Happy Birthday Shantelly

As many of you know it's Shantel's birthday today. Here's Macen helping the birthday girl blow out the candles on her cake. We'll keep it a secret how old she is. Besides she still looks great anyway.

Happy Birthday Shantelly.........We Love You.

James and Macen

Hy-Vee Triathlon

This last weekend was the Hy-Vee Triathlon in West Des Moines, Iowa. Let's just say Wow! It was a full weekend of the triathlon experience with a Kids Triathlon Saturday morning, a Women's ITU Pro race, followed by a Men's ITU Pro race Saturday afternoon and then the Elite and Age Group race on Sunday morning. The winner's of both the men's and women's pro races won $200,000. There was a great expo with lots of free stuff for both spectators and athletes, bouncy houses for the kids, the Budweiser Clydesdales were there and other things I'm sure that I missed. The swag was great for this race; a bike jersey with the Hy-Vee Triathlon logo, a visor or hat with the same logo, and a backpack full of other goodies. I've been a little disappointed in the swag at races this year. Yes I know the economy is in the tubes but the registration fees of races keeps going up and I'd like to get just a little more than the standard T-Shirt, this race definitely set the swag standard. Best of all we got to spend the weekend with our friend Ruder and his wife Kelly. It was a great weekend and I'm about 90% sure that I will put this race on the schedule for next year as the start of a summer vacation.

Here's the pictures.

That's right no wetsuit this race. The water was about 86 degrees, really warm. I thought I'd miss the bouyancy from the wetsuit but for the second straight race I had a swim that felt good. I even went faster for this race than I did during the last olympic distance race I did back in May. Those swim drills are starting to pay off.

This is me looking at my watch checking my time after the swim and going "Darn, I forgot to start the stop watch", or something to that effect. I didn't know how fast I'd gone until the results were posted on the web late yesterday afternoon. The sprint to the finish, the guy in the foreground was in my age group and I needed to get around him. I think he beat me by the length of his visor, that's what I get for wearing my hat backwards.
Ruder, Macen, and me after the race. No I didn't place, that's just the finisher's medal they gave everyone. Macen made a new best friend this weekend as Ruder spent a lot of time playing with him during the race and after I was done he didn't want to come to Daddy, but he wanted to go to Ruder, though. It also could have been because I was all hot and sweaty too.

I went into this race hoping to improve in all three events and to get my time down under 3hrs, preferrably closer to 2:45. I did get my time down under 3hrs to 2:56:41 and I was faster in all three events showing the biggest improvement in my swim by cutting more than 4 minutes off it. After watching the Pros race on Saturday I really need to work on my transition times and get those down, those guys are insanely fast in transition. Although part of my problem in transition on Sunday was my need to make a quick stop in the porta john between the bike and the run.

This was probably my last olympic distance race for the year, we'll see, how the schedule plays out in August and September though. I've got another Half-Iron distance race in August and then a marathon in late September with Jaime and Mariah. Next up for me is the Shawnee Mission Park Triathlon on July 12th, it's a little short distance than what I've been doing with only a 1000m swim/18 mi bike/4.5 mi run. I'll use it as a speed workout for my next Half-Iron distance race.

Here are my splits. Compare them to the times at the Kansas City Triathlon post.

bib number: 566
age: 35
gender: M
overall place: 827 out of 1398
division place: 117 out of 158
gender place: 653 out of 979
time: 2:56:41
swim: 44:57
t1: 3:00
bike: 1:13:42
t2: 2:29
run: 52:35

Royals vs. Cardinals

It was the big game day! Alot of James' family came to town for the Royals/Cardinals game. We had a unique jersey stitched together for Macen since I am a Royals fan and James is a Cardinals fan. There was no reason for him to wear all blue or all red. One spectator did tell me we were going to confuse the boy. He was a Cardinals fan though so what does he know ;)

We tailgated before the game started and got drizzled on the whole time. But we could have been poured on so it wasn't so bad. A little rain never stops the fans but it stops the players. There was an hour and half game delay. The game finally started and then ended with 13 people in our group of 18 very happy, 4 not so happy and 1 toddler with mixed emotions.

Here is Kayley, Carson and Macen playing on the playground at the stadium.

There was a gorilla on the Ironman 70.3 Kansas course!!!!!

At least it felt like a 900lb gorilla jumped on my back at mile 9.5 of the run portion as I was going up hill with less than 4 miles to go.

Actually I had a really good race, I was still pretty slow on the swim portion but I was able to complete the whole 1.2 mi without rolling over and back stroking or side stroking, something I did a lot of during the KC Tri a couple of weeks ago.

The bike went a little too good. I had planned on averaging about 18 mph but ending up pushing it pretty hard and averaged just under 20 mph. That got me done 10 minutes faster but I ended up paying for it on the run.

The run, normally my stronger event, didn't go quite as planned. My quads didn't stop spasming until about mile 3 on the run and my Garmin kept telling me to speed up the pace, and I just didn't have another gear. Then that darn gorilla jumped on my back as I was going up hill at the 9.5 mile marker. I finished the last 3.6 miles alternating between a run and a walk. That extra 10 minutes I gained on the bike turned into a negative 20 minutes when my legs gave out. I did cruise in for an overall time of 6:09:04. Pretty respectable.

Here are the pictures

Here is my wave start. There were over 200 men in my age group competingStruggling out of my wetsuit.Shantel finally got a good picture of me on the bikeGotta stay hydrated. A big thanks goes out to all the volunteers who were handing out Gatorade, water and ice cold sponges. That really helps us athletes keep going.

The kick to the finish. I made all my goals for this race: I finished; the 6:09 crushed the 7:33 I did as a 26 year old; and I dropped my weight down to 180lbs from a high of 220 something last spring; and I also raised more than $1000 to help disabled veterans compete in athletic events. A very satisfying race. Thanks for all the support. I'm doing another 70.3 distance race in August and it's time to up the bar. I want to complete it in under 6 hrs. Time to get back to training to see if I can shave that 9 minutes off my time.

Next race is the Hy-Vee Olympic distance triathlon in Des Moines. This is a really big race. I'm shooting for 2:45-3hrs and enjoying some time with my friend Ruder who lives in Des Moines and will be cheering me on.

James Scrogin

bib number:1446

age: 35

gender: M

overall place: 1000 out of 1450

division place: 175 out of 231

time: 6:09:04

swim: 54:29

tran 1: 5:03

bike: 2:49:31

tran2: 2:57

run2: 2:17:05

Ironman Snapshots

James had the half ironman triathlon yesterday in Lawrence. Here are some of the snapshots of the day. I'll let James tell you about the race.

This is how our morning started. We didn't get showered on for long though.

Macen had a blast playing with Baylie and Nik all day.

James had a good support system for the race. Mariah and my mom came to watch him as well as a friend of ours, Jamie and her daughter. Jamie also did the Ft Leavenworth triathlon last month. Friends of ours here at Ft Leavenworth were also there. Brian competed with James so his wife and son came to cheer the guys on. So both guys had their own cheering squad.

Macen and Nik are on a racing wheel chair. The owner, Oz Sanchez, was getting ready to leave and the boys got excited to see a "bike" (as they called it). He offered for them to get on it and then offered for them to ride it to his van. He was so nice to let the boys go for a ride. As you all know James did some fundraising for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Oz is a recipient of that fundraising. He also won a gold medal in hand cycling at the Beijing Paralympics.

Crown Center Fountains

After Fritz's, we wanted to see if the boys would play in the fountains across from Crown Center. Both of them were hestitant. They were interested in it but didn't want to get wet. And the water was a little cold. So they both went home fairly dry.

Fritz's Railroad Restaurant

After the zoo, we took the boys to see the choo choo's. It wasn't nearly as busy as when we went in April so Macen was constantly asking "one more?". Both boys got really excited when the trains came out to deliver food. The couldn't get enough of the train coming out, disappearing and then reappearing over and over.

Kansas City Zoo, Take 2

We went to the zoo with our friends Joe, Jocelyn and their little boy Jacob on Saturday.
The kangaroos were roaming free at the zoo. This one crossed the path right in front of us.

Just Macens size.

Macen took a liking to James' cherry slush. So much that we weren't sure he was going to give it back.

Macen got to ride the carousel twice and when the second ride was done he asked James "one more?". It's a new fave saying for everything these days.

What a couple of cuties!

Friday night out

We went to the Cheesecake Factory with some friends Friday night. The boys had a blast playing near, almost in (yes, Macen fell and was going head first into the fountain but he was caught at the last second and only a little of his face got wet) and in the water fountains around the Plaza. Macen didn't want to pose with his parents though so you are tortured with a no-Macen photo.

Its Raining, It's Pouring!

We got some rain yesterday and was able to get Macen to run around in it. He needed some leading before running out and splashing around in the puddles by himself.

WaterBall

Macen got a water ball sprinkler for his birthday and he doesn't know what to think of it. I assume since its the beginning of summer and we haven't been to the pool or played in water yet, he just isn't comfortable with it at this point. James tried showing him some techniques but Macen was sure to stay far away from the spraying water.

Kansas City Triathlon

Well, I did my first long distance triathlon of the season this weekend, the Kansas City Triathlon. It was an Olympic Distance race, 1500m swim/ 24mi bike/6.2 mile run. This race was supposed to be my gauge on how well I'm going to do at IM 70.3 Kansas in a couple of weeks. The overall results were encouraging since I'm still on track for 6 hour finish, which is where I want to be. I was disappointed with my swim time for this race, 49 minutes, though. Goals for this race was a sub 3 hour race with splits of 35-40 min swim, 1hr 20min bike, and 55 minutes run. My actual time was 3:04 overall, 49 minute swim, 1hr 16min bike, and 53min run. So if anyone knows of good swim coach in the Kansas City area, let me know, since I really need someone to help me with my technique.


This is what a mass start of the open water swim portion looks like. When you take off it's all kicking feet and flying elbows until the swimmers separate out.

Here's me struggling to get out of my wetsuit as I completed the swim portion. I'm just glad to be out of the water at this point. The athlete in front me only swam half as far as I did in the sprint distance race, so he decided not to wear a wetsuit.

Shantel took this picture of my best side on the first lap of the run

Here is the sprint to the finish. Shantel really likes the Army jersey since it makes me stand out more from the rest of the athletes.

Next up is the Ironman Kansas 70.3 on June 14th. As of right now I've met two of the goals I set for myself, I'm down to about 183lbs and thanks to every one's generosity I've raised $1000 to help disabled veterans with prosthetics and training so they can compete in athletic events. Now only race day will tell if I can complete the race and finish in under 7hrs 33min. I think I'm on track to met those goals as well.

One final note to the athlete who "accidentally" picked up my wetsuit that was draped over my backpack, it was only pee'd in once and the velcro closure at the back has a tendency to rub your neck raw so make sure you put some body glide on before you use it. Honestly, the guy who I borrowed the wetsuit from was glad that it "disappeared" so he could get a new one that doesn't rub his neck raw. Enjoy!

James Scrogin
bib number: 896
age: 35
gender: M
overall place: 239 out of 302
division place: 41 out of 47
gender place: 192 out of 229
time: 3:04:32
swim: 49:08
tran1: 3:48
bike: 1:16:46
tran2: 1:42
run2: 53:08