Did you ever agree to something, then utter to yourself, “now what am I going to do”? What if what you agreed to do was so far out of your comfort zone you knew you were entering the twilight zone !

Dateline Kona October 19th 2008: I am at the Ironman Awards banquet to celebrate the superb race that Brandon completed the previous day. There was a kinetic static in the chatter about having spectated all those racers particularly those who were finishing in the 16th hour of the race. So Brandon, my son, says that he thought that in the past with all the running and biking I could have done Ironman if I could swim. It is important to know that if I ended up in hell, it would be an endless deep pool. I avoided any immersion into water unless I had on life vests. Brandon persists in importuning me that I still could do this, this being a triathlon event. He announces he can coach me! This is where my brain entered the twilight zone. I think, I live in the backyard of Wildflower, it’s eight months away, I have a tri bike, I can start running again, and, I can try, not tri, swimming. Oh, and there is one more impeding issue. I have to loose a lot of weight. So I just created my own reality show, Extreme Makeover! Now those two words spilled from my lips in front of everyone, “I’m in”!

The next day I am anticipating that no one will remember my uttererances and I can slip this one. I’m off to play golf early and get a ride to the course and play 18 solo. Plenty of time to think this through and come up with a graceful exit. I call Mary Jo to come pick me up. She will be there in a half hour. Then it hits me. I’m not backing down. I start running back and think she will catch me in 10 minutes. Thirty-five minutes later I get picked up. Now back to the condo to get ready to go to black beach with Brandon and the group. Hey what the heck. I’ll run some more on the way to the beach. Two runs today!

The group is going out to the water and swim out a ways. I put on a jog belt and snorkel mask and venture to the edge. I have to get past the surf to reach the group. This is huge, not the surf. I’m out there and turtle watching sometimes with my head in the water. Brandon decides this would be a good time to evaluate my swimming technique or lack thereof. I flail for twenty yards and gasp. What am I going to do about the other 1,480 yards? I demo a little backstroke and Brandon declares, “You can swim”. I made it back to the beach and managed not to panic.

Later back at the condo I go to the pool knowing there is safety. I swim some and now know there is a long way to go.

The Coach. Moving forward Brandon will now supply the training wisdom, workouts, evaluations, and motivational encouragement. I have to supply the effort. Back at Oak Shores we have a small pool and it’s still open for another two weeks. I can start the swim training here. I can’t swim one full-length non-stop, but I am determined that I can improve and get better.

Brandon visits for a few days a month later. I’m on the weight loss plan and getting through the small workouts. We try a small ride in the neighborhood and I have trouble riding the bike a mile on the small inclines. There’s work to be done.
I join a health club that has a 50-meter pool. At my first pool swim I cannot swim a length and have to deal with the “deep end”. 

By the time the Christmas holiday’s are here, I have made significant progress with all three events. I am now swimming as much as a 3K, biking up to 48 miles, and have run up to 10 miles. Brandon continues to evaluate my progress based on my reporting back after workouts and establishing benchmarks. It wasn’t just, “how was that workout, and for tomorrow do this”. He asked questions a coach needs to have answers for so that training is meaningful and on target. I knew the workouts he assembled were to reach the incremental improvements and not just to be able to say I did X. By January 2009 weight loss was good and still dropping.

Four months to go until Wildflower and toeing the line at water’s edge. I knew that if I listened to the coach I could complete the Olympic distance. There was still a matter of an open water swim which I had not experienced to this point. I knew the pool and my ability in the pool. But how was that going to transfer to the open water? By the end of the month I was ready to test the event distance and see what level of fitness I’ve reached. This is where I strayed from the prescribed workouts. I went to the club and swam a 1500. Transitioned as quickly as I could and jumped on the stationary bike for 24 miles. I walked off the bike and stepped on the treadmill for a 10K. After finishing I thought, this is not too bad. However this was a controlled environment and not the real thing. Nonetheless, I was pleased to know that I could cover the distance. Now I had to keep loosing weight, and get stronger for each event. Weekends allowed for some rides with runs right off the bike. I was now doing over distance with rides on the Wildflower long course that included hell hill. I saw the light.

At the beginning of March I knew there had to be some actual on course testing. So I entered the Cal Poly Sprint Tri for April 4th at Lake Lopez. Heck this is only a 750-yard swim, 12-mile bike, and a 5K. I expect this distance will give me the confidence that I can complete a Tri. I have to keep training, loosing, and listening to my coach. A note to keep in mind is that I’m working 50-hour weeks so a lot of training is happening after 6 PM. Work, train, sleep and do it everyday.

A week before the Lopez event I purchase my first wetsuit. I decide sleeveless is good for me. After all, I’m usually warm and I can handle some chill. My first wetsuit swim in the pool is taxing due to different body position, different breathing, not to mention this compression on my chest. So I completed a couple of 1500 pool swims for acclamation. Plus it helped on how to get the wetsuit off.

Dateline April 4th. Here I am at Lake Lopez at 6:15 am for my first Tri tryout. Mary Jo is there to watch me get settled in transition but she has to attend a course and won’t be able to stay. Now I am solo. No coach other than in my head. Check list done. Set up done. It’s a chilly day and the announcer informs us that the water temp is 57 degrees. I know there is not going to be any in water warm up, so I run for 30 minutes to generate some thermal energy. Transition closes and now I have nowhere to go but to waters edge and wait for my wave. I observe the first swimmers and reconnoiter the course buoys for my 750. They don’t seem that far out. Time to go. I walk in and feel the chilly water and don’t even dip my arms. I decide that if I did, I might not take the plunge. Better to just hit it and take it rather than anticipate. At water level that first buoy now seems further than I thought. I have to keep it in sight but at the same time keep forward motion. Looking up is an issue with breathing. I know that my arm turnover is quick thinking I’ll get out faster. I stray a little right of the buoy but make it for the first left turn. The next buoy is not as far since it will be the left turn and head for exit. I stray too far to the right and have to come back on line, but still at high arm turnover. I know this is more effort than I need, but I need to stay on top of the water. I’m out in open water, my hell. More course correction but still adding too much additional distance, but finally I’m at the timing matt. Numbness is in my hands and feet. I find my sandals and slog up the path to bike transition.

I’m biking now and know that fear factor is over. I just need to re-energize and do after 5 miles. The start hill was tough and the re-entry hill gets your attention. I’m back inside the park and ready for run transition. I’m running now and just have to get through a 5K. It’s tougher than expected because there is no fast leg turnover. It’s a maintenance run. Same pace at start, same pace at finish. Now there’s a word I can deal with, finish!

I am pleased that I made it and that my coach would be pleased with my first time out. Hey, I’m thrilled I didn’t drown and become a Tri statistic. I’m further pleased when I learn that I took 3rd in my age. This might be the time to consider, that having completed a triathlon event, maybe one was enough. It was in the “bucket list”. No, I need to know, can I do Wildflower Olympic? More training, coaching, and weight loss. That next day I rode the Wildflower bike course and knew, “I’m in”.  

The approaching race day. After more longer pool swims, longer rides, and longer runs, I envision that the race will go well. Brandon is now assigning workouts that will increase with intensity and have the next week at lower intensity. As race day gets closer I know this is going to be a much different experience. I’ve got people there. Brandon’s there and his coaching will tell the tape. Brandon arrives eight days before the race. He needs to see first hand, is Dad ready for this? This is where it get’s interesting. We are going down to the lake for some practice. Naci is nowhere near as cold as Lopez. A course point is set. I dive in and start the fast arm turnover again. This causes anxiety and the need to rest after 100 yards. What about the other 1400? This is where Brandon’s coaching plays a major role. He knows that I have to slow down, relax, find a comfort zone in the water, and get some technique for sighting those buoys. First day was tense. Head thoughts about, “how did I do Lopez”? Breathing was compressed. Maybe Lopez was a one time only event. But, if anyone knows me, and Brandon does, I’m not throwing in the towel. He has me go back to the pool and swim a 1500 with the wetsuit and swim as slow as possible and find that relaxed stroke zone. I complete this swim in 37:16 and thought I was slow. The reality is I was relaxed, but I was in the pool. Now back to the lake for another practice swim the next day. Same course points as before. Re-arranged my mental perspective. Stay relaxed. Improvement is apparent. Swam longer with less stress and far better breathing. Thursday, one more lake swim before race day. Again marked improvement most notably with relaxation and breathing. I can and will do this! After all, I’ve got an Ironman Coach.

Race day Wildflower: Here’s the report on the weight loss and part of the extreme makeover. I’m down 52 lbs.! Goal was 50. I know that this weight loss will play a role on this course. I’m in the 10 am wave. A later start that I am pleased about. No rushing, keep calm, have time to warm up, and soak in the atmosphere of the second largest triathlon event in the USA. I’m here and “I’m in”. Brandon is there and designates himself as the go to guy. Keep me in race mentality.

Swim: Start left and wide to avoid the churn. I stay wide enough that at 60 yards I hit beach but no problem. Brandon’s there and asks, “OK”, I let him know o’yeah.
I stayed relaxed in the open water even after getting my goggles knocked off twice. My buoy sighting was far more efficient and my breathing was level. No fast arm turnover. At the last right turn buoy I knew that I was heading for exit. I could see the houseboat dock as a marker. A small bend to the left, and I’m done. I swam out in 38! Brandon had my crocks there and I slipped them on and ran to transition.

Bike:  It was a fairly uneventful transition. No numb feet. Less change out. Of course I was racing in Tri Star uniform and felt a sense of strength. I left transition feeling strong for the uphill bike out. The ride was familiar. I’d done almost all my training rides on that road. It made it easier to know where I was and what was coming. I finished the bike knowing that I was going to have an Olympic Tri under my belt. I hit transition and got out of there as quick as I could. Especially, after stepping on my drink carton, and squishing chocolate, all over the place including my run hat.

Run: A 10K to go. My legs are not rubberized and I feel solid about this run. I know that there are some nasty hills so there won’t be any fast leg turnover. Get into a zone and stay there. The long hill was taxing but I passed others that were walking. As I have in so many past races, I ran one mile at a time. I knew of course that at 5 miles downhill would take over. Half way down the hill I could hear the crowd cheering. I was a Gladiator about to enter the arena. Brandon had done his job as my coach. Who knew that seven months before I would be at this time and place about to finish what is considered to be the toughest Olympic distance triathlon? Now I’m in the fencing, the arch is 125 yards away; I can at least pick up the pace for my finishing photo. It was at that moment of 3 hours and 43 minutes that I knew, “I’m in”. Plus I’m not done. I am going to race Chicago! This is where I started my marathon career. Of course I still have Brandon as my coach.

Dan Del Campo
Triathlete