A Day to be Mellow

Coffee and a cookie in the middle of Kona Bay again? Of course! It was a great way to start off my birthday and still fun after five consecutive days. As we drove down to the ocean this morning, there was a dramatic change in the town. It seemed like the city officials had passed an ordinance banning running on Friday. The street that had been packed with runners for the past week were now void of runners. I wonder why?

The key word for today was mellow. Other than the swim in the morning, Scott and I spent most of the morning sitting on the patio, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and working on our computers. The only serious work we did was to pack all of our equipment for Saturday. To complete the 140.6 miles, we needed to set up our bikes, layout our tri suits, cap, goggles and computer chip, pack a bike transition bag (shoes, socks, helmet, glasses, number, and food), pack a bike goody bag (for mile 56 on the bike), pack a run transition bag (running shoes, hat and more food) and a run goody bag (for mile 13.1 on the run.) A logistical nightmare.

At 1 PM, we rode our bikes down to check in…8 miles and a 800 foot drop…pretty easy. Check in is an event by itself. All the major bike manufactures have people to track what bikes are being ridden by the athletes. A couple hundred spectators surround the entrance just to watch the competitors arrive. This is when I remembered there is nothing typical about this Ironman.

We went back to the house for an uneventful afternoon….amazing. As the sun went down, we enjoyed an incredible pasta dinner with the Boylan’s, Kessler’s, and Jim Shelden. While it was a pre-race dinner, it was also a very special for me being able to share my birthday dinner with such good friends.

Well, this is obviously my last blog before the race. The response I have received has been overwhelming. It means so much to me to have so many friends sharing this event with me…even if it is in cyberspace. One of the common themes in your responses has been how much you have appreciated me sharing my feeling before the big day. So let me conclude by giving you an idea of where I am on the night before the World Championship.
I have become an emotional wreck. It is not from being concerned or worried about tomorrow. I am not nervous about my ability to finish and to do my best. I am an emotional wreck because tomorrow is a day I have been looking forward to since I was treading water at the start of last year’s Wisconsin Ironman and my nephew, Dr. David Salzman who was in the lake next to me said, “Uncle Mike…Game On!” I can’t wait for what has the potential of being one of the great days of my life.

Four years ago, I came to the World Championship as the youngest athlete in my age group. I was 55 in the 55 to 59 year old age group and captured the fifth spot on the podium. Today, at 59, I am the oldest. My dream is to again be in the top 5. A dream – definitely. A realistic goal given the top talent like Joe Bonness (55) and Kevin Moats (56) and three other guys who have run an Ironman 30 minutes faster than me – we will find out tomorrow. In the four years, in addition to getting older, I swam over 1,000 miles, rode 25,000 miles, and ran 5,000 miles with some very amazing and special people. I have hiked six 14,000 foot peaks, mountain biked around the Annapurna Circuit and climbed to Masada, Petra, and Machu Picchu with various family members. My speaking has given me a chance to inspire 70 groups and maybe help some of those attendees chase their own dreams. It has been an incredible journey. I am not sure what the destination is going to be tomorrow, but I know I am ready, and I know my journey to get here today was the result of so many friends, family members and training buddies who have inspired me to chase my craziest dreams.

I am heading to bed early tonight thinking of a quote I heard Bruce Taylor the CEO of Cole Taylor Bank use in a speech 15 years ago.

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”

Tomorrow morning, I will be running….and I will be thinking of all of you, running along with me.

Mahalo

Race details for Saturday.
The race starts at 7:00 AM Hawaiian time, 1 PM Eastern, 12 noon Central. I expect to finish in around 11 hours or at 6 PM Hawaiian, midnight Eastern, 11 PM central. In 2006, I finished in 11 hours and 12 minutes. You can track the results and see live video at http://www.ironmanlive.com/

Fighting to Stay Young and Winning

It should come as no surprise how Thursday started off in Kona. We swam ½ mile out to the coffee bar for coffee and cookies. While swimming back, I swam directly over a huge turtle about 20 feet below me and stop to watch how he gracefully moved through the water. I can learn from him.

Another highlight of the morning was the traditional underpants run…sorry, I did not bring my camera. I am not sure how it started, but the underpants run has become a tradition on Thursday morning for many years. My guess is that it was thrown in to relieve some of the tension and anxiety starting to build among the athletes. The one observation I can make is that triathlon suits are far more revealing than regular underwear for both men and women.

Later in the morning, I had the opportunity to get 10 minutes of coaching in an endless pool with Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen, the 2009 master swimmer of the year (for the fifth time) and current holder of 47 master swim records. She told me to keep my arms wider (like the turtle.)

Our friends, Alicia and Gary Kessler arrived from Atlanta to complete our support team. Gary is a regular in the Triple-By-Pass Ride in Colorado each summer. Gary and I went for a 4 mile run to keep things moving.

The rest of the day was spent thinking about Saturday. I have been focusing so much on being physically ready and with just two days to go, there is nothing more I can do to improve my ability. Mentally, I spent time thinking about what I needed to do on race day. How fast should I go out on the bike? What should my game plan be for the run? How much should I eat and drink during the bike and run? What should I pack in my goody bag that I pick up halfway through the bike and halfway through the run? Emotionally, I am fighting to stay calm and not let every little sore, pain or ailment frighten me. I am also working hard to fight the gravity of what I am planning to do on Saturday. The “what’s the guy from right field doing here” syndrome. And spiritually, I am trying to connect with what they say in the Hawaiian culture…to capture strength from the land and the sea.

The final event for the day was the pre-race banquet for the 2,000 athletes and 3,000 family members. Our friend Scott Rigsby joined us for dinner. Scott complete the Ironman in Kona in 2007 to become the first double leg amputee to finish the event using a traditional bike and running on prosthetics. Scott has become a great inspiration to many, but my favorite thing that I have watched Scott do is talk with children who have lost just one leg.

During the banquet, Lew Hollander was honored as the oldest competitor. At 80 years old, he is trying to complete his 21st Ironman. Lew gave a simple answer when asked why he does it. He believes he will live 20 more years after his last Ironman and he likes pushing that date back every year. He was my shining example today of what most of us are doing in Kona.

Staying forever young.

A Town Filled with People “Who Can.”

Kona – Day two

Aloha! Another beautiful day in paradise. We woke up early this morning for our swim in Kona Bay. What a great way to start the day. The coral was teaming with fish and the water was packed with triathletes. The real surprise was that the Kona Coffee Company had set up a swim up coffee bar ½ mile out on a catamaran. A Starbucks of the Sea. And to the group in Kona this week, a ½ swim out to a free coffee bar would barely be considered a short work out. I don’t even drink coffee, but this stop was too good to pass up. And when you are drinking hot Kona coffee in the middle of the Kona Bay, life is good.

After our swim, we headed over to TriBike Transport to pick up our bikes. TriBike has developed a great business of picking up bikes in major cities across the United States and shipping them in large containers to the Ironman events. After checking out the bikes, we hop on for a 20 mile ride down the famous Queen K highway. This is the 50 mile road from Kona to Havi that seems to get a lot of attention on NBC sports for its cruelty. Triathletes must ride through the mid-day sun across lava fields to complete the bike course. I remember my first time in Kona and how intimidated I was by everything I had heard. But on this return visit, it was time to enjoy and to make friends with the grand lady. I had survived her perils four years ago and now it was time to say hello to old friends, like the airport and energy lab that were points along the way. It felt great to be back on my bike.

One of the things that becomes obvious after a couple days in Kona is that this town is filled with people “who can.” Everyone has a personal story of how they are chasing a dream. Each person is traveling with an entourage of friends and family members who all believe in them and are here to support them. People get to Kona two ways. They either finish an Ironman in the top 3 percent of their age group, or 10 percent of the field paid $50 for a chance at 200 slots in a lottery. The common denominator is that everyone believed it was possible. Since Ford is the title sponsor of this event, I think it is appropriate to quote Henry Ford who said, “Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.” It is inspiring to be around so many people chasing dreams, celebrating their journey and living life.
At 5 PM, all the competitors meet up for the Parade of Nations. We march by country down Ali’I Drive the “Main Street” of Kona. Friends, family and the community come out to cheer each country. It sounds pretty corny, but when you start walking with fellow athletes behind the American Flag, it suddenly becomes a big deal.

My personal highlight of the parade was seeing Rajesh Durbal. I met Rajesh in Atlanta in April when he was in Mike Lenhart’s Getting2Tri training camp for challenged athletes. Raj was born missing one hand and both feet. Raj will be competing in the Ironman World Championship on Saturday as a challenged athlete because he is a shining example of a person “who can.”

We returned to our mountain hide-away for a quiet dinner that Nannette and Joanne prepared.

Kona – Day Three

Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday, without the Parade of Nations. Swim to the coffee bar, bike on the Queen K, run along Ali’I Drive, quiet dinner at home. Tapering at its best.

Mahalo!

Ironman World Championship

Keeping the flame lit in Kona, Hawaii (Monday)

We are five days away from the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii and I am writing this daily blog to share this experience with all the people who helped me get here.
Nannette and I arrived in Kona on Sunday afternoon and were joined by Scott Boylan (my training buddy from Frisco), his wife Joanne and Jim Shelden. We are sharing a house on 2.5 acres of flowers and fruit trees that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is 800 feet above Kona. The view is spectacular and the peace and tranquility are very welcome.

Our day started off with a one mile swim. Swimming in Kona Bay is never just a training swim. In addition to the emotional thrill of being on the race course, Kona Bay has crystal clear water and is only 15 to 30 feet deep. The coral that covers 75% of the bottom is a magnet for beautiful tropical fish. So the sightseeing really makes the training very enjoyable.

Later that day, we went for a for a 6 mile training run on Ali’i Drive (famous for being the first 10 miles and the last ½ mile of the Marathon.) We had plenty of company and the runners (men and women) were all impressive and intimidating. This is when I remembered that the people here this week all think that training 20 to 30 hours a week is normal. Each person has already competed in an Ironman and finished in the top three percent of their age group. There is nothing average about anybody. We are all crazy.

Kevin Moats, the current world champion in our age group had the five us over for dinner on Monday night. Kevin has been competing in the Ironman for over 25 years and has a house right on the Ocean on Ali’i Drive. Kevin lives in Atlanta and was a wealth of information.

It feels great to be back in Kona.

Wien's Irreverent Review of Super Bowl Advertising

Wien’s Irreverent Review
of
Super Bowl 2010 Advertising

Super Bowl XLIV will be remembered for the extraordinary comeback for New Orleans after being down in the first quarter and after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The team pulled out a storybook ending that was an emotional victory for everyone who lives more than 150 miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As for the advertising, many creative teams continue to produce extraordinary commercials that get noticed, encourage conversation and reinforce the brand image. However, the TV audience of over 100 million people are still forced to watch successful companies pouring $5 to $6 million per minute into the Atlantic Ocean by developing ordinary commercials. Many Advertising Directors and Marketing Directors will be greeted by colleagues on Monday with the question, “Who Dat?”

The most poignant moment for me about how special this win is for the City of New Orleans is when I read that fans have been clipping articles out of the paper all week and posting them on the gravestones of their recently departed relatives. I can only imagine that the spirit of many of those relatives stopped to read the articles on their way to Miami and did not get there until the start of the second quarter. But my guess is that their spirits will be on time for an early start of Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street tonight.
Here for your enjoyment is my call on tonight’s advertising. I hope this article is provocative and stimulates thinking on how you can move from ordinary to extraordinary in your effort to build awareness and attract new customers.

Enjoy!

Mike Wien
Professional Speaker on going from ordinary to extraordinary

First Quarter
Bud Light - New House: Anheuser-Busch leaded off with a house made out of Bud Lights. When the guests realize that the cans are full and not recycled empties, the obvious happens including a shower wall being consumed with the wife in the shower. Would you expect anything less from the company that wrote the manual for Super Bowl winners?

Snickers – Family Football: Grandma and Grandpa find themselves playing in a family football game and both get nailed with hard tackles that send them flying into the mud. I can only imagine that this is in response to a previous disastrous Snickers commercial that critics called too gay. Yes, grandma and grandpa were a lot tougher. It is a good thing that Snickers has the best tasting candy on the market and does not have to rely on their advertising to drive sales.

Boost Mobile – Shuffling Crew: This one features a number of very famous and very retired football players who make up the shuffling crew and sing and dance for national TV. The only thing good about this one is the cast party must have been fantastic for any pro football history buffs. But what does this have to do with Boost Mobile? If Boost is a public company and I was an analyst, I would make them a strong sell.

Doritos - Dog collar: A man offers to share his bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos with his dog if the dogs barks. The problem is, the dog is wearing a no bark electric collar. Through the magic of TV, the dog is able to take off his collar and place it on his master. When he barks with delight as he enjoys his snack, the results are shocking and all those fans who still hate Michael Vick get their long awaited revenge. (Full Disclosure – I worked at Frito-Lay on Doritos)

Doritos - Date Night: Frito-Lay addresses a contemporary issue, mom dating. When the date shows up at the door, mom’s 5 year old son establishes the rules…don’t touch my mom and don’t touch my Doritos. Nice twist on a spicy situation.

Bud Light - Asteroid: When scientist realize an asteroid is about to destroy the world, an impromptu party erupts. When the asteroid turns out to be the size of a half dollar, the celebration gets better. So will the Bud Light commercials coming up. They get better.

Coke - Bart Simpson Cartoon: When a millionaire goes broke and loses everything, he finds peace and new friends with a Coke. So who wins here? The average working guy who gets to see a rich guy go broke? The Coke brand? None of the above. (Full Disclosure – I spent nearly 10 years in marketing at Pepsi.)

GoDaddy – Massage: GoDaddy has found a successful formula and continues to work it. Sex drives brand name recognition. They get bonus points this year for developing a “story line” that gets through the CBS sensors.

Doritos - Casket: Funerals are always a challenging canvas for comedy. A live guy stuffed in a casket full of Doritos is even more difficult. My sense of humor died on this one.

Bud Light - Instant Party: A party is quickly organized by people passing invitations via cell phones with amplified voices. The only voice not amplified was the guy in the room reviewing this ad that said, “kill this one – we can do better.”

Monster.com - Beaver: With the current unemployment rate at over 10 percent, sites like Moster.com are hot. So how does a beaver playing a violin help drive volume. This joke hit a flat note.

Bridgestone – Whale: Kids steal the whale out of the aquarium to set him free. When they do a perfectly performed spin out at the end of the pier, their cargo goes flying into the ocean. Great driving, great tires, great commercial.

Second Quarter
Budweiser - Delivery Truck: When a bridge gets washed out, a community comes together to build a human bridge to get the Budweiser truck across. With all the natural disasters, this one is a stretch and a washout.

Career Builders - Casual Fridays: People of all shapes and sizes enjoy running around the office in their underwear for casual Friday creating an environment that the star and the TV audience hates. But in this environment, how many people who currently have a job are looking to leave. Maybe some of the marketing team at Career Builders will get a chance to become clients.

Dockers Free Pants: Dockers needs to get a full credit for this commercial for the poor placement behind Career Builders. Two ads back to back with business people running around without pants was confusing, not to mention in bad taste.

Bud Light – Stranded: Survivors of an airplane crash find themselves on an island with a working radio and a beverage cart full of Bud Light. Gilligan trained us all to know our priorities.

Dove for men: A forgettable attempt to sell Dove soap to men. Pick a different environment.

Teleflora - Flowers in a box: Here is a great commercial that sells the benefit – fresh flowers delivered make a better impression than dead ones that are shipped. The only problem is that this is the wrong environment for a rational sell.

Dr. Pepper Cherry: The group Kiss helps to introduce Dr. Pepper with a kiss of Cherry at their concert. Does the target audience have any idea who Kiss is? Kiss this one goodbye.

FLO Hand Held TV - Man loses his backbone and ends up shopping with his wife/girlfriend for bras. The hand held TV saves his day, but it does not save the respect any viewer might have for this lightweight.

Intel Core Processors: How does the number one chip maker in the world introduce a new line of computer chips and feature robots that malfunction? What am I missing? It sure isn’t Intel inside.

FLO TV - My Generation: I am still trying to figure out what FLO TV is and a 60 second montage of my generation did not help. Where is Forest Gump when we need him?

Third Quarter
Denny’s Free Grand Slam: Offering everyone a free Grand Slam breakfast on Tuesday…how can you lose? Denny’s took this bold move this last year and the trial it generated must have been enough to have them run it again. Anyone want to join me for breakfast on Tuesday? I’ll buy.

Michelob Ultra: Lance Armstrong is the right guy to represent a brand like Michelob Ultra. But if you have to hide him in the commercial, maybe a football audience is the wrong environment.

HomeAway.com: I never heard of this web site, but they managed to cram the most popular pet peeves about staying in a hotel in 30 seconds. If all they were trying to do is build awareness for their URL as an alternative to hotels, they succeeded. This one won’t win any contests, just potential customers.

Bridgestone Tires: When a gang ambushes a car and demands “your tires or your life,” the driver misunderstands and leaves his wife. While some women in the audience may not find this entertaining, buying tires is a guy’s job and Bridgestone made the guy and the tires our hero.

Coke - On Safari: I know I might have a bias here, but Coke is an exciting high energy product and they can do better than having a guy wake up and stroll through an African safari to enjoy a bottle of Coke.

E-Trade - Babies: Talking babies are always cute and usually a crowd pleaser. The first e-Trade commercial was the classic boy meets girl and made the point. The third commercial of a similar format later in the game made this concept a little ripe.

Google Search Engine: Just how romantic can Google be? Somehow they managed capture the whole story of an American boy meets girl in France and engineers the whole relationship with the help of Google. Search on!

Round-up Extended Control: A weed control product has about as much sense in a Super Bowl Commercial as a weed in the middle of a football field. This commercial gets lost in this environment. Who is going to be talking about the weed killer on Monday? Pick a different venue.

Fourth Quarter

Emerald Nuts and Pop Secret Popcorn: Humans performing like dolphins in a pool for snacks is pretty impressive. But the advertisers attempt at getting a two for one by combining two brands dilutes the message and makes me want to feed the creative team raw fish.

Budweiser - Horse and Calf: Budweiser has a tradition of featuring their Clydesdales in an emotionally charged commercial that often takes the top honors. This year’s entry celebrates the ongoing relationship between a baby Clydesdale and a calf with “nothing comes between friends,” including fences. The Clydesdale legacy continues.

Audi -Green Police: I usually make a practice of not commenting on car commercials in the Super Bowl because they traditionally come off as too ordinary. However, when Audi used their Green Police to introduce their new environmentally friendly car and “arrested” anyone violating the basic tenants in sustainability, including a policeman drinking from a Styrofoam cup, they drove this commercial to extraordinary.

Taco Bell – 5 bucks box: The motion and activity in this commercial made my stomach hurt. If Taco Bell can’t talk about their great tasting food in this environment, they should take their bell to a different field.

Doritos – Locker Room: When our star steals a bag of Doritos from the Doritos Man’s locker, death is imminent. But it should have been for the guy who designed the Doritos Man’s suit. The brand started out strong with what I thought was one of the best commercials in the first quarter, but slowly lost its crunch as the game progressed.

Bud Light – Book Club: A guy changes his plans to join the girl’s book club instead of playing sports with the boys when the girls bring out the Bud Light. This cliché would have been acceptable if the game was a blow-out and no one was watching the fourth quarter. But the game was still a nail-biter all the way to the two minute warning and the plot in this commercial was not.

Going to Clearwater

Thank you for the overwhelming amount of support I have received since falling off my bike last week and breaking a rib. Everyone’s collective concern and the disappointment expressed was appreciated. However, I need to first apologize. A couple days after my self-inflicted accident, I told too many people that if I could not compete at 100%, if I did not think I had a chance at being in the top 5, I was going to drop out of the 70.3 World Championship on November 14.

How ridiculous! That goes against everything I talk about in my speech and with the people I mentor. What kind of role model is that? If I only entered races when I felt 100%, I would never enter a race. In this competition, finishing is winning. Doing the best one can for that day is the goal. It is about the journey, not the destination. What was I thinking? Maybe the fall rattled my brain and I wasn’t thinking at the time. I ran into my training buddy Jack Spartz last week and he unknowingly brought me back to reality. Jack, as I write this, just finished the swim in the Florida Ironman in a speedy 1:05:31, rode the bike leg in 5:34:12, and is still out on the run. When I asked Jack last week what his goal was for today’s race, he told me it was just to finish. He went on to say that he was competing in the race with his brother who is recovering from a stroke and would be with him in spirit. His comment reminded me that the triathlon, like life, is only about being the best you can be.

While the ribs have been sore and I still have had trouble getting in and out of bed, I continued to train over the past 10 days. I just did not know what to do with myself. Now, with six days to go, I am comfortable that I can safely swim, bike and run the distance. So, I have decided to go to Clearwater and compete next Saturday and enjoy every minute of being in a World Championship. And I promise everyone two things. First, I will go out on Saturday with one objective…to do my best. Second, there will be no excuses.

Ironman Wisconsin 2009

I finally followed my own advice…..and it worked! As a professional speaker, I get the opportunity to share my ideas about staying motivated and avoiding burn-out with a lot of people. Hopefully, I am making a difference in some of their lives. This past Sunday, I followed my own advice – Dream, Plan, Journey, Balance, and Mentor- and was very happy with the results.


See http://www.keepingtheflamelitforlife.com/Services.html for more details on keeping the flame lit.

What a great day. I got to live another dream and share the success with so many. So here is my report that I write in appreciation to those who were part of my journey.
I was treading water with my nephew David Salzman in the middle of Lake Monona last Sunday with 2,500 other people getting ready to swim 2.4 miles and trying to remember what I was doing there. David signed up for the Wisconsin Ironman right after completing his first Ironman last year, and at the time, I thought it would be a good idea to come back. However, this time I wanted to come back as a participant, not a spectator. I signed up, visualized a new dream of winning my age group and eventually shared it with everyone. Just before the gun went off, David held his hand up to slap me a high five and pronounced, “Game –on.” I felt those two words and the hand slap sending electronic impulses to every nerve ending in my body as I finally woke up to what was about to happen. My brain seemed to do a data dump and every muscle in my body had only one mission – to keep me moving forward for the next 140.6 miles.

The gun went off and I got caught in the middle of the slugfest. The good news is that with 2,500 swimmers, we created our own current. The bad news is that I was kicked, jabbed and wacked more than I remember. After two laps, I came out of the water and was greeted by two stripers who had my wet suit off in seconds. Of the 73 men in my age group, I was the 5th out of the lake. That was my best swim place in all of my Ironman races and I attribute it to some great coaching by Pete, Oliver and Diana and by chasing Debbie and Leslie at the Concourse pool. My open water swims at Lake Altoona with Fox Ferrel and the TriGeeks was also critical.

Next was the 112 mile bike ride – a two loop rolling ride with a number of steep hills and lots of corn and soy bean fields. The steepest hills were decorated with screaming fans that create a Tour de France atmosphere for the riders. As we climbed a steep hill at mile 45, I could see my sister Alison standing at a look-out post on the top of a hill. She spotted me and I could see her running down to the side of the road to give Marty, Nannette and Evan, our official photographer, a heads-up that I was approaching. Nannette gave me my position as 4th as we passed. At about mile 75, as I rode 22 miles per hour through beautiful cornfields, a bee decided to commit suicide on my lower lip. It appears he decided to attack rear end (as in stinger) first. Not only did it hurt, but I am allergic to bee stings, so I started to swell up. My lower gums started to go numb and my lip was really...well stinging. I had three options: first, to recognize the medical emergency and stop at the next aid station in less than 5 miles or second, to wait until I passed Nannette at mile 85 and pick up a Benadryl, or third, just grin and bare it. Since I believed the first two options would knock me off the podium, I took option three, which was more drool and bare it. As I passed Nannette at mile 85, I yelled “bee sting” and “I’m OK.” (Well, one out of two was correct.) Drinking Gatorade at 22 miles an hour with no lower lip was pretty ugly and messy. I finished the bike and was able to take almost 30 minutes off my bike time from four years ago. I have to give my bike coach Tony Meyers of ATS a lot of credit for that improvement. In addition, my Colorado triple bypass team (Scott, Bishop, Dave, Gary, Mike, Jeff, and Lewis) gave me two critical training weeks in July. I also appreciate the patience Gabe and Bill had in trying to get me to go faster on Columns drive.

I came off the bike, changed my shoes, picked up some Cliff Cubes, a Larabar, and a chocolate Boost high protein drink and headed out for the run. I was smart enough to remember to take off my bike helmet, but not smart enough to remember my gloves. As I approached Nannette and Alison at the first half mile, I dropped my gloves and continued on. Nannette yelled the update that I was back in 5th and 22 minutes behind the leader. But the run leg of an Ironman has always been my strongest leg. I came from a runner’s background and felt like I was on my “home court.” If I could run just a minute a mile faster than the leader, I could win this race and I felt that was reasonable. At mile 13, Nannette yelled another update that was being relayed to her from Scott Boylan in New York and Dick Jones in Atlanta. I had moved up to third and was on track. Then, at mile 20 Nannette screamed the final update. I was in second, and according to Dick and Scott, “hold your pace and you will win!” Well, at mile 20, I felt like smoke was coming out of my ears. My internal gage with the red line had shattered. My tongue was dragging on the pavement…and my wife was commanding me to “hold your pace.” And then I remembered what my training buddy, Kebby Holden, wrote me days before the race….”Mike – are you ready to unleash the beast?” Yes, I thought, it was time! I started running with more purpose as I pushed to make sure I did not fall off my pace. I would later find out that I ran mile 14 to 19 at a 9:17 pace and mile 19 to 26 at an 8:56 pace, so Scott and Dick relaying messages to me through Nannette did make a difference. Running the hills on every Monday night with Adri Herman and her group, and running the hills on Wednesday night with Dick and Ken Lawler, and my Friday run with Alan Cohen, and my ongoing runs at the river with Jim Duguay and all my friends on the Atlanta Track Club Masters team also made a difference. And chasing Scott Boylan up every mountain he could find also helped. I ended up beating the leader, 55 year old Ken Kuehn, a 17 time Ironman (6 times in Kona), from Oshkosh, Wisconsin by 8 minutes.

Later that evening, two magic moments happened. The second one was getting back to my hotel room and reading all the e-mails from my friends who tracked me during the day. It was very emotional for me to try and accept the fact that the kid who was always picked last and played right field had so many people celebrating his victory. I can’t describe how much that meant to me and I still get tears in my eyes just writing about it. The first magic moment was when my nephew crossed the finish line and beat his previous Ironman time by 15 minutes. I went back into the finish area and ran over to hug David and say, “a new PR by 15 minutes!” At the same time, he saw me and walked over to hug me. Now there was a lot of things David could have said after just traveling 140.6 miles, like “oh am I glad that is over!” or “a new PR!” But instead, he stunned me with a big grin and yelled, “you won your age group!”

I have learned that there are two sides of being a mentor. The first is to teach, guide, and encourage someone to set high goals and achieve them. The second is to be a role model to inspire others to live their dreams. David’s personal victory, his congratulations at the finish line and the e-mails I have been receiving all week have certainly given me the impression that as for mentoring, I am on the right track in inspiring others to keep their flame lit for life.

With appreciation,

Mike Wien (Mahalo Mike)
Ironman
Mentor