He met his challenge of completing 422.6 miles in three days with three consecutive Ironman triathlons totaling 7.4 miles of swimming, 336 miles of biking and 79.2 miles of running in 72 hours. Now, Gary’s challenging YOU to help send 422 kids to FCA camps through funds raised for FCA. A gift of $422 will scholarship one camper to most FCA camps across the country. Any gift amount is greatly appreciated.

Want to join the team?

Donate here.

Recovery is coming along well.  Frankly, it has been nice to not have to get up early and start training every morning. I know my wife is glad for this as well! I will be out riding this weekend for the first time since the IM events of Nov 20-22.  The two weeks to let my joints heal has been wonderful.

On reflection I am still struck by how God worked through this event.  7.2 miles of swimming, 336 miles of riding and 79.2 miles of running over three days and not so much as a blister, no discernable joint or muscle aches or pains, oh there have been days my legs felt heavy or tired, but no pain, not even the normal abrasions and “rubbed” spots one normally gets simply from wearing your triathlon uniform and wetsuit for such a long period…. nothing!  To put this in perspective, in the past when I have run one Ironman, I have lost toenails, had blisters, had places where I was saddle sore or had abrasions from my uniform rubbing my skin wrong.  But to have run three without any of those problems is only possible due to everyones prayers and God adding the surplus.  I didn’t even get sunburned after being out there on my bike and on the run for three days.  Think about it, I was in the sun literally from sun up until way after dark.  Sure I used sun screen, but with all of the sweating, swimming etc it always comes off and you inevitably have sun burned areas from being exposed for a full day….. but not even a sunburn after three days! 

Another answer to prayer was that I really needed to keep my heart rate low so that my stomach would stay open and I could keep consuming calories and keep “gas in the engine” so to speak.  On my third day of IM and on the third and final lap of the bike, I was monitoring my HR very very closely.  I knew I was getting closer to the finish line and I had to make sure I didn’t let my calories get away from me.  To do this, I had to make sure that HR stayed low and steady.  On my third loop on the bike there is a series of hills which I had ridden many times over the previous days. During that last loop as I was heading up the steepest part of the slope, I looked at my HR and it was registering only 112 beats per minute.  This is way at the low end of my zone 1 range.  To put this in perspective, my goal was to say between 130 and 140 on the bike as an average over the three days.  To have a heart rate this low, and yet still be generating the power and speed I needed to generate could only have been by the grace of God!!

It is my Prayer that God will continue to bless the FCA ministry and all of those who participated and worked so hard to put on this event!  A friend of mine described this very well when he said ” Gary, it may have been your clay feet that did the running, but let there be no question that it was God who did the blessing!! ”

Thanks again to all of you who prayed and kept praying for my family and I as we worked through this epic time.

Gary

Battling through pain to complete three triathlons for FCA
Article by Peter Elliott of EverydayChristian.com

Read article

Gary started at 7 a.m. with the 2.4 mile swim and got back about 8:45;  taking it slow-smart according to his coach.  He looked good coming out of the water, and took time to get some nutrition in the transition tent before off to the bike. Saw him on the bike around 11:20, and he had a smile!

A culmination of 11 months, over 5,000 miles of training, planning and many, many prayers will come to fruition as I begin my first day of the three-day Ironman distance triathlon. I’m excited the day has finally arrived!

Thank you to my family, FCA and all the volunteers who will be out there supporting and/or running, biking and swimming the course with me. Your presence is an encouragement as each step gets me closer to my 422.6 mile goal.

My "home base" during the three day event. This is where I will refuel and rest.

Here’s what Day One will look like:

4:00-4:45 am – Get up, eat breakfast, prepare for the first leg of the event

4:45-6:15 am – Run 9 miles starting at the RV and end at the RV

6:45-7:45 am – (Sunrise) Ride bike 16 miles

Refuel at RV

8:00-9:30 am – Swim at Ironman race venue

Refuel at RV

10:00-10:40 am – Run 4 miles

Refuel at RV

11:00-2:15 pm – Ride 54 miles

Refuel at RV

2:45-5:15 pm Ride 42 miles (Dusk)

Refuel at RV

6:00-8:15 – Run 13.4 miles

9:30 pm – FINISH DAY ONE

My goal is to make the first two days as “easy” as possible. I will try to keep a 16 mph average on the bike and run between 10-11 minute miles. The goal is to finish each day in under the 17 hour Ironman cut off.

For His Glory,

Gary

Total hours training this week = 2:15

Monday, Nov. 16, 2009
Workout 1 – Day Off
Actively focus on recovery by staying off legs, watching nutrition by eating lean protein, healthy carbs and good fats. Stretch and drink water when thirsty.

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009
Workout 1 – Brick (1:30)
Endurance Brick – Bike for 1:15 hours in a low heart rate zone. Then transition quickly into a 15 minute run. Refuel as in race.

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009
Workout 1 – Swim (0:45)
Race simulation starts – Warm up with an easy swim and drills for about 15 minutes then complete 4×300m with the first set at an extremely hard pace as if in the beginning of a sprint triathlon swim start. Then continue race pace for the remaining 100m. Recover completely between each 200m. Cool down.

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
Workout 1 – Day Off
Actively focus on recovery by staying off legs, watching nutrition by eating lean protein, healthy carbs and good fats. Stretch and drink water when thirsty.

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
Day 1 – Ironman Distance Triathlon
Each day dig deep! As each day passes you will have to dig even deeper – the reward at the end will be worth it.

Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009
Day 2 – Ironman Distance Triathlon
Each day dig deep! As each day passes you will have to dig even deeper – the reward at the end will be worth it.

Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
Day 3 – Ironman Distance Triathlon
Each day dig deep! As each day passes you will have to dig even deeper – the reward at the end will be worth it.

With nine days to go, I’ve just finished nailing down the details and specifics of the three day event next week. My goal is to keep a consistent pace to make the first two days as “easy” as possible. This will enable me to finish each day in under the 17 hour Ironman triathlon cutoff time. God willing, I feel confident that the race plan, the way it is laid out, will accomplish this goal AND leave some extra time for those inevitable things which are unplanned.

Also, I appreciate the FCA Endurance Huddle in Phoenix for all of the advice and the support of the folks who will be out there on portions of this event with me. Doing this event the first two days with people out there pedaling, running and swimming beside me will make this psychologically easier to handle.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers, help and support. It has been a long year of training. I’m healthy, feeling very good and based upon my last “event specific” workout, I feel ready for the 422.6 mile journey. At this point my focus is to stay at this level of conditioning, taper off on the length of workouts and REST, REST, REST!!

Clear eyes and full hearts, everyone.

Gary

Based on hours
Swim – 2:00
Brick – 9:15
Total hours training this week = 12:00

Monday, Nov. 9, 2009
Workout 1 – Day Off
Actively focus on recovery by staying off legs, watching nutrition by eating lean protein, healthy carbs and good fats. Stretch and drink water when thirsty.

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
Workout 1 – Brick (2:00)
Endurance Brick – Bike for 1:15 to 1:30 hours in a low heart rate zone. Then transition quickly into a 20-30 minute run. Refuel as in race.

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009
Workout 1 – Swim (0:45)
Race simulation – warm up with easy swimming and rills for about 15 minutes then complete 4 sets of 300m, the first 200 of each set is at an extremely hard pace as if in the beginning of a sprint triathlon swim start. Then in the last 100 is at race pace. Recover completely between each 300m. Cool down for 10 minutes.

Workout 2 – Strength (0:45)
Warm up for 5-10 minutes then lift a light set of 12 reps. Second set is heavy with 3-6 reps. Cool down with 5-10 minutes of spinning.

Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009
Workout 1 – Brick (1:45)
Endurance Brick – Bike 1:30 hours focus on keeping a low heart rate. Then transition to a 15-20 minute run. Refuel as in the race.

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009
Workout 1 – Swim (1:15)
Ironman specific swim – warm up for 10 minutes then swim 4000m broken into 4×1,000 with 1 minute rest in between. Record time.

Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009
Workout 1 – Brick (3:30)
Long brick – Ride a long 3 hours on the bike then transition to a 30 minute run. Eat and drink just as you will in the race. Focus on recovery for 2 hours after this workout.

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009
Brick (2:00)
Bike moderately for 1 hour then transition to a 1 hour run.