kids Tri

1st place ‘crutches division’ Lifetime Fitness Tri (o.k, not a real catagory)

2008 Hawaii Ironman Finisher

It’s the second morning after the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championships.  I’m sitting in our condo north of Kona about 25 miles (or about 8 hours walking time based on my marathon pace).  I’m tired, stiff, sore and incredibly happy and greatfull to everyone and anyone who has helped me fullfill my ‘adjusted’ season goal.   The fact that I completed the Hawaii Ironman 10 weeks after getting rid of crutches is sinking in more now than at the finish line.  I guess you need glycogen to process things! 

The preceeding days to the race were the typical busy filled ones.  Get up, have a light breakfast, go swim at the pier, get some ART work done on my bad parts, have lunch, go for a spin, get my gear ready, etc.  Then suddenly it’s race day and the typical mystery of the day sinks into the gut. 

Race morning I got out of bed at 4a.m and was out the door by 4:20.  We already knew where to park (thanks to Dave Mercer) and got there without issue.  I had 2 hours to get ready but with the lines for the crapper it was certainly needed time.  The Hawaii Ironman is the most amazing race when it comes to the amount of volunteers.  They have more volunteers than racers at the start line so everything moves super fast with body marking, check-in, etc.  It’s amazing how fast 2 hours goes by and before I knew it I had kissed my family ‘good-bye’ and headed for the ocean. 

The swim went really well.  I was super patient and lined up just behind the ‘twitchy’ folk who were pressing at the front.  I didn’t get too hung up in traffic but did have to swim slow the first quarter.  I only had one altercation where some 45 year old was doing the ankle/hip/shoulder sling on me.  He didn’t get my shoulder as I timed my stroke to assure a nice meeting of his head with my elbow.  I barely made it to the race and was not going to get smashed up by some guy who wanted to sling off of people.  I managed to knock off his goggles and stop him in his tracks and the lady next to me muffled a ‘thanks’ as we both took a breath.  I certainly don’t make practice of getting into bashing on the swim but this guy was way out of line purposefully grabbing and pulling himself forward.  After that things really cleared up and I swam a nice comfortable pace to the finish.

Transition was good except that I started to put my jersey on over my Louis Garneau Tiger Shark suit.  I didn’t get enough sun screen and suffered burnt arms and calves but I’m not sure any amount would have helped with the super clear skies that we had.

The bike leg was totally fun.  I now know what people mean when they talk about the wind to Hawi.  We had a tail wind for the first couple of hours but once we began to climb to Hawi all hell broke loose.  The wind was mainly at our faces but also gusted from the right.  When you’re getting pushed around at 10mph you know it’s a strong wind.  I did stop after the turn in Hawi which is actually over half way at 60 miles.  I hit the porta jon for a tinkles and a quick stretch of the left (bad) leg.  The descent was interesting with the cross-tail winds.  You get some shelter from some small rock cliffs but then get blown sideways when the terrain opens up.  I could see where the cross winds would gust and braced accordingly but many folk ate some gravel getting blown off the course.  Towards the bottom I saw a pro woman in the fetal possition with cones around her in the middle of the road.  There were a ton of volunteers and medical already there and a couple miles later I saw an ambulance rushing to the scene.  When I turned back on the King Kam highway there was a steady head wind that would pursist all the way back to Kona.  Luckily it wasn’t too brutal but I still don’t have a ton of power so it made life a bit interesting.  Just when I was getting a bit tired the NBC crew drove up to me in a red convertable car.  I had already done pre-interview stuff on Thursday and they were following up on the course.  They drove by me and had me out in the oncomming lane to get footage and chat.  It made the time go by really fast and soon I was getting ready for the second transition.

Getting off the bike after 112 miles of power riding was a trip.  My left calve was tight and everything was fatigued.  Luckily my shoulders weren’t too bad considering the death gripping of the bars that occured at times on the bike course.  I took time to ice my leg and then off I went into the complete unkown.  I jogged along for about a half mile until I ran into my family (my mom and dad, my wife Jennie, aunt Dona and uncle Dave and of course my supper couragous nephew Adam who has the talent to sleep on a sidewalk and the maturity way beyond his 9 years of age to not complain).  My left leg was totally fatigued and I knew it was going to be a long, long day.  I began to walk.  I walked and walked.  Everyone along Alii drive was encouraging but unkowingly giving me the advice of ‘walk it off - you’ll be able to run soon’.  Of course they didn’t know that I had no time to develop the muscle endurance in my left leg and thus it was not possible to ‘walk it off’.  It did make me laugh though and I didn’t have the heart to say anything to the contrary, so I just thanked everyone and kept going.  At mile 8 I was absolutely hating life.  My hamstings in my left shut down.  My knee wanted to buckle backwards.  If I stopped I would stumble and almost fall over.  I began to feel sorry for myself, something I try hard not to do.  At mile 10 I encountered my family again.  I stopped on the side of the road, sat down, took my shoes off, iced both feet and my left leg, took 4 advil and debated for a minute quitting.  Now is where the true story begins…

Mile 10 was absolutely the low point of the day.  My shoes were off, the ice felt oh so good and my mind was on sitting on our terrace at the condo and sipping a beer (or guzzling 10).  It was a beautiful picture I painted inside my head that quickly turned into a nightmare.  I then thought of how I would feel waking up the next day.  I thought about all the people I know who would kill for a chance just to do Hawaii.  I thought of my buddy Shayne Stiller who was born with physical issues that he refused to call ‘limitations’ or ‘disabilities’, I thought of little Shayne - the 7 year old with CP that I had the absolute privilage of assisting at Miracle Kids Tri, I thought of my family and friends, and I though of my students - many of whom have overcome huge challenges in life.  It was then easy to paint a new picture inside my head of finishing. 

I got going from that hellish point of mile 10.  I got that deep stuborness brewing again.  I was in a trance concentrating with every step of my left leg to assure that it would land properly and not buckle.  I spoke to my leg and told it to keep going.  I created a connection with it that would last 16 more miles - a symbiotic connection in which my leg knew that if it got me to the finish I would treat it oh so nice with advil and beer later on (I forgot to bring the percacet).  I went to places inside myself that I never knew existed.  I thought of everyone who was tracking me along the way and who helped me get there directly through actually slicing and dicing me, rehabing me, training with me, encouraging me, sending ‘good luck’ e-mails or indirectly by thinking of me.  It was 16 miles of mind over matter and this mattered!

The last 5 miles I hooked up with 61 year old Kona resident ‘Hammer’.  We would chat a bit and then simply walk in silence for awhile.   It was great to simply be by somebody after 21 miles.  There were a few other times that people stopped to walk with me but I was more in need of being by myself until those last 5 miles when I knew that I would make it.  At 2 miles to go I looked at my watch.  I realized that if my left leg gave out (and it was getting very close to doing so) that I could crawl to the finish and make the cut off.  I was incredibly tired at this point.  It was the most tired I’ve ever felt.

The final mile took an eternity.  I willed that finish line to move closer.  When I made the turn to Alii drive there were people all over the street screaming their heads off.  As I neared the baracaded area I saw the Mercers and Yndestads and many of the other Minnesota contingents.  They were all showered up and looked fairly recovered.  They had come back to greet me at the finish.  Right at the entry to the finish chute I saw my family.  I had that complete emotional rush that hits you like a brick when you are about to accomplish a significant goal but I was too tired to have it turn into physical emotion and I was too afraid to stop walking for fear that my leg would quit. 

I actually stopped walking right on top of the finish line.  I heard that ‘beeeeeep’ of my timing chip and I just stopped.  I stood there for a moment soaking it in.  I wanted to turn around and look at the masses of people but could not get my legs to move.  Two volunteers draped a towel over my shoulders and wrapped my arms around their shoulders.  I stumbled all over but they held me up.  I took about 10 steps (and thought about mile 10) up to Chrissy Wellington who placed a lei over my head and congratulated me.  All I could do was smile and say ‘thanks’.  The volunteers walked me over to a chair.  I sat down and Dave, Sarah (Mercers), Cathy and Kerry (Yndestads) came over.  Dave gave me a huge peice of pizza that I quickly devoured.  My wife and mom had passes to get to me.  Jennie went and got my bike and transition bags and I went over (with the help of volunteers once again) to get my finishers medal, T-shirt and hat.  I then pondered how I was going to get back to the car a half a mile away.  No way was I able to walk any more. 

Somehow I managed to swing my leg over my bike and road back to the car.  I now was talking out loud to my leg, telling it that it did a great job, would need to do a bit better next time, and that I would give it some beer very soon.  The drive home was super quick.  I limped the 20 yards to the elevator and the 5 yards from the elevator to our condo entrance.  Jennie passed me a beer. 

Yesterday I awoke with a deep and almost foreign feeling.  I think it was a mix of gratitude, happiness, elation and pure satisfaction.  It’s a coctail that one can never get tired of.  We stayed at our condo, went to the pool, and ventured out late afternoon to get a long sleeved white T-shirt to cover up my sun burned arms and get a few groceries.  We talked and laughed our heads off all day.  I made some phone calls and replied to some text messages.  I enjoyed feeling stiff and sore and laughed about it when shuffling into the ‘Crazy Shirts’ store right by our condo. 

Today I awoke to the same feeling and with the priority of getting this post done.  More than anything I want to reiterate my thanks for all of the love and support I have recieved throughout this difficult season.  This is not my success.  This is the success of everyone and anyone who has helped me.  Thanks for the insiration to do what I did.  Thanks for the support.  Thanks for the High - it will last a lifetime…

Mahalo and Aloha!!!

I’m off to ‘walk it off’…

Jeremy

This shall be a very short post.  I got up early this morning, did a swim at the YWCA of St. Paul, came home, finished packing, loaded the car, had breakfast, and now I’m righting this post before heading to the airport to go to Hawaii!

It’s been a crazy past 5 months.  Super fit to zero in 6 weeks, being able to flop about in the pool for a couple of weeks, riding the trainer at 2 months barely able to hold 100 watts, and now feeling good in the water, 85% on the bike (for long stuff), and ‘who knows’ for the run.  But, I shall finish.  Then I will take a week in Hawaii, ignore the news, e-mails and phone calls (other than from friends and family) and vacation!

I can’t thank my friends, family, tri community, Mike Mancini, Dr. Cole, Trent Whitcomb and anyone who helped me recover in time to get to Hawaii.  I will be thinking of all of you during my little, um, venture.

Mahalo and Aloha!!!

Jeremy

I’m back to racing these days.  Granted it’s not a triathlon or bike race or foot race for that matter.  Nope, it’s way bigger and way harder.  I’m racing Father Time and right now that son of a &*$% is kicking my left atrophied butt really hard.  That is when I start to race - when someone else is putting the hurt on me.  Thus I vow to come from behind and beat Father Time in a Tony Soprano like fashion. 

The race against Father Time has progressed to an incredible pace as of late.  It’s trying to accomplish everything in a 24 hour a day window including work, training, sleeping, and helping out with such cool things as getting the Midwest Multisports Awards banquet going that has accelerated the pace.  It’s not that any one thing is difficult or overwhelming but the accumulation of everything is insane.  I am keeping it together mentally though but am hanging on by a thread physically.  I’ve been pushing my training volume way up and have finally gotten to the point where I can really irritate the muscles in my left leg.  It’s great that they’re finally firing away but they do get a bit more stress than previously and thus give me a bit of a jolt the next morning.  I seem to be monitoring it pretty well overall though, bringing it to the edge each day without jumping over.

This past week was the usual mehem.  Lots of training with lots of additional stuff.  I had a 27 hour training week that included 5 hours of running on ‘land’ all of which was done at Battle Creek park on the trails - very hilly and challenging.  I got a couple of century rides in, went to Adam Bergman’s wedding on Saturday night, got up early on Sunday and helped at Iron Girl duathlon (my students did massage there) and finished my week with a 2 hour trail run with Jonny-J.  I had planned to do 3 hours but my leg just wasn’t having it.  This week I plan to utilize Accua a lot more and in fact was there last night for a 1 hour run.  Recal that Accua is the only public access underwater treadmill.  It’s a fantastic facility with an amazing staff who are not only incredibly knowledgable but who truly care about your rehab.  This is evident by the several e-mails sent to see how my last surgery went and to urge me to come down to run and get ready for Hawaii.   They’re a sponsor so there isn’t monetary motivation for them to schedule me for 1 to 2 hour sessions 2-3 times a week. 

Other than that I am still dreaming of Hawaii; of crossing the finishing line and having a week vacation their after without anything planned!  I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything for a week.  Granted that was the story of my summer but that wasnt’ exactly a vacation - more of an experiment in mental toughness.  Well, I’m off for a swim/ bike brick and to put a gap on Father Time so that I can cruise to the finish in Hawaii and beyond… 

Jeremy

I blinked when I last posted, opened my eyes and now it’s Thursday the 11th of September.  What happened?!  Where has the time gone?!  Why am I not wearing any clothes?  What’s the meaning of life - oh, never mind; it’s doing Hawaii - at least right now.

I had another surgery last Friday to take out the remainder of the junk that I won’t need anymore.  It’s like stripping down a car to make it faster like they do in Nascar!  Surgery went totally smooth; arrive with a very empty stomach, get some really sweet drugs from the catagorie of ‘I don’t care’ which is a close cousin to cortizone I think.  Get knocked out, wake up 30 minutes later and get kicked out 20 minutes after that.  Then I made phone calls that I can’t remember to folk like Jerry McNeil and Jon Jensen who simply laughed at me and told me to call back later.  I felt so good that I wanted to go and train but my wife, who is way way way smarter than me, put the stops on that idea.  So I watched bad t.v that I don’t really recal and simply rested as best as I am capable of which means sitting down for 15 minutes at a time instead of 5. 

Saturday I road my bike up to Scandia and enjoyed their culture’s very appropriate event called ‘Taco Days’.  Yep, Taco Days in Scandia, the adopted American town of Sweden - you know, the country that invented things like the volvo, bikinis and of course tacos.  Taco Days started as a fundraiser by my very own mother in law to make money for such ammenities as tennis courts and a skate park.  They accomplished everything in a few years and handed the reins to the local boy scout troop.  This troop must have private jets and condos in Alaska where they learn to tough it out in the wild because the line is absolutely insane to get ’swedish’ tacos.  Mmm…flour tortilla, jalapenos, lutafisk…The afternoon progresses with a parade.  This year’s theme was ‘bikini beach party’ so all the 75+ ladies of the village had T-shirts that donned a bikini, much like the tuxedo t-shirt.  I will never view Jennie’s grandma the same.  What clevage (on the shirt kids, keep it clean)!  After that we visited with friends and family and went to Meister’s bar for some dinner.  We witnessed 2 fights (the later being a cat fight between a couple of ladies) but neither were too bad other than a table got tipped and some beer got spilled which would of course get you killed in Canada.  We left for home at 10p.m and I crashed out (while Jennie drove) and did not awake (other than to go from the car to bed) until 11 the next day.  Sunday I was shot and just layed low.

Monday through today have been the typical busy work week but filled in with quality training and physical therapy.  I can get in the pool tomorrow with water proof tape over my sutures.  I did do some light running and it’s as though someone turned the ‘on switch’ on as there is no pressure in my leg anymore which caused me to limp considerably.  I still have some gait issues but that’s just weak muscles which I am currently fixing up.  I am so much more confident for Hawaii with the way the leg feels.

My mind is now completely on Hawaii.  I’m obsessing about it and freaking out about it.  On my trail run with my dog Madison yesterday I was totally imagining myself doing the race and crossing the finish line.  I almost started to ball right there.  I’ve decided that I won’t hold back should that feeling occur - and it most likely will - at the actual finish line.  My previous thoughts were a bit nightmarish of not being able to finish.  Now all my dreams are of crossing the line and have expanded into being fast at my game again next year.  I always tell my students to dream big and then do appropriate goal setting to get there.  October 11th I’ll be able to give them and myself an example of just that. 

Jeremy Sartain

2008 Resume:

1st overall in crutches catagory at  Liftime Fitness Olympic Tri

Oldest kid ever to get a finishers metal at Miracle Kids Tri

I’ve been so slammed that I haven’t had time to even fart.  It’s been great though, albeit a bit bloating.  I’ll begin with my doctor visit last Monday…

I went for a check up that included some scans to see how the holes left from removing 4 screws in the tibia were doing.  Everything looked great.  My doc asked if I was still planning to do Hawaii and of course I told him ‘Yes, for sure”.  I then explained that I would have around 10 hours or so to hobble through the marathon.  He asked why I thought I would need that much time since things looked good enough for me to start running!  He asked if I could hammer down the next 2 weeks, come back, get another scan and if all looks good we will remove the plate which irritates the heck out of me when I put lots of pressure on it.  So that’s that - I’m running (slowly) outside 3-4 times per week and 2 times at Accua.

Prior to that sweet follow up I was at Miracle Kids on Saturday and YWCA Sunday.  My nephew did his first tri at Miracle kids and had a blast.  He averaged 15mph for the bike on a 20 inch single speed and he’s 9 years old!  I did not sign up as a volunteer but found myself assisting in the younger transition area.  My job was to help kids find their bikes and tie up a million pair of shoe laces.  It’s completely nuts and totally fun.  Sunday was YWCA women’s tri.  I first handed out (and explained ‘how to use’) timing chips and was then out in the water to start the waves as they did a water start at waist level.  I took a ton of harassment from all the women but I’ll live.  I then jumped on my bike and led out the first racer, 16 year old Grete.

The ‘business’ week was nuts.  We start at the college with students tomorrow and I had a few curve balls to deal with like having to switch rooms for our personal training lab.  We managed to get the rubber flooring delivered and Jonny-J and I literally built a new facility on Friday.  Otherwise I was in at the college advising new students, setting things up and attending in-service meetings.  I did get some solid training in and did a great swim bender this week with about 20k yards.  Yesterday we had an open water swim clinic at the Gunther’s house with Duane Dobko that was excellent.  I did that and then got in a run and a ride.  I also helped my buddy Adam move from Lino Lakes to the apartment above Grand Performance.  I then cleaned my car, bought a ton of booze, picked up Adam and headed to another friend’s house in uptown for a dual bachelor party for Adam and Paul - both of whom get married within the next 3 weeks.  My buddy Joey-C (owner of Melo Velo Bike Tours) made some fantastic food.  We ate, had a couple (or for some a ton) of beers and went bowling at Briant Lake Bowl.  I got home at 1a.m and crashed out until 10a.m today.  Today was busy with getting everything finished for the start of classes tomorrow.  I did get in a 90 minute tempo ride on the TT bike and was pleased to find yet another increase in power.

This next week is typically the worst for me time wise.  I can lay out the best plans but the first week is always nuts especially since I am in charge of 2 programs.  I’ll pack run, bike and swim gear and fit in workouts when I can the next two days.  After that I structured workouts in and have made a commitment not to bag them.  I could easily work 15 hour days each day next week but have learned to prioritize and delegate in my ‘old age’.

Thanks for reading.  It will be another week before I will post again.  I’ll have a week of work under my belt, my buddy Paul’s wedding, and 2 more century plus rides along with a slew of real runs to post about.  Till then keep the rubber side down and your head up!

Jeremy

It’s been over a week since I posted last.  I’ve been exceptionally busy at work gearing up for the fall semester.  I’ve been training well including running at Accua in Savage on the underwater treadmill.  I’ve talked about Accua before but I’ll state it again: check it out!  You get a 30 minute session free and it rocks!

After the body marking I watched the start of the swim.  I ran up to the lead truck, a Toyota Tundra (sponsored by Maplewood Toyota) and jumped in to lead out the first cyclist which was Curt Wood from start to finish.  After that I grabbed my road bike and led Curt on the run for the first 4 miles or so until Sam and Dan came up.  Sam kicked hard over the last major hill and took the lead holding off Dan and Curt for the win.  It was quite exciting to have a front row seat but I really wanted to be in the mix racing wise.  Next year.  My job was not yet done although I did have time to eat a hot dog courtesy of Kevin from Gear West.  Kevin took the time to explain why hot dogs plump up “because of the lung tissue in them”.  It still tasted good even after he told me about that.  I hung out for about an hour and was then called to escort the last runner.  The issue was that she wasn’t in yet.  I got tired of waiting and road out the course backwards.  There was supposed to be a cop on a bike following.  Unfortunately he got dropped and was almost 2 miles behind.  By the time I saw him and had a chance to ask if there were any other people out on the bike Meagan (the last cyclist) was nearing transition.  I had to hammer back and made it in time to pick her up at the top of the grassy hill coming out of transition.  Meagan is a recent hight school graduate participating in her first tri.  She ran the whole thing in 9 minute pace and seemed to be enjoying herself.  She did ask lots of questions like ‘who is your favourite super hero’ and  such but I think she was getting bored and wanted conversation.

I left promptly after Meagan finished and went home to watch some olympic coverage.  I was totally cooked from a busy week and getting up early.  Sunday I went out for what was to be an easy ride and ended up hooking up with 4 other racers and doing some pace-line out to Afton.  It was great to go 25 plus for a spell.  My climbing is still inhibited by some swelling in my knee and of course lack of muscle overall in my left leg but all in all it’s going well.

Today I hit the pool and proved again that Michael Phelps can kick my ass.  I thought I had him (in my head) for a 50 but realized he would be done when I flipped after my first 25.  I was doing some math in my head and calculated that I could get 5th in the women’s 100 breast stroke if I were to freestyle with my wetsuit on.  So I got that going for me.  After swimming I headed down for a hard core pt session and then went straight to Accua to run on the underwater treadmill.  I thought about doing an easy ride but felt too smoked and needed to catch up on some work stuff and this blog along with a bunch of phone calls.  I also planned out a dual bachelor party for my buddies Adam and Paul who are both getting married in the next 3-6 weeks (Paul in 3 and Adam in 6 weeks).  So all in all it was a great day for productivity and fitness.

This week I plan to finalize things for the start of the fall semester, train well and help at Miracle Kids on Saturday and YWCA tri on Sunday.  The week will surely fly by but this is typical for me and it’s great to feel ‘normal’ with everyday life.  I’m off to watch some olympics and drink a Molsen.  I’ll post again after next weekend.

Thanks for reading!

Jeremy